A Moral Question about Food

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Snicket, Feb 25, 2013.

  1. Talmay

    Talmay Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2013
    Messages:
    94
    Likes Received:
    1
    I used to work as a hostess at a restaurant. First thing they told me was that employee's get 75% off anything on the menu and drinks are free. That way we still pay the company, but get benefits from working there. But every place is different. If someone's making it for home and don't pay, that's stealing. It's another thing entirely to take what's getting thrown out anyway.

    If you really feel guilty about it, pay. Don't beat yourself up about it and just do what you believe is right.
     
  2. Snicket

    Snicket New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2013
    Messages:
    64
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Fork in the Road
    From now on I am paying for anything. Well, today I tried to pay for french fries and my shift lead was like "why are you rummaging through you wallet" me I am trying to pay for the french fries. He went, it's french fries I don't normally have people pay for french fries, eat them otherwise they go to waste anyway. So then I tried to give the money, he refused to take it, so I took home french fries without paying.
     
  3. live2write

    live2write Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2012
    Messages:
    523
    Likes Received:
    53
    You are being fair to pay for what you eat.

    It is like the Donut shop concept though where after a period of time the food ends up in the trash. I have seen families who will wait until the food is in the trash and then take the bag and feed their families. Reminds me also of Seinfeld where a coffee shop cannot get rid of their muffin bottoms. Newman ends up eating all of them because if not they go to waste.

    Many of the starbucks coffee shops here after 9pm will offer the food that was in the cases for free whether you purchase a coffee or not. If nobody eats it, it will go to waste, so why not offer it to somebody who needs a bite to eat.
     
  4. Phoenix Hikari

    Phoenix Hikari New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2012
    Messages:
    327
    Likes Received:
    7
    Do what your moral compass is telling you to do, don't take it without paying and if nobody let's you pay then there's another solution. You don't have to eat it, so just give it away to some homeless person who's close by you. That way you don't hold the guilt of consuming it and you help someone else eat.
    In this age it's getting difficult to judge what's wrong and what's right, because fast food companies are also greedy business managers who prefer for food to be wasted than given to people who actually need it- of course that all depends on the company. So the best thing to do at such confusing times is to follow your own feelings and do what YOU think is right.
     
  5. jazzabel

    jazzabel Agent Provocateur Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2012
    Messages:
    4,255
    Likes Received:
    1,688
    So, they'll throw food in the rubbish at the end of the night rather than let someone take it home? What if someone stands by the dumpster and takes the food which has just been thrown out, that's not stealing?
    Basically, the rule exists so that people who want to use perfectly good food which would have been otherwise thrown out, have to dumpster dive for it. Charming.
     
  6. evelon

    evelon Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2009
    Messages:
    609
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    England


    Is that really you Tourist? I agree with you. Wow, how did that happen?
     
  7. summerrain

    summerrain Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2012
    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    In your heart some where
    A moral question about food~

    I've read this thread and even before I'd finished I knew the most logical deduction, unless you live under a bridge, was to simply ask. Ask your boss. Who hasn't known someone who's worked in a restaurant of some sort? Each restaurant has it's own protocol re: leftover foods. MacDonalds counts everything, as do most chains. We have a famous sandwich/pastry eatery, over here, w/ really delicious, made fresh daily, stealable types of food stuffs. They, at the end of each day, have an agreement w/ several nursing homes with whom they offer out their leftover free fare to. Someone nightly, is sent out to retrieve this food, for it's residents. Several homes take turns. If you work there, you pay a pittance to eat lunch or dinner, and if your particular store that night, may have a mother load of leftovers, you can take a loaf of bread or cup of soup home for free. Just ask.
    I find that privately owned eateries are more generous in giving their employees whatever they can't reuse. I think I 'borrowed' a three pack of scones from the delicious place one night, many years back, as I walked out w/ my purchase. In retrospect, I don't feel guilty at all. Sorry maybe, but those damn scones were just way too expensive. Still are.
     
  8. Trilby

    Trilby Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2010
    Messages:
    2,097
    Likes Received:
    73
    Location:
    NE England
    Hi Snicket, you are in an impossible position, what you are describing is ( right or wrong) the norm to your workmates.

