Based on fieldwork in both Metro Manila (the Philippines) and Bangalore (India), this project aimed to understand current and changing food consumption patterns, practices and policies in two mega-cities of South and Southeast Asia with a focus on the growing middle classes. Three approaches came together towards this aim, including industrial ecology methodologies, social practice theories, and the anthropology of policy. Our empirical research drew from 217 interviews, revealing the role social norms and conventions related to food consumption, as well as how meanings around food differ in varying cultural contexts. We found that eating out is an important trend in both cities, creating occasions for people to step out of class and caste distinctions and experience food as a form of adventure. The food service sector is a highly relevant space for further studies in relation to food waste; our research found very little food waste generated at the level of households. Women remain primarily responsible for food preparation in the home, oftentimes with the assistance of domestic help. While the most significant impacts during the food production and consumption stage occur upstream from households, during storage and transport for example, we evaluated the environmental impacts of how food waste is managed – proposing options for improved waste management in both contexts. The pathways of circulation and domestication of policies related to food waste was also studied in Bangalore, revealing the role of gated communities in micro-approaches to waste management. In Metro Manila, we found an increasing trend towards organic food and vegetarianism, particularly when eating out; in Bangalore, conversely, eating out is a way for vegetarians to experiment with non-veg dishes. In terms of methodological approaches and conceptual developments, social practice theory offers a rich prism through which to study food consumption, as a complex practice. Combining and understanding food consumption as both biophysical patterns and social practices required a reflexive stance in the interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data, leading to a key contribution of this research project: how much of what we consume should be combined with an understand of why and in what way we consume, towards a more complete picture of food consumption practices, patterns and policies.