Wasting food is a "sin"

[Genny]

I think I need a dog to save me from hell

[SLB]

I admit to being a bit . . . thrown:

 

https://wapo.st/3GWCFdJ

 

[s/b an accessible article]

[heidih]

I am often startled by the food waste statistics. I don't know that these amusing personal antics make a dent. Food safety laws prevent some repurposng. That "give to a food pantry" often does not work with their guidelnes and timeframes. I knw the figures from our lamdfills sound shocking but at east that decomposes versus plastic and such. That said I am the person who asks to finish parceling out the meat on a turkey so I can take the carcass home for stock  My Vietnamese friend once went around at a fireman;s fundraiser rib BBQ and asked for the bones - for dog & stock.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, SLB said:

I admit to being a bit . . . thrown:

 

https://wapo.st/3GWCFdJ

 

[s/b an accessible article]

I am trying to figure out the logistics. How do you carry your containers to the venue? Very large purses? Shopping bag? I cannot imagine showing up at a wedding reception complete with leftover containers. Perhaps somebody will design elegant Tiffin containers. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Some tremendously sensible ideas here, but, yes, how to implement without looking loutish.   I admit carrying ziploc bags to restaurants,  but suitcasing food home from private affairs takes more cahones than I've mustered.   

[Mjx]

Perhaps restaurants and catering firms could begin building in the option of taking home leftovers by marketing it as a part of their sustainable/environmentally responsible stance; they could even make a profit on it, if it was carefully thought out ('Our portions/spread are/is generous, bring containers to prevent food waste, or we sell elegant, reusable containers for this purpose!'). It may sound cynical, but if the end result is reduced waste and an increased awareness of this problem, it'd be worth it. Besides, I know plenty of people would like to ask to take away leftovers, but feel too embarrassed to do this (I do). This would just mean making people feel a bit smug about it.

[MetsFan5]

29 minutes ago, Mjx said:

Perhaps restaurants and catering firms could begin building in the option of taking home leftovers by marketing it as a part of their sustainable/environmentally responsible stance; they could even make a profit on it, if it was carefully thought out ('Our portions/spread are/is generous, bring containers to prevent food waste, or we sell elegant, reusable containers for this purpose!'). It may sound cynical, but if the end result is reduced waste and an increased awareness of this problem, it'd be worth it. Besides, I know plenty of people would like to ask to take away leftovers, but feel too embarrassed to do this (I do). This would just mean making people feel a bit smug about it.

I will say when I worked at an establishment that had two restaurants and two ballrooms for banquets, that every night whatever couldn’t be easily repurposed was donated to the local soup kitchens. This was 20 years ago. 
 

 There is a law in NJ absolving restaurants, caterers, etc from being liable for food borne illnesses once the donations were tested to be at the correct temperature before leaving the donor establishment. 
 

 I worked for a very well known family of restaurants and banquet halls after the first one and they always refused to donate. It’s always bothered me. 
 

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by MetsFan5 (log)

[liuzhou]

打包 (dǎ bāo, literally, 'pack bag') is a well established tradition in China. Every restaurant from hole-in-the wall shacks to fine restaurants has this service. It is expected. The restaurants supply suitable containers.

 

I've also noticed that very little food is wasted in domestic kitchens. It is very such seen as a 'sin' to waste food. Famine is still a living memory. Wasting rice is particularly taboo.

Edited April 21, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[BeeZee]

In my business, I have to provide “boxed lunches” for Architects when we come in to present an educational program (“lunch and learn”). There are usually extra boxes because of no-shows, I will take one “to go” for myself, assuming nothing too perishable, since it was sitting out at room temp for well over an hour. In my office, I bought ziploc bags for the kitchen area, so that when we have food leftover from an event, I can encourage people to take some home.

[Charles Stanford]

To the OP: -- a bridge too far. 

 

The first thing to do is to not overeat.  If you've had one, good well-rounded meal today you've had more food than over half the world's population.  I understand the ethic you're espousing, but we don't have to take to an absurd extreme.  Doing so, become self-parody and an insult to people who will go hungry today.

