Don’t waste food by taking more than you will eat

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Don’t waste food by overloading your plate, taking more than you will eat, whether or not it says that it is an “all you can eat” buffet for $10 or such. Neither do this at home. In both cases you can always go for seconds, if you are really hungry. Use small portions in both instances and also teach your children that way.

Too often plates get overloaded, especially also those of children and then they are either being forced to eat it all up, which is not good for them, or the food gets slung into the composter or worse still the trash.

It goes with food for many people in the same way as it goes with other things, the things I wrote about in “Use Only What You Need” recently.

All too often we grab just because we can, whether this is food or other goodies, especially if they come for free in some cases.

When it comes to food, to avoid waste, always start with a small portion, as I have said, and if you really are still hungry after then, by all means, have another small load that you will, indeed, eat.

There are so many children and adults, however, who seem to think that they need to have that, be it food or whatever, and then don't finish it because the eyes were bigger than the tummy, as my grandmother would say.

This is one of the reason that we are wasting so much food as a nation. The other being that too many people have no idea as to what to do with leftovers, having cooked too much which has not been eaten.

Our serious problems with waste – whether food or other stuff – also stems from our modern attitude, which is based on greed and false understanding of what needs actually are.

© 2010