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Maybe where you come from, the food served in restaurants is stolen from local soup kitchens and food banks, but in the United States NOBODY goes hungry because of wasted food in restaurants.
Do you feel that my mother living by herself in a 3 bedroom home is forcing two bedrooms worth of people to be homeless because she is wasting two bedrooms?
Quote:
Originally Posted by otterhere
I DO think that's wasteful, as a matter of fact. But then I'm a very "un-American" American.
Yikes! What would you think if I said I lived alone in a 4 bedroom house...I suppose you think I should move to a 1 bedroom or even a studio, I suppose, since it's just me now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by froglipz
Why do restaurants box food?
So you don't need to put it in your pocket or purse!
When I was a kid, I remember going to a church pancake breakfast. A woman sitting next to me had a large black purse, and as I sat there, she opened it up and dumped her plate of pancakes into the purse and then go back for more. I must have been about 5 or 6...I remember being totally grossed out.
North Beach Person: Then maybe, where you live people eat healthier food, and that includes smaller portions being in demand.
Must've changed a lot since I moved from MD, cause usually I was inundated with food in Ocean City MD. Hell even Hoopers crab shack, a middle of the road joint, you needed a grocery sack to carry out the leftover chicken and crabs.
Just something to think about. Where did that idea come from? It had to be recent right? Like the 1990s when that started. I don't remember it when I was younger.
It came from the idea that if food is in a container there is less chance of it being contaminated with hair, body fluid etc. A false sense of security so to speak. Sometimes we are better off not knowing these things.
It came from the idea that if food is in a container there is less chance of it being contaminated with hair, body fluid etc. A false sense of security so to speak. Sometimes we are better off not knowing these things.
Did people used to just stick their leftovers down their pants?!
Cultural thing also. You don't see it in Europe. No doggy boxes there, but portions appropriate for one person to eat. The term doggy bag or doggie bag is an Americanism that entered the European lexicon mostly to complain about the practice.Food is made to order, to be eaten as the chef envisioned it, immediately as the dish arrives on the table. It is not to be eaten at another temperature (cold pizza), in another form (e.g.sliced in a sandwich), or mixed together. Leftovers do not constitute food in places that prides itself in a cuisine that has not seen change in centuries, and is not ready for reheating in the microwave oven. Food left on the plate as scraps, not leftovers. There's a difference. It’s not good manners to ask to take home kitchen scraps.
However, things are slowly changing there too, and some restaurants offer "Too good to waste" boxes as well.
Here in the US, the portions were always bigger than one could eat. Now, really humongous. Even splitting a dinner plate for two makes two full size dinners. Completely out of control - because customers don't think they are getting good value for their dollar if the serving size is notatleast twice the size of what a normal person can eat at a sitting. That's probably why doggy boxes are so popular.
However, lots of people don't eat that food later. For many reasons - it doesn't look great anymore, or is forgotten somewhere in the back of the fridge. We waste a lot here...
TheSmithsonian blog Food & Think claims that the first doggy bags were for the benefit of dogs during the 1940s when rationing had an adverse impact on pet diets. By the 1970s, the practice of doggy bags for late night snacks for human consumption became more accepted. Even elegant places would oblige when asked.
I can understand that, but it's still completely edible food! Just because it's not at its "prime, optimum moment" to be ingested, you're still lucky to have it. Eat it and be thankful! lol. (I'm speaking about people in general. )
I agree that the portions here are ridiculous; I comment on it just about every time we eat out. But since there is food left over, there's no way I'm not asking for a doggy bag. And I ALWAYS eat it later.
Also, I eat pretty slowly. If we're eating out, especially with other people, I'll be paying more attention to those people and/or the surroundings, so I'm always the last one finished or who has too much food on my plate to finish, whether it was an oversized serving or not. But I'm not about to throw it out.
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I love Japan.
