The Disturbing American Practice of Doggie Bags

Written in New Jersey, Saturday

Q:  What do you call leftover food that started on the plate; sat there while you talked and ate; was then put into a container — out of sight in the kitchen, or at your table, in front of other diners – then continued to fester on the table, or inside a purse, during dessert and coffee; was taken to the car or train; transported home; and brought inside to be saved and eaten at a later time?

A:  A doggie bag.

Only in America

I’ve traveled in Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, and the U.S.  This is the only country in which the practice of doggie bags is rampant.  In two trips this year, we have seen Americans asking for and taking doggie bags from informal diners, mid-range burger and salad places, fancy restaurants, and a posh country club. 

I’ve written previously about U.S. portion sizes, which are often so big they are unhealthy.

Health and Hygiene

On a practical level, putting remnants of a meal into a bag or container and letting it sit unrefrigerated for an extended time is not healthy or hygienic.  Taking it home is not only a seedy practice, it’s also one that could result in anything from an upset stomach to a bacterial infection.

From an individual weight standpoint, overeating contributes to obesity.

Where Are Doggie Bags Filled?

On this current trip, we’ve seen a new doggie bag phenomenon, no doubt related to the broader let-the-customer-do-the-work phenomenon (e.g. self check-in and check-out, salad bars, self-service gas stations):  bring the bag or container to the table, and let the customer scrape the desired food off the plate and into the bag.

In Washington, D.C. last week, we had just sat down at our table when a scene was played out next to us.  A man and a woman, both seriously overweight (my son’s term was ‘massive’), had finished eating their main course and the waitress brought them three doggie bag containers.  Three containers for two people!

Thus followed a lengthy production of these two large people filling the containers, passing plates back and forth and discussing what they were doing.  Then they sat back and had coffee and dessert while their containers sat on the table.

Is it any better when the plates are taken back to the kitchen and the waiter or waitress emerges with a full doggie bag?  I suspect restaurant owners and kitchen staff say, “let them do it themselves,” and maybe customers say, “I’d rather do it because then we only take exactly what we want.”

But as a customer sitting close by, I found the entire process disgusting, with no way to avoid seeing and hearing what was going on.  The last thing I want to experience when we go out to eat is having people next to me stuffing food into doggie bags

The Economy / Greed Issue

America is, even this week with its wild financial uncertainty, a prosperous nation.  When you go out to eat, the majority of portions served are huge, enough for two or more people, larger than anything we’ve seen in any other part of the world.

Yet there seems to be an attitude of, “I paid for it and I want every last scrap of it – in fact, I own it, and I have a right to it.”  People who can afford to eat out are by definition not desperate for every bit of food on the plate.

The idea of squeezing every morsel and taking it away in a doggie bag goes beyond getting good value; notwithstanding the health issue, the aura surrounding doggie bags is one of greed and gluttony.

The Idea of Going Out to Eat

I propose two new and radical ideas for Americans:

1.  It is NOT a sin to leave food on your plate.  I understand millions of us were raised with thrifty parents and the rule that all dinner, including vegetables, had to be eaten before dessert would be considered.  But portions were reasonable.  With current U.S. portion sizes, when the plate is overloaded, eating everything on it is piggish.    

2.  When you don’t eat everything on the plate, it is not only acceptable, it is better – more healthy, more polite, and more civilized – to just leave it and let it be taken away without expecting to see it again.  

Let the idea of going out to eat be just that:  go out to eat, eat a reasonable amount, enjoy the meal, and let the plate be taken away with whatever is left on it.      

The Name Says It All

Clive has observed that the U.S. has a doggie bag culture.  He says the name tells all:  it implies the food is only fit for a dog.  This was the original concept, but somewhere along the way, doggie bag contents became people food.

The root cause goes back to portion sizes and too much food on the plate.  Why do restaurants serve so much?  From a business standpoint, wasted food is reduced profit. 

If portion sizes were smaller and more moderate, there would be no need for doggie bags.  We’d all be healthier, too.