    It is difficult to do what you feel is the right thing to do when everyone around you are doing the opposite - it makes you stand out (to the people around you) as being odd and they could resent and alienate you.

    You're walking a tight rope - good luck! Your heart is in the right place and I hope it all turns out well for you
     
  9. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    Yup, it's all part of the same guy.

    But remember this for down the road. Today I told you something you wanted to hear. Later I'll tell you something that might be painful to hear.

    You want to be lied to?
     
  10. erebh

    erebh Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2013
    Messages:
    2,642
    Likes Received:
    481
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I dossed sorry "worked" in McDonalds and KFC when i was 16 or 17. In both places we had a £4 a day voucher for lunch. We were so fed up eating the crap we swapped our vouchers for Burgerland's staff voucher's next door and it all worked fine. Our chefs would make a load of stuff just before closing, knowing it had no chance of selling and all the staff took food home. Management knew exactly what was going on, they even had their orders in first!

    Out for a drink one night with managment and they told us that wastage/thieving etc was all calculated into the price of the burger so the customer paid. Theft and wastage too was also covered under their insurance who also paid up every year.

    A new manager came in and clamped down on the whole "scam" and not as much as a french fry went in the bin let alone a big mac meal coming home on the bus with me. Did the price of the burger come down for customers? Did it hell! But hey, they still claimed insurance every year!

    Is it moral to rob a robber?

    Take your pick kid, you seem like a nice guy with a conscience. Have a quiet word with management, tell him you'd like to take food home once in a while and ask is there a possibility of a staff discount, he might just tell you to take it just for being so honest!
     
  11. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    Of course not. It's just an example of situational ethics to justify your crimes and/or sins.

    Let me give you a true scenario. I know lots of cops, security people and bikers. Quite easily I could find most of the major "playas' in the drug trade. And trust me, I know how to push back.

    So, one day I get up and my wife is worried about money. I look around and see that just about every politician who claims to bleed for the American people goes off to Wasghington and becomes a millionaire. So I decide I want some free pie, too.

    So, I take my spine and some very effective hollowpointsand start whacking drug dealers. I rob them, flush the drugs and hang them upside-down for all to see, ala Spiderman. No witnesses, all cash, no trail. And even if someone suspects, heck, they're on my side.

    Is it moral then to slam a drug peddler to his knees, make him beg for his life like he does the addicts his preys upon, and then splatter his brains all over the back wall--while taking the imprint of the act to my soul, and in front of my God?

    Of course it's sin! And to say the guy had it coming is not justification for my wrongdoing. I don't care if a billionaire runs that restaurant made his ill-gotten profits from bilking the innocent with horse meat. It's a morality issue.

    Snicket is right, and 'right' for us all. And frankly, I think it took a lot of guts for a member to post this. That moral compass makes us all look weak, not the other way around.
     
  12. Snicket

    Snicket New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2013
    Messages:
    64
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Fork in the Road
    It's really hard because I don't have a lot of money myself, but rather would pay. Though I think the shift lead felt a little sympathy that a kid wanted to give them at least ninety-one cents. I have am taking the time to calculate the onion rings my uncle gave me out of nowhere and paying for that. It's a dollar 1.27 for employees for both the fries and onions rings. Put that together for pricing that's 2.54. After I deposit in my check, I am giving them 2.54 dollars, I know it seems weird, but I hate feel liking I owe people money and I hate feeling like I have stolen.
     
  13. evelon

    evelon Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2009
    Messages:
    609
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    England

    The tone of your usual posts is pretty aggressive. You seem to be a 'my way or the wrong way' sort of person. I was surprised to detect a softer tone to your post which was pretty neat.
    And I did think it was good advice.

    Opinions are never lies - they are just that, one person's take on a situation and as such they can be agreeable or disagreeable. They have no more importance than that.
     
  14. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    Oh, I understand that. And in that spirit I just started a "fish out of water thread" to explain that viewpoint.

    But let me make this personal, Evelon. Suppose you came to Madison, and no doubt we would end up at my local B&N at some point, having coffee, discussing literature and debating various ancillary topics.

    Without warning, a loose nut with 417 rounds of armor piercing ammunition bursts into the cafe' looking for blood. At that defining moment, what would happen?

