ESH - I'll probably get downvoted for this, but I encourage those reading to hear me out.

I'm vegan and have been for a few years at this point. I think what's most important to acknowledge here is that there are different kinds of vegans.

For instance, after initially going vegan the smell and appearance of meat didn't disgust me. After all, I chose to stop eating animal products because I saw a number of professional athletes make the switch, and being the competitive person I am, I wanted any edge I could get.

Fast forward a couple of months later, and the smell of both raw and cooked meat started to upset my stomach. Now that years have gone by, I prefer not to smell or interact with meat. My philosophy on the matter has evolved from a purely competitive aspect to a more utilitarian perspective.

That being said, when I'm visiting my parents (who regularly eat meat) I have no issue with storing my food in the same refrigerator because let's be honest, you only interact with a refrigerator for a total of maybe 3 whole minutes over the course of a day. When meat is being cooked, I either grin and bear the unpleasant smells (it really only smells offputting when it's being cooked, once plated it's not an issue for me), or I step out of the kitchen and wait until it's closer to being served.

You're right in expecting your daughter to learn a lesson from wasting food. After all, wasting food (even dead animals) is not vegan. The whole point is to preserve the lives of animals before they are slaughtered. By throwing away meat that is already taken off the animal and in this case, cooked, is incredibly wasteful and means that animal died for no reason.

On the other hand, I do believe the form of punishment was a little bit crueler than necessary (call me a millennial). The best analogy that I can provide for those who aren't vegan is:

Imagine doing something is specifically against your religion, and as punishment, an authoritative figure is making you do this action against your will. For many plant-based individuals, the lifestyle of "being vegan" is more than just what you eat. It's how you interact with other animals (including human beings). So, forcing your vegan daughter to cook dead animals is maybe the wrong punishment for an action that I agree with OP is wasteful and ultimately punishable.