Strategic Questions On Food And Beverage Management: Analysing Ethical Practices And Sustainability

Analysis of Ethical Consumption of Food

Discuss About The Strategic Questions Food Beverage Management.

The report addresses the increasing enquiries that are related to the origin of food, eating habits and the processes that are required for the manufacturing of the food items. The problems related to food are not limited to main ingredients such as meat and vegetables but also related to the small goods as well. The report focuses on the issues that are faced in the food industry while dealing with food products. Ethical manner in which food is consumed are analysed in the report. At the same time, practical ways in which business organisations apply the ethical principles related to food are analysed in the report. Example of Kingsleys Woolloomooloo in New South Wales, Australia is provided to understand the ethical manner in which food is consumed in the restaurants.

Environmental sustainability is required to be maintained based on the use of resources required for the manufacturing of food. According to Davis et al. (2018), reports have been made about poisoning of food or contamination of food that are caused by the excessive use of pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and other chemicals in the air. This causes pollution in the environment and because of this, catastrophic climate changes occur at regular intervals. Such pollutants alert customers to be aware of the quality of food that are to be consumed. The fact that natural habitats and natural diversity are diminishing at alarming rate have increased the voice of increasing the sustainability in the environment. Customers also choose the dining place that provides social responsibility towards safeguarding the environment.

In the words of Wood (2018), change in climate is caused due to the increase level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Reports on the increase of greenhouse gases have shown that food production and distribution account for about 37% of the emissions. At the same time, use of artificial fertilizers has also caused erosion of soil and the excess increase of nitrous oxide. Due to this, customers have stopped to consume meat as the animals that are consumed by the human beings consume the crops contaminated use of the fertilizers. Hence, research have shown that people are inclining more towards becoming vegan and most main courses have green vegetables so that promotion of vegan diet can take place (Del Chiappa, Martin and Roman 2016).

Valta et al. (2015) is of the opinion that ethical eating is a term that can be used broadly to define the lifestyle that customers adapt based on the consumption of food. This can be related to going back to the cultures and society that originate the food consumed by the customers. Religious or health conscious people relate this particular concept as a way of saving the environment from being polluted. One of the main concerns of this particular concept is that not every restaurant can afford to address all the issues that are related to the ethical practise (Dopson and Hayes 2015). Hence, restaurants can increase the transparency with which it manages to gain the satisfaction of the customers and compel them to choose a particular food.

Environmental Sustainability, Recycling, and Waste Management

One of the most alarming issues that exist in the modern world is the consumption of healthy food and the allergies that are associated with the food products. Issues such as obesity and chronic diseases are a part of the lives of most people and cause serious and fatal diseases such as heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure (Grekova et al. 2016). At the same time, food security has become a major concern particularly after learning that artificial chemicals are used to color the food. Thereby it can be said that due to such problems in food, allergies and unhealthy eating habits occur which damages the reputation of a restaurant.

This movement arose locally wherein the idea is to purchase food from the locality so that the money remains within the community and can be used for its development. The aim of this particular concept is to reduce the greenhouse gas emission by shortening the route required for the delivery of food. This can help in the better protection of the environment as restaurant have to adjust the menu to cope up with the changing factors related to the environment (Walker and Walker 2016). The view of the locavores is that they help in the reduction of energy consumption so that the people can consume fresher and healthier food. Hence, engaging the local community help in reduction of the spread of food related pollutants in the environment.

As stated by de Mattos et al. (2016) customers may become vegetarian due to religious beliefs or due to the low quality of non-veg food served by the restaurants. Therefore, it can be said that there are various type of vegetarians that need to be familiarised by the restaurants. These include lacto-ovo vegetarian that does not consume meat or seafood. These types of people are considered as the most common form of vegetarians that usually exist in Australia and the world. Another most common form is the vegans, who only eat plants and other vegetables instead of consuming any meat (Meyers et al. 2016). Fruitarians are also considered as types of vegetarians as they only consume fruits keeping in mind that it does not harm the plants from which it is plucked.

Recycling and waste management arise from the protection of the environment in the fear of causing unnecessary environmental pollution. In the case of restaurants, the pollutants emitted arise from the major wastes from the manufacturing of the foods and the consumption of the foods. For example, leftover from the customers and the excess oil that is used for the manufacturing of the food are wasted and proper disposable places are required so that the society is not damaged. As stated by Wu et al. (2014) the current food waste policy of Australia can help in the reduction of wastage of food. For example, restaurants situated in Victoria prefer to use automatic composting units that support the sustainability initiative undertaken by the Victorian Government.         

Potential Benefits and Difficulties of Ethical and Sustainable Conduct of Food

According to Subramaniam and Wareing (2016), globalization and fair trade policies provide freedom to perform services to the less developed areas. Free trade takes into account payment of the workers, compose a social compliance system in foreign lands and gain low import tariffs. Some of the common items that can be use for free trade include cocoa, coffee and tea. At the same time, fruits, herbs and sugar are less common items that are exported to other countries. Movements such as fair trade movement ensure that terms and conditions related to trade are equal and the marginalised products are secured. This particular concept can be a contradictory to the concept of locavorism as developing countries are involved in the trade practices.

The ethical eating concept provides prominent global trends that are used for promoting consumption of food. These trends include the rise of artisanal production and conventional cooking methods. These methods rose against the fast food culture thereby providing health consideration for the people. As stated by Jackson and Singh (2015) fair trade food require special attention as trading of food is done between countries that are developed and under developed. Therefore, the duty of restaurant owners is to ensure that movement towards the consumption of food is addressed that may indicate changes in the consumption of food by the customers. At the same time, serving items that does not denote the heritage of a country can be considered as an unethical practice in most cultures.

As stated by Borges Lopes, Freitas and Sousa (2015) restaurants cannot neglect the market trends that dictate the trends in business. It is necessary for every business entity to adopt ethical practices such as healthy consumption of food, recycling of waste materials and maintaining the sustainability of the environment are required to be considered by the restaurants. Customers are of the opinion that the restaurants need to maintain the social responsibility that help in the development of a community. It is also necessary that current market population be taken into consideration so that the profitability of the business is maintained. Therefore, complying with the ethical principles need to be the goal of every restaurant.

The potential benefits that can be received from the ethical conduct of food are that effective food waste management can help in the reduction of the food wastage management. As stated by Odunlami and Matthew (2014) application of less meat and smaller portion of meat dishes can help in the reduction of emission of greenhouse gases. This can help in increasing the margin of contribution and reduce the cost percentage of the ingredients used. Therefore, this can help in improving the reputation of a restaurant and ensure that the popularity is used for conducting proper sustainability practise and good quality food. Restaurants can provide customers with a fine experience related to dining that may increase its competition in the market.

Case Study: Kingsleys Woolloomooloo

At the same time, the difficulties that may be faced by the restaurants include positioning so that full utilisation of local produce can be adopted. As stated by Chriqui, Pickel and Story (2014) positioning may cause major concern during seasonal availability as the prices may fluctuate and the cost of undertaking transport can be expensive. At the same time, finances may be a concern particularly for newly established restaurants, as it cannot source extra time and labour for the proper disposal of food items. Implementation of strict rules related to purchasing of raw materials and storing it for a long period of time need to be restricted so that the food does not become stale and inedible for consumption.

Kingsleys Woolloomooloo is one of the best restaurants that serve grilled steak and seafood with an atmosphere that provides customers with a chance to dine at a waterside terrace. The restaurant is known for providing the best produce in the country and ensures that sustainability in the environment is maintained (Kingsleyssydney.com.au 2018). However, despite the breezy atmosphere and good quality of food, the restaurant does not always use local produce. The fact that the restaurant does not use local produce for main ingredients provides the restaurant with a disadvantage among its rivals. The origins of the seafood are not clarified, as the produce may not necessarily be from the oceans surrounding Australia. Despite this, Kingsleys Woolloomooloo is one of the best examples of restaurant that maintain ethical principles related to food.

Conclusion

Market drivers provide the strong competing forces behind the maintenance of ethical considerations in a restaurant. Every restaurant need to be an active participant to gain a competitive advantage so that the extra cost of transport can be mitigated. In restaurants such as Kingsleys Woolloomooloo it is necessary to gain the trust of the customers and build up an image that dictates the environmental friendly attitude of the restaurants. Extra costs will be incurred but at the same time, it is necessary to provide quality food supply so that profitability of the business can be maintained.

In order to remain competitive in the restaurant chain market, it is necessary that Kingsleys Woolloomooloo start using fresh produce from the local community. This can reduce the cost of importing the produce and consequently reduce the prices of the dishes. They need to consider the health and allergy of the customers so that they can maintain their dominance in the business environment. At the same time, the restaurant can increase the number of staff so that more accommodation of customers can be made that can help in increasing the popularity of the restaurant.

Reference

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