Pope Francis says wasting food is like stealing from the poor

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“This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition,” the Pope said.
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“Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times we are no longer able to give a just value.
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“Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of the poor and the hungry,” he said.
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telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10101375/Pope-Francis-says-wasting-food-is-like-stealing-from-the-poor.html

Now I can quote the pope when I tell my kids: if you don’t clean your plate you will go to hell.
 
Bubba_Switzler said:
telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10101375/Pope-Francis-says-wasting-food-is-like-stealing-from-the-poor.html

Now I can quote the pope when I tell my kids: if you don’t clean your plate you will go to hell.
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I agree. I think we (in America) have become an incredibly wasteful society. So much GOOD food is thrown away. So much good food is left in the back of the fridge to spoil and then thrown away too.

Everything is disposable now… diapers, rags, paper towels, cheap tupperwear, appliances that only last a year or two, marriage, unborn babies, elderly … the list goes on and on. This is indicative of our society… that things are disposable… that we are disposable. Why do you think that it’s the wealthy countries that suffer most from abortion and a sense of meaninglessness? Because if everything is disposable, then so are we.
 
My parents grew up with “Eat your food. Poor children in Europe are starving.” I grew up with “Eat. Poor children in China are starving.” I felt like telling my own children, “Eat. Poor children in America are starving.” All children hearing this of course silently say, "Please by all means, send this broccoli to “fill in the country.”)

All kidding aside, we need to realize that the consumerism in our country does have a profound impact on the rest of the world. We use so many resources and leave so many in the world paying the price. I understand what the Pope is saying. We really do need a real restructuring of world resources. We need to think “us” as a world versus “us” as a country. I just don’t know how to accomplish this when “having” promotes and supports having, until natural consequences tip the balance. I believe that our country is on the verge of tipping. As scary as this is, I wonder if it is not our turn…like Rome? Our excesses would not be viewed favorably by future generations I think…
 
Instead of cleaning their plates, which can lead to eating disorders etc. once my children are old enough to serve themselves their own portions, I teach them to take small portions and then if they are still hungry to have a little more.
This allows our family to put the leftovers into the fridge, which become lunch for the next day.
Now…making something new for lunch instead of eating the leftovers introduces the issue of wastefulness etc.
I don’t want ‘full’ kids to feel that they have to consume everything on their plate, but I do want them to realize that they need to consume it within a reasonable period of time…
 
People are not starving because of old lasagna in the back of the fridge or any other food that gets thrown out and wasted. I try to not do this because it is a poor use of my resources but most starvation is due to political oppression and famine.

I am pretty sure the US Government (and other governments ) provides massive amounts of food aid. Various charities kick in too.

We just threw out a whole pie because the crust had some unidentified black stuff on it - what were we supposed to do - eat a possibly tainted pie or go to confession?
 
h(name removed by moderator)forlife said:
Instead of cleaning their plates, which can lead to eating disorders etc. once my children are old enough to serve themselves their own portions, I teach them to take small portions and then if they are still hungry to have a little more.
This allows our family to put the leftovers into the fridge, which become lunch for the next day.
Now…making something new for lunch instead of eating the leftovers introduces the issue of wastefulness etc.
I don’t want ‘full’ kids to feel that they have to consume everything on their plate, but I do want them to realize that they need to consume it within a reasonable period of time…
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👍 Excellent! While I fully agree with our Holy Father in the general meaning of his words, I was flinching as someone who has food and OCD issues, knowing this could lead to severe anguish for me if I let it apply to all specific situations.
 
I agree food should not be wasted when that food can be used to feed others who don’t have that luxury. Can you imagine how much food is thrown away at restaurants and hotels. All that food could be sent to homeless shelters.
 
Doing what is right is always difficult, we can always find excuses to take the easy road!!!
 
chero23 said:
I agree food should not be wasted when that food can be used to feed others who don’t have that luxury. Can you imagine how much food is thrown away at restaurants and hotels. All that food could be sent to homeless shelters.
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There are all kinds of regulations that very often prohibit this. There used to be a state or local (?)regulation of some sort prohibiting bakeries from donating their usnsold bread to shelters and soup kitchens. The law was changed several years ago so now there are plenty of baked goods.

