Host-Guest Tension: Food Waste at Parties
By Dingye Li, Leqing Cui, Zeying Chen, Zhiwei Gan
We find ourselves knowing exactly what we need and how much we eat when living alone, and therefore rarely cause food waste. However, when we are at a party, we are prone to creating unnecessary food waste.
Our research provides a perspective of interactive relationships, i.e., the tension between host and guests. Food waste may result from the wishes of the host, the needs of the guest, or the conflicts between the two.
Target People
We interviewed eight students in Liu, including exchange students and master program students from different countries.
We chose students from different countries to ensure diversity of our samples, rather than study underlying differences in cultural contexts. Instead, we focused on the behavior of food waste itself.
Methodology
This is a qualitative survey. We don’t care much about the exact amount of food waste, or the underlying reasons (e.g., cultural differences). We focus on each specific behavior or scenario, which may be just a slice of our daily lives, but can be better for reflective thinking on what we should do to reduce waste.
- How is the food wasted? (Not why or how much)
- What kind of food is easy to waste during the party?
- What can we do to fight against food waste?
Findings
The hosts want to show off hospitality, but guests may not afford that.
Hosts tend to prepare a lot of food to ensure that their guests have enough choices, but it often leads to food overload.
- “In the Northeast of China, we must not make our guests hungry, or it will be the biggest disrespect.” (Davy)
Sometimes it is not intentional, but…
Not because of hospitality. The hosts really do not know how much food to prepare.
It may also happen in situations where food is prepared together, there may be a lack of communication, leading to a surplus of certain snacks.
- “There’s too much pasta because it’s hard to predict how much everyone will eat. “（Simon）
- “Chips and popcorn- leftover Because too much was prepared, people couldn’t finish them.” （Klara）
Guests always prefer food in better condition, while the hosts may neglect the change.
At parties, there is usually a greater variety and quantity of food and drink available, and people prefer those that are fresher or in better condition, living the rest apart. For example, if the food gets cold or sits out too long, it may discourage guests from eating.
- “When beer is left for too long, its natural sparking fades, and the taste isn’t as good, so people are less willing to drink it. “（Elias）
Side dishes are often just accompaniments to be left alone.
Everyone finished the portion they wanted to eat, and the result was more leftovers of the side dishes used as accompaniments.
- “Potatoes and bread are left over most. Because they are not meat.” (Erik)
We also found in our interviews that pasta, bread, etc. are left over the most in western students’ parties, while it is rice in some eastern parties. They have something in common: difficult to measure and easy to make people full. If you eat too much pasta or rice, you won’t have the stomach to eat other delicious food.
For guests, maybe food is just not the point. Hosts may not notice that.
Guests will temporarily forget about food when they are invited to participate in a game or conversation, and food may not be their main focus. The distraction of socializing can cause guests to abandon a serving halfway through the meal, ultimately leading to waste.
- “If someone invites me to play ping pong, I’ll put down the food I’m holding to play and then forget about it, leading to food waste.” （Simon）
Food preservation and hygiene issues.
Hosts usually do not keep leftovers after an event, possibly because they are concerned about hygiene and are not sure who has eaten what. For guests, they may also lose interest in the leftovers.
And do not forget, the biggest waste may occur when the host prepares food that the guests don’t like.
How to Solve?
In our interviews, we found that food waste at the parties of students from Japan was minimal. Perhaps we can refer to their behavior or way of thinking.
Communications in advance
“Each one will tell others what to bring to the party in advance.” (Yuta)
Be Conscious
“Each person will try to eat up all the food in the party.” (Yuta)
Different Values
“The Leftover food will be brought back by each member because we like sharing; (it seems) we do not really care about food being touched by someone else.” (Yuta)