You know I really appreciate that aspect of Asian culture - as I am Asian, I've been made aware of this kind of teaching too.
We are taught to value what we have because we keep in mind people who are going through so much hunger and poverty. Not wasting food is not giving to anyone but it is cherishing and honouring what God has given us and being mindful of it.
I cannot in good conscience buy tons of food and leave them to rot because I know right nearby is someone who probably doesn't even have three meals a day.
Wasting food doesn't help anyone either just as much as being mindful and judicious with what we have. Most leftovers get thrown away as garbage anyway.
However it's the attitude and the principle that matters.
So, yeah. Thanks for mentioning that Shouryu.
No, wasting food doesn't help anyone either. But then again, you don't hear people that might throw out food feeling a need to try to convince people that they are somehow doing something wrong, or correcting their behavior using guilt. Many Americans are raised with this attitude of 'finish eating all your food, there are starving children in Africa'. Yeah, well, i finished my food. Kids in Africa still starved, and Americans started gaining weight because they feel guilty not eating what they are given, rather than being taught to eat til they're full.
And yes, a person who wastes 'tons' of food may not be grateful, but then again, i''ve never known anyone like that. Also that is not the same as a person who may make something and realize they don't like it, so they throw it out. I've done this, and it doesn't mean i'm not grateful for what i have.
This mentality could easily be applied to other things, like money. Generally most people are happy to spend money on things they don't really need. An excess of clothes or expensive clothes, a car that is not a simple base model, but gets something pricier, going to movies or other forms of entertainment. There are countless ways people spend money, yet does that mean they don't appreciate the money because it's essentially being wasted?
I guess, overall, i don't see how the thinking of 'if you don't eat everything you get, then you don't appreciate what you have, because there are people without food, so feel guilty for throwing food out' is such a high form of thinking. Neither the guilt aspect, nor the idea you need to force yourself to do something, shows appreciation. A person can learn to appreciate things without the use of guilt or a false sense of righteousness brought on by forcing yourself to eat unpleasant things.