I know grocery stores pour bleach on their unsold meat. I do not know if this is mandated by law or an insurance issue or a greed issue. Anyhow, it is not the fault of the average family who lets a casserole go bad or a banana or two go black that people across the globe are starving.
 
If we can change ourselves that is a good start. Know I have been guilty at times. Pope Francis has given me, personally , food for thought.
 
Monica02 said:
There are all kinds of regulations that very often prohibit this. There used to be a state or local (?)regulation of some sort prohibiting bakeries from donating their usnsold bread to shelters and soup kitchens. The law was changed several years ago so now there are plenty of baked goods.

I know grocery stores pour bleach on their unsold meat. I do not know if this is mandated by law or an insurance issue or a greed issue. Anyhow, it is not the fault of the average family who lets a casserole go bad or a banana or two go black that people across the globe are starving.
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There might be regulations but i think that they can have a loop hole, putting bleach on meat. That’s just wrong why do that , i mean why?
 
chero23 said:
There might be regulations but i think that they can have a loop hole, putting bleach on meat. That’s just wrong why do that , i mean why?
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The bleach thing - I do not know why. I do know soup kitchens and shelters in our area have to get their meat from a neighboring state. I am no expert on these regulations. The question was asked as to why restaurants waste food and do not donate it and I just threw the regulation angle out there. I am sure there are different state and local regs.
 
Any little thing we can do may the good Lord give us the incentive to do so.
 
I think it’s not just a question of throwing away some food on a plate, but the larger issue of a small fraction of the world’s people having the ability to dispose of a disproportionate amount of resources as compared to the rest of the world. I.e. just because we can use/take as much as we want, doesn’t mean we should. Fair management of what God has given us means making allowances for the needs of others.

Actually, I don’t think it has very much to do with an individual throwing away usable food, but with whole nations being irresponsible in the way they use/trade/buy/dispose of/PRICE commodities. Giving free food to poor countries sometimes actually hurts their economies and stunts development (except where there is actual famine) by preventing their farmers/food manufacturers from thriving. “Waste”, to me, includes any policy that skews the prices of food against the interests of the poor.
 
Monica02 said:
People are not starving because of old lasagna in the back of the fridge or any other food that gets thrown out and wasted. I try to not do this because it is a poor use of my resources but most starvation is due to political oppression and famine.

I am pretty sure the US Government (and other governments ) provides massive amounts of food aid. Various charities kick in too.
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Yes, and the problem is that it never reaches the people it was intended for. Often it is stolen by forces within their countries (I recall hearing about the warlords in Somalia during that famine) or even their own governments.

Of course His Holiness is correct in saying that we can be less wasteful, but I would say that the best thing to do is give more money to reputable charities that ensure that it’s used for the needy.

It goes without saying that you can’t do that when suffering from food poisoning because you ate a moldy pie.
 
stellina said:
It goes without saying that you can’t do that when suffering from food poisoning because you ate a moldy pie.
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I agree, but there is a definite culture of waste and excess in our society. Buffets where people take more than they can eat just because…social functions where “more is better” seems to be the rule of catering…I can even think of one or two restaurants which pride themselves on serving large portions of unhealthy food which they boast in their own advertising is harmful to their patrons…That kind of behavior is most definitely sinful.

Also as a nation, taking more than our share because we have a trade advantage and can impact global food prices and then turning around to give back a little of our excess, is not quite my idea of true charity 😦
 
It is an interesting Rorschach test. You have one group of people who are well fed and another group of people who are not. One explanation is that the people who are well fed are doing something right and the ones who are not well fed are doing something wrong. Another explanation is that the people who are well fed are the cause of the lack of food for the other.

Which is the better explanation of poverty? Who needs to change in order that the poor may be fed?

Are buffet lines in Las Vegas really the cause of starvation in North Korea?
 
I have to say that I love me Papa Bergoglio. I attended a work event tonight for my manager and had to say that the amount of food that they brought out was quite enormous. It really did make me think about how much of the leftovers were being wasted.
 
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