Garbage Project

Fresh Sorts

Several interesting insights in what and how people consume have been provided by the Garbage Project. Health trends have been reflected in the discards, with a certain irony: attempts to restrict consumption of certain food contents are often counterbalanced by extra consumption of the same food contents in hidden form.

At the beginning of 1983, a sudden widespread increase in the percentage of fat trimmed off and discarded was noticed. This correlated with the publication at the end of 1982 of the National Academy of Science's report and subsequent media reports identifying fat in the diet—particularly fat from red meat—as a significant cancer risk factor. These findings indicated that people made efforts to reduce their fat intake from fresh, red meat.

However, as people bought less fresh meat, their consumption of processed red meat, which tends to [Page 304]have an even higher fat content in hidden forms, increased.

The Garbage Project study found that foods eaten on a daily basis are much less likely to be wasted. For example, the relatively few ingredients in Mexican cuisine are easily reused, producing less waste. Ingredients for very specific uses are wasted at higher rates.

A common way to study consumer behavior has been via self-report measures. However, an inaccuracy of self-report measures has been suspected, as people's memories tend to be unreliable and biased. A comparison between the reported behavior and sorted garbage revealed these discrepancies. Alcohol consumption tends to go underreported. Reported food consumption tends to be skewed in ways that have been labeled the Good Provider Syndrome and the Lean Cuisine Syndrome. The Good Provider Syndrome is reflected in the tendency of homemakers to almost uniformly report that their family consumes more than sorters can find evidence of in the garbage. Also, homemakers tend to underreport the amount of prepared food. The Lean Cuisine Syndrome is reflected in the tendency of people to both consistently underreport the consumption of items high in sugars and fats and overreport the healthier foods.

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