T
ToeInTheWater
Guest
Well, the ancient Romans used to engage in food orgies where they would eat enough food to be full, then vomit it all up so they could eat more. I believe there were actually restaurants catering to such parties called “vomitoriums”.
I think we’d all agree that this kind of extreme food waste is sinful.
As for the idea that small families HAVE to waste food…well, I live alone, and I rarely find myself throwing out food. I buy either in small batches, or bulk items that will last for a while in the pantry or freezer. Buying small amounts costs more per pound, but if I’m going to pay a “cheaper” rate for a lot of food that I wind up throwing out, then that winds up even more wasteful.
I guess this issue also speaks to how isolated we can be. Used to be that if you made too much food for your family to eat in one sitting, and you didn’t want to have endless leftovers, you could always invite some friends over, give the leftovers to your neighbor, etc. People don’t seem to do that anymore. There’s also that tendency to make an “adult’s meal” and a “kid’s meal”, sometimes even a “grandparent meal” if grandparents live with the family (especially in immigrant families, where younger people tend to like more “American” than traditional foods.)
There may be times when throwing out leftovers (either already cooked food, or fresh food that spoiled before you could cook it) is inevitable. But to just throw one’s hands up in the air and not even make an effort to conserve food, seems to be almost lazy. If people find themselves routinely throwing away bags and bags of food, that might mean there should be some room for adjustment in one’s lifestyle.
Composting is certainly a good idea, but this and other methods of “recycling” really should be last step in a conservation strategy of “reduce, reuse and recycle”.
I think we’d all agree that this kind of extreme food waste is sinful.
As for the idea that small families HAVE to waste food…well, I live alone, and I rarely find myself throwing out food. I buy either in small batches, or bulk items that will last for a while in the pantry or freezer. Buying small amounts costs more per pound, but if I’m going to pay a “cheaper” rate for a lot of food that I wind up throwing out, then that winds up even more wasteful.
I guess this issue also speaks to how isolated we can be. Used to be that if you made too much food for your family to eat in one sitting, and you didn’t want to have endless leftovers, you could always invite some friends over, give the leftovers to your neighbor, etc. People don’t seem to do that anymore. There’s also that tendency to make an “adult’s meal” and a “kid’s meal”, sometimes even a “grandparent meal” if grandparents live with the family (especially in immigrant families, where younger people tend to like more “American” than traditional foods.)
There may be times when throwing out leftovers (either already cooked food, or fresh food that spoiled before you could cook it) is inevitable. But to just throw one’s hands up in the air and not even make an effort to conserve food, seems to be almost lazy. If people find themselves routinely throwing away bags and bags of food, that might mean there should be some room for adjustment in one’s lifestyle.
Composting is certainly a good idea, but this and other methods of “recycling” really should be last step in a conservation strategy of “reduce, reuse and recycle”.