280. Inappropriate Use of Food

42:8 A person may use a loaf of bread for any purpose that does not ruin it. Therefore, a loaf of bread must not be used, for example, as a trivet to support a pot of food. If one uses bread as a utensil to scoop up a stew, he must be sure to eat from it as he eats the stew and after.

42:9 It is forbidden to throw bread, even if it will not get ruined, because the act of throwing it is disrespectful. Other types of food may not be thrown if doing so will ruin them but if not, then they may be thrown. An example of a food not ruined by throwing is nuts. One shouldn’t sit on a sack of fruit, which may ruin it. One should not wash his hands with wine or other beverages because it is disrespectful. (Bi’ur Halacha 160:12 s.v. “lechatchila” cites an opinion that permits one to wash his hands with other beverages but he says the matter requires further investigation.) If one sees food on the ground, he should pick it up. Food that is fit for human consumption should not be fed to animals, as this is using the food in a degrading fashion. (This is permitted if one has nothing else with which to feed the animals, which is the basis of the universally-accepted practice to allow giving bread to the birds – Mishnah Brurah 171:11.)