Is this stealing?

Xavier Graham said:

What I think it is is that the company doesn't want to create an incentive for waste. If cooks know they can eat any "extra" food, then they might always accidently cook extra food.
Edit: shadow wolf beat me to it

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good point.

Xavier Graham said:

As a dishwasher, I throw out a lot of unused food at the end of the night. I'm not allowed to eat it though, bosses say it has to be thrown away. Say that it is stealing to take it. But I grub out anyways.

Is this stealing, in your opinion? I guess the owner of the food object has the right to do what they want with it. Idk. I'm particularly interested in religious perspectives. Christians, do you think I'm sinning when I take the food?

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Once your boss orders it to be thrown out, he has given up his claim to it. It belongs to nobody, therefore you're not stealing from anybody.

It's not really theft as you aren't depriving them of anything

@Xavier Graham by the way I do not agree with those saying that capitalism is the problem or that your boss is greedy. All I'm saying is its technically not stealing. There are reasons why your boss must insist that the food has value and may not be taken for free by you. In between the margins lies your choice of what to do. Your boss is not evil for telling you not to take the food, and you are not stealing if you disobey your boss.

There is something about free food. You don't value it. You aren't proud of it. When you sell it to people you feel guilty. If it is worthless then you don't value it. In a way it is like ruining the taste.

Xavier Graham said:

As a dishwasher, I throw out a lot of unused food at the end of the night. I'm not allowed to eat it though, bosses say it has to be thrown away. Say that it is stealing to take it. But I grub out anyways.

Is this stealing, in your opinion? I guess the owner of the food object has the right to do what they want with it. Idk. I'm particularly interested in religious perspectives. Christians, do you think I'm sinning when I take the food?

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I mean technically. It’s not your property.

edit: I’m not saying it is morally stealing, but legally stealing.

Xavier Graham said:

As a dishwasher, I throw out a lot of unused food at the end of the night. I'm not allowed to eat it though, bosses say it has to be thrown away. Say that it is stealing to take it. But I grub out anyways.

Is this stealing, in your opinion? I guess the owner of the food object has the right to do what they want with it. Idk. I'm particularly interested in religious perspectives. Christians, do you think I'm sinning when I take the food?

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I think when you decide to toss something out you no longer have over what happens to it.
So how are you stealing something nobody wants?

Well if it is, utilizing some of it would be the lesser of two evils, but I would not have an ethical issue with using something that is going to be thrown away anyway.

Xavier Graham said:

...
Is this stealing, in your opinion? I guess the owner of the food object has the right to do what they want with it. Idk. I'm particularly interested in religious perspectives. Christians, do you think I'm sinning when I take the food?

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If you take something that belongs to someone else without permission, it is stealing. But maybe it could be said that person who has decided to throw it in trash has given it up and is not owner anymore, which is why taking it is not stealing. I would forgive you, if you ate the food that would anyway go to trash.

Throwing the food to trash without a good reason is wasting and I think it is wrong. And if you ask the owner to give it to you and he rather throws it to trash, I think it is as much sin as stealing. Still, I think, if the owner doesn't listen reason, it is better not to take it without permission.

I think sin is to reject God or to be without God. If you are loyal to God, I don't think you have sin.

Xavier Graham said:

As a dishwasher, I throw out a lot of unused food at the end of the night. I'm not allowed to eat it though, bosses say it has to be thrown away. Say that it is stealing to take it. But I grub out anyways.

Is this stealing, in your opinion?

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No.

More then likely the reason the "rule" exists that it can't be eaten, has to do with insurance and food safety. In case you get ill or catch food poisoning or alike.

That, and like others have said, a safeguard against "on purpose" errors to get free meals in "abuse" of the absense of such rule.

An easy way to counter such ... is to pay your employees enough so that they don't feel the need to engage in such practices.

Personally though, I'ld have to be REALLY REALLY hungry before I'ld feel tempted to eat someone else's left overs.

Xavier Graham said:

As a dishwasher, I throw out a lot of unused food at the end of the night. I'm not allowed to eat it though, bosses say it has to be thrown away. Say that it is stealing to take it. But I grub out anyways.

Is this stealing, in your opinion? I guess the owner of the food object has the right to do what they want with it. Idk. I'm particularly interested in religious perspectives. Christians, do you think I'm sinning when I take the food?

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I haven't read the thread: If it is food that the customer purchased, it is the customers'. If they're done with it, I'd say it's up for grabs.

N.b., I wonder if the boss' reasons might include health regulations. I don't know even know IF there are rules. But, it ain't stealing.

Tinker Grey said:

I haven't read the thread: If it is food that the customer purchased, it is the customers'. If they're done with it, I'd say it's up for grabs.

N.b., I wonder if the boss' reasons might include health regulations. I don't know even know IF there are rules. But, it ain't stealing.

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I meant food that never makes it out of the kitchen. It's just unused

Xavier Graham said:

I meant food that never makes it out of the kitchen. It's just unused

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I figured that was a possibility skimming back over previous posts. Nevertheless, one could argue (as I believe others have) that once they've sent it back to the dishwasher, they've disposed of it. It ain't theirs. (arguably).

I doubt any court would or could prosecute such a thing. As to morally, it is my opinion, that you're fine.