eating food so it is not wasted

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I come across this fairly regularly. People who had enough to eat but say I will finish that off so it does not get wasted. I don't understand that. People do not want the food thrown away but it is not considered a waste to eat more than you need.

My brother does this with his four kids. If one of the kids does not finish what is on the plate then the other kids have to eat so it does not get 'wasted' even if they are saying they do not want it.

I don't like waste either but I am not going to eat more than what I need just so it does not get thrown away. I would rather it get thrown away than just eaten when not necessary.

I completely agree with you. Especially when you see some of the portions in some places ! I have a pretty healthy appetite but I think forcing food down when you're full is just as wasteful as throwing it away.

Agree, we're not human dustbins. Just serve up less to start with, people can always have seconds. Anything left over can go in the fridge.
DH and I sometimes have our seconds from the kids' plates (if basically untouched) rather than wasting it

The logical part of my brain agrees with you but having grown up in a situation where there is no garentee of food being available next time your hungry, my subconscious brain really struggles to get past the 'eat what you can, when you can' mentality.

Someone once said to me that it’s waste whether it goes in the bin or in your mouth. I try not to finish stuff when I’ve had enough but depends on whether I’m enjoying it or it’s delicious. My boys (18&20) are always hungry… and occasionally referred to as dustbins. They will always finish off the pizza or have the last scoop of dinner… all tall sporty and slim (unlike their mum!)

If you're not hungry, the food is just as wasted inside you as it is in the bin.

My kids nearly always leave food - though I was brought up to finish whatever is on my plate, on balance I think it’s more wasteful to eat when not hungry any more and end up gaining weight, than putting it in the bin. As their appetites vary, we do end up throwing a lot of food in the bin. But food either biodegrades, feeds wildlife while on the tip or is used to breathe bio energy, so it’s hardly ‘wasted’. I think it’s an attitude left over from rationing and unhealthy in times of plenty like now.

I was brought up this way - parents lived through the war and rationing, so it's in my mindset to not to waste food. So yes if it goes against the grain with me to not finish things Off.

I haven't brought up my dc this way and they do stop eating when they're full.

I always try to eat leftovers the following day or freeze them.

My mum used to try and make us eat stuff saying it was a waste .... it's a waste either way, forcing food down or binning it.

I really struggle to throw food out - it gets eaten or saved for a breakfast or lunch

I feel sick at the thought of people throwing meat out in particular- an animal died for that

We are very careful what we cook
typically there is sone kind of pudding and fruit for afters so the main meal doesn’t have to leave you full up

neither of us has weight problems

I don’t think people who eat leftover food when they aren’t hungry so as not to “waste it” necessarily are always doing so as actually not to waste it: just like people who binge eat, I think some people just psychologically feel compelled to eat food when it’s there. They’d easily save waste by taking a doggy bag from a restaurant or tupperwaring leftovers at home, but don’t choose that option. We live in an odd era of time when it comes to food: huge availability of it along with social convention to be slim to be attractive - it can create a lot of issues.

Well I certainly don’t agree with force feeding someone who doesn’t want it, let him eat it if his kids don’t want to. I do save left overs (if they look ok) in case it’s wanted later. It gets thrown if uneaten the next day or given to the dog if it’s something she can eat.

So eating it is not a waste when someone has already had enough but binning it is?

I rarely finish a full portion at a restaurant. I am not going to force myself to be uncomfortable by eating more when I'm full just to prevent it going in the bin.

You're right, but it's a hard habit to break. It wasn't a problem when I used to live near seagulls!

Forcing the other kids to eat it is not ok.

We tend to put food on the table in serving dishes, so everyone can help themselves to the amount they want. That means that leftovers can be refrigerated for lunch the next day.

YANBU

Ours either gets eaten the following day as leftovers or frozen if it can be.

Or failing that it goes to the lovey little fox who often comes to visit.

It is a sure fire way to gain weight as a mother.
Great habit to break!

You completely contradict yourself there , why don't you put your dcs leftovers in the fridge ?

I tend to batch cook and freeze single portions but if there are leftovers I do my best to incorporate them in another meal.

It's an attitude from olden times and rationing. People would focus on the children being fed often leaving not enough for themselves so would finish of what was left. Most of us would struggle making a weeks ration last more than a day so there really wasn't enough. Strangely we were healthier then.

Now we have more than enough but for some we've still got that attitude that if food has been prepared then it should be eaten if it can't be saved. A bit silly really especially if you were to see the peelings my daughters leave when they prepare veg.

I only agree with you as far as that people shouldn't be overeating on food they don't want.

However – food waste is a real issue. There is so much of it that it can't decompose properly, due to anaerobic activity, which then produces methane gas. It's a significant environmental issue. Not to mentioned the energy consumption of producing the food in the first place, that realistically will not be eaten in that volume.

Best thing to do is cook smaller portions and store and/or re-use leftovers whenever possible.

Yes that post was a bit mangled. It was meant as
a) I have been trying to give smaller first portions to stop the kids wasting food (obviously they can top up if still hungry) but
b) sometimes there are bits they don't like (as we try to get them to try a bit of everything rather than eg just eating the meat) so DH and I would take that bit from their plates first to avoid waste rather than from the main dish if we ourselves want seconds

Kids' leftovers to me is what's already been on their plate, so obv wouldn't store that, only what hasn't been dished up

My parents grew up under rationing and I was raised that throwing away food is wasteful. If I'm eating out, I would finish the food on my plate even if I'm full, but then wouldn't eat/eat less for the rest of the day, so it balances out. I've never been overweight, so don't see it as a problem. At home I would just plate up what I can eat then have the rest for another meal so nothing is getting wasted.

People would focus on the children being fed often leaving not enough for themselves so would finish of what was left.

The children were told to finish everything on their plate - how does this fit in with the rationing theory? They were told to eat more than they needed in a time of scarcity.

Took me a huge brain reset for me to stop finishing everything just because its on my plate. Ztuff like the few bites of a sandwich, or the pastry of a pie etc.

People keep saying they are not overweight and they finish everything on their plate. That doesn't make it a good thing or healthy for the body.

Plenty of non overweight people have fat around their organs - skinny fat. So just because someone is not overweight does not mean they are healthy.