What's worse, eating meat or throwing it in the bin?

ch750536

I live with 3 meat(ish) eaters and it's a pet hate of mine. Today I threw some salmon in the bin. There really was no need. I felt eating it (before it went off) was better than binning it, though I never would. At least then the fish dies for something a bit useful.

Do you see what I mean?

They also made way to much pork stir fry, which also was binned. I hate that.

BMJD

I don't see what you mean.

Go veg!

Tar.Aldarion

ch750536 wrote: »

I live with 3 meat(ish) eaters and it's a pet hate of mine. Today I threw some salmon in the bin. There really was no need. I felt eating it (before it went off) was better than binning it, though I never would. At least then the fish dies for something a bit useful.

Do you see what I mean?

They also made way to much pork stir fry, which also was binned. I hate that.

Morally I see nothing wrong with eating food going to waste, the same with eating roadkill and so on. However there are a few problems with this. 1) It may be a slippery slope and you start eating whatever, all the time, more and more as time goes on. Maybe lines get blurred? And 2) I think we ought t be moving away from the idea that these animals are food whatsoever. They are not ours to be used or ours to be seen as food. Similar to if you saw somebody eating a person and they threw some away, I wouldn't be thinking oh that is a waste. That would just be my thoughts on it anyway.

actua11

It does always seem worse that, for lack of a better phrase, the animal's end was 'pointless' when it is simply thrown in the bin.

I reckon how I've come to terms with this dilemma is that what is being thrown out is just that, "a pork stir fry" and that it has already been processed too far down the line. By that stage it hasn't died for any necessary or noble cause so it's life's end is already basically pointless. (Which I accept is a very gloomy thought, so apologies)

I guess for a positive response to this I've always tried to see it as two separate issues. 1:That animal consumption is bad, and 2:Waste is also bad.

I guess the solution could be at source, in trying to get even ardent even meat eaters to consume less meat with their meals. From their perspective, using only half (or however much less) the portion of meat per meal means that they can get twice as many meals from it reducing cost. There is also less waste any maybe they may need to add in some extra veggies to bulk out the meal which can only be good for them.

From our perspective, we have hopefully on these occasions halved the in-store demand for meat which, while maybe we can't force to give up meat would still be a positive step. We can also try to be careful with our own veggie consumption and waste to take into account the time, effort and cost that goes into producing our food and remembering that some people aren't as lucky as us to have spare food to waste.

On a positive note, you've made a great choice in becoming veggie and that what you have thrown out is perhaps the portion you would have eaten if you were a meat eater. So, by being veggie you have already somewhat offset the waste by your own food choices.

You are making the best choices you can in a difficult situation. Along with this, your food choices and also your compassion shown in this situation can only be commended

ch750536

BMJD wrote: »

I don't see what you mean.

Go veg!

I don't eat animals, partly because of the way they are treated. Other people in my house do though.

The only thing worse than eating an animal is kiling it to eat it and then not eating it, simply throwing it in the bin.

Sounds crazy, but it almost makes me want to eat it, to give its awful life and pointless death at least some purpose.

TooManyDogs

I hate that idea too, but friends always give me their unwanted meat for my dogs so at least I know it's not going to waste

New Home

What I don't understand is, why don't those meat- and fish-eaters stick the leftovers in the freezer, or buy smaller quantities?? Whenever I cook too much veggie food I always keep the leftovers for another time...

A similar thing that drives me insane is when I see a food fight in a film, it's a complete and utter waste, and completely gratuitous.

blatantrereg

It's a lot cheaper to buy large amounts. I remember that buying individual cutlets was multiple times the price of buying a whole salmon and cutting it up - you could get them to cut it at the fish counter so zero difference in end result except the cutlets are much cheaper and slightly fresher. Likewise I remember getting four chicken legs (thighs and drumstick together) for one pound, which was much cheaper than normal prices. I guess they would have been often binned otherwise because the demand for breast is generally much higher.

Meat and fish spoils a lot faster than vegetarian foods, and it often aren't as appetising when reheated. I cook very large batches of lentil and chickpea curries at a time. They last for ages and taste as nice or sometimes better when reheated. This sort of thing isn't feasible with meat based food in the same way.

Over-consumption of meat has a big impact alright. Excessive demand results a corresponding negative effect on the animals' quality of life. Some species of broiler hens grow so fast now that they commonly break their legs under their own bodyweight if they are not confined to batteries. It has a major impact on health, primarily in relation to clogged arteries from excessive consumption of saturated fat. It has an impact on the environment. A vegan diet in the UK has 66% the carbon imprint of an omni one, typically, after factoring in imports etc, a vegetarian one 80%.

A lot of people reducing meat consumption would have a great overall effect than a few people eliminating it. Excessive consumption causes much more harm than consuming small amounts; especially with regard to health. I imagine that it would be more feasible to improve the quality of life of farmed animals than to move away from animal farming altogether for most producers. That in turn would be viable if people were willing to pay more, which would be feasible if they ate less.

People tend to think in black and white terms about meat consumption. That's probably not a good thing because it misses the point that if you decide to eat it, then it's still a good idea to eat less of it. Personally I'm a good example of that binary kind of thinking in the sense that I don't recall ever making an effort to moderate my consumption - I just went from eating lots to being vegetarian.... But yeah, half of people halving their meat consumption would be the same nett effect as 25% going vegetarian.

New Home

It would be wonderful, ideal even, if people stopped eating animals altogether... I was looking at OP's question simply from the angle of throwing 'perfectly good food'* away - meat mightn't be as tasty when reheated if kept in the fridge, but there's absolutely nothing 'wrong'* with it, and there are plenty of ready-made meals or ready-to-cook ingredients on sale in the shops to prove this. But that's why I mentioned the freezer, whatever they buy wouldn't go off as quickly as in a fridge and they'd have it ready for when they need it. I completely agree that buying in bulk is cheaper.... but not if they end up throwing away a large part of it because their eyes are bigger than their stomachs...



*Now, let me be very clear, I do not consider animals of any kind to be perfectly good 'food', in fact if I see meat or fish in the shops I see them as dead animals, not as food at all. By 'perfectly good' and having 'nothing wrong' with it I mean that it hasn't gone off.