[gfweb]

2 hours ago, BeeZee said:

In my business, I have to provide “boxed lunches” for Architects when we come in to present an educational program (“lunch and learn”). There are usually extra boxes because of no-shows, I will take one “to go” for myself, assuming nothing too perishable, since it was sitting out at room temp for well over an hour. In my office, I bought ziploc bags for the kitchen area, so that when we have food leftover from an event, I can encourage people to take some home.

 

I would make sure to order only things that I like for those boxes. 😉

 

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

打包 (dǎ bāo, literally, 'pack bag') is a well established tradition in China. Every restaurant from hole-in-the wall shacks to fine restaurants has this service. It is expected. The restaurants supply suitable containers.

 

I've also noticed that very little food is wasted in domestic kitchens. It is very such seen as a 'sin' to wastefood. Famine is still a living memory. Wasting rice is particularly taboo.

The "doggie bag" is a well established custom in North America also. But it assumes the use of disposable containers. You can either allow the servers to package your leftovers or you can usually ask for the containers and package them yourself. 

[liuzhou]

On 4/21/2023 at 10:44 PM, Anna N said:

The "doggie bag" is a well established custom in North America also. But it assumes the use of disposable containers. You can either allow the servers to package your leftovers or you can usually ask for the containers and package them yourself. 

 

Yes, I know "doggie bag" culture is common in N. America, but I think it's more ubiquitous in China. It is literally every restaurant I've been to; from cheap dives all the way up to mega-expensive deluxe places. There is no embarrassment at all.

The wait staff package our leftovers. They expect to.

 

And no tipping!

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

10 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

The wait staff package our leftovers. They expect to.

 

Finicky, I admit, but I prefer to be brought a box and package my leftovers myself.    I like food to remain in eyesight and to pack the box to my taste.

[liuzhou]

9 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Finicky, I admit, but I prefer to be brought a box and package my leftovers myself.    I like food to remain in eyesight and to pack the box to my taste.

 

They pack it in front of you at the table and have a lot of experience of doing so, but if there is any doubt they will ask you how you like it or you can volunteer your preferences.

[BeeZee]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

I would make sure to order only things that I like for those boxes. 😉

 

But of course...when I give the list to my Admin, I always include a couple of selections that I'd be happy to eat, to make sure!

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

They pack it in front of you at the table and have a lot of experience of doing so, but if there is any doubt they will ask you how you like it or you can volunteer your preferences.

I wish that were to case here. I don't know if most diners are embarrassed to ask for a "doggy bag" but just the fact that we call it that says something about how many Americans don't ask to take home their leftovers. I'm pretty sure it would be horrifying to see how much food gets tossed by a restaurant every day. 

 

Of course it isn't just food. The apparel industry has some really wasteful  traditions.  

[heidih]

I have not heard "doggy bag" in a very long time. Taking leftovers for a next meal is almost the norm in my experience. An old "dieter's trcik" when portions are large is to ask for a to-go container up front and pack it right away. Most cotainers now are sustainable - often by law. What drives me batty are friends who are single or just 2 person household who overshop at Costco "because it was a bargain" and then toss especially produce they don't eat before it is sad. There was a well known restauarant in Malibu (Gladstones) that did the leftovers in those foil swans. Most people leaving were carrying one. 

[gulfporter]

7 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Finicky, I admit, but I prefer to be brought a box and package my leftovers myself.    I like food to remain in eyesight and to pack the box to my taste.

If you bring your own container(s) you can control the situation. 

 

I carry a canvas shopping bag instead of a purse, even when I go out to dinner....I have some nice ones for 'evening wear' 😃   A small New Yorker-branded bag and also a fashionable Smithsonian Museum member bag in black and a touch of lime green (it even has an outside pocket for my phone). 

 

I carry 2 plastic containers, one is a split container allowing 2 different food items that won't touch each other (wish I could find another one here).  

 

Granted I live in a village in central Mexico but we eat out 5 to 7 times a week and bringing a container that I can fill, carry home and then simply refrigerate is far better than the restaurants' to-go boxes whose lids or covers often don't fit tight enough.  And I can microwave some of my leftovers in the same container I took to the restaurant.  

 

fyi, when I travel to the US or EU or big cities in MX, I do the same as above.  

