I was thinking about food fights and how it wastes food. Pie fights waste dairy whip that could be sent to poor children. I was wondering how I could condone other people having pie fights, and then wondered how I could possibly get excited about the thought of doing it myself. Originally I hadn't been worried, but somebody suggested to me that it might not be such a fantastic idea, and I thought they could be right.
But then I thought about party poppers and streamers and harbour cruises. All forms of entertainment that are at least as wasteful as throwing dairy whip pies at people. Just because something is edible doesn't mean it's more wasteful when it's used for entertainment. Using stuff for food fights is only wasteful because it's resources that aren't being spent making other, more useful, things.
So it is wasteful and uncompassionate to use dairy whip for a food fight. But so are 99% of the things I choose to buy. And 99% of the non-edible stuff that sits in a supermarket. We could donate all the money we spend on all that stuff to poor countries, and people would stop making it for us. And start making stuff that would be useful for poor people. Like rice. And guns to shoot rabbits. And stools to sit on. But we don't stop buying it. I guess because people suck. Or something.
So will you come to the next pie fight?
Tom / 12:25am / 18 February 2004
will you keep buying frisbee’s
howie / 12:42am / 18 February 2004
Yes. I’ll definitely come to the next one. Although I don’t like the idea of getting gelatiny cheesecake in the side of the head.
And I’ll keep buying frisbees too.
Ryan / 9:17am / 18 February 2004
Perhaps you’re right, but doesn’t whipped cream have vicarious values related to its use in a pie fight, beyond the utilitarian view that you have adopted? ;)
Rainman / 3:42pm / 18 February 2004
Maybe vicarious is the wrong word. I’m sure you know what I mean. It goes beyond being food and is valuable in its provision of good times and possibly laughter (although that would depend on how hard the pie hits you).
Rainman / 3:45pm / 18 February 2004
That’s partly my point. I would equate using whipped cream in a pie fight with all sorts of other more socially acceptable wastages of resources.
I guess the anti-food-fight sorts would say that fun and laughter can be had in other ways. Ways that don’t increase the global market demand for whipped cream and party poppers, thereby pushing their price beyond the reach of Africans living and poverty. Or they might say something along those lines at least.
If someone discovered that party poppers were actually incredibly nutritious, would a stigma develop against using them for parties and fun and games? Is it dairy whip’s nutritional value, although questionable, that makes its use in food fights so controversial? Would a rice fight be more acceptable? What about a low-cost textured vegetable protein fight?
I’m all for food fights. I’m just trying to work through the ethical dilemmas.
Ryan / 4:02pm / 18 February 2004
Surely it’s not a wastage though. It’s being put to arguably better use than, for example, if it was simply added to scones.
I’d love to see an “I can’t believe it’s not bacon” fight. I’m not sure how that would work though. Would you slap your opponents with the rashes?
Rainman / 1:57pm / 20 February 2004
Maybe you should change the title of this post to “Dairy whip and party poopers” ;)
Rainman / 1:58pm / 20 February 2004
I don’t think it’s a particular waste. But other people seem to. My whole question is why “wasting” food like this is singled out as especially bad. You’re parents always tell you not to waste food. But wasting anything else is fine.
Ryan / 2:05pm / 20 February 2004
Maybe we should stop ‘wasting’ our time on the intricacies of diary whip. lol.
Rainman / 4:39pm / 20 February 2004