By: Cheryl Tully Stoll
What a distorted world we live in.
My husband and I recently went out for dinner and left the restaurant feeling very guilty. The guilt wasn’t from the excessive calories consumed; though it should have been. It wasn’t from the extravagance of dining out in a bad economy; we’re among the fortunate who are blessed that we can still do so. Our guilt was from something far more serious.
We left the restaurant horrified by the amount of food that was thrown away after our simple meal—one appetizer—a shared salad and a shared entree.
We’ve been to dining establishments with large portions before. These days, that’s nothing new. The bigger is better philosophy seems to go directly from our plates to our waist lines. However, we have never been to a restaurant with portions so genuinely disgusting in size that villages in third-world countries could have been fed for days from one dish. A restaurant with tables for two where many guests do not have the option of bringing food home with them should not serve a side order of ziti that is a full TWO POUNDS in weight.
The order of chicken parmesan that we shared was hideously large and enough to feed a family of four comfortably and our mixed greens salad could have satisfied grazing cows for more than a week.
The sheer waste of food was appalling. My husband ordered a fried calamari appetizer that was so large that an entire family of squid must have sacrificed their lives for that one dish. When it rapidly became apparent that the majority of calamari would go to waste and was still warm, we gave it to a table of ten women sitting next to us. During the brief time we were there, the table of ladies next to us had offers of several pasta dishes and an additional calamari order from other guilt-laden patrons.
When we inquired if we could have half an order explaining that we were willing to pay the full price, we were rebuffed. Additionally, according to health rules, the kitchen staff isn’t allowed to eat food from serving platters that have been untouched by patrons. Then again if they were, after what we saw in that establishment that evening, the kitchen crew would be so morbidly obese they wouldn’t be able to fit into the kitchen.
It’s no wonder that European tourists who visit the United States are disgusted by our food portion sizes.
In a day-and-age when people have to choose between putting gas in their cars or buying food for their families, this type of business practice is utterly obscene. This one restaurant must literally waste TONS of food on any given day. Food that could help children who during summer months have no access to Federally subsidized school lunches or breakfasts and don’t get even one balanced meal most days of the week. The excess could also feed senior citizens, who; having worked, sacrificed and saved their entire lives for a modicum of security in their older years now find themselves in the unconscionable situation of having to decide whether to fill their prescriptions, gas tanks or grocery baskets.
There is no way that we will be able to mandate a social conscience for business owners. However, each of us can use our own conscience and stop frequenting establishments that encourage life-threatening obesity with their portion sizes or blatantly waste a precious commodity that is so desperately needed by so many of our fellow human beings.
In this country money talks and if we speak with our dollars and have discussions with the staff of these establishments telling them why we will not be returning, it could be a first step in reigning in the avarice of excess. It doesn’t matter how good the meal is when most of it ends up in the trash.
Copyright Ó 2008 by Cheryl Tully Stoll
