3 ms·

For me, and probably many Europeans: yes, that is how we are raised. It's not su much of being taboo, more like a sense that it makes no sense to waste anything

by stinos 10y ago

For me, and probably many Europeans: yes, that is how we are raised. It's not su much of being taboo, more like a sense that it makes no sense to waste anything (not just food/water) and is bad for the planet in general. (well, there is truth in that). My parents even had a picture of a bunch of underfed kids from Ethiopia (or so) on the wall in the kitchen. If we didn't eat our plate, they'd point to it and say something like 'You see that? They would go nuts for that bit of food that is still on your plate. Eat it.' Thinking of it now I can see that might not be regarded as best practices in education, but they meant it well.

jessriedel 10y ago
The marginal cost of that sugar water is less than the cost of the waiter's time to walk to your table.
aembleton 10y ago
My parents had the same attitude and I'm from the UK. My Dad passed away at a younger age than his father from obesity related conditions and it was then that I realised that my parents generation (born in the 50s) were the first in history to have access to unlimited food. Their own parents had instilled in them this view that you must finish your plate. They had experience of rationing. My parents continued this attitude probably because this just seemed like the thing to do but really this sort of thing seems like a bad thing when many of us are overweight.
- DrScump 10y ago
  Their own parents had instilled in them this view that you must finish your plate. They had experience of rationing. In the wake of WW2 clear into the 1950s, there were food shortages in Europe, with hunger and malnutrition. Even Americans were guilted into not wasting food. For example, Allan Sherman (an overweight Jewish American comedian, sort of a Weird Al Yankovic of his era) said in a song monologue: 'My parents would say, "clean your plate; children are starving in Europe!" So, I would clean the plate. Four, five, six times a day.'
  - aembleton 10y ago
    True, my Dad born in 1952 had a ration book for the first couple of years of his life. He didn't remember that but for his parents it would all feel too recent.
swift 10y ago
That's how most people I know were raised in the US, too. As an adult, I've consciously tried to move away from this attitude, because it leads to obesity. It's especially problematic in the South, where I'm from, given the absolutely massive portions that are traditional there. (And it shows in the pervasive obesity of the population.) My rule now is that I stop eating as soon as I'm full. It's sometimes a struggle to make myself follow it, though.

by stinos 10y ago

jessriedel 10y ago

The marginal cost of that sugar water is less than the cost of the waiter's time to walk to your table.

aembleton 10y ago

My parents had the same attitude and I'm from the UK. My Dad passed away at a younger age than his father from obesity related conditions and it was then that I realised that my parents generation (born in the 50s) were the first in history to have access to unlimited food. Their own parents had instilled in them this view that you must finish your plate. They had experience of rationing. My parents continued this attitude probably because this just seemed like the thing to do but really this sort of thing seems like a bad thing when many of us are overweight.

DrScump 10y ago
Their own parents had instilled in them this view that you must finish your plate. They had experience of rationing. In the wake of WW2 clear into the 1950s, there were food shortages in Europe, with hunger and malnutrition. Even Americans were guilted into not wasting food. For example, Allan Sherman (an overweight Jewish American comedian, sort of a Weird Al Yankovic of his era) said in a song monologue: 'My parents would say, "clean your plate; children are starving in Europe!" So, I would clean the plate. Four, five, six times a day.'
- aembleton 10y ago
  True, my Dad born in 1952 had a ration book for the first couple of years of his life. He didn't remember that but for his parents it would all feel too recent.

swift 10y ago

That's how most people I know were raised in the US, too. As an adult, I've consciously tried to move away from this attitude, because it leads to obesity. It's especially problematic in the South, where I'm from, given the absolutely massive portions that are traditional there. (And it shows in the pervasive obesity of the population.) My rule now is that I stop eating as soon as I'm full. It's sometimes a struggle to make myself follow it, though.