Do you feel bad about throwing away food?

[evil^milk]

Leftover food, I mean - of the kind that is left over when you finish eating, and you have 1/4 of a piece of chicken/steak/etc. still on your plate and you're no longer hungry, making you want to dispose of the food in the nicest way possible.

I mention it because my parents, especially my mother, are pretty conservative and didn't really grow up in the most prosperous conditions so throwing away leftovers seems like a sacrilege. E.g. let's say there's a tomato that was left uneaten by a family of three at the end of a meal - my mother would insist us to eat it despite everyone being completely full. If no one eats it, she'd rather be uncomfortable and eat the whole thing.

Personally I'd be like, f*ck it, I'll just keep it in the fridge or throw it away, in the worst of cases. But when I'm in front of the trash can, about to push away the half-eaten tomato, I can't help but feel a vague sort of misgiving feeling about the whole situation.

Do you feel differently?

 

[Dekstar]

yeah I tend to tie the cost to food quite a lot. I'm a poor graduate, so I have to be as optimised as possible so I don't starve.

 

[Lucid]

All the time.
I always try my hardest to portion things just right but it's like sometimes you're just never really in the mood for what ever it is or you're never around to really eat the food.

It's even worse when I'm the only one here, that'll be changing soon since my fiance is just about done with school.

 

[robotman5]

no i don't feel bad when i throw away leftover's

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Only horribly spoiled people don't appreciate good food and what it means. I feel like crap if I have to throw any away.

 

[MJ12]

The only time I don't feel bad is if the food tastes awful .

 

[taviow]

Yeah, I don't throw away any food. Anything that's still edible stays with me.

 

[StardogChampion]

I buy my own food, so I do feel bad.

 

[Remus]

I only slightly feel bad if someone else bought the food, but if I bought it with my own money then I don't give a shit. If I'm full I throw the ****ing thing away.

 

[Drackard]

Knowing that there's someone else out there living in terrible conditions, that would kill for the food which I'm about to throw away always makes me regret it, but there are just those times where you can't physically force yourself to eat anymore. Generally I store it for the next day if possible rather than waste it all.

 

[PvtRyan]

Well, if I'm full, I can do two things:

- Throw it away, which is a waste.
- Eat it against my will, which is also a waste because I accomplish neither nutrition (I have already eaten enough) nor pleasure (I'm full, I don't want to eat it any more).

Either way, I don't feel bad about that as eating the leftover doesn't suddenly make the excess food less of a waste. What you should feel bad about is knowingly buying too much.

 

[Lucid]

But, where's the "Wrap it up and save it for another time." option, Mister Ryan?

 

[15357]

Well, yeah, I feel bad, most likely because I've been taught over and over again never to waste food and stuff.

 

[Wanted Bob]

Absolutely I feel bad, so I try to do whatever I can to not waste it. Sometimes it means just finishing what little is left, or if its a substantial portion, just save it for later.

 

[Mogi67]

if you don't feel bad for wasting food, then **** you

 

[Solaris]

I never feel bad, if you feel bad becuase of the starving. Give it to the ****ing starving. The moral outcomes of throwing away food and eating to much food are the absolute same.

It's not like there's only a certain amount of food on this planet, if you have the money you will always be able to buy it. The reason that Africa is starving is becuase there is no money to buy food, this is why programs that give money to the poor are alot better than just giving them food, as they stimulate the economy.

 

[Remus]

if you don't feel bad for wasting food, then **** you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inTRblYTevk

 

[Drackard]

I never feel bad, if you feel bad becuase of the starving. Give it to the ****ing starving.

Hang on, let me just package it up and ship it to Africa .. do you think it'll get there before it goes off?

 

[Bad^Hat]

Well, if I'm full, I can do two things:

- Throw it away, which is a waste.
- Eat it against my will, which is also a waste because I accomplish neither nutrition (I have already eaten enough) nor pleasure (I'm full, I don't want to eat it any more).

Either way, I don't feel bad about that as eating the leftover doesn't suddenly make the excess food less of a waste. What you should feel bad about is knowingly buying too much.

This.

 

[YROC]

I kinda feel bad since we were poor as hell when I was younger. Sometimes literally having nothing to eat. It's different now, but I can't forget times like that and i'm thankful for what I have now. If I get full eating something that can be saved and ate later, I will. The leftovers I speak of is never alot though. I try to make just enough for me or whoever i'm making food for. Unless something else is going on.

 

[Kaptain H]

Everyone I know whose parents trained them to finish their plates is now fat. When I prepare food for myself, I try to make only what I will eat. But when I'm out at a restaurant, usually more than half of the portion they serve is too much food for me. I don't like to throw away the food, but I don't feel obliged to eat it just because it's there. I usually offer it to someone else.

Weird thing, though. When I eat a sandwich, I pull it apart and by the time I'm done eating, there's a huge pile of refuse bread pieces on my plate. I have no idea why I do this.

 

[Stigmata]

If I ever can't finish a meal at a restaurant, I always take the rest home with me for leftovers. After letting my friends pick through it if they're still hungry, of course >_>

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Thread reminds me of http://halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?p=3149173

 

[Bad^Hat]

If I ever can't finish a meal at a restaurant, I always take the rest home with me for leftovers. After letting my friends pick through it if they're still hungry, of course >_>

A couple restaurants I go to have massive servings, so once or twice I've just ordered off the kid's menu.

