Pastry Chef: Immoral and Unethical?

ryry_
ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Here is the situation I’m currently facing and I don’t know what to do.

So I have a friend who announced that she was moving into a new profession. SHE IS BECOMING A GOURMET PASTRY CHEF!

So everyone is congratulating her on this big step in her life and all I can think is…WHY!? So she will be preparing pastries and directly contributing to the obesity epidemic in America. What’s next, should I congratulate the Marlboro man on the new gourmet cigarette brand he is coming out with? I just think it’s wrong for someone to knowingly provide sugar laden treats to others knowing the harm it causes. And even worse, these are gourmet treats which people are likely to eat even more of!

I don’t know. If it were me, I don’t think I would be able to live with myself if I knew I would be harming people like this long term. They are throwing her a going away party in a few weeks and she is going to be providing a sampling of her work for us. I’m still undecided if I should attend with these concerns. I’m not sure what kind of message that will be sending ya know?

What you guys think? Am I right? Or should I ease up, be happy for my friend and go to the party even if I feel like I’m compromising on my morals and ethics?
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Replies

  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    sabotage.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Stand your ground! Don't attend the party and if you have to just throw all the treats in the trash. You will be saving lives by ridding the party of deadly sugar.
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
    Everybody is given choices as to what they eat. Just because someone makes it doesn't mean you have to eat it. BUT you CAN enjoy these treats in moderation - and hell you probably should.

    There are a lot of professions that enable unhealthy choices - brewing beer, selling cigarettes, being a chef of almost any kind. Waitresses try to upsell desserts, fried appetizers etc.

    You can go and celebrate but you do not need to eat what is there. It's just like McDonald's or Starbucks - there are foods there but nobody is forcing anyone to eat them.

    Be happy for her. If you do have some serious concerns with it you can talk to her but think about it first. And bring it up appropriately to let her know why you are concerned!
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
    Maybe she doesn't know the harm it causes?

    I suggest you send her a few pamphlets on the evils of pastry and perhaps she will reconsider this decision.
  • uptowndisco
    uptowndisco Posts: 5
    Congratulate her , she is in work , not a mass murderer , no one is forcing any one to over eat what she will be making , lighten up :)
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    You should kill her to save the others. It's the right thing to do.
  • tazzy2911
    tazzy2911 Posts: 323 Member
    Are you actually for real?! Your friend is not shoving too much food down people's throats, we all have choices to make regarding what we eat. Who doesn't love a nice pastry treat, we just can't eat them all the time. Someone else would get the job if she didn't, so how about actually being a friend and being happy for her.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
    Wow, you are in a tough spot. While I get that you want to be a supportive friend, I have to ask, how supportive is this friend of any of us and our struggles with pastries? Choosing that profession (and it was a choice) in this day and age is socially irresponsible, at best. Your friend is probably even using sugar AND gluten. Sometimes at the same time.









    I just, I don't know what to say. Such callousness is troubling.
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Next thing you know, she may be trying to give gifts to underprivileged children and saying they are from "Santa". She's obviously a horrible lying person. She must be stopped.
  • tazzy2911
    tazzy2911 Posts: 323 Member
    You should kill her to save the others. It's the right thing to do.

    Haha love it!
  • cwrldpc
    cwrldpc Posts: 20 Member
    I understand what you mean, but in reality they are supposed to be TREATS. You know, once in a while. I never got fat as a child eating my one donut on Sunday morning. And really, as gourmet most people will only buy them once in a while, while the ones at Walmart in a box of 12 are on sale everyday. Those are the ones I would be worrying about.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    1000x500px-LL-c28b345c_gleason_not_sure_if_serious.jpeg
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    Mmmmm gourmet, sugar-laden cigarettes...
    homer-drool.gif
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
    Maybe she doesn't know the harm it causes?

    I suggest you send her a few pamphlets on the evils of pastry and perhaps she will reconsider this decision.

    While I understand the sentiment, and you are being very generous in thinking the best of his friend, there is absolutely NO WAY that she/he/it doesn't know the impact that she/he/it is having.


    Just break up.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    Your friend is basically Hitler.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    It is clear a lot of people aren't taking this seriously and because of that I'm not surprised there's an obesity epidemic in America.

    Look ryan, long story short is that *I* wouldn't be friends with a drug dealer or prostitute. I also know that I wouldn't be able to change them. Sure it would be great to get deals on drugs and sex but it's not like that's the basis for a friendship. Never mix business with friends.

