Waiting to be served at Burton Dining Hall.
This week’s Carletonian featured two editorials arguing that Carleton should not go trayless. The first was by German Professor Anne Ulmer who writes of her concern that going trayless will cause the dining halls to be more chaotic and dangerous. The issue this editorial raises is a valid one, will going trayless make the dining hall less handicapped accessible? I don’t know the answer.
The second, more detailed editorial by Kyle Kramer makes a number of arguments that going trayless isn’t the best way to reduce food waste. He writes, “The effort to change peoples’ habits of taking too much food is much more likely to be successful if it does not hinge on making their lives more difficult.”
But I think this too narrow a view. It’s important to view the issue in context. Carleton students live some of the easiest lives on the planet. Imagine that you were offered the chance to switch places with a random 20-year-old somewhere on earth. You would be a fool to accept.
Furthermore, we live in country that is struggling with a food waste epidemic:
According to the U.N. World Food Programme, the total U.S. food surplus could satisfy “every empty stomach in Africa”.
If, by making this relatively small change, we can save a lot of food (and no one seems to disagree with that) then it is our obligation to do so. Humans are flexible and Carleton students are no exception. Most students make two trips to get food already.
I am a perfect example of why we should go trayless. I try not to waste food, but when I’m holding a tray it’s just so easy to take more. The huge size of the tray almost begs me to fill up the whole thing with food, and as a result I end up throwing out leftovers or stuffing myself.
I haven’t heard anybody make a better suggestion on how we can decrease our food waste. If there are no better solutions, I support going trayless without reservation.
4 comments
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March 1, 2009 at 11:44 pm
09
I am a perfect example of why we should go trayless. I try not to waste food, but when I’m holding a tray it’s just so easy to take more.
You massively win for admitting that. All of our friends claimed that they “deserved” a tray because “I never waste food anyway!” Thanks for such a thoughtful, measured response.
March 2, 2009 at 12:41 am
cellardoor10
What needs to happen is the dining hall needs to stop making food that looks good and tastes horrible. I take multiple entrees because I know I can’t trust any of them to be good. Maybe the chefs should pay attention to WHAT gets wasted – might tell them what not to make.
March 4, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Anonymous
cellardoor10 said “I take multiple entrees because I know I can’t trust any of them to be good.”
That is the voice of someone very comfortable in conspicuous food consumption privilege. When was the last time cellardoor10 grew something in a garden? Planned a menu? Went to a grocery store with a list of ingredients? Prepared a meal? Cooked a meal for someone else? I hope “cellardoor10″ gets that opportunity and that the guests show more gratitude for the effort.
March 5, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Rhonda
Robert, Does your cafeteria have one price for everything? If so I think this is the problem with the whole wasting food issue. When I go to a dinning hall at ISU and spend a lump sum of $8 for lunch I plan to eat well. Maybe too well. I totally understand why dinning services price their plans this way so they have a guarenteed idea of their income based on the amount of meal plans sold. Now you can buy plans that are good for 7, 10, 14, 17 or unlimited meals a week. So to save money some students only eat at dinning once a day. Therefore when they do eat they binge. This can’t be healthy. What is the solution? Back to paying for each item? Or forcing all to pay for the opportunity to eat in the Dinning Halls?