•Experts are still trying to figure out why Western multinational eateries are creating artificial menu shortages in some markets and encouraging wanton wastage of the same in others.
•Wastage of any type, not just for food, is an unethical business practice that flies in the face of a world teeming with need and poverty.
Image: REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler
For some unfathomable reason, the world loves fries.
Maybe it is because they are fast food or just simply delicious, which saves time and cost for many people. Fries can also be eaten without any accompaniments; they just need salting to one’s taste and some sauce to go.
But apparently, fries are serious business. Which is why the shortage of potatoes that has hit various franchises of America’s Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in some key markets has hit international media headlines. In smaller markets like Kenya, KFC’s notices on its eateries that it had run out of potatoes turned into a national debate.
Consumers could not understand the reason why KFC does not buy its potatoes in the country, even as thousands of tonnes of the produce rot in the farms every year for lack of market access. Consumers were stuck on the fries and were hardly interested in eating the chicken with any other staple foods.
It is only when news came in that a similar fate had befallen KFC eateries in major markets like the United Kingdom did Kenyans start realizing that there was more to the shortage than simply a lack of potatoes. Meanwhile, the franchise in a statement said that Kenya does not produce the right kind of potato species that the eateries use to make fries.
China saw the consumer outrage for what it was and called out KFC in China for massive food wastage. The promotion involves giveaways of popular dolls inside so-called “mystery boxes” in exchange for food packages. The more fast food packages one buys, the more dolls one collects in the offers. This has resulted in Chinese KFC customers buying food they cannot finish in order to meet the challenge and get as many dolls as possible.
In a statement on Wednesday, both the China Consumers Association (CCA) and the country’s media criticised the fast food chain for 'causing unnecessary food waste' after it gave offers to mark its 35th anniversary in the country. CCA slammed KFC for preying on "consumers' irrationality" and encouraging excessive consumption, "which goes against public order, good customs and the spirit of law."
Experts are still trying to figure out why these two Western multinational eateries are creating artificial menu shortages in some markets and encouraging wanton wastage of the same in others.
For KFC in China, the wasteful promotion was a cynical affront to the country’s 2020 campaign requesting people to order only food that was adequate for them and to report eateries that throw away excess food.
Image: (REUTERS/Zaw Naing Oo)
The eateries must obviously be trying to mislead Chinese consumers to adopt an “excessive consumption" culture similar to the one prevalent in the West. This is a very sad state of affairs.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, world hunger is on the rise, while about a third of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste.
The plot thickened when another multinational eatery, McDonald’s, apologized for running out of chicken particularly in Japan and Taiwan, forcing the global eatery to remove French fries and hash browns from their menus. The problem was also said to hit the African market.
The Japan shortage was attributed to delay in potato imports from Canada. Taiwan’s shortage of hash browns was attributed to lack of imports from the US. South Africa also experienced shortages of potato chips. Now, the companies gave all sorts of excuses for the shortages, most of it revolving around supply chain issues due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and staff shortages.
Indeed, the US should know better. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) says that 30 percent of all food in the country worth US$ 48.3 billion is wasted annually.
The cost to the environment is much higher with UNEP estimating that about half of the water used to produce this food also goes to waste through agricultural activities.
Further, observers see the KFC saga as a growing trend where Western multinational corporations (MNCs) are undermining national governments using their massive financial muscle and powerful corporate and political networks. It is a war that China seems ready to take on to ensure that it retains ethics in business carried out within its borders.
Wastage of any type, not just for food, is an unethical business practice that flies in the face of a world teeming with need and poverty. It goes against UN’s Sustainable Development Goals that envisions a world free from poverty, hunger and disease.
The holding of consumers’ hostage by some MNCs is a war that most governments are trying to fight. These multinationals have generally become a power unto themselves and now seem to be daring legitimate governments due to their massive financial power and networks.
But they have met their match if China’s standing up to corporate bullies is anything to go by.