{"id":5859,"date":"2020-05-27T16:10:15","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T08:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.ift.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/?p=5859"},"modified":"2020-05-27T16:13:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T08:13:56","slug":"can-gender-of-diners-influence-food-waste-reduction-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/can-gender-of-diners-influence-food-waste-reduction-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Can gender of diners influence food waste reduction efforts?"},"content":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u6587\u6458\u8981 \/ Summary in Chinese<\/span>\n

The need to reduce food waste is of growing concern to the restaurant industry, as businesses move to improve profit margins and promote habits of sustainable consumption among their diners. The issue is particularly relevant for buffet restaurants, as the \u2018all-you-can-eat\u2019 concept often leads patrons to fill their respective plates with more food that they can handle. A study involving an IFTM scholar looked into the topic, concluding that gender could have an impact on the effectiveness of campaigns to reduce food waste.<\/p>\n

The research \u2013 involving IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Andy Kuo Chen Feng in partnership with Dr. Shih Yahui from Chung Hua University in the Taiwan region \u2013 was conducted over a 3-week period at a buffet restaurant at a university in the Taiwan region. It measured average food waste per patron, a metric called by the researchers \u2018average plate waste\u2019.<\/p>\n

After an initial 1-week \u2018control\u2019 period, an \u2018education and communication\u2019 strategy using posters advocating food waste reduction was introduced at the buffet restaurant in the second week of the study. It was followed in the third week by a \u2018coercion\u2019 strategy, with a label placed on each table informing patrons that a fine \u2013 equivalent to nearly 60 percent of the price of the admission fee to the buffet \u2013 would be charged if too much food was wasted.<\/p>\n

Results showed overall average plate waste was slightly down in the \u2018education\u2019 week but it was \u201creduced dramatically\u201d in the \u2018coercion\u2019 week, noted the authors. Females\u2019 average plate waste was greater than that of male restaurant users for all 3 weeks, they added.<\/p>\n

The comments were featured in the research paper \u201cGender differences in the effects of education and coercion on reducing buffet plate waste\u201d. It was published in 2016 in the Journal of Foodservice Business Research.<\/p>\n

The study used data on food waste relating to 581 patrons of the buffet. The food waste was collected by research assistants, who then labelled it by gender of patron and by food type and weighed it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Education\u2019 versus \u2018coercion\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the 3 weeks of the study, \u201cthe overall average plate waste… decreased all the way down from 94.3 grams (the \u2018control\u2019 week), 93.1 grams (the \u2018education and communication\u2019 week), to 43.8 grams (the \u2018coercion\u2019 week),\u201d the authors noted.<\/p>\n

Patron gender had an impact on the effectiveness of the strategies to reduce food waste, the researchers pointed out. The average food waste for male participants in the research was 54.7 grams in the \u2018control\u2019 week, jumping to 81.5 grams \u2013 a 49-percent increase \u2013 during the \u2018education and communication\u2019 week. The figure dropped sharply to 35.1 grams during the week in which a \u2018coercion\u2019 strategy was applied at the buffet restaurant.<\/p>\n

The trend was different for female patrons: overall average plate waste went down from 131.9 grams in the first week to 107.9 grams in the second, and to 55.9 grams in the third week. However, food waste for some food types \u2013 like meat, desserts, and fruits \u2013 increased in the second week of the research.<\/p>\n

The researchers noted that the \u2018coercion\u2019 strategy was the most efficient in terms of promoting food waste reduction. \u201cHowever, negative impacts (e.g., decrease of customer retention or loyalty) might occur, and deserve attention from buffet restaurateurs,\u201d wrote Dr. Kuo and Dr. Shih. Customers \u201care still likely to expect\u201d there will not be any \u201cfood regulations while dining in buffet restaurants,\u201d they added. They stated that \u201cnegative customer perceptions\u201d might partially explain some of the increases in food waste during the week in which an \u2018education and communication\u2019 strategy was used for the research.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore creative practices (such as smaller plates) could play more effective roles in reducing plate waste than penalty or persuasion,\u201d the 2 researchers suggested.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kuo and Dr. Shih also noted that, among the food groups tracked by their study, the highest levels of waste were related to grains, regardless of patron gender, although average female grain food waste was higher than that recorded for males in each of the 3 weeks of research.<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers could be asked by staff if a smaller grain portion size is adequate for them,\u201d the researchers suggested, indicating a way to reduce grain-related food waste. They also advised reducing the number of grain-based main courses on offer at buffet lines, eventually replacing some with more popular dishes from other categories.<\/p>\n

Food waste prevention for buffet restaurants \u201cinvolves tracking which dishes generally create more leftovers either on the counter or plate,\u201d pointed out the researchers. Based on such information, management should decide whether to prepare fewer (or serve smaller) portions of dishes that typically generate the most waste or replace them with more popular options. These options might be an alternative to simply continuing to discard the leftovers, concluded Dr. Kuo and Dr. Shih.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

More info<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
The researchers<\/div>\nDr. Andy Kuo Chen Feng is an Assistant Professor at IFTM. He has a PhD in hospitality and tourism management from Purdue University in Indiana, United States. His research interests include hospitality operations management. Prior to moving to IFTM in 2016, Dr. Kuo headed the Department of Hospitality Management at Tunghai University in the Taiwan region. He has held several consulting positions within the field of hospitality.<\/p>\n

Dr. Shih Yahui is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Hospitality Management of Chung Hua University in the Taiwan region. She holds a PhD from Texas Tech University, in Texas, United States.
\n<\/div>\n

The paper<\/div>\n– The paper
\nChenFeng Kuo and Yahui Shih: \u201cGender differences in the effects of education and coercion on reducing buffet plate waste\u201d, Journal of Foodservice Business Research, Volume 19, Issue 3, pages 223-235, 2016.
\nhttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1080\/15378020.2016.1175896<\/a>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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