Austrian film director and food activist David Gross was intrigued by the paradox of Japan’s food waste as well as its tradition of respecting food through “mottainai” – a custom, phrase and philosophy unique to Japan. In 2015 he directed Wastecooking, his first feature length documentary about food waste in five European countries. It was during this promo tour that he came up with the idea of a sequel based in Japan. We asked David about his thoughts on the current issue of food waste in Japan.

——How did you become a food activist as well as a film director?

David Gross：I started dumpster diving in 2012 in my hometown of Salzburg, Austria. It was curiosity that brought me to the dumpster behind a local supermarket. I discovered a lot of fresh, edible food inside that I took home, and invited friends and cooked and shared the food. So that’s how we found out that you can have a meal out of a dumpster and we soon started filming our activities. It all started with a bunch of friends in the neighbourhood. I never would have imagined that this activity would bring me to Japan!

——What kind of activities do you do as a food activist?

David：I don’t usually think of myself as a food activist but what I do is I rescue food that would otherwise go to waste and make something delicious out of it and share it with friends. Some food activists do social cooking activities like distributing food to the homeless or organise local food events. But I think the core of food activism is that you care about food as much as you care about human beings. That might be the difference between a chef and a food activist. There’s also a desire to raise awareness about the problems of the current system through such activities.

——So why did a filmmaker based in Europe decide to make a film about food waste and the concept of “mottainai” in Japan?

David：In 2017 I was invited to come to Japan for the first time by United People, the local distributor of Wastecooking. I met Kenji Sekine who would later become my film producer, and during the promotion tour I met Nikki, my interpreter. It was pure intuition – I simply had this vision of making a movie in Japan. Through many encounters I got to understand the uniquely Japanese concept of “mottainai” which stems from Buddhist philosophy, and is not only about not being wasteful but respecting all living things. It’s such a beautiful concept, yet at the same time, Japan currently has a industrial system that produces a lot of waste. As a food activist and filmmaker this paradox was very interesting to me.

——Did you find that Japan wastes more food than other countries?

David：If you just look at the statistics it’s more or less the same amount of waste as other economically developed countries. In Japan waste in general is not very obvious. You hardly even see any trash cans in the street. I was very impressed by how people take their trash home. But I soon understood that there is a lot of waste; it’s just a bit more hidden. I wanted to shine a light on what was being hidden in the darkness.

A turning point to reconsider our food traditions

——Japan is well known for its rich food culture, but at the same time quick-fix foods convenience stores and fast food have become very common. What do you think about Japan’s current food culture?

David：For me it was a big surprise that traditional recipes like katsuobushi, natto, fermented foods didn’t seem to be popular among the younger generation. I’m addicted to these natural Japanese cuisines. It’s a healthy and sustainable diet but at the same time these fast food chains are everywhere. But I think it’s a phenomenon you’ll find anywhere in the world, not just Japan. I hope that these crises we’re now facing, like the climate crisis and COVID-19, will be a turning point to going back to more traditional roots of our food culture and reevaluating our own lifestyles. I really do hope so.

——With the mainstreaming of convenience stores and fast foods, we are putting less and less time and effort on our food. My personal impression is that people overseas spend more time enjoying dinners.

David：That’s a very interesting question because I had always imagined that people in Japan enjoy their dinners together as a family. But the truth is we both have fast food restaurants. Almost anywhere in the world we are facing a lack of time to really enjoy sitting together. Even I myself will sometimes rush into a convenience store and eat a burger during filming or editing because I don’t have enough time to cook. 

Blaming the fast food industry isn’t the solution. If we really want to make meaningful change, we need to think about the way we work and how much time we give to food and human relationships. What is very important is to sit together and take time and really relax. I think the challenge is to have a more simple lifestyle so that in the end it will be a happier one. It’s a work in progress for me too.

——These days it’s less common to see our food in a whole, unprocessed state – especially meats. Do you think this lesser awareness of our foods once being living beings has something to do with lessening interest in food?  

David：When I travelled to countries in Africa, South America or Asia I saw whole animals in the market. They prepare and chop the animal in front of your eyes. It was very shocking when I saw it for the first time but of course this is totally true, we have lost that connection to where our food comes from, and that feeling of gratitude for it. I recently met a little girl in elementary school and she had no idea that the piece of meat on her plate came from a cow! That was an interesting moment. So yes, we do need to reconnect better and raise that awareness towards our food. 