 

[Krynn72]

I don't throw it away. I always keep leftovers and eat it later. I don't think I'd feel particularly bad if I did throw it away though, its not like someone else would have gotten it. If I buy a box of pasta and throw away a quarter of it, i'm not throwing away food someone else could have eaten, because they don't sell boxes of pasta in portions. Nothing I can do about it.

 

[kupocake]

My plate is always clean, to the rather psychotic point where I prioritise the eating of food so that I end up with something suitable for mopping up until last (No streak of sauce left behind!). It's not just a matter of upbringing though. If that extra handful of chips I'm actually a little too full to eat were going to end up ballooning me up, I'd probably be less likely to make sure I finish up. As it is, I can scoff whatever needs scoffing with zero consequence.

 

[Calhoun]

Hang on, let me just package it up and ship it to Africa .. do you think it'll get there before it goes off?

do you think it'll get there before it goes off?

before it goes off?

A lot of starving people are going to die in Africa soon. When they unwrap their generous donation and it's a bomb.

Then Drackard is going to realize his mistake and his enemies are going to be enjoying his leftovers.

 

[dfc05]

Yes I feel bad, although I throw it away in reasonable situations. (for example, if I just got some kind of terrible stomach virus and I have no idea which food it came from)

If I have extras, I take leftovers.

The thing that really screws with me is having recyclables. I don't think I get city curb-side recycling, so I plan on hauling my recyclables to school, but in the morning I never feel like actually doing it. So I just have empty plastic & glass bottles all over my kitchen, and even paper cartons occasionally. If it's something like a plastic milk container where the little bit inside might start going bad, I'll leave the empty container in my fridge.

If I only have a few containers, I can sometimes get myself to put them in the normal garbage. But right now I have like 15 of them and they're taking up way too much space in my tiny kitchen, but if I threw them in the garbage all at once, I'd feel terrible.


Also, as to the whole "starving children in Africa" bit, even as someone who keeps all my food, I find that line stupid. Like someone else said earlier, it's more about economics than the amount of food in the world. I feel like it was made up by stupid parents who want to force their kids to eat unappetizing items, and probably perpetuated in popular media. My parents never told me that crap when I was a kid, but then we always had plain rice (which I hated and was too full to eat anyhow), and I literally sat in my chair at the dinner table every night for 30 minutes after everyone else had already left, picking at my little pile of rice, waiting to be excused. So eventually they would let me throw it away.

 

[Qonfused]

Leftovers are awesome, why would I throw food away?

Only when it goes bad.

 

[Raziaar]

Everyone I know whose parents trained them to finish their plates is now fat.

Yep. This mentality has affected me negatively. I don't think it's a good thing to teach kids. It may have been good for a long time ago, when you didn't know when your next meal was, but in the land of excess, it's a bad thing. Bad bad. Especially since everything comes in such large portions.

 

[evil^milk]

My parents never told me that crap when I was a kid, but then we always had plain rice (which I hated and was too full to eat anyhow), and I literally sat in my chair at the dinner table every night for 30 minutes after everyone else had already left, picking at my little pile of rice, waiting to be excused. So eventually they would let me throw it away.

Man, I think we've all had similar experiences- I remember sitting for what seemed hours for not wanting to eat a plate full of green beans that weren't good by themselves or with the many slabs of mayonnaise I poured over them to help mask the bad taste.

I guess what makes me feel bad about throwing food is the irrational voice that yells "someone else could be eating this!" When in fact, they couldn't, because:

1. I'm not going to take the effort to deliver it to someone else
2. The time it'd take to find someone who needs it would make the half-eaten item less than appealing
3. How many people do I know who would eat others's leftovers?

So it's just a minor qualm, I suppose...

 

[knut]

we have a friend called tom and he'll eat any left overs regardless of how much he has already ate. we give food to him.

we rarely throw away food. i'm a student with no money, and throwing away food is throwing away money. if it can be, i'll wrap it up, stick it in the fridge and eat it tomorrow. if not, i'm sure i'll be hungry again in an hour and if not that... tom.

 

[Qonfused]

I've always loved broccoli. Other stuff came with time.

 

[Escaep]

My sisters boyfriend never eats leftovers. The only leftovers he will eat is pizza & pasta. And if ANYTHING is even on or one day past the expiration date, he won't eat/drink it.

Such a pain in the ass. He's a primadonna anyway.

 

[ktimekiller]

You should see the sheer amount of food I have to throw away when I work at a restaurant.

 

[VirusType2]

I feel bad flushing away my solid waste as some dung beetles could have eaten it. Although, I suppose bacteria have this covered.

Australia imported 45 species of dung beetle from various parts of the world to get rid of cattle dung.

Without dung beetles, the earth would be piled high with manure.

I did not know that.


Waste Not

NASA-supported researchers are working to develop a fuel cell that can extract electricity from human waste.

 

[Raziaar]

That dung thing seems like it wouldn't be true. I mean, the sun and weather would erode it very quickly... wind would carry away the dust.

 

[Warped]

I try to eat everything but the nastiest parts. like if there is some steak with extra extra fat on the side i will cut it away but rarely will I throw out food. If its expired or spoiled, I will toss it. no need to be shitting liquid out of my ass amirite??

 

[JUL3]

If it's my Mother's all organic, healthy cooking I do feel bad.

But if it's junk food, or fast food or something I don't. The food industry can survive without my waste.

 

[Orcone101]

What a bunch of pussies. I throw food away routinely, jump in my 4WD and tear up some rainforests.