Edited April 21, 2023 by gulfporter (log)

[Elkyfr]

I have worked for restaurants and supermarkets, and they throw away food in abundance. In the factories I see how tons of food go to the trash, someone "recycle" the defective packages, others throw it all away, it is cheaper.

 

I try not to waste anything, maybe it is because of how I grew up... I like to use the oil from tuna cans to make mayonnaise, some say it is dirty, but I love the taste.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Elkyfr (log)

[MetsFan5]

11 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I wish that were to case here. I don't know if most diners are embarrassed to ask for a "doggy bag" but just the fact that we call it that says something about how many Americans don't ask to take home their leftovers. I'm pretty sure it would be horrifying to see how much food gets tossed by a restaurant every day. 

 

Of course it isn't just food. The apparel industry has some really wasteful  traditions.  

 I’ve always brought home my leftovers. Even when I was young about 5 years old. 
 

 American serving sizes are generally obscenely oversized and dining out gave my mom two days to have a break. 
 

 I have never, ever asked for a “doggy bag”. I’m 43. I’ve always just asked for the rest of my meal to be packed up or could I pack it up. 
 

I think that term is antiquated. 

[Duvel]

15 hours ago, liuzhou said:

It is literally every restaurant I've been to; from cheap dives all the way up to mega-expensive deluxe places. There is no embarrassment at all.

Absolutely. I have been to places in Shanghai after joint venture negotiations where probably I wouldn’t be prosperous enough to dine alone, where members of the Chinese delegation (discretely) got supplied with the (numerous) leftovers and left with a fancy hotel bag full of nicely wrapped dishes. I was offered once, but you can’t really travel back to Hong Kong with a luggage filled with plastic containers from a 8 dish banquet plus all the miscellaneous around it. As it is (or technically used to be*) a sign of respect to offer far more food than the guests can consume, I think it makes a lot of sense.
 

During my trips to Xinjiang, where meat dishes rule, the leftovers from our meals (think legs of lamb, piles of braised beef, veggies to boot, flatbreads and polo) were offered to the diners, but at their request given to the drivers and maybe secretaries that were dining in a separate room. My counterpart explained to me that the driver job is hugely popular, because the meat alone would be enough for their families for a week or so. I know for sure that the restaurant also gave (new) bottles of drinks with the meals to them, which I liked.

 

—

* as per official guidance by the party, especially for state companies.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

8 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

 I’ve always brought home my leftovers. Even when I was young about 5 years old. 
 

 American serving sizes are generally obscenely oversized and dining out gave my mom two days to have a break. 
 

 I have never, ever asked for a “doggy bag”. I’m 43. I’ve always just asked for the rest of my meal to be packed up or could I pack it up. 
 

I think that term is antiquated. 

A beautiful and sophisticated friend, ethnic Chinese now living in Paris, had no compunction asking for a
"baggy dog", conflating American terminology with French style grammar.

[Kim Shook]

On 4/21/2023 at 6:41 AM, liuzhou said:

打包 (dǎ bāo, literally, 'pack bag') is a well established tradition in China. Every restaurant from hole-in-the wall shacks to fine restaurants has this service. It is expected. The restaurants supply suitable containers.

 

I've also noticed that very little food is wasted in domestic kitchens. It is very such seen as a 'sin' to waste food. Famine is still a living memory. Wasting rice is particularly taboo.

This is good to know about China.  I've read a lot in the past about Europeans looking down on Americans for doing this.  I found this blog post from 2008 from an American heaping contempt upon her fellow citizens for "doggy bags".  I think (hope) things are changing in Europe and that's good.  I have to say that I love when a restaurant packs up my leftovers for me and presents me with a neat package.  I mean, if we are trusting them to cook our food, can't we trust them to wrap it up?  Mr. Kim and I recently had this discussion - I really find it ungracious and unwelcoming when a restaurant hands you a container and a plastic bag and basically says, "go for it".  I end up contorting myself trying to get the food into the container with a dirty fork and not getting it on me or the floor.  I end the evening feeling ungainly instead of taken care of.  My favorite thing is when they whisk it away and bring you a claim ticket and you pick up your bag when you leave.  

[Arey]

My sympathy is with the customers having her sitting close by.