No one likes to confront the fact that we waste a lot of food. In the US, wasting food is a given, even though we feel bad tossing out what we've paid for but didn't eat. After all, your parents or grandparents couldn't afford to waste food during the Great Depression or World War II. In Japan, that sentiment entered pop culture in the 21st century. When you see food items on Japanese TV, it will often come with a caption beneath that says "The staff ate it later." This became a thing in response to viewer complaints about the production wasting food.
But is it true? We can imagine that it depends on the show and on how the food was used. Over the last ten years or so, various interviews have given conflicting answers. While the caption may head off complaints, its very commonality makes people suspect that it isn't true, and besides that it detracts from the drama of the show. Then again, TV crews have the same shame about wasting food that the general population has. Read about the ethics of food shown on Japanese TV at Wikipedia. -via Nag on the Lake
(Image credit: 逃亡者 (ja:利用者:逃亡者))