Can't we use food waste for farms?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I just got back from South Dining hall tonight, and after a few students asked me to dump my wasted food into a trash bin, I got to thinking. I thought to myself, "Finally, they're going to do something with all of the food we waste here." I was then told by one of the students that they weren't really doing anything with the food waste; they were just simply collecting it to see how much food was wasted. My mind was boggled.
I had read a few of the letters in last weeks Observers about the "Students for Clean Plates" and their mission to reduce food waste in the dining halls. I must admit how glad I was to see that someone was raising issue with our wasteful tendencies. However, it seemed to me that this was not an issue that warranted an all out hunger strike or anything of the sort. The fact is that the students here pay very well (about $8 a meal) to eat a wide selection of as much food as we desire. We should be able to take what we want and not feel tremendous guilt for doing so. At the same time, hopefully most parents have instilled the concept of "take what you want, eat what you take" to their children, and hopefully we practice this as often as possible. Beyond all of this, there seems to be a very simple, common-sense solution to the wasted food problem at Notre Dame.
Most people are aware that food that goes unused from the kitchens in the dining halls is donated to local homeless shelters and other charitable causes. My question is; why can't the waste food also be put to use. I always thought it obvious, but I guess not. Here in Indiana there ought to be plenty of farmers who would be able to use the slop food to feed their livestock.
Why don't the "Students for Clean Plates" contact local farmers who might be interested in receiving donated slop for their pigs and other animals? Maybe this has been considered before and there is some catch that I'm not considering, but since this is a system that other environmentally aware institutions have already adopted, I don't see why Notre Dame Food Services couldn't do the same
So, next time you're at the dining hall, don't feel bad about eating whatever you want, but please, do your best to reduce your food waste. Furthermore, let's hope the food we do waste might be put to a better use than to just occupy landfill space.
Dave Clark
Junior, Keough Hall
November 18, 1999
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, November 22, 1999
