When considering dining in the light of cultured living, the ideal dining experience would not only include enjoying the food and the moment, but would also be eco-friendly. However, I am sometimes troubled about meals.

I went to the US on business recently. While there, I was invited to lunch and dinner but the portion size of meals was far too much for me. The servers quickly cleared plates from the table without asking if I was done when I put my fork on the plate. I let it go because I didn’t want to force myself to eat it all, but leaving wonderful entrees uneaten made me feel guilty. Well, yes, the US is the largest consumer market in the world…

However, Japan is one of the largest producers of food waste in the world. It’s a well-known fact these days. According to recent figures released by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan produces about 18 million tons of food waste per year, 10 million tons of which are from general household and another 8 million tons are from food-related businesses. How could this happen in our country while so many other countries’ people are starving? This is a really serious matter, and the more I think I contribute producing food waste, the more guilt I feel.

As a light eater, I have trouble finding a perfect-sized meal, as I really try to avoid wasting food. I envy those who can finish a lunch set easily. There are few people who understand the dilemma of light eaters.

Therefore, I try to think of solutions for small eaters like me – for your cultured diet of enjoying food without producing waste.

1) When you eat alone, dine at home.
2) When dining in a group, share dishes or go to a buffet restaurant.
3) Go to a café, onigiri shop, or a restaurant that serves smaller portions.
4) Choose a restaurant that allows you to take your leftovers home.
5) Starve yourself by exercising, refraining from snacks, etc.

I was able to reduce my food waste with one of the actions above. These days, there are many curry restaurants where you can choose a smaller portion of rice, and cafés that will wrap up a sandwich you can’t finish. I can see that those restaurants create value in satisfying various needs of customers.

Trying to avoid wasting food may help reduce overspending and grocery expenses and in some cases, promote weight control and health improvement. Even if you have no problem with leaving food on your plate, why not think about your own ideal cultured diet?

Reported by Yukari Aoike, Sugahara Institute