“Eat and drink, but do not waste.” This is a universal advice given by Islam some 14 centuries ago but it is true for all times and all places.
One grain of rice weighs around 0.01 gram. It seems very trifling. Doesn't it?
But let's assume every citizen of a country with a population of 85,000,000 throws away one grain of rice every day. Can you imagine how much rice would go in waste? It would amount to 850 kilos of rice being wasted every day. It's a big figure isn't it? This much rice could provide food for 10,000 people!
This was an example of just one grain of rice being thrown away by one person…
What if one spoon of rice is wasted by every person?
What about the fruits and vegetables wasted every day?
According to statistics put forth by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), if the food that is wasted every day were to be given to the needy, no one would starve, no one!
“Eat and drink, but do not waste.”1 This is a universal advice given by Islam some 14 centuries ago but it is true for all times and all places.
According to a hadith, once Imam Sadiq (as) saw a half-bitten apple being thrown away. The Imam (as) was annoyed and said, “If you are full, there are people who are going hungry.”2
Sources:
1. The Quran, 7:3
2. Jalali Shahroudi, Hussein, Majmou’at al-Akhbar Fi Nafa’is al-Athar, chapter 171, Hadith no. 4.