LIMITING UNLIMITED RICE

LIMITING UNLIMITED RICE While it may be good for the business of restaurant owners to offer unlimited rice servings because it attracts customers, I believe that it is bad for the health of these same customers. And not only that, it is also bad for our economy, considering that we have a rice shortage, which is the reason why we have to import much of our rice supplies. Rice converts to sugar, and as a general rule, too much sugar is bad for everyone, even for people who are relatively healthy. Perhaps it is just a matter of semantics, but it is seemingly easier for us to admit that "we do not have a rice shortage", compared to admitting that "we have a rice shortage". But of course, common logic will tell us that we do have a rice shortage, otherwise we would already be exporting rice, instead of importing it. As of now, the Philippines is importing about 8% of our rice demands, but I suspect that it could be higher than that. The Philippines measures its "food security" in terms of rice buffer stocks that are good enough for 15 to 30 days. Sadly, the buffer stocks recently went down to 2 days only, which is very much alarming. Because of the recent waves of typhoons that hit the Philippines, our importation rates could go up, and our buffer stocks could go down. Since we are still a democratic country where free enterprise should still prevail, I would not be in favor of passing a law that would ban the offering of unlimited rice by restaurants. Instead, I would favor strong appeals coming from the President, supported by similar appeals from the DTI, the DA and the DILG. Right now, many fast-food restaurants would serve a whole cup of rice, without even asking the customers whether they would want a half serving or not. As a result, some portions of the rice are not eaten and are thus wasted. And in some restaurants, they will charge you the same price, even if you ask only for a half serving. As a result, some customers decide to accept the full serving, but do not eat in nonetheless. What can the government do about this? Maybe the DTI could do something? This might be a petty concern, but it may have a huge economic impact. IKE SENERES/07-31-2024