Throw Away Food

Just curious, but do you usually clean your plate when you eat a meal, or do you eat some and leave the rest to be thrown away or whatever?

I think it is astounding at the amount of food that we Americans, and others in general, just simply throw away because we don't want it, or for whatever reason.

I don't know how many times when I was growing up that I heard something along the lines of "You better clean your plate, someone somewhere may be starving and would love to have that food that you don't eat!" Silly or not, that could give someone a complex about food, or add to weight issues, etc., to some degree, I think. It's a good saying, but it could have a troublesome side as well.

Another way to look at this subject would be that a few years ago many families would gather together and have a sit down meal together with a lot of food perhaps, while today's families may be more "on the go" and tend to eat when, where, and what they want rather than sitting down to a big meal.

Just ramblin on here, I guess, as the subject crossed my mind.

Comments or Opinions anyone?

Silver_Surfer1 wrote:

I think it is astounding at the amount of food that we Americans, and others in general, just simply throw away because we don't want it, or for whatever reason.

I work at one of my school's cafeterias; one of the jobs there is to clean up the customers trays after they eat. Because of that, and the fact that the cafeteria serves food in an all-you-can-eat style at dinnertime, I saw obscene amounts of food being tossed out. Some plates were even untouched. The amount of food that was thrown out every night was disgusting, truth be told.

My family wasn't that wasteful when I grew up. We would usually store away the leftovers and eat them as snacks later.

Lemina wrote:

Silver_Surfer1 wrote:

My family wasn't that wasteful when I grew up. We would usually store away the leftovers and eat them as snacks later.

Good idea, Lemina! I usually try to save leftovers too if possible. Saves on cooking meals later sometimes and helps cut back on expenses too.

I remember seeing a lot of wasted food in cafeterias when I was in school, too. I agree there's a lot of excess waste in that area.

I think the "clean you plate" thing is pretty silly, though. Sure there is someone somewhere that would want that food, but unless one is actually planning to give it to them, I say let the person that is eating it enjoy the meal as they desire.

Thoul wrote:

I think the "clean you plate" thing is pretty silly, though. Sure there is someone somewhere that would want that food, but unless one is actually planning to give it to them, I say let the person that is eating it enjoy the meal as they desire.

I strongly agree.

Thoul wrote:

I think the "clean you plate" thing is pretty silly, though. Sure there is someone somewhere that would want that food, but unless one is actually planning to give it to them, I say let the person that is eating it enjoy the meal as they desire.

I've heard that the "clean you plate" principle can cause obesity. *Thinks* Yup.

Lemina wrote:

I've heard that the "clean you plate" principle can cause obesity. *Thinks* Yup.

Thats true in some cases, depending on what you are eating. If we don't clear our plates in my house we usually just give the scraps to the dog.

At home, any leftovers go for composting (though some meat may go to the cats.) In spring, summer and fall, there's always a small section of my mom's vegetable garden that's staked off for composting, and we bury pretty much ALL leftover food there. The compost area gets alternated through the season as various crops go in and out and new sections open up. In winter, leftovers just get tossed into the garden wherever since nothing's growing because there's always a layer of snow on that plot of land. But every spring, this system pretty much ensures rejuvenated soil all around the garden and most of what gets planted in spring does well.

At school...I usually only take one plate at a time in an effort not to waste food, as the dining hall is an all-you-can-eat. But when I see trays in the dishroom, I see some that are obscenely full. Of course, cleaning your plate every time is silly for the reason already stated. There's a happy medium here somewhere, but I guess it's hard to find.

Quote:

At home, any leftovers go for composting (though some meat may go to the cats.)

Now that's a good approach to the whole thing. Nothing is wasted - it's all recycled in one why or another.

Thoul wrote:

Quote:

At home, any leftovers go for composting (though some meat may go to the cats.)

Now that's a good approach to the whole thing. Nothing is wasted - it's all recycled in one why or another.

That reminds me. My mom loves gardening, which also means that she loves composting. It's a really good idea; but when the time comes to spread the compost around, ugh.