This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on October 3. As you buy mooncakes for your family and friends, there are a few things to think about. Hong Kong people love to eat, and festivals are a chance to eat traditional food like mooncakes. But few families finish all the cakes they buy or receive. A huge number are thrown away each year, and the number is on the rise. The leftover mooncakes go to landfills, which are rapidly filling up. As the waste decays, it produces methane gas, which intensifies global warming. It is quite pathetic that we are trying to work out how to deal with leftovers while there are children dying of starvation in less developed countries. Try to avoid the problem by buying only as many mooncakes as you can eat, and choosing those with minimal packaging. And then apply this rule to all the food you buy. Don't be a garbage producer - cherish our resources. Chan Sau-ming, Ju Ching Chu Secondary School (Kwai Chung) From the Editor Thanks for your letter, Sau-ming. Mid-Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. It is also, as you point out, a time to swap mooncakes. If everyone went for those with the least packaging, we would save loads of space in our landfills. It is one of those realities of life that half of the world throws food away while the other half starves. Now we are learning it's not just a matter of feeding the hungry but also one of causing damage to our environment. A vast portion of the food we consume in Hong Kong is imported, adding carbon miles to its cost, too. Let's all cut back this Mid-Autumn Festival and make the world a better place. Susan, Editor