    Would you stand up and softly say, "Tourist, you sit here and finish your coffee. I'm going to walk up to this person directly and relate the positive attributes of modern society."

    ...or...

    Are you going to be quite afraid, look me in the eye and say, "Look, Tourist, I know you're armed, do something!"

    The outcome of all of this gray hair is the enlightenment that people honestly talk in two different ways. One way is when we are safe and warm and all is an academic discussion.

    The other way is how we speak when the ship is sinking and you don't have a life-jacket.

    I also feel that guys my age should be mentors. And if I don't provide opposing viewpoints you will walk off with little or no practical knowledge. For example, I know how to change tires, fix a toaster, diagnose a stalled engine, clean a firearm, and read Shakespeare. Laugh if you want, but +75% of every group you'll meet from now on do not.

    I know you don't like what I proffer, and that will continue--until your hair turns gray, too.
     
  15. Phoenix Hikari

    Phoenix Hikari New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2012
    Messages:
    327
    Likes Received:
    7
    Definitely, I'd love a mentor like you. :D
     
  16. Sved

    Sved New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2013
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Norway
    Just because there isn't a rule against doesn't mean it's allowed. Not in this case.

    It depends on the level of control they have over their costs if they notice things missing, although fit sounds everyone knows.

    Just because it's common doesn't mean it's allowed per se. In my past I seen such rules being applied arbitrarily, when they wan't to get rid of someone or when there is a need to downsize they bring it up.
     
  17. evelon

    evelon Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2009
    Messages:
    609
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    England


    I am going to do what most people do and freeze. I am going to be terrified and probably pray to a god I don't believe in. I'm going to do all sorts of things to save my skin that I wouldn't normally consider doing. If I could get hold of a gun I'd probably fire it - and who knows who I'd hit.

    But I don't go through my life thinking that this is going to happen. And I certainly wouldn't come to you for advice over which gun to carry because that just isn't going to happen either.

    As far as fixing tyres in concerned, I don't need to know that because I know a man that does. I'll never clean a firearm and I too read Shakespeare and I have been known to mend a few kitcheny-type things. And even if I didn't do any of these things, what makes you think that, because you have done them, you would make a better mentor than me? You'd have me doing all the things I hate just in case one day a nut with a gun bursts in through the door. Not saying that wouldn't happen, but how can anyone live their lives assuming that it will?

    You think that you have all the right answers. You don't even have the right questions. It isn't - how do I deal with the gun-wielding maniac that's just shot up the bar, it's - why the hell do we make it so easy for him to do that.

    Just another point, I'm probably as old or older than you. I've learned a thing or two as I've travelled this twisted road called life. Age doesn't necessarily make us more aware of the world around us. Sometimes it just means that we've become more entrenched in what we've always believed is the way to do things. Of course we think we know it all because we've been through it all. But the world changes and we don't always change with it.

    Oh yes. And I've been a mentor all my life except that in my case my mentees have called me 'Mum' or 'Nan' and I truly hope that I had something to do with the fact that they are balanced, work hard to care for their families and don't spend their lives wondering how to stockpile arms just in case something terrible happens. Maybe it will - nobody knows. But the odds are greatly against that and I'd prefer that they live their lives peacefully and happy.

    We have a growing gun and knife culture in our cities. The general consensus is that we have to stop it, not by arming the general public, but by educating the youth. We may be fighting a losing battle, but better that than to give in to the excessive use of guns that you advocate. (I know! You don't think its excessive - I get that, no need to argue that point.)

    You are arrogant if you really think that yours is the only point of view that can teach us anything - And if I don't provide opposing viewpoints you will walk off with little or no practical knowledge. - that really is an inflated concept of your own importance. One day we'll both be dead. I can guarantee that the world will keep turning. And those left behind? They'll manage without either of us. That's how important our opinions will be in 10, 20 years time.
     
  18. erebh

    erebh Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2013
    Messages:
    2,642
    Likes Received:
    481
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    oh tourist please save me, please save my soul my salvation...blech... how does the tourist reconcile eating a crap probably horsemeat burger to hanging a drug pusher upside down and killing him?

    seriously tourist... knock it off
     
  19. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    erebh, because both examples demonstrate profiteering while uncaringly putting things in innocent people's bodies.

