Swiss hotel decides to shame food wasters with photos of starving children

Tired of having guests waste food by filling up their plates and not finishing everything, a hotel in Switzerland is trying to guilt people into only taking what they know they will eat by posting photos of starving children next to its buffet.

The Hotel Monopol in Lucerne also put up a sign, in Chinese and English, that politely but firmly states: "Good morning dear guests. For ethical and moral reasons, in Switzerland, we do not throw away any food. Please put on your plate only what you do eat. Thank you for your understanding." The hotel's head, Brigitte Heller, told the newspaper Blick that she has observed several guests wasting food, and that's just not the Swiss way. "We can expect that the foreign guests to a certain extent to respect our customs, we do so in foreign countries," she said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up