primitives discuss throwing away food

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021181499

Oh my.

joeybee12 (38,266 posts)

Americans throw away 40 percent of their food: study

Mom was onto something. Americans are not cleaning their plates. Instead, they are tossing away 40 percent of their meals – “essentially every other piece of food that crosses our path” – or the equivalent of $2,275 a year for a family of four, according to a new report.

Food waste has swelled by 50 percent since the 1970s in this country. A total $165 billion annually in leftovers gets trashed by homeowners and in unsold or unused perishables or scraps dumped by grocers or restaurants, according to research compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council released Tuesday.

“Given the drought, rising food prices, and increased food demands we’re looking at as the population grows, having a more efficient food system is going to be a critical step – but also one of the lowest hanging fruit (in terms of a solution),” said Dana Gunders, the study’s author and a project scientist at NRDC, a nonprofit environmental group.

“Everyone has a role to play in reducing food waste,” Gunders said. “This is just something that’s really flown under our radar. As a country, we just haven’t been thinking about this. But it’s one of the easiest things we can do to reduce our environmental footprint.”

http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13416977-americans-throw-away-40-percent-of-their-food-study?lite

This is positively OBSCENE!

kelly1mm (1,976 posts)

1. Collect it and give it to a local farmer. We feed chickens/pigs mostly on table scraps from our neighbors (and our own, of course).

cbayer (110,276 posts)

4. As usual, when something is too easy to get, the incentive to be careful with it diminishes dramatically.

If you have to tote your own water, make your own electricity, dispose of your own human waste and only get groceries every few weeks, you become much more thoughtful about it.

The question I have is how to make the general more responsible for what they use and what they throw away.

^^looks like the Bayer aspirin primitive just made a good argument against food stamps.

exboyfil (2,340 posts)

6. How much of it are from school lunches?

When I eat with my kids, I see an incredible amount of food thrown away (in many cases entire meals which are not touched).

DonRedwood (476 posts)

7. I just cleaned out the fridge and threw out a huge bowl (my biggest) of spoiled fruits and v.s

Well...not threw out, but composted them.

I will admit I was ashamed though. a zucchini, two broccoli crowns, the cherries that got gooshy, the carrots that got sorta dry looking, that stupid kale that I thought I should try...

I know there are hungry people out there so I can't even claim ignorance.

^^don't worry; earlier today, franksolich "composted" half a pick-up truck load of watermelons.

It'll be great fertilizer come next spring, when the Great Barack Drought of '12 is over, and happy days are here again.

malaise (96,242 posts)

14. Mom never allowed us to fill our plates

We ate everything - if there was more we had seconds - if not she told us about the starving children in poor neighborhoods or she reminded us of her rations during WW2

^^the malarial primitive, Vlada Mitty's pal in the Caribbean.

JI7 (36,154 posts)

18. and We Are Still FAT

i don't think it's good to push the wholething about eating everything. people are not starving in other parts of the world because we are taking all the food.

i understand pushing to eat nutritious foods but just cleaning the plate in itself is stupid. especially if it's something like pasta and you are full. no need to finish it. throw it away or eat it another time.

[LC EFA]

If one is throwing away 40% of the food on their plates, I wonder it the thought occurs to not put so much on the damn plate in the first place ?

I very rarely waste food - Been eating solid food for long enough now to know pretty closely how much I can eat in a sitting and prepare accordingly.

[thundley4]

If one is throwing away 40% of the food on their plates, I wonder it the thought occurs to not put so much on the damn plate in the first place ?

I very rarely waste food - Been eating solid food for long enough now to know pretty closely how much I can eat in a sitting and prepare accordingly.

My wife has cooking for the two of us down to a science.  There is rarely any leftovers, except for like soups, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.  Those are usually eaten before they get thrown out.

[GOBUCKS]

exboyfil (2,340 posts)

6. How much of it are from school lunches?

When I eat with my kids, I see an incredible amount of food thrown away (in many cases entire meals which are not touched).

With all the "healthy" crap being forced onto schoolkids by leftist nutball school boards, it's surprising if any of it is actually eaten.

At least our schools have the "healthiest" garbage in the world.

[RobJohnson]

With all the "healthy" crap being forced onto schoolkids by leftist nutball school boards, it's surprising if any of it is actually eaten.

At least our schools have the "healthiest" garbage in the world.

Isn't that what happened in CA when Mrs. Obama tried to change some school lunch programs. Full trays of food went right into the trash.

It only cost a few million.

Earlier this spring, L.A. school officials acknowledged that the sprawling district is left with a whopping 21,000 uneaten meals a day, in part because the federal school lunch program “sometimes requires more food to be served than a child wants to eat.” The leftovers will now be donated to nonprofit agencies. But after the recipients hear about students’ reports of moldy noodles, undercooked meat and hard rice, one wonders how much of the “free” food will go down the hatch — or down the drain. Ahhh, savor the flavor of one-size-fits-all mandates.