——You touched upon food produce from Fukushima Prefecture in the film. Are people overseas still hesitant about eating food from Fukushima?

David：Yes, I think people are still hesitant, to be honest. I don’t think my friends or family in Austria would eat anything that’s labelled Produced in Fukushima. Some people are especially cautious about seafood, and some won’t eat anything from Japan. But there is also a lack of knowledge. Many people think Fukushima is the name of just one town, like Chernobyl. They have no idea that it is part of a huge prefecture of the same name. The lab we visited for Mottainai Kitchen gave us a deeper insight into the data and science. My personal lesson was that it is very easy to have a black/white or good/bad impression but it is important to listen to experts and read different articles. My recommendation is; make up your own mind and learn for yourself by doing your own research.

——What left the biggest impression on you during your filming journey through Japan?

David：If I had to pick out from the people we met, it would have to be Grandma Wakasugi and Earth Boy, the advocate for insect cuisine. If you watch the film you can see how they are  both connected to nature for their quest for food. One is an embodiment of old traditional knowledge and the other is full of new, innovative ideas. Both were fascinating and  felt very Japanese to me.

——What can people do if they want to take action for food waste after watching this film?

David：It’s always best to start with your own self. Start with your kitchen, your cooking pots and your fridge. Take a second look at expired food, maybe smell and taste it and try finding new ways of cooking. Invite your friends, exchange recipes and have a potluck party. If you want to do more the next step is to communicate the changes you made. Your friends will notice that you are cooking better. They might see you as a role model somehow and they become inspired and start making their own changes. The final step is to build a network with your local businesses and organise to spread the change. The more you cook the less you waste, and the more food you can rescue. I jumped into a trash can in Salzburg, Austria and somehow, through everything, came back out the other side in Japan! Taking action will change your life. So I encourage everyone to take that first step.

David Gross
Born in 1978 in Austria, David is a TV journalist, film maker, and food activist. After some time as a dumpster diver, he started his cross media project Wastecooking and travelled throughout Europe to document his food rescue plights. After a successful TV series, he created a feature length film of the same name which was later released in Japan. In 2020, the sequel Mottainai Kitchen was released.

Mottainai Kitchen is a documentary roadmovie spanning 1600km across Japan as David Gross rescues food from going to waste from convenience stores to family homes. The film shows various ways waste can turn into a delicious meal, and the many joyful encounters he finds on the way. Currently playing in select cinemas around Japan.  
https://www.mottainai-kitchen.net

Translation Nikki Tsukamoto Kininmonth

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The background of France’s rich food culture has always been the problem of food waste. According to the Environment and Energy Management Agency of France, the average amount of the annual food waste (food loss) per person is 29kg (about 51kg in Japan according to the announcement by the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan). In February 2016, the government enforced the new law to ban large-scale supermarkets with a store area of 400m2 or more from throwing away or destroying unsold food. And they must instead donate it to charities or for animal feed, otherwise violators would be fined.

However, even though the law visualizes the problem, human consciousness and customs are deep-rooted. Meanwhile, new generations of entrepreneurs are becoming more active in order to specifically promote the recycling of waste with new services. The pioneer is Lucie Basch, 28 years old engineer. She launched an app for reducing food loss is called Too Good To Go with the co-founders in 2016 when she was 24 years old, is a service that allows people to buy unsold food from supermarkets and restaurants at any place, at any time, at a low price. The service was originally launched with a university grant, and its corporate philosophy is to “not give up the discarded food as it is, but give it value again, save food and the environment of the earth, and save money.” A transaction fee of 1.09 euros has been used to invest in expanding the service area.

It’s easy to use: users can use the app to pay for food to be discarded at supermarkets and restaurants online, and then receive the food in a bag or a takeaway box. Currently, it is targeted for use in 6 European countries, and up to now there are 8 million dishes that have not been discarded. In addition, NoFilter that sells juice using uneven fruits and vegetables, and Phenix that changes bread just before disposal to sweets such as cookies and sables. These are new companies that tackles the problem were created by entrepreneurs under 30 years old.