    So either way you should congratulate her and just let her make her own life decisions. I'm sorry.
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    Don't look at me. I am a drug dealer and a gigolo. In my spare time I am working on the manufacture of handguns with grips to fit 5 year olds.

    I'm appalled that someone would resort to such a career choice as to fatten up the public. It's a disgrace. They could enter a much more honorable career field like I have.
  • Wildflower0106
    Wildflower0106 Posts: 247 Member
    Is this a joke?

    ETA: On this site it could have just as easily been a genuine post :p
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    It's astonishing that someone would be so brazenly careless with their futures.....and the lives of others.

    In this day and age, the only acceptable career in food is that of an organic-raw-vegan chef who can educate and help others understand the importance of such healthy choices.

    Chocolate, sugar, pastry, etc are clearly evil and unhealthy and should be banned.

    Obviously, you should ditch her.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Oh, for crying in a bucket. Drama queen, much?

    If this isn't deliberate trolling, I'm going to be very surprised. I don't care how many posts he has.
  • marko320
    marko320 Posts: 84 Member
    Lighten up Francis. She's not dealing meth to children.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    Recently Congressman Louie Gohmert said that "Blaming this [shooting] on guns is like saying the big problem with obesity is we've got too many spoons. It's not the spoons, it's not the guns. It's the people who have them."

    I would say in a similar fashion that just because pastry can kill you and just because obesity kills more people than guns every year doesn't mean that you're an arms dealer. I do think however it's your right to be a conscientious objector and avoid the party. Your friend needs to be made aware of all the pain that pastry treats can cause if not used correctly. Make sure they know.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    Lighten up Francis. She's not dealing meth to children.

    Its worse! Do you even know what sugar does? Its addicting and your body doesn't need it.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    Stand your ground! Don't attend the party and if you have to just throw all the treats in the trash. You will be saving lives by ridding the party of deadly sugar.

    Thanks for the support! I don't know if throwing the stuff away if that would look so good. It's on a Friday afternoon so maybe I can take some PTO and miss it ya know?
  • p4ulmiller
    p4ulmiller Posts: 588 Member
    No food is bad. Desserts do not make people fat. People eating too much make people far.

    Your friend is not "contributing to the obesity crisis". Many people eat pastries without putting on weight.

    Chill out. You are overthinking this.
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
    You should kill her to save the others. It's the right thing to do.

    Killing is a bit extreme. You should do two things: Throw all the party treats in the garbage before the rest of your coworkers can do irreparable harm to themselves by eating them. Then smash her hands with a hammer. Can't make pastry with broken hands.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    Maybe she doesn't know the harm it causes?

    I suggest you send her a few pamphlets on the evils of pastry and perhaps she will reconsider this decision.

    Oh...definitely this. I'm sure there are quite a few people on here willing to write pamphlets on the evils of pastry for you to send along to her... They'll be sure to have lots of links to detox cleanses and Dr. Oz, too! :P
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
    Lighten up Francis. She's not dealing meth to children.

    Its worse! Do you even know what sugar does? Its addicting and your body doesn't need it.

    And it requires a cleanse after ingesting - which is in itself dangerous and uncomfortable.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    Gourmet pastries are not causing the obesity epidemic. Please do ease up.

    These desserts tend to be smaller, and more expensive. This allows people to satisfy their sweet tooth with a small, high quality treat. It's the best way to go, if you ask me.

    Desserts and sugar are not evil. I eat them every day in moderation and the weight is falling off. I have no health issues either.

    Please also look up orthorexia, it's a dangerous mental trap that many dieters can fall into. Just because a diet may be physically healthy, it doesn't mean it is mentally healthy.

    EtA: 2 decades hence, I did have an eating disorder (as a preeteen, I was living on 600 call a day and had banned all sugar from my diet) I am familiar with mental hangups regarding food.
  • tarabole
    tarabole Posts: 166 Member
    I don't think her profession is immoral or unethical. In addition to learning how to make more caloric types of desserts she will likely also learn how to make lighter and healthier versions, and things like poached pears. I like to go out for a nice dinner which includes dessert once or twice a month and if there were no pastry chefs, then I wouldn't enjoy those meals nearly as much. It's the stuff that people eat day after day that is making people unhealthy, like drinking massive amounts or soda, eating huge bags of chips and buying cheap factory-made desserts.

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