Tuesday, August 31, 2004
I wrote this on the bus 2nd Avenue bus as an exercise. I thought I would re-write it ten times in different ways. Dialogue, points of view, style changes, etc. But so far it hasn't been done.
Why Waste Food
There are many convincing reasons not to waste food, but the more I think about the “people are starving in China” indoctrinations that mothers tell to their skinny children, the less I am convinced that wasting food is a bad thing. Actually I’ll tell you why I think it is a good thing.
People are starving in Africa, in India, but not here. What I don’t eat here isn’t going to get to them. Sure I could save some money by not eating as expensively or buying as much and send that money to them. But I could do the same with my rent or clothing. The money I could send really hasn’t much to do with the food I use myself. Basic food for starving people is not that expensive.
Here there is an abundance of food; all varieties, high quality. And that is why we should waste it. Just think what would happen if there were a few bad crop years. A couple of blights of some kind that reduce farm production, kill off the cattle, etc. Seven good years and seven bad, as the bible once suggested. Well we could have a food shortage – we who have so much. Therefore I think it is better to use more than we need now, so that it will be easier to reduce in the future.
I might add that for a long time the US government was paying farmers not to farm and also buying grain and just storing it. I think they have stopped doing these things; perhaps we should all individually store some food.
Another reason that it is good to waste food is the weight problem. So many are over weight and even those who aren’t are trying not to become over weight. When you go to a restaurant, you are inevitably served a huge portion – more than you would ordinarily plan to eat. Since it is there in front of you, you start eating and before you know it, you are finishing the last morsel of that tasty dish. Well I find it helpful in the exercise of willpower and restraint to sit down with the intention of wasting food. At least plan to leave some leftovers.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
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