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“Am I A Jerk For Letting My Roommate Go Hungry Because They Cannot Understand How Food Works?”
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“Am I A Jerk For Letting My Roommate Go Hungry Because They Cannot Understand How Food Works?”

Woman Complains About Her Roommate Letting Her 'Starve' By Not Sharing Their Food, The Roommate Reveals She Throws 3/4 Of The Food Away Every TimePerson Asks If They're A Jerk For Letting Their Roommate “She Is Complaining To Others About Me Letting Her ‘Starve’”: Roommate Refuses To Share Leftovers After Friend Continuously Throws The Majority Of It Away“She Is Complaining To Others About Me Letting Her ‘Starve’”: Roommate Throws Out Good Food And Expects More, Person Says Enough Is Enough And Stops SharingPerson Is Sick And Tired Of Their Roommate Asking For Food, Eating A Little Bit And Throwing The Rest Out, Refuses To Give Her MoreThe Internet Stands By This Person Refusing To Share Any More Leftovers After Roommate Continues To Chuck Most Of It In The TrashPerson Is Fed Up With Their Roommate Begging For Their Leftovers Only To Throw Stuff Away, Gets Called A Jerk For Saying 'No' To Her The Next Time“I’m Just Not Going To Watch My Hard Work Literally Go In The Garbage”: Person Refuses To Share Food With Their Roommate After They Repeatedly Throw It AwayPerson Stops Sharing Food With Their Wasteful Roommate, Says
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When someone brings you a home-cooked meal, it should be enjoyed and appreciated, not thrown away in one swift motion. If the latter happens, food waste might not be the only problem.

Redditor u/ZealousidealFan8906 told the AITA community about falling out with their roommate because of such a situation. The roomie repeatedly asked for leftovers only to dispose of them soon after. The OP eventually refused to give any more food, but started to wonder if they’re a jerk for doing so, as the roommate said they were letting them starve.

Home-cooked meals take time and energy to prepare, which makes throwing them away—wasting more than just food

Image credits: vladans (not the actual photo)

This person repeatedly shared leftovers with their roommate, but refused to do so after seeing what they did with them

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Image credits: borodai (not the actual photo)

Image credits: ZealousidealFan8906

People waste billions of tons of food every year in countries all over the world

The OP was understandably upset about Tammy throwing away the leftovers. They spent time, money, and effort cooking the meal, and the roommate sent it all down the drain. (Well, into the trash can, in this case.) By doing that, she disrespected the cook and definitely didn’t make the situation with food waste any better.

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As a matter of fact, as much as one third of the food in the world is wasted. An astonishing 1.3 billion tons of it would have been suitable for human consumption. To put matters into perspective, it is the equivalent of nearly 1,500 Golden Gate Bridges (887,000 tons each) combined. The situation in the US is no better than the global one—40% of food in the country ends up not being used.

To make matters worse, 14% of it is wasted after harvesting before even reaching the shelves. Another 17% is disposed of in homes, stores, and restaurants. Solving this global problem could help alleviate the issue of world hunger, which currently affects nearly 10% of our population.

Image credits: stayhereforu (not the actual photo)

Such waste negatively affects the humankind as well as the planet, therefore, certain management strategies are created

More saddening statistics reveal that food waste has a strong negative impact not only on the human race, but on the planet as well. The quantity of CO2 it emits would be enough to make it the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, right after the US and China, if it was a country. In addition to that, it leads to wasting large amounts of water each year as well.

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In order to tackle this problem, organizations are taking action to scale down the amounts they misuse or discard. Some of the ways to do that include reducing the surplus of generated food, donating it, and diverting scraps to animal feed or composting it.

Each person can contribute to minimizing such waste on their end. Steps as simple as planning your meals, storing the produce wisely, and paying attention to the food labeling can be enough to make a difference in the household. Trying to reduce it can also help to save money, which was one of the reasons the OP was so sensible about their food.

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

People in the comments were unanimous about whether the OP is a jerk in the situation

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Miglė Miliūtė

Miglė Miliūtė

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Read less »
Miglė Miliūtė

Miglė Miliūtė

Writer, BoredPanda staff

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

Read less »

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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N Miller
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Believe it or not, there's actually at least one "YTA" vote because OP gets money from their parents that they don't really "need". Sometimes it's fun to sort the AITA comments by "controversial" and see the trolls at work. (I'd vote NTA, for the record, it doesn't matter if OP has money to spare, wasting food, especially in the current climate - this was posted 3 days ago to Reddit - is criminal)

Trillian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who gets to decide if she "needs" the money and even if the doesn't, she is in no way obligated to provide for a roommate.

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Fat Harry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely NTA. I *hate* seeing food wasted, particularly after I've spent a good amount of time preparing it.

Marilyn Russell
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree. We were raised to finish what was on our plates. I had a nephew come over and went to throw out 3/4 of an expensive ribeye steak. I stopped him before it hit the garbage, telling him that could make another meal, like a steak sandwich. Besides, that’s part of an animal that gave its life for us to eat well. We must respect that. Not sure if he learned anything until there’s a day when he has to earn the money to feed himself and the time comes when funds are short…

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Scrolling Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tell everyone she complains to that she's bitching that you won't let her take your lunch for tomorrow and pitch the whole meal into the garbage, which is what she did the last 2 times you agreed to let her have your lunch. Their opinion of her will change in an instant.

Rahul Pawa
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think OP will find that anyone who buys her BS won't change their opinion so easily.

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N Miller
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Believe it or not, there's actually at least one "YTA" vote because OP gets money from their parents that they don't really "need". Sometimes it's fun to sort the AITA comments by "controversial" and see the trolls at work. (I'd vote NTA, for the record, it doesn't matter if OP has money to spare, wasting food, especially in the current climate - this was posted 3 days ago to Reddit - is criminal)

Trillian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who gets to decide if she "needs" the money and even if the doesn't, she is in no way obligated to provide for a roommate.

Load More Replies...
Fat Harry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely NTA. I *hate* seeing food wasted, particularly after I've spent a good amount of time preparing it.

Marilyn Russell
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree. We were raised to finish what was on our plates. I had a nephew come over and went to throw out 3/4 of an expensive ribeye steak. I stopped him before it hit the garbage, telling him that could make another meal, like a steak sandwich. Besides, that’s part of an animal that gave its life for us to eat well. We must respect that. Not sure if he learned anything until there’s a day when he has to earn the money to feed himself and the time comes when funds are short…

Load More Replies...
Scrolling Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tell everyone she complains to that she's bitching that you won't let her take your lunch for tomorrow and pitch the whole meal into the garbage, which is what she did the last 2 times you agreed to let her have your lunch. Their opinion of her will change in an instant.

Rahul Pawa
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think OP will find that anyone who buys her BS won't change their opinion so easily.

Load More Replies...
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