ABSTRACT
Last summer I travelled from Hangzhou to Guangzhou. Arriving at Hangzhou airport 90 minutes early to enjoy a proper lunch before boarding the plane, I went to a self-service canteen. It was a fine place to eat: the price was reasonable, it was neat and comfortable, the choice of food was wide and the menu was well presented. However, there was a specific condition attached to eating: the wasting of food was prohibited. To reinforce this, warning signs advised customers to ‘take only what you need or pay for the leftovers’ (Fig. 12.1). Despite the visibility of these signs, many people walked out of the restaurant leaving plenty of unconsumed food on their tables (Fig. 12.2), but there was no condemnation of this whatsoever.
