SAYING GOOD RIDDANCE TO THE CLEAN PLATE CLUB. I’ve got a friend with a weight problem whose parents were big into the clean-plate thing. I never finish my fries; he always finishes his. I think this bit is right: “This isn’t about pointing fingers at parents. After all, getting children to eat all of their meal was a necessity for most of human history, when food was scarce. Children didn’t have the luxury of taking only a few bites or skipping a meal, because the next meal wasn’t certain. But today, we live in a food-plenty environment in which the next meal, snack and eating opportunity is certain and bigger than ever.”