Does it bother you to see people waste food?

debodun

debodun

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Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Time and again, I see people at buffets or other social events where they can serve themselves, pile up their plates with portions of food that would sate a Sumo wrestler, then take a bite or two and chuck the rest.

I had a friend that did something similar when I took her out to lunch as a gratuity for helping me. She ordered the most expensive and ample dinner on the menu, then hardly ate any of it. The waitress asked her if she wanted the leftovers in a doggie bag and she refused. I asked her why she did that and she said, "Because it impresses people that I don't have to eat every bit." Now I can't understand why it was so important to her to impress a waitress. I think she was more impressed with herself.

Why do they do that?
 

I see similar "habits" when we eat at one of the casino buffets. Some people pile up their plates, then only eat a small portion, before they go back for something else. If they are unsure that they may like a given item, it would seem more sensible to try a small portion first, before filling the plate. I was raised to "clean my plate", and I guess that habit still rules. About the only food we toss is an occasional piece of bread that is past its prime, and that goes out for the birds.
 
You see that a lot at buffets. People's eyes bigger than stomach. When I go I take small portions and then go back. But for me, a buffet tends to make money, I do not eat a lot. As for ordering a big entrée and not eating it, that is plain wasteful. I always ask for a take away box. No shame in that, and at least the food gets finished.
 

It most certainly does. I was brought up not to waste food and not take more than I could eat. I also make good use of leftovers at home also. I save everything. They eventually find their way into homemade soups and casseroles. The hubby and I go to buffets once in awhile and I see their plates piled high as well. I don't get their reasoning. I go around once and take a tiny bit of what I think I will like,then I know what items I enjoyed and go back for an amount I know I can consume. debodun, I think the waitress could care less about a person leaving food on there plate or not using a doggie bag.
 
As others have mentioned, when in a "serve yourself" situation, I take small amounts of what looks good to me. If I like something, I can go back for more. If I don't like it, not much is wasted. One time I was eating at a buffet style restaurant and some of the food was so salty it was inedible (mac & cheese, creamed spinach). Good excuse to concentrate on the salad bar. I sent a complaint to their corporate offices, but never heard back from them; not even a "cover our butt" apology. There should be a law on how much salt is put in commercially prepared food. If it's too bland for some people, they can always add more. Once it's in, it can't be removed.

I was also brought up on "There are starving people in the world that would be happy to have what you don't want." I just wonder how far the wasted food in progressive countries would go to feed those people?
 
debodun said:
I was also brought up on "There are starving people in the world that would be happy to have what you don't want." I just wonder how far the wasted food in progressive countries would go to feed those people?
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It's estimated that the U.S. wastes about 70 billion pounds of food, per year....that's Billion with a B. Several million people could eat well off what finds its way to our landfills.

http://www.feedingamerica.org/about-us/how-we-work/securing-meals/reducing-food-waste.html
 
Cruise ships dump tons of food into the ocean every day.

Supermarkets dispose of tons of what was formerly fresh food; fish, meat, produce, etc. as shelters have rules about taking spoiled or questionable food . It all goes into the dumpsters. Day old bakery is sold at less than half price when no drivers from the local Food Pantry shows up to get it.
 
Recently at a local senior place I witnessed someone come in the back door with a container. They removed wrapped food from that container and used some sort of cleaning fluid to clean the wrapped packages. Many times I see meats in the mark down section of a local grocery that has a slight tinge of green. My digestive system does not like that green tinge, however my friend loves that stuff and buys it regularly. Hope he has lots of pepto
 
When we eat out, I immediately divide everything on my plate in two and then eat half. The other half goes into a take-away box. Otherwise, I'm tempted to overeat "because it's there!"

Boy, I do like buffets, though. All that variety! We only go to a buffet a couple times a year, so I don't feel too bad about overeating.
 
debodun said:
"Because it impresses people that I don't have to eat every bit."
Why do they do that?
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That's a strange attitude, it makes no sense to me.
Yet consider this, when you go to a buffet a certain amount of food is prepared.
When the buffet is over the leftovers are probably thrown in the trash.
What's the difference if your friend or the caterer throws it out?

You may say they could be donated to a food kitchen.
Maybe some do, but I'll give you a real life example why at least one company doesn't.

A friend supplies about 100 food trucks.
At the end of the work day he collected what didn't sell from the trucks and transported it all (at his expense) to a local food kitchen.

Somebody who got a free meal from the food he donated (not a paying customer) sued him for food poisoning.
Now it goes in the trash.

With all that said I agree with you 100%
I think it shameful and wasteful to waste food.
 
I live alone. It's horrible to waste food. So I only cook enough for one meal. And I hate leftovers.

However you have to remember. Once it is cooked in a restaurant, that's it. They don't serve it again.

So anything left over is thrown out.

In my town, there was a farmer who had a contract with the restaurants to pick up the leftover food.

He had a pig farm. So those pigs ate really well and they eat everything. They are not fussy.
 
I hate left overs, actually I simply don't eat them, I don't eat any hot food that has been warmed up. Another reason why I don't eat in restaurantsas most of the food is precooked anyway so warming it up is just another left over.

I think waste is shameful, I waste nothing. Any left overs I have that have not been on someone's plate are immediately boxed and frozen and somewhere along the line they get added to a soup of stew that feeds the homeless.

Visitors often take remains home from the serving dishes .Left overs on plates go out to the birds, but I have to say there is little left on peoples plates when I cook.

Overloading your plate on a buffet is greed, if I had a guest do that they would not be invited again.

My children were taught only take what you will eat, you can get more after if you wish, but if you put it on your plate you are expected to eat

Trimmings of veggies go into the compost. Nothing goes into the garbage except perhaps meat and fish bones.
 
debodun said:
I've heard of people that get their food, and other items, out of dumpsters and garbage cans. They're called "freegans" (Google it).
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Sometimes the only difference between food and garbage is the location of the food.

Years ago, when I was working, I used to eat lunch in the park. Everyday I would see a couple of homeless people watching and waiting until one of the trim young ladies in the park carefully placed their half eaten lunch in one of the overflowing garbage cans. They would swoop in, retrieve the container, and enjoy the remaining food.

I hate to see food wasted, I do my very best to cheat the garbage can in my kitchen out of a meal!
 
One of my very first jobs was washing dishes in a steakhouse restaurant. Lots of plates would come back with leftover steak/hamburger on them. So I started bagging it all up and taking it back to house for our dogs. I was still living at home and we had three dogs.. :dog:
 
I love leftovers! And my dogs love it when I get out the chopping board. It means they are going to get raw vegetable trimmings. Carrot tops and brussels sprouts ends are favorites of theirs.
 

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