This Has To Stop Now! Shrinking toilet paper

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I have yet to see it.

And just because you don't see rats coming out of the sewers in your area you presume they aren't there either?

What you see largely will depend on where you live and what is in your area. It also helps if you know what exactly to look "for".

Obviously those whom are not "homeless", "destitute", "starving' and or other such dire conditions may or may not be so keen to be seen rummaging through garbage or dumpsters; others may or may not be so picky.

As for the "either pretentious, wannabe's that want to say they live in NYC or they're into some "green" movement", those persons simply tapped into something homeless and other New Yorkers have known for ages; supermarkets, shops and other such establishments throw away daily tons of foods, packaged goods, and other products that are perfectly edible. Same goes for places such as Starbucks, Francois Patisserie Pain de Quotidien, Godiva Chocolates, the various bagel shops,bakeries and so forth. What on earth do you think all mice and rats are hunting around those bags for?

City Harvest does take a good portion of such cast off food, but large amounts are simply still thrown away. If you hang around Starbucks around closing you'll see everything from rows of those pre-packaged sandwiches, to several entire boxes of unsold and unpacked croissants all thrown out to the curb.

Most of this action obviously takes place after shops close or at least later in the evening when they throw out their rubbish for collection. Thus if you are not prone to be outdoors late evening or overnight hours you probably aren't going to see much of anything. Ditto if your area is mainly residential.

There is a Food Emporium on Third Avenue in the East 80's where Sunday though Saturday from 9PM onwards you can see any given numbers of persons from the elderly, homeless, middle class persons in late model cars and so forth going through the rubbish. Know from several friends that live near Union Square or the UWS the same thing happens in their area as well. Indeed there is a big war on about certain shops in the US area (Trader Joes and Whole Foods) because their rubbish is collected from inside a loading dock. That is considered private property and thus "dumpster diving" is trespassing.

Have joked with many a Starbuck or supermarket manager about all the food they throw away and is subsequently collected via "divers", and many while sympathetic to said person's plight are powerless to change policy. Corporate does not want the liability should someone become ill from whatever they take from selling "unwholesome" food, so it goes to the curb. What persons take from the rubbish and the consequences are purely their own affair.

 
Dumpster diving has its risks-esp with food items-Many times if the food has been thrown out-IT MIGHT NOT BE FIT TO EAT-DO SO AT YOUR RISK!!!!Esp eggs,meats,dairy products.If the package-such as ice cream is not cold and melted---DO NOT USE!!!!!And are the packages CLEAN???If not DO NOT USE!!!!When I dumpster dove-salvaged mainly items-like appliances and such-NOT food.Just too risky-and of course another hazard for dumpster divers---THE TRASH TRUCK!!!!Don't allow yourself to get dumpted in it-keep an ear and eye out for the truck-GET OUT of the dumpster right away if the truck approaches it.Getting crushed in the trucks packer will get you killed-Is this worth your life? And you may encounter "other" dumpster divers such as rats,mice,raccoons and possums,and in some cases----BEARS!!!On classsic refuse trucks they show a bear pushing a dumpster away from a building so he can rummage thru it at his leasure.
 
I'm apparently in the minority of people who would rather pay a few cents more for a product that remains what is commonly considered "full-size". As a person who prepares a lot of food, the downsizing of some products messes with recipes.

I use cake mixes frequently as a base for coffee cakes. Downsizing these from 18.25 ozs. to 15.25 definitely changes characteristics of the final product. Thank goodness the Hy-Vee store brand still makes an 18.25 oz. cake mix. The quality of the product is comparable to national brands.

The latest downsizing trend causing me to spit spikes involves bags of shredded cheese. Kraft, in particular, is systematically downsizing their 8 oz. bags to 6 or 7 ozs. There are 2 cups of cheese in an 8 oz. bag and 1.75 cups in a 7 oz. bag. This probably isn't a deal-breaker when stirred into a casserole or used in a lasagna, but it will definitely mess with a sauce recipe.

While almost all downsizing annoys me, I have to admit that getting a 12 oz. bag of coffee beans instead of a full pound (16 ozs.) probably isn't going to play into altering a recipe. It simply means that, while the price is enticing, you'll have to purchase it more often.

Oh, the trials and tribulations we 1st-world people have to endure! The poverty-stricken have no idea, do they?

[this post was last edited: 10/3/2013-11:27]
 
Why can't ...

... you just make your cakes from scratch?

It's just one extra step and you're not consuming all those nasty chemicals in the boxed mixes.
 
Matt:

While the additives in packaged foods are a consideration for many people, what's at work here is that a lot of well-loved "product recipes" don't work as well any more, or don't work at all, because of package downsizing.

The fabulous Bacardi Rum Cake and its variations (Chcolate, Pina Colada, etc.) would be just one of the casualties.

Yeah, if you're an experienced baker you can get around this. But product recipes were for the average person with limited skills and time who wanted a great result.
 
You can probably Google this, there's a pic somewhere of someone holding up 2 of those chocolate easter eggs. I think they were both a few years apart or something, it shows the size difference. 
 
Eugene is right.....

think about this.....a simple Betty Crocker cake mix call for 2 extra large eggs per recipe....but since the size has changed....do I look for a chicken that lays a reduced size egg to match the recipe so that it is not altered from previous product?....

some things can't be altered that far off track without causing something to be out of whack!.....

next thing you know, a dozen eggs will now come as an eleven pack....too much brain power will go in to making it an even ten...

on a side note....I do like some of these newer TP without the cardboard roll in the center, more product on the roll, and no cardboard waste to get rid of...
 
IIRC Eggs, Milk and certain other products are regulated

A dozen eggs must be just that. Not sure but think there are guidelines for egg sizes as well.

Consumer Reports for years has been tracking "downsizing" of products and now their members have gotten into things. It seems each month or so CR prints items sent in by consumers that have shrunk everything from ice cream to breakfast cereal.
 
Baking

Since one does all cakes and breads from scratch package sizes aren't a problem per se, but that does not mean we have not been affected.

IIRC one posted several months ago that 5lb bags of sugar are rarely that anymore. Domino and many other brands are down to 4lb bags. This of course means depending upon how much sugar various recipes call for, you'll need more bags yearly (or whatever depending how often one bakes/cooks) to get the same as before.
 
One of our friends had sewer problems in her house and had to have the Roto Rooter service out twice to fix it. On the second visit the Roto Rooter guy said to stop using Charmin, it clogs the sewer pipes. So they switched brands and had no further problems. I just thought it was an isolated incident as we have used Charmin for years with no problems at all at any of the homes we have lived in.

But just as a precaution we now use Angel Soft. Why tempt fate. It sounds like this Charmin problem is bigger than I thought!
 
If your one who cares...

Angel Soft is made by Gerogia Pacfic, and is owned by two brothers who have some quite interesting political views. I wouldn't personally purchase there products, because of my believes, and I don't wanna support them.

Just Google them.. and I'm not gonna hide it, (I'm Gay) Surprise! Anyhow, they've donated a lot, and I mean a lot (millions), of money to political parties (on purpose) that don't exactly care for my personal believes, and I'd assume quite a few fellow members on here, too.
 
Thanks Mich.

There is a nice phone app called Buycott that let's you scan an item's barcode and it will tell you who made it and if there is any ongoing protest against the company. I will hunt for an obscure brand before those brothers get a penny from me.
 

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