What is it about feeding sourdough starter that makes so many of us nuts?

Discarding that initial cup of perfectly good starter to get the process going, right?

I mean, it just doesn’t feel right, throwing away this starter you’ve been feeding, and coddling, and nursing into maturity with regular meals and draft-free, comfortably warm counter-time.

Why is it, anyway, that feeding sourdough requires you to discard a cup of perfectly good (albeit unfed) starter as part of the process?

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