Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 17: The Three Kinds of Faith

Bhagavad Gita 17.10

yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuṣitaṃ ca yat | ucchiṣṭamapi cāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ||

Food that is stale, tasteless, foul-smelling, left overnight, left over by others, and impure is dear to people of inertia.

Modern context

Tamasic food is stale, tasteless, spoiled, left over and impure. It is food without life. A diet like this matches and deepens a dull, heavy state of mind. The modern equivalent might be heavily processed food, eaten carelessly in front of a screen. The verse invites attention not only to what we eat but to how fresh and alive it is.