In Poland, where I live, most people were taught by parents and priests that wasting food is a sin. Mothers and grandmother's typically insist that children eat all food on their plate. On the other hand, when hosting guests it is important to provide more food than they could possibly eat. All of this usually leads to overeating, wasting food or both.
What I figured out some time ago is that given a choice between wasting food and overeating, both are consodered morally bad, but by overeating I am hurting myself, while wasting food doesn't hurt anyone.
I also hate it when people use numbers to promote a simple solution to a complexe problem.
For exemple, this slightly exagerated Health Prime Minister point of view: There is 9 772 family doctors in our province of 8 604 500 people. So if every physician take 881 patients under their care, we would solve every single problem in Health Care.
Yes! Well said. Brilliant selection of beautiful artworks too. The other thing I've never understood about the angst about food waste, is that food decomposes back into its elements, ultimately soil, which grows more food. So we could consider it creative upcycling. Or just consider it as one of the cosmic processes which quite frankly don't require our intervention.
It can still be called "waste" because the value of edible food is usually higher than the value of compost, and also not all food remnant are composted, far from it. But there's an argument to be made that food waste doesn't really exist because food that is unwanted isn't actually more valuable than compost.
It's strange to me that, after suggesting that individual action is more effective than top-down political solutions, you say it's "definitely wrong" to offer to take people's leftovers. That strikes me as the kind of personal choice that you'd much rather see than appointing a Global Commissar of Food Distribution.
Better than a top-down-enforced rule, yes, but surely not all individual actions are created equal? Asking for other people's leftovers in a restaurant goes against a number of social norms, plus doesn't seem like an efficient way to reduce food waste anyway, so it doesn't sound like something to be encouraged. But, you know, if someone is willing to show unusual behavior in public, whatever.
In Poland, where I live, most people were taught by parents and priests that wasting food is a sin. Mothers and grandmother's typically insist that children eat all food on their plate. On the other hand, when hosting guests it is important to provide more food than they could possibly eat. All of this usually leads to overeating, wasting food or both.
What I figured out some time ago is that given a choice between wasting food and overeating, both are consodered morally bad, but by overeating I am hurting myself, while wasting food doesn't hurt anyone.
I also hate it when people use numbers to promote a simple solution to a complexe problem.
For exemple, this slightly exagerated Health Prime Minister point of view: There is 9 772 family doctors in our province of 8 604 500 people. So if every physician take 881 patients under their care, we would solve every single problem in Health Care.
Yes! Well said. Brilliant selection of beautiful artworks too. The other thing I've never understood about the angst about food waste, is that food decomposes back into its elements, ultimately soil, which grows more food. So we could consider it creative upcycling. Or just consider it as one of the cosmic processes which quite frankly don't require our intervention.
Thanks!
It can still be called "waste" because the value of edible food is usually higher than the value of compost, and also not all food remnant are composted, far from it. But there's an argument to be made that food waste doesn't really exist because food that is unwanted isn't actually more valuable than compost.
Yes exactly! There is no actual “waste” involved.
It's strange to me that, after suggesting that individual action is more effective than top-down political solutions, you say it's "definitely wrong" to offer to take people's leftovers. That strikes me as the kind of personal choice that you'd much rather see than appointing a Global Commissar of Food Distribution.
Better than a top-down-enforced rule, yes, but surely not all individual actions are created equal? Asking for other people's leftovers in a restaurant goes against a number of social norms, plus doesn't seem like an efficient way to reduce food waste anyway, so it doesn't sound like something to be encouraged. But, you know, if someone is willing to show unusual behavior in public, whatever.