Monday, December 13, 2010

Reduction of Rice Consumption

Many of my friends think that they have not eat food if they do not eat rice, although they have actually ate noodles or hamburgers.

I believe that this perception is also shared by most of the 240 million people in Indonesia who consume rice as their main food.

Therefore, I was surprised when I heard about the government's plan to make people to stop eating rice and change it with other kinds of food like Cassava.

In order to provide more information about this, please find below a report that I have quoted from AFP.
 
Considering that rice is not just the main food but also the product of, therefore the source of income for, tens of millions of people working in the paddy fields, reduction of rice consumption would surely effect the lives of so many people in Indonesia.

CIGUGUR, Indonesia — Indonesia is one of the world's biggest producers -- and consumers -- of rice, but in the interests of public health and food sustainability the government has launched an ambitious drive to wean people off their beloved staple.

For ordinary Indonesians like Andi Santoso, a 23-year-old student, the thought of going without rice for a day, as the government is proposing, is almost unthinkable.
"I eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner," he said, a little bemused. "If I don't eat rice, I feel like I haven't eaten. What else can I eat?"

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Photo :  Courtesy of AFP

18 comments:

Ria Tumimomor said...

Considering that our people already can't afford to buy rice, I do not think the government should add more insults by telling us to try reduce eating rice...

Unknown said...

Hi Ria/The Dream Cather,
Yes it is almost difficult to understand this plan. It's like looking for an easy solution for the rice shortage.

ReBorn said...

I have similar thought: rice is irreplaceable food. :D

@ria:
if i may add, maybe indonesian food needs is exceeding the existing supply. sounds contradictory, ya? ghehehe. or, maybe, the food availability has decreased. just my opinion. :)

colson said...

(Over-)ambitious and (very) strange plan.

What do the authorities mean with "the interests of public health and food sustainability"? I guess they favour a better diet ( but which one?). And in what way do they think they can persuade people to leave the ingrained cultural tradition of eating rice behind them?

song lyrics said...

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dee said...

Indonesia is one of the world's biggest producers -- and consumers -- of rice. That's true Harry! I'm afraid it's not a simple solution to reduce rice consumption in Indonesia.. I think Government should review again for other best solution. Because we are not like people abroad who is used to eat bread.

NTRage03 said...

yup, because rice is very high with carbohidrat so we must eat it :D
ancur enggak tuh binggq :D

TUKANG CoLoNG said...

kangen saat kita bisa swasembada pangan

Aulawi Ahmad said...

our goverment is usual make the "junk" regulation. I think they have no another work again hehe

Ria Tumimomor said...

atau disuruh ngurangin konsumsi nasi karena udah gak ada tempat lagi buat menanam padi... Semua sudah jadi MALL... (walau gw suka ke mall tapi kalau udah kebanyakan lama2 eneg juga)

cicitHJHASSANu said...

salam tuan...

Jika di Malaysia,sekiranya berlaku kekurangan barang keperluan asas,itu tanda harga barang tersebut akan naik...

walaupun ada benarnya,sumber semakin berkurangan tapi ada segelintir pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab pantas mengambil kesempatan di atas kesusahan rakyat..

ayuh lawan golongan kapitalis.

Cheqna said...

Not sure the reasons why the proposal was done, but my reason for reducing rice intake is for health purposes...

Unknown said...

@ReBorn,
People should no be stopped eating rice, they should decide themselves.
If there is shortage in supply of rice because the govt has let paddy fields changed to industrial or residential area.

@Colson,
The main reason is that the govt cannot provide enough rice for the people. They want to import from Vietnam but it raise the price. Alternative is Pakistan, but their rice is different from ours.
There is also the health reason.

@Song Lyrics,
You are welcome. Let's keep in touch.

@Dee,
Changing eating habits would surely take a very long time.
But only few would want to.

@Aciid!!!
If you are 30 years old an above you have to limit carbo-hydrate to maintain good health.

@TUKANG CoLoNG,
Benar, sepertinya swasembada pangan sekarang hanya tinggal kenangan.

@Aulawi Ahmad,
Maybe you are right ha ha ha

@Ria/The Dream Catcher,
Berkurangnya beras akibat semakin kurangnya lahan persawahan karena pemerintah telah memberi izin untuk merubahnya jadi tanah industri, usaha dan perumahan.

@cicitHJHASSANu,
Anda benar ini karena diberinya izin kepada businessman untuk merubah tanah pertanian dirubah jadi non pertanian. Akibat dari kurangnya supply beras maka rakyat menderita.

@Cheqna,
I have also reduced consumption of rice for health reason.

julicavero said...

memang susah kalo sudah kebiasaan..wlpun ada pengganti karbohidrat yg lain tetap aja masih nyari nasi

Ferdinand said...

Hahaha... klo ini aku akuin emank bener Sob... soalnya kadang akupun gitu... padahal seharian udah makan Mie atau lainnya, cuma karna kebiasaan Nasi masih melekat jadi agak susah emank klo mesti makan yg lain dan nganggep itu sama

Nice post :P

Semangat N sukses slalu :P

Unknown said...

@Julicavero,
Karena kita sejak kecil sudah diberi makan nasi, maka sulit sekali kalau disuruh ganti total dengan kentang atau singkong dll.

@Ferdinand,
Ya maklumlah. Orang asing yang biasa makan kentang kalau disuruh ganti ke nasi juga sulit. Kalau sekali-kali mungkin bisa.

JohnMurdock said...

Nasi sudah menjadi makanan pokok, untuk mengubah kebiasaan-berpindah-baru sy rasa akan sangat sulit, mengubah kebiasaan makan nasi butuh waktu yg cukup lama, kecuali jika kita memang sedang dalam keadaan yg benar2 darurat dn harus segera mnggantinya,,,mis.sudah tidak ada lagi padi.

Unknown said...

@JohnMurdock,
Negara2 yang sudah maju seperti Jepang saja membiarkan rakyatnya makan beras, malah export ke luar negerinya.