I know where I work, we have banquets and weddings all the time. We have are Banquet Event Orders tell us what we need to cook and how much the client has payed for. Most of the time, when there are buffet style services, there is an insane amount of waste. Just today, we had an event for just 15 people, half of the salmon that was cooked was wasted, more than half of the lentil stew was trashed. (Atleast they paid for it and it didn't come out of our food cost) But still, hurts the heart man.
And I get the idea that you make sure you have more than enough as opposed to needing and not having but you'd hope people at least make an effort to try and not waste. Even if it makes you look greedy, there's no shame in taking some home. And like I said, if people started giving a lot more food away, then some would not work as hard for it because it'd be provided for them so I don't know how you approach the situation.
If the food is brought back when the event is over then, yes we encourage staff to eat whatever is brought down, buffets only obviously. But most of the time, to my chagrin the banquet servers let it sit too long, and I feel that it would be unsafe to eat. I can't be responsible for having staff get sick.
It is not a good thing that we waste so much food while others go hungry. That shows that there are some big problems with our global distribution system.
No I would say the distribution problems are more localized (like say, a warlord). It has nothing to do with us throwing food away, and we need not feel guilty about it. You consuming less food does not help feed anyone in the Sudan. Food typically has a shelf life, and excess is preferable to shortage, so you inevitably get some waste.
Do we expect the food producers in developed nations to feed the people in many under developed nations for free? They could not afford to buy the food at market price.
True food is perishable but that doesn't mean it is a good thing that so much is being wasted. As for pirc1's comment I think this is a fundamental problem with the nature of a global economy primarily based on capitalism. That resources are not actually distributed to where there is the most demand. Now I am not saying we should do away with global capitalism as I am not sure what could replace it but I think we should recognize the inherent problems with it than just dismiss it.
There's a misnomer here---yes there is enough food grown to make the world go round, but there isn't enough to feed everyone not because of some warlord or farm subsidies, but because the meat-laden Western buffet diet creates so much waste. we're seeing this here. I don't know how you could be proud of this, it's like saying people burning buildings down because they can is a sign of how strong society is.
I always buy meats and tv dinners, put them in the freezer, ignore them for a long time, and then start thinking about how nasty that stuff is now with freezer burn, etc. . I am awful at cleaning out the freezer. I know of at least ten or twenty processed food items in my freezer that are five years old or older. And, i have some bagged frozen chicken breasts and a roast that has been in there a few years. I don't even like thinking about it. I guess I should get around to cleaning my freezer. I always tend to buy a lot of yogurt and never eat it...so I have that in my frig...along with some way old sandwich meats and who knows what else? Occassionally, I find that shredded cheese bag way in the back that is all gross with green mold. I've had some rather nasty fruit scenarios as well with the rotting in the fruit drawer. lol I just can't buy food planned around meals where it is all used up in a timely manner. I wish I could cause I would save a lot of money I'm sure. I also buy the bagged shredded lettuce and dang if I can't get through the bag before it turns bad. But, I have to have shredded lettuce on hand for sandwiches and such. I'm a bad offender but I'm sure I'm not the only one.
