Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Slopping the Hogs

As a child we were encouraged to take all we wanted to eat, but to eat all we take. We have practiced that most of our lives. Even at a buffet (EAYC) we try to eat what we take. We eat out a lot now. I am amazed at seeing a half glass of orange juice thrown away! Sometimes a whole plate of food that some child just did not want. Yes I am amazed at the waste.
What I am more amazed with is in most cases farmers are not allowed to feed the leftovers to their hogs. We called it ‘slop’, when dad raised a hog. Mama had a slop bucket and ANY uneaten food (which was little) went into the slop bucket. Sometimes farmers made slop runs where the neighbors saved their scraps for him in a ‘slop’ bucket.



Our friend Judy said when she worked at a cafeteria and the state of Maine stopped the farmers from taking the scraps to be fed to the hogs. What? Are they afraid they will poison the hogs? I am a little slow sometimes, but for the life of me I can see nothing wrong with the food thrown away at school being fed to animals. There must be something I do not get.



Just to qualify my statements about 'Slop Bucket'. In our house this was a 'Slop Jar' or as Shirl & mama would call it a 'Chamber!' (My mama was classy, the out house was the 'pisserie').


This is a slop bucket, a real nice 'Slop Bucket'.
There was a statement, ‘Waste not, want not.’ We do a pretty good job of eating our left over’s, and when we eat at a restaurant, if there is enough left for take-out we do. Meals are costly, food is costly and for us to throw it away is not wise, mostly we do not.



Are your kids, grand kids picky about what they eat? We have a couple that are and more that aren’t. I believe over all, kids are much more picky than 30-60 years ago.


So QUIT WASTING FOOD, SNEAK IT OUT TO THE HOGS IF NOTHING ELSE.


Thanks for taking your valuable time to read this drivel.


Nite Shipslog






PS:


Now mama would say, the kids in Africa would love to have what you don’t want! (I never did say it, but I thought it, how are we gonna get it to them?)


*****


Man who live in Glass house should change clothes in Basement.

10 comments:

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

When my children were growing up they did have to eat what was on their plate and so did I. The only thing I can ever remember that I didn't eat was my dad's chicken gizzards which he loved and which I suffered. My grandchildren are picky. All of them eat little. Sometimes I wonder what they will be like when they grow up. And yes, my grandmother had a slop bucket for the pigs on their farm.

shirl72 said...

I had an e-mail showing the food that was
wasted by the children that gets free breakfast
and lunch, eggs, bacon milk, orange juice and
more. That is a shame. They are not thankful
for food. Makes me mad if they don't eat they
should have to come up with the money to pay.

Shirl

Ally Lifewithally said...

It is such a shame the amount of food we waste ~ and I think it should be saved to feed the Hogs ~ and not just put in the bin ~ Ally x

betty said...

my kid was a bit picky until he lived on his own a bit and then he ate what he could afford and now he is less picky (and more grateful, LOL)

there is a lot of waste in food, isn't there? some I just have to blame on the restaurant people who serve a tremendous amount of food in an entree, more than double what the average person can eat and then lots of people don't think about taking it home for leftovers

talked with a friend a bit ago who worked at McDonald's in his youth. He said if a hamburger stayed up in their bin for 15 minutes, it had to be thrown away, so they were careful not to pre-cook a lot. Can you imagine how grateful a homeless person would be to get a hamburger like that? But nope, down the trash it went. Something seemed wrong there

good entry.....now I'm hungry LOL

betty

Sheila Y said...

My youngest is more picky now than when she was young. But she gets it honest...her Dad's a little picky too...ha. Take care, Sheila

Anonymous said...

IT IS NEWS TO ME THAT SLOP CANNOT LEGALLY BE FED TO HOGS.
SINCE BEING A KID ON THE FATM AND BEING MARRIED AND HAVING A GARDEN EACH YEAR, DID CONTINUE HAVING A SLOP BUCKET TO CATCH KITCHEN WASTE, USED THE SLOP TO BE APPLIED TO THE 'COMPOST CAGE' AND THE SLOP ALONG WITH GRASS CLIPPINGS AND WEEDS AND ANY GARDEN RESIDUE SUCH AS SPOTTED VEGETABLES OR LOWER CABBAGE LEAVES , THESE ADDED TO THE COMPOST RESULTED IN RICH BLACK SOIL FOR STARTING PLANTS IN SPRINGTIME. COFFEE GROUNDS HELP. sam.

p.s. DURING WORLD WAR TWO AFTER ISLAND TO ISLAND AND INTO THE PHILLIPINES, THE JAPS HAD TAKEN EVERYTHING OF VALUE FROM THE PHILIPINE PEOPLE AND THE CHILDREN WOULD COME STAND NEAR OUR KITCHEN, AT THE GARBAGE CANS TO GRATEFULLY HAVE US RAKE ANY LEFTOVERS INTO THE BUCKET THAT THEY WERE HOLDING.
WE HAD NO FRESH VEGETABLES OR MEAT, AND MUCH WAS FROM AUSTRAILIA, CANNED STEW MUCH OF WHICH CONTAINED MUTTON.
WE HAD ALL SHED OUR FLABBINESS. sam

Paula said...

Love this entry Jack. Its right down my ally. We had a slop bucket in the kitchen and if my memory is correct we put the dish water in there too. Now for that other kind of pot---- I'm glad to hear someone else called it a chamber. No one else I ever knew called it that but my Mama did. I DID NOT like to empty it.

Fred Alton said...

Our slop bucket hung on a board nailed to the out-house. When we were not fattening our own hog one of the church members would come by once a week to collect it for his hogs. The chamber pot was the fancy ceramic jar under the bed with a lid on it that we used at night and emptied first thing in the morning. A "pisserie"? Never heard of that. ☻

Like Shirl, "it makes me mad" to realize the waste that happens because children are so persnickety! And it also gripes me that we are made to throw away left-over food that could be fed to the hogs. It's really ridiculous - but it's caused partly because we have become so nasty in our attitudes, suing the restaurant because someone ate food there and got sick. It's my opinion that if a few level headed judges would smack down some of our silly legal claims we would see a positive change come over this country.

Dar said...

Great entry Jack! Slopping the hogs..been there many times. We raised hogs for family use and used to even get the whey from the cheese factory to slop them with. They always had plenty of scrap from the gardens like cabbage leaves, carrot tops, spinach and peas...lucky hogs., and chickens. But, you're right, there is way too much waste that could feed half of America if our own country weren't so screwed up with rediculous notions. I agree with Fred on a few judges smacking down.
My GrandLoves are pretty good eaters. Seldom do they eat candy, but lots of fresh veggies from the garden...mostly because I let them have their own row to plant what they want, they tend their row, and gladly reap the harvest. They have been taught by their parents that they eat what is on their plate and be grateful for it. I guess we are lucky there. The oldest is the only family that has bad habits, taught by their very fussy father in the eating department. SO, I guess they do learn by example.
I have a scrap bucket to this day, but only the non-meat waste goes from the bucket to the compost heap. It DOES make that BLACK GOLD soil for my gardens too, just like Sam's. Not much waste here. Now, I'm wishing I still had a hobby farm.

BlessYourSweetHearts

Anonymous said...

There were times when me and my family had to eat the same for three days in a row. Impressive thoughts and writing. Please have a wonderful Thursday you all.