Finish the Food On Your Plate, or You’ll Be Charged Extra!

Futurist Paul Saffo was eating at a buffet style restaurant recently, and spotted a curious policy. The eatery will charge you $2.00 extra for any left over food. Is this a move against rising food prices, or more of an ethical rule to encourage less waste?

Saffo’s thoughts:

How brilliant — and how depressing, for this bit of motherly haiku neatly captured the the unhappy present of American consumerism and also what our collective future holds. Waste is so built into our culture that people think nothing of taking more than they can possibly eat, and could not care less if it is thrown out. It reminded me of otherwise socially aware acquaintances who refuse to eat leftovers, and thus quite happily toss astonishing amounts of good food into the trash.

Paul Saffo Journal: “Please take only what you will eat”