November 19th 2015

Some kill-joy mentioned today on radio that there are something like 30 shopping days left to Christmas. Big fucking deal. Now there is the biggest waste of all. It is estimated that the average spend per family in the Republic is just over €2000. Incredible! This is in the main to keep up with the Jones’. My Katie is getting an I-phone so somebody else’s little Mary has to get one too! A good slap in the lug is what’s needed.

The people who might be in a position to be profligate in this regard never do so because they are not trying to impress anybody else. The other simpletons spend the rest of the spring paying back for what they couldn’t afford and didn’t need in the first place. I get a sickening revulsion at this time of year when I see mothers wistfully smiling as they exit supermarkets with trolleys bulging with tinsel bedecked goods much of which will end up in the bin.

No matter how big a glutton you are it is unlikely that you might eat four or five times more food on Christmas Day than on any other. Though a small time follower of Bacchus myself, my intake on the birthday of the patron of priests is no greater than usual. Gluttony was considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins and is the only one of these that truly is a sin if you believe in such.

Let us consider the issue of gluttony and see if we can conclude as to its status as a sin or otherwise. Gluttony is defined as the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food or its withholding from the needy. Depending on the culture, it can be seen as either a vice or a sign of status.

Where food is relatively scarce, being able to eat well might be something to take pride in. But in an area where food is routinely plentiful, it may be considered a sign of self-control to resist the temptation to over-indulge. Thomas Aquinas, Italian Dominican priest, philosopher and theologian was a glutton for studying gluttony and went so far so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including:

 Praepropere - eating too soon.

Laute - eating too expensively.
Nimis - eating too much.
Ardenter - eating too eagerly
Studiose - eating too daintily
Forente - eating wildly

So we may conclude that gluttony has long been studied as a concept. The definition of Gluttony has taken a more expansive role in its interpretation in the world of today. We are all familiar with the expressions;

“He’s a glutton for punishment” or “he’s a glutton for porter”.

It would appear therefore that an obvious demonstration of over indulgence in anything, particularly food, is defined as gluttony. The whole image of gluttony is one of a large, usually obese individual tucking into massive quantities of food or drink above and beyond the simple requirement of satiation.  The cessation of a desire to eat after any meal is normal in most animals. Ignoring "satiation" is likely to be due to different processes and cues. More palatable foods reduce the effects of such cues upon satiation causing a larger food intake. Excessive eating in the animal world, other than man, is unknown.

To say of any human that he “eats like a pig” has more to do with table manners than quantity consumed and is a serious slur on the swine family. So to the original question; is gluttony a sin? Over indulgence in anything is unwise and is bound to have adverse consequences on the culprit and the general perception of him. Gluttony, as far as I can establish, has no redeeming features, except perhaps, the sales of the consumables of gluttony. I agree with Peter De Vries, American novelist, who believes that gluttony is probably just a physical manifestation of a psychological condition.

He puts it very succinctly;
“Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us.”

As to whether gluttony is a sin or not the Prodigal must conclude that since it is a first cousin of greed the verdict is guilty but insane. On balance, Gluttony can be classified as a sin, but deadly; I doubt it.

So to get back to the point; why do we squander so much food? In a global food study by Tristram Stuart called ‘Waste’ it is concluded that a major reason for this scandal is that we like over-stocking our larders and fridges. Women like to be situate in the ‘Good Mother’ category which syndrome includes the provision of an obvious abundance of food and drink. Plenty of food on the table with lots of “there’s more, when you’re ready” is taken to be a sign of very comfortable status and plenty is more a demonstration of affluence that the need to satisfy human requirement in intake.

Father Ted and the redoubtable Mrs Doyle. “Go on you will, you will!” There it is!