Today I had the pleasure of being criticized for not finishing my meal today during dinner. You may be thinking, "I hope this has some greater significance," and it does, so bear with me.
Why do many Americans equate not finishing a meal with contributing to world hunger? Today, after I had eaten half of my panini, a friend came up to me and said, "Don't just throw that away, save half and eat it later." The problem is I know myself, and that panini would have just taken away space in my minuscule refrigerator and been thrown away a week later. So I told her that I was throwing it away, and she said, "Come on, think about all of the starving children in Africa [or some other deprived place]! That is so wasteful and thoughtless."
I am so sick of people making this statement. True, me throwing away food that someone else would love to eat on the other side of the world can seem like a slap in the face, but let's be honest: me eating the other half of that sandwich would not have helped someone suffering from extreme hunger. Plus, since I am a college student and eat in a cafeteria everyday, I don't even have (much) control over the portions on my plate!
I realize that many people say the aforementioned statement without thinking and do not mean much by it, but for all of you who feel that you have a moral "one-up" on people who throw away their meal and enjoy throwing it in their face, I have one question to ask: Have you done anything to actually end world hunger?
The Lovely Dissenter
Note: Maybe obesity would not be such a huge epidemic in our country if people were taught to eat until they were full instead of until their plate is empty. Just a thought.
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