Half rice ba kamo? 

A group of restaurant owners is backing a proposal for half-rice servings in canteens and restaurants but urged government to set standards on what actually constitutes  a half cup of rice.

'Half-rice' pushed anew to reduce food wastage

Resto PH president Eric Teng said their group supports the government push to reduce rice wastage in the country.

 “Sana may guidelines ang government as to what constitute a serving for an adult for rice. Ito ba ay 150 grams, 100? Dahil kung sasabihing half rice, magulo pa rin,” he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

“Pwede kaming mag-recommend for child’s portion or kiddie portion. Ide-determine in terms of grammage.”

Teng said leftover rice does not really go to waste since this can be turned into fried rice the next day. 

Data from PhilRice has shown that 255,000 metric tons of rice is wasted in the country yearly as of November 2024, equal to around 19-20 kilograms wasted per household. This volume can already feed 2.79 million Filipinos annually, PhilRice said.

“I think they were referring to the household waste na maraming nasasayang na rice,” Teng said. 

The Department of Agriculture said the government must launch educational activities on rice consumption for children. DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said children must be educated on the value of not wasting rice.