By Ken Y-N (
April 13, 2009 at 22:51)
· Filed under Polls, Society
A recent topic that has cropped up here and there under the heading of “eco” in Japan (”eco” these days is just no more than a catch-all for money-saving in general) has been taking your left-over food home from restaurants, a subject looked at recently by iShare.
Demographics
Between the 24th and 27th of March 2009 339 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.5% of the sample were male, 39.2% in their twenties, 28.9% in their thirties, and 31.9% in their forties.
I’ve never taken home a doggy bag in Japan, as I’ve always finished the food put in front of me, unless it was too digusting to eat. Conversely, I dislike the way it gets forced upon you in the USA, especially as when I’m staying in a hotel there’s no way to reheat it even if I wanted to finish it off the next day. I wonder what is the proper etiquette for this?
Here’s two recent stories on doggy bags in Japan, one from the Japan Times (see the last few paragraphs) and one from Tokyofoodcast, looking at a doggy bag campaign in Meguro, Tokyo.
Research results
Q1: Have you ever taken home part of a meal you couldn’t eat at a restaurant? (Sample size=339)
| |
All |
Male
N=178 |
Female
N=161 |
| Yes |
47.2% |
40.4% |
54.7% |
| No |
52.8% |
59.6% |
45.3% |
Q2: If it was possible, would you want to take home uneaten food from a restaurant? (Sample size=339)
| |
All |
Male
N=178 |
Female
N=161 |
| Want to |
37.5% |
28.7% |
47.2% |
| Perhaps want to |
36.6% |
38.2% |
34.8% |
| Perhaps don’t want to |
13.0% |
15.2% |
10.6% |
| Don’t want to |
13.0% |
18.0% |
7.5% |
Q3: In Europe and the USA taking food home from restaurants is a normal behaviour. Do you agree with this? (Sample size=339)
| |
All |
Male
N=178 |
Female
N=161 |
| Agree |
62.5% |
60.7% |
64.6% |
| Perhaps agree |
26.3% |
25.3% |
27.3% |
| Perhaps disagree |
5.9% |
6.2% |
5.6% |
| Disagree |
5.3% |
7.9% |
2.5% |
Q4: You can buy a washable and reusable special taking food home doggy bag? Did you know such a doggy bag existed? (Sample size=339)
| |
All |
Male
N=178 |
Female
N=161 |
| Yes (to SQ1) |
26.0% |
18.5% |
34.2% |
| No (to SQ2) |
74.0% |
81.5% |
65.8% |
Q4SQ1: Do you have such a doggy bag? (Sample size=88)
| |
All |
Male
N=33 |
Female
N=55 |
| Yes |
1.1% |
0.0% |
1.8% |
| No (to SQ2) |
98.9% |
100.0% |
98.2% |
Q4SQ2: Would you like to have such a doggy bag? (Sample size=338)
| |
All |
Male
N=178 |
Female
N=160 |
| Want one |
12.4% |
10.1% |
14.9% |
| Want one a little |
47.6% |
46.1% |
49.4% |
| Don’t want one |
39.9% |
43.8% |
35.6% |
Q5: Do you have an eco bag (reusable shopping bag), “my hashi” personal reusable chopsticks, or “my bottle”, personal reusable thermos flask? (Sample size=339, multiple answer)
| |
All |
Male
N=178 |
Female
N=161 |
| Eco bag |
90.1% |
82.8% |
95.5% |
| My bottle |
41.2% |
27.3% |
51.5% |
| My hashi chopsticks |
32.6% |
30.3% |
34.3% |
| None of the above |
31.3% |
44.4% |
16.8% |
Read more on: club bbq,
doggy bag,
environment,
ishare
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Never happens in the UK
Joe, yes, correct! At least, I’ve never seen it. However, the survey did say “Europe and USA” in the question, so I stuck with that. Don’t know if it’s popular or not on the continent.
I’m not sure what you mean by “forced on you” in the USA. Do you mean just the fact that you’re asked? I’ve never had a server do more than say “Would you like to take that home?” or “Would you like a box?” I like having the option.
I haven’t heard the term “doggy bag” since I was a little kid. It’s not really used anymore as far as I can tell, or at least not in California. The server will just ask if you’d like, or you can request, a box.
I just think “doggy bag” is just a term of endearment, not a good meaning, but someone (as I am from NYC) will say I would like to have a doggy bag….and we all know that it is for me, not for my dog.
May be you get a little bit offense on this word, wintersweet….:-D
I also used to wait table when I went to school, so absolutely 95% of people who eat out in NY will take any left over food home, including myself.
I can’t wait to see this system running smooth in Japan, I really hate to see any foods wasted …even though it is only a small portion.
Oops, I mean to said “Not a bad meaning”…sorry…hahaha..:-(