How can you begin to reduce Thanksgiving food waste? For food writer and activist Michael Pollan, the answer is simple: smaller portions.
In time for Thanksgiving, he has released a new food rule to raise awareness of food waste. He warns against the "supersized portions" that "have become the bane of both our health and the health of the planet."
"Most of us eat what’s put in front of us, ignoring signals of satiety; the only possible outcomes are either overeating or food waste," he writes in Feedback, an environmental organization dedicated to ending food waste. "Gluttony is never pretty, but when a billion people in the world are hungry, it becomes unconscionable."
The mantra of Mr. Pollan's rule is simple: eat less. And if you're at a restaurant, tell your server you want smaller portions.
"To let others manipulate you by overfilling your plate is a wasteful concession to marketing and the very opposite of conscious eating," he writes. "We need a movement to make reasonable portions and 'seconds' the norm in restaurants. That way, the restaurant can still offer the perceived value of 'all you can eat' but without the inevitable waste."