    In many portions of the USA just dropping common sleeping pills into a woman's drink is a felony.

    But my premise stands. People with a moral compass need never explain themselves to easy riders. In most cases the "rider" knows he's done wrong, and wants to minimize his wrongdoing with by claiming "everyone does it."

    I have news for you, not everyone "does it." In fact, honesty is more common than chicanery. A few months ago I found some scrap-paper in the bottom of my blue jeans pocket. It was a receipt from B&N. I had five extra shots in my coffee, and was billed for four. A minor issue.

    But I took the receipt back to B&N, and showed it to Jessie, the cafe' manager. We both knew it was a 'life lesson' for the younger baristas, but the registers had long been tied out. I simply asked if they had a "penny jar," the cup where clients can borrow a bit if they are short. We settled it that way.

    The issue was not the 35 cents. The issue was knowingly penalizing a vendor, any vendor. And it's a very big deal.

    Between outright theft, erroneous change not being returned and the falsification of tags, stores lose about 10% of their potential revenue annually.

    So I might be teased for my policy, but it's better than being a thief, and sooner or later, it all comes out. How would you like to lose the chance at a good job when an employer checks out you life on FaceBook and this forum?

    You then lose the job for stealing french fries...and then it's my turn to laugh.
     
  20. Teodor Pravický

    Teodor Pravický New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2013
    Messages:
    154
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Czech Republic
    I can't work with food. Once I repaired food dispenser machines and didn't eat nothing but stuff from these dispensers, sometimes coins got stuck, so I doubled my wage that day and wasn't unhappy that I don't get much money for 14 hour shifts anyways.

    Its like you make yourself feel that its much better job than really is.
     
  21. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    But in the end this isn't about food, but how you choose to live your life.

    For example, my wife and I notice that when there's a real rust-bucket car in front of us (usually hanging on the leaf-spring suspension and belching smoke) there are also empty packs of cigarettes on the dashboard.

    In short, the guy doesn't care about his body, so he doesn't care about your body, the environment and even the filth he lives within.

    Same way with honesty. A guy who will pilfer pennies will cheat on his wife, cut corners on the job, betray his friends if he needs to get ahead and mouth any philosophy if he feels it gets him advancement.

    Most often this starts when he's a boy and steals a candy bar. Ten years later he's cheating on his taxes.

    To the folks here who say that this is a trivial matter, put the shoe on the other foot. Would you want a guy that steals food to be your friend and confidant? Would you hire him? Would you let him alone with your wife?

    On the contrary, if Snicket came to you for work, and that involved money or other corporate assets, would there be a job offer?
     
  22. Teodor Pravický

    Teodor Pravický New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2013
    Messages:
    154
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Czech Republic
    Your conclusions sounds a bit extreme. Where did you get that somebody stealing food will sleep with your wife? I don't think that every decision in life is so linked that only absolutely honest morons could be trustworthy.

    You see you can't trust to these people anyway, because when it comes to the conflict with some widely accepted moral dogma, they will betray you just for the principle of it. And they could be even your very best friends. Now thats a true link.
     
  23. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    Teodor, it's the mindset of situational ethics. Let me explain.

    If your parents did their job, you know where the guidelines and social mores begin and end. At some point you will be faced with issues of morality. To many, they make a conscious choice that their personal needs or wants outweigh everyone else's.

    Over time, it can get away from you. For example, what would be your first inclination if you saw your local beat cop take free lunches or sports tickets as he makes his daily patrol?

    If you cannot trust a man in the little things, then why should you trust him in the bigger issues?
     
  24. jwideman

    jwideman New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2013
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    1
    Interesting hypothesis. Do you have any evidence that one leads to another?
     
  25. The Tourist

    The Tourist Banned

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,081
    Likes Received:
    28
    Location:
    Wisconsin.
    Yeah, my life.

    Forty years ago I would have kicked you in the tail, taken your wallet, hustled your wife right under your nose and laughed all the way to the bike shop. I didn't know how to speak unless I was telling a lie.

    When I was eight years old I stole a flashlight battery. You see, I wanted it.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice