While a lot of people think of food as simply something that satisfies our appetite and helps body development, I think there is more to what food really represents.

Just as the worth of a diamond is determined by the quality of refinement, cutting and polishing, I believe the process by which the food ultimately reaches the plates of the consumers from the farmers also determines what a food represents.

Growing food, let alone preparing it is not an easy task. Since foods come onto our plates very easily, we often tend to forget the time and effort that was invested to prepare it in the first place. This is one of the main reasons why it is so easy for us to waste food since we do not recognize its value.

Let?s for example talk about the time consuming and lengthy process of growing rice. which involves the following steps: preparation before planting, planting, harvesting, drying, hulling, milling, enriching and lastly quality control.

So every time I look at rice on my plate, rather than simply seeing the food, I see all the sweat and hardship that was invested into producing it. Thus it becomes very difficult for me to throw away rice since that will make me feel as I am wasting the farmer?s efforts by throwing his output into the bins. 

Ultimately a food represents the collection of resources of invested which includes land, labor, water and fertilizers. Since I want to preserve the earth?s environment and its resources, I simply cannot throw away food.