Wasting Food
Published May 16, 2009 @ 05:32AM PT
A conservative commentator at the National Review looked at a privately funded soup kitchen that spends its money wisely and concluded that offering gourmet meals to poor people is a waste of food.
As noted at the DailyKos discussion in Calouste's diary, most of the food was made from relatively inexpensive raw ingredients. Garlic is delicious, true, but it doesn't cost $100 an ounce. Indeed, the idea that tasty food had ought to be an expensive preserve of the wealthy is downright pernicious.
When Sharon Gruber from Bread for the City talked about the cooking and nutrition classes she holds for low income families, she made clear that many of the disease of poverty are diseases of malnutrition, even in the unhealthfully overweight. Making sure that people in need of food aid can get fresh, whole foods as ingredients, and also have a few ideas about what to do with them, does a lot to improve quality of life and lower costs of living.
And when it seems as if everyone and their brother has forgotten what food is, we could all stand some reminding, even if we don't qualify for food assistance.
Less meat, less junk, more plants. Eat food. Eat real food. - Mark Bittman
The real waste of food, I think, is the production of what's essentially poison from healthful, raw foods. Food like meat, we don't need that much of. Food like grain actually needs to have a lot done to it to make it unhealthy - with the grain that makes it into most junk food having been husked, de-branned, ground and bleached, it can seem like a wonder that people look at you funny for asking that less be done to it before eating.
So, waste. It's surely unecessary insulin and heart medication, pain medication taken for joints that are needlessly over-compressed, greenhouse gas emissions that didn't have to be and things we never needed at all, like chese puffs.
By contrast, I don't think healthy food eaten in reasonable amounts can ever be considered wasted.
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Comments (4)
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Author
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Natasha is an amateur eater with severe snarkolepsy and a c. 2002 blogging habit. She had a fabulous time studying ecological agriculture and policy at The Evergreen State College, and even did her homework while writing at various times for pacificviews.org, boomantribune.com, and mydd.com.
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Why am I reminded of the movie "Demolition Man"? The Utopian vs. Dystopian societies separated by something as simple as eating what you should and eating what you want. Or really doing what you should and doing what you want. (Although typically the problem here is quality of or should I say inequality of that which is needed to survive and or thrive.)
There are so many bad choices. These bad choices are more abundant therefore cheaper. Worst yet, they taste really good! It is not going to be easy but I have working on the solution.
I have to admit in my planning for a Sustainable Utopia, I have come to the conclusion that I just might also have to design some form of Sustainable Dystopia as well. There are reasons we come up with words like Dichotomy. At the same time the hope would be that with the equal opportunities to survive and thrive, eventually there would just be Utopia.
Be Helpful, Not Hurtful
Posted by Charles Hancock on 05/16/2009 @ 11:24AM PT
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"So, waste. It's surely unnecessary insulin and heart medication, pain medication taken for joints that are needlessly over-compressed, greenhouse gas emissions that didn't have to be and things we never needed at all, like cheese puffs.
By contrast, I don't think healthy food eaten in reasonable amounts can ever be considered wasted."
Amen to that, Natasha. The amount of waste we produce is astounding, and its directly tied to practices and products like the cheese puffs you refer to. Considering our food insecurity, an escalating malnutrition/obesity crisis, the economic devastation of farmers and rural towns, the recession, and last but not least, climate change, we need to seriously examine the amount of waste we produce as a result of our systems. Thank you for continually pointing this out.
Posted by D W on 05/16/2009 @ 04:22PM PT
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Natasha -
I read that and agree with your points about serving healthy food at food banks & shelters. Indeed, this has been a concern of mine for some years.
On the other hand, in reading Julie Gunlock's article, I think the impetus behind her frustration is more about shelters & food banks throwing away donations that don't meet their standards. As she quoted:
"In a Washington Post article covering the visit, one Miriam's Kitchen official explained, 'If anyone brings us donuts, Steve [the chef] throws them away. . . . It is not good food for our guests. We care too much to give them anything but the best. Steve wants our guests to have the same experience as if they were paying $30 for the meal.'"
While I understand the desire to feed guests only healthy food, I do take issue with throwing away food. I think that if an organization would prefer donors to focus on healthy options, that should be encouraged.
Posted by Amanda Jones on 05/18/2009 @ 09:22AM PT
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As a staff member of Miriam's Kitchen, the organization quoted in the article, I'd like to clarify a few points.
First, we absolutely do encourage supporters to donate healthy food items. We have a very specific wish list (listed on our website: www.miriamskitchen.org) but when we do receive items that do not quite meet our standards, we do our best to donate them to organizations around the city who have expressed interest in them. It is certainly not our policy or standard procedure to throw away our donated items. We do our best to find those items a proper home.
In addition, all of our menus are prepared for just $1.50 per guest each day. It is a very low cost for a very high-quality, healthy menu. We insist upon a high-quality, healthy and homemade menu because so many of our guests are living with severe health problems: cancer, AIDS, diabetes and high-blood pressure. Nutrition is vitally important as they work to combat these diseases, while simultaneously living on the streets. It's not an easy task for anyone, and certainly not for our homeless guests. That is why we insist upon the best.
If you have any questions about Miriam's Kitchen or would like to come see our kitchen, I'd be happy to chat with you further. I can be reached at jenn@miriamskitchen.org.
Thank you for allowing me the space to clarify a few points.
Posted by Miriams Kitchen on 05/18/2009 @ 11:35AM PT
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