We had a chance to interview with the founder of NoFilter, Marin Mulliez, who said, “After having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic(the global pandemic), the millennials will lead the future changes in consumption consciousness.” After studying business administration at ESCP Europe, he moved to the United States and worked at “Harmless Harvest” in San Francisco, which deals with fair trade coconuts. When he returned to France, he witnessed the reality of serious food waste, then established NoFilter in 2017. In France, as much as 10-15% of crops at farm level are discarded only because they are out of spec visually. NoFilter works with producers to process and sell waste vegetables and fruits into juice. What is the change in consciousness of consumers and producers due to COVID-19? What can we do now to reduce food waste?

——Have you found any differences of your users after the COVID-19 pandemic?

Marin Mulliez: The way people think are just changing. Through
communication with customers and producers, I was aware it has not reached the action level, yet, the change in the consciousness level that preceded it had a great impact. Everyone began to rethink themselves and what has intrinsic value. The surrounding environment and community are inseparable, so they will move to the action level in the future.

——Do you think consumers will change their food consumption behaviors in the future?

Marin: Consciousness should improve depending on consumption and benefits. The benefits are not only what you receive, but also you give a good impact to your community and the planet. For example, in the case of food, the benefits of high nutritional value and good health, plus, fair trade distributes profits fairly to producers and eco-friendly. Consumers will demand further disclosure of production background, and the need will increase for highly transparent companies and products sold by producers. And, this consumer behavior is led by the young generation, the millennials and youngers, who grew up in the midst of a mass-consuming society. They are always aware of what they should do, without disconnecting themselves from the environment. As one of people in the food industry, I feel a strong sense of responsibility in producing the right information and valuable products.

——Under the Covid-19 pandemic, Secretary of Agriculture Didier Guillaume said, “Agriculture’s labor shortage, because of unable to use the foreign labors.” Has the mutual awareness between the country and the producer changed?

Marin: I feel that the sense of solidarity has been strong. One of farmers was about to discard 10 tons of cucumber because of the Covid-19 pandemic. So I’ve decided to buy them and sell “cucumber juice” as a new product out soon. I think it’s the first priority to unite producers in each region in order to minimize food loss and economic loss. After all, the root of business is human connection. The Covid-19 pandemic may have prompted us to think about what humanity is, and may be a new starting point for improving the entire food industry.

— What is your final goal in the Post-COVID era?

Marin: Always improving is my goal. Instead, I should always aim to improve in accordance with the times. The concrete goal now is to expand the NoFilter platform to the world. “Food” is a universal field, so it’s limitless. We will seriously tackle the problem of food waste by connecting with agricultural producers in each region and expanding legitimate food consumption and recycling-oriented economy. For that purpose, as mentioned above, human connection is necessary. By becoming a highly transparent and reliable company, NoFilter is willing to raise consumer awareness to the action level. I hope to launch NoFilter in Japan in the near future.

——What is the first step Japanese consumers should do if food loss improvement services such as NoFilter have not worked?

Marin: First, collect a lot of information and think for yourself. And share it as a message. Sometimes you may face a tragic situation that makes you want to turn your face away, but you should face the reality. You will have to think carefully and choose the right choice based on the correct information, and then take action.

Waste initiatives are paving the way for the future of the French venture industry. The measures began with the prohibition of the use of plastic shopping bags in 2016, the prohibition of the use of disposable plastics, the unsold sales of clothes, and the disposal of non-food and drinks has been completely banned by 2023. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the consciousness of French young consumers. According to a survey conducted by the French research firm Opinion Way at the age of 18 to 30 in the locked-down city of Paris, 56% of the respondents think “maintaining environmental improvement goals” as the top priority issue for the government. This highlighted the reality that young people place the highest priority on environmental issues, excluding answers such as “wage increases for caregivers” (55%) and “returning overseas manufacturing to France” (53%). Furthermore, 49% of the priorities that the government should tackle in the future are also “environment”. It shows us the awareness of the next generation of young people about the environment and anti-wasting is directly linked to the construction of an ethical and recycling-based economic system. Awareness of environmental issues and sustainability is not just a one-sided story, but ironically it is spreading throughout France as a change in youth consciousness caused by Covid-19.

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