Gluttony

[bacon_man]

One thing I never hear discussed about the problems of society is the sin of gluttony. Society is full of sins of all sorts, espeshally due to the internet, which can never be removed, but noone talks about gluttony. In many countries people worry about undereating, but in this society, people worry about overeating, and we still waste a ton. We ship food to people who need it in places like Africa, but much of it is stolen by their corrupt leaders. And yet we still have so much food thats wasted. It’s almost sad. I don’t think most people realize it, but this sounds like gluttony, and gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins. I feel we should make an effort to finish all of our food completly. Think of how much uneaten food is probably sitting in your pantry, how many half eaten bags of chips that were never finished that have been sitting there for a while, how many cans that have been sitting there for ages taking up space. Seriously. It’s an overlooked sin in a society full of it. It’s a vice we can weed out. What do you all think?

 

[aicirt]

Two cases were recently in the news. One was about a 500lb 14 yr. old boy who was taken away from his Mom because of his weight which was seen as a sign of neglect. Don’t know why the authorities waited until he reached this weight.

The other on TV was a story of 350lb 13 yr. old girl, unable to lose weight, wanting a ban around her stomach. The doctor insisted she drop some weight. The Mom thought a weekend away would help so she took her daughter and a neice to a hotel where she could gamble and they could use the gym. Of course, the kids took a half hour in the gym and then went to the all-you-can-eat buffet. An absurd situation.

Bad parenting, fast food, kids with money, lack of exercise, lack of knowledge all contribute to obesity.

Because of the auto, we don’t walk. Malls were a result of the auto. We don’t build sidewalks nor bike paths. Our kids are bused and Moms, fearful of their safety, are there to drive them home from the bus stops. We don’t do the chores they did 50 years ago. Consequently, we have to take on more responsibility for monitoring what we put into our mouths because we are not burning off those calories.

 

[ahollars]

One thing I never hear discussed about the problems of society is the sin of gluttony. Society is full of sins of all sorts, espeshally due to the internet, which can never be removed, but noone talks about gluttony. In many countries people worry about undereating, but in this society, people worry about overeating, and we still waste a ton. We ship food to people who need it in places like Africa, but much of it is stolen by their corrupt leaders. And yet we still have so much food thats wasted. It’s almost sad. I don’t think most people realize it, but this sounds like gluttony, and gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins. I feel we should make an effort to finish all of our food completly. Think of how much uneaten food is probably sitting in your pantry, how many half eaten bags of chips that were never finished that have been sitting there for a while, how many cans that have been sitting there for ages taking up space. Seriously. It’s an overlooked sin in a society full of it. It’s a vice we can weed out. What do you all think?

I think you need to see some more kitchens. I wish I had food that’s been in my pantry more than a month.

I have 4 kids, and a daycare in my house, but the principle is still the same. My kids are in trouble when they don’t eat everything they ask for. Most times I purposely give them too little, so that they have to ask for more. I’m not exactly skinny anymore, but I’m not overweight either.

You’re right. Thing is, many of us here already pay attention.

 

[Downyduck]

I work at a nursery school and sometimes eat lunch with my children at their public school. The amount of good food thrown away at these two places is absolutely heartbreaking. Now, imagine the thousands of nursery schools and public schools in this country where the same amount of waste occurs. But what can you do? Become the food police?

 

[turtle18]

Oh my goodness, there are tons of sins out there that people don’t recognize or admit too. Gluttony at the top of the list but don’t forget about vanity and greed/materialism.

 

[St_Francis]

There’s bound to be extra food at the table or else there would be too little. It’s hard to fix the exact right amount all the time.

Worrying about getting every tiny bit eaten is probably excessive. Making people eat everything on their plate probably will lead to weight gain.

 

[aicirt]

Have you heard of Freegans? Dumpster Divers who look for food. They believe it is sinful to waste so they rummage through the bins behind restaurants and food markets looking for whatever. Meat that has an a recently expired expiration date and hasn’t set too long in the heat of the garbage, ditto with veggies and fruits.

 

[LilyM]

I don’t know about the expired meat - sounds highly dangerous. I suppose if you make sure it’s thoroughly cooked Otherwise ‘freeganism’ is probably an excellent idea.

Perhaps the daycare workers could make informal arrangements (after consultation with the management of their daycares) to drop the leftovers off at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter - or just distribute it to homeless folks directly.

Don’t forget there are different TYPES of gluttony as well. I think Aquinas mentions something called ‘gluttony of delicacy’, where quantity isn’t the issue, rather the problem is insisting on having the best of everything.

And that’s one I’ve sometimes been guilty of myself - turning your nose up at an inferior brand of coffee or wine or what have you, or being disappointed if a dish doesn’t turn out to be ‘all that’ (even though it’s perfectly edible and even tasty). It’s something I’m working on.

 

[North_of_Nod]

Our bodies are God’s temple. We should do our best to nourish it and keep it healthy by avoiding gluttony and other negative behaviors. It is really the least we can do.

 

[budgie2]

One thing I never hear discussed about the problems of society is the sin of gluttony. Society is full of sins of all sorts, espeshally due to the internet, which can never be removed, but noone talks about gluttony. In many countries people worry about undereating, but in this society, people worry about overeating, and we still waste a ton. We ship food to people who need it in places like Africa, but much of it is stolen by their corrupt leaders. And yet we still have so much food thats wasted. It’s almost sad. I don’t think most people realize it, but this sounds like gluttony, and gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins. I feel we should make an effort to finish all of our food completly. Think of how much uneaten food is probably sitting in your pantry, how many half eaten bags of chips that were never finished that have been sitting there for a while, how many cans that have been sitting there for ages taking up space. Seriously. It’s an overlooked sin in a society full of it. It’s a vice we can weed out. What do you all think?

I like bacon. I personally try to balance the sin of gluttony with the sin of vanity. So I tend to be slightly plump although I agree that it is not good to be overweight for health reasons. Unless you have serious health reasons to diet then it is better to fast in accordance with the Catechism.

 

[aicirt]

I don’t know about the expired meat - sounds highly dangerous. I suppose if you make sure it’s thoroughly cooked Otherwise ‘freeganism’ is probably an excellent idea.

Perhaps the daycare workers could make informal arrangements (after consultation with the management of their daycares) to drop the leftovers off at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter - or just distribute it to homeless folks directly.

Don’t forget there are different TYPES of gluttony as well. I think Aquinas mentions something called ‘gluttony of delicacy’, where quantity isn’t the issue, rather the problem is insisting on having the best of everything.

And that’s one I’ve sometimes been guilty of myself - turning your nose up at an inferior brand of coffee or wine or what have you, or being disappointed if a dish doesn’t turn out to be ‘all that’ (even though it’s perfectly edible and even tasty). It’s something I’m working on.

I think the Health Departments have regulations as to what can and cannot be distributed. I don’t think anything that has been put on a table in a restaurant can be donnated e.g. leftover bread in the basket. Anything that could have been touched must be tossed.

There’s a very upscale market here. Meats not sold are tossed which, I think, is a terrible waste. I can understand they wouldn’t want to donate slabs of filet mignon but they could grind it up for hamburger and give it away to a shelter. Other equally high end markets do donate.

I know of one couple that tosses everything every meal because they don’t eat leftovers. Waste.

Other extreme: involved with a Federal food bank, the clients would not take advantage of the free food because it wasn’t what they wanted. I think it made them feel poor. Things given away were flour, margarine, peanut butter, cheese, etc.