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/12/21/michelle-obamas-unsavory-school-lunch-flop/


Suck it DUmmies! 

[Freeper]

Get a dog and hardly any food makes it to the trash can.

[IassaFTots]

My wife has cooking for the two of us down to a science.  There is rarely any leftovers, except for like soups, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.  Those are usually eaten before they get thrown out.

That has been a struggle for me, I tend to cook for armies, and then freeze a whole bunch of food.  I am getting much better at limiting myself.  I never threw away the extras, I just had to eat the same dang thing for longer than I cared to.

[JakeStyle]

JI7 (36,163 posts)
18. and We Are Still FAT

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i don't think it's good to push the wholething about eating everything. people are not starving in other parts of the world because we are taking all the food.

i understand pushing to eat nutritious foods but just cleaning the plate in itself is stupid. especially if it's something like pasta and you are full. no need to finish it. throw it away or eat it another time.

No one in my family is or has ever been fat, we practice this thing called hard work and exercise, it does wonders on the body and the soul.

[RobJohnson]

No one in my family is or has ever been fat, we practice this thing called hard work and exercise, it does wonders on the body and the soul.

I work hard. But but my BMI jumps off the paper at some point.   All those years of drinking beer and Baccardi and Cokes nightly takes a long time to get rid of. This year has sucked, three hospital stays and time off work. When I can't sleep, I freaking eat. At least last night at 1 AM I made a salad.

I was much thinner when I had some really bad habits in my 20's......

[Rebel]

DonRedwood (476 posts)

7. I just cleaned out the fridge and threw out a huge bowl (my biggest) of spoiled fruits and v.s

Well...not threw out, but composted them.

Notice how when they say something the rest of the DUmbasses might not like, they always have to throw in a statement to keep their Moonbat street cred?

[Rebel]

Not saying composting is necessarily a moonbat trait, but you won't see a conservative trashing someone for not composting.

[RobJohnson]

My composting is done with my garbage disposer in my kitchen sink.

[JohnnyReb]

I compost almost all our left over food....I reheat it and turn it into compost the old fashioned way....I eat it.

And that's why "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank", Erma Bombeck.

[CactusCarlos]

Useful site:

Keep it or Toss it?  Your ultimate shelf-life guide.

[obumazombie]

I was brought up to clean my plate. It was pounded into me with the twin pillars of "The starving kids in Africa", and a generous helping of the threat of, and actual corporal punishment. To this day I pride myself on the clean plate award, aka "happy plate", even if I have to award it myself.

[RobJohnson]

I was brought up to clean my plate. It was pounded into me with the twin pillars of "The starving kids in Africa", and a generous helping of the threat of, and actual corporal punishment. To this day I pride myself on the clean plate award, aka "happy plate", even if I have to award it myself.

I remember the starving kids in Africa stuff also...all while my gag reflex was allowing me to throw up lima beans, peas and liver.

[Freeper]

No one in my family is or has ever been fat, we practice this thing called hard work and exercise, it does wonders on the body and the soul.

Must be nice to be so perfect.

[CactusCarlos]

Must be nice to be so perfect.

H5

[IassaFTots]

I remember the starving kids in Africa stuff also...all while my gag reflex was allowing me to throw up lima beans, peas and liver.

Are you my twin?  Me too.   

[GOBUCKS]

After the thunderous, 20-year-long Reagan Boom, followed by the Great Bush Prosperity, food has become a pretty insignificant part of many people's budget.

Wasting food used to be an economic sin. Not so much these days.

I'd much rather keep the refrigerator uncluttered than to save leftovers.

Tupperware is a scourge on mankind.

[docstew]

After the thunderous, 20-year-long Reagan Boom, followed by the Great Bush Prosperity, food has become a pretty insignificant part of many people's budget.

Wasting food used to be an economic sin. Not so much these days.

I'd much rather keep the refrigerator uncluttered than to save leftovers.

Tupperware is a scourge on mankind.

And thanks to the Great Obama Summer of Recovery, v3.0, food is again becoming a significant part of most American's budgets.

[RobJohnson]

Must be nice to be so perfect.

 

[RobJohnson]

Are you my twin?  Me too.   

The happiest day in my life is when my dad's cardiologist told him liver was bad for him. 

[CactusCarlos]

I'd much rather keep the refrigerator uncluttered than to save leftovers.

Tupperware is a scourge on mankind.

Can you please come over and talk to my wife! 

H5

[obumazombie]

Scourge is such a harsh word. I may have to ban it.