As kids, we were taught to clean our plates, but at today’s restaurants, that can be a monumental and unhealthy task. The average restaurant meal has ballooned over the last 50 years.
Bigger portions mean we end up eating more, but a hidden consequence is that we waste more, too. Each time a server scrapes our leftovers into the trash, we waste money, and that food will likely go to a landfill where it will produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.
The good news is that there are easy, actionable steps we can take to dine out with less waste. If you’re a restaurant regular, check out the tips in our infographic below. For more tips on wasting less food, visit ivaluefood.com.
Sources: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Food Waste Reduction Alliance, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Natural Resources Defense Council, Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.
