Restaurants

Introduction

We've attempted to organize this page from most impactful, to less impactful. Many solutions here can help reduce costs, while helping the planet and our communities.

Calls to Action

Level 1-3 Actions

Level 3 Actions

Plant-Based Solutions

While many people understand how harmful the fossil fuel industries are, most of us are only now beginning to understand the many ways in which the livestock industry is destroying the planet.

By simply making some changes to menus we can make eco-friendly eating much easier for people in our communities who are already seeking ways to live more sustainably. 

Switching to plant-based alternatives (these also include fungi like mushrooms and yeast, as well as algae and seaweeds), we can significantly cut back on major problems like:

Menu Resources for Restaurants

For Customers

These resources are intended to help customers communicate with restaurants, so as to encourage them to take on more eco-friendly practices.

Outreach Tips

As consumers, one of the most powerful things we can do aside from "vote with our wallets", is to directly communicate with businesses. Many organizations are nervous of change because they don't want to lose customers by introducing "strange" new foods, while others may simply be unaware of their ecological impacts. By speaking up, and asking for more eco-friendly alternatives like plant-based menus and recyclable or returnable takeout options, we help signal to them, that they won't lose customers when they make these changes.

Comment Cards

These are a great option if you feel nervous about talking to restaurant owners or staff yourself. You can design your own, buy from charities or independent artists (check out some on Etsy!), or even find them free online through different organizations.

Food Waste

Focusing on the waste reduction pyramid this section is organized from most to least impactful methods. Focusing on food choice prevents waste before it's even produced by supporting agriculture via food choices that result in healthy, efficiently produced foods. 

Food Choices: Plant-Based vs Animal-Based

Opportunity Cost Loss

"With a third of all food production lost via leaky supply chains or spoilage, food loss is a key contributor to global food insecurity. Demand for resource-intensive animal-based food further limits food availability. In this paper, we show that plant-based replacements for each of the major animal categories in the United States (beef, pork, dairy, poultry, and eggs) can produce twofold to 20-fold more nutritionally similar food per unit cropland. Replacing all animal-based items with plant-based replacement diets can add enough food to feed 350 million additional people, more than the expected benefits of eliminating all supply chain food loss." - The Opportunity Cost of Animal Based Diets Exceeds All Food Losses

Compostability & Safety

Composting is listed as an action of last resort, but is still an important option to consider as it returns much-needed nutrients to our food system. Specifically it is important to note that plant, mushroom, and seaweed/algae based foods are all relatively easy to compost. However meat, dairy, aquatic creatures, and eggs can all pose a health risk as diseases and viruses can survive in the compost and infect people after contaminating crops. 

Some industrial composters do accept animal corpses, and even feces, but these require environments that backyard and many farm composting systems cannot reliably achieve. This means that most animal-based waste ends up in landfills or incinerators.

Click the Food Security button to learn more.

Combat Hunger

Some amount of waste is inevitable, but if we can identify what foods may go to waste before they expire, then the best place to send them to is to hunger people who may not be able to afford to eat. Studies have found that food programs help young children get better educational scores, and go on to make higher salaries than kids who have to go hungry. 

According to current data, we already produce enough food to feed 12-14 billion people, yet, due to inefficiencies and food waste, around 828 million people go hungry every year.

Grocery shops and restaurants throw away jaw-dropping amounts of food every year, but you can get tax discounts and other benefits from taking the time to make sure potential food waste is diverted to help combat hunger.

Compost

We've managed to lose about halfof Earth's nutritious soil in the last 150 years. This is a huge problem because healthy soil can takes hundreds, even thousands of years to produce naturally. By composting, we speed up the process, and return valuable nutrients to our food system.

Small scale composting can be pretty easy, and rewarding.

Composting services help businesses, schools, and anyone else who doesn't have the time, strength, or space to compost themselves.

Non-Edible Waste

Using cloth napkins, table cloths, and hand towels can significantly cut overall waste. These items can be washed on site, taken home with a designated person for cleaning, or you can hire a laundry service. 

Using metal knives and forks is more sustainable than single-use utensils which contribute to transit emissions, packaging, deforestation for wood utensils or paper straws, and contribute to oil extraction if you use plastic. Plastic cutlery and straws aren't biodegradable or recyclable.

North America

USA

Michigan

Outdoor Space & Parking

Parking uses up a huge amount of space that could otherwise be used by people instead of vehicles which sit around 95% of the time. Free parking contributes to the increasingly unsafe conditions in urban communities, and increases health problems associated with inactivity.

Reduce Light Pollution

Light pollution is one of the worst types of pollution, but also one of the least-talked-about. It can contribute to mass death of many species (particularly migratory bird, insects like fireflies, and baby sea turtles), but also causes disturbances in human health. Light pollution can keep people awake as it slips in past their curtains, plus it contributes to hormonal problems that cause weight gain and even breast cancer.

Simple steps to reduce light pollution include:

Bike Racks

Providing bike racks encourages more cyclists to visit your establishment. It also sends a signal that your business is welcoming and supportive of bike infrastructure. If you are near other businesses, cyclists may use your rack to visit nearby establishments which is good for everyone, and encourages them to spend time in your area, increasing the likelihood that they'll choose to come in for a bite or a drink.

Cycling Boosts Sales

A study conducted in Portland, Oregon found that "Car drivers spent more money on single visits at supermarkets and restaurants, but people arriving via foot, bicycle, or public transit visited these locations more often. Over a month period, the non-drivers spent more money than the car drivers. Specifically, cyclists spent $75.66 per month at bars, restaurants and convenience stores, while car drivers spent only $68.56." - Bicycles are Business: What Research Says About Bicycling’s Economic Benefits 

Pub Gardens, Roof Gardens, & Planted Patios

People love the option to sit outside and eat. People are more likely to make this choice if the outside area has plenty of plants to obscure the surrounding infrastructure, especially any loud, smelly roadways. Plants boost our physical and mental health, can help people feel calmer. Plants reduce impacts of light, sound, and air pollution. If planted in strategic locations, they can also reduce chemical run off and flooding, by sequestering rain in urban settings, both on roofs or planted in the ground.

Native plants help boost biodiversity, clean air, and help reduce run off that can contribute to flooding. It's always best to pick native trees and wildflowers which better serve local wildlife, but also require less care and maintenance than foreign plants.

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