Restaurant trade union criticizes food waste

The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) criticizes the waste of food in restaurants - especially with so-called "all you can eat" offers. "Just eat as much as you want and can: Buffets in restaurants fill you up - often to the brim," the union announced. "Buffet greed" follows the principle of "load up as much as you can". Because the eyes are often bigger than the stomach.

"In the end, good food ends up in the garbage can," explained NGG representatives in Erfurt, Leipzig and Halle. They appealed to restaurant visitors in Gera to fill their plates at the buffet "with a sense of proportion". It is more sensible to go to the buffet more often and return to the table with smaller portions. "When the point comes when you can't eat any more, you can stop eating without leaving a half-full plate".

Union calls for "buffet discipline"

The NGG is calling for more "buffet discipline" in all-you-can-eat restaurants. "Anyone who leaves a quarter or even half a portion on their plate should urgently work on their throwaway habit. This also applies to half-full glasses if there is a drinks flat rate," it said. The NGG recommends that restaurants rethink the "all you can eat" business model.

If a restaurant has to throw several hundred euros worth of food into the food garbage can every week, then this is ethically and economically unacceptable, it continued. "These are wasted resources. This is money that restaurants could invest much more wisely - namely in more staff and better wages for chefs and waitresses."