Freeganism - dumpster diving...

While I was watching "Wife Swap" episode - UK version,
It's the first where I've heard about this lifestyle - Freeganism:
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/bargainshopping/p/Freegan.htm
and saw the Freegan Mom diving into the private dumpsters looking into discarded but still usable items.
The amount of perfectly good food thrown out, wasted for no reason astounded me.

I am, as probably everyone at one point in their life, guilty of, say, an occasional spoiled meat - taken out of the fridge, meant to be cooked later and then never been.
Then spoiled beyond any salvage, and needed to be discarded.

But I always felt so horrible when something like that happened, and really it didn't happened that often.
I more often let the fresh produce like green parsley, lettuce sit too long but even that it's just that when you buy these thing you just have to buy as much as they sell not as much as you need - a few twigs, for example.
And then I am too tired to wash them and cut them and bag them into freezer, so... that's truly waste due to my laziness.

But you wouldn't survive out of my dumpster, oh no.

Then I was thinking- would I do that - live, eat out of a dumpster? Not for the necessity but to embrace the anti-consumerism lifestyle.?

Well, gotta admit seeing these perfectly good packages of Smarties or whatever it was, a big bag with a hole on the side and full of smaller packets inside, perfectly good and clean to eat come to think of it for 0 money.. I thought... hmmm... that doesn't look yucky at all!

Risa

I would always wonder what non-obvious or unseen reason there may have been for it to be pitched out. Your mind could start spinning thinking about all the stuff we threw out for a very good reason but it may not be obvious. Without going too far think about some "alternate" uses for certain types of produce.

Or something that might be perfectly OK but what was next to it or on top of it in the dumpster? Anyone that has pets knows that nothing in the garbage would be usable at all.

nothing wrong with being fiscally "wise" but dumpster dive....nope

Here in the US we have enough problems keeping the brand new food on the store shelves safe.

I try very hard not to waste food. But we end up wasting a fair bit. I give away what I can and freeze what I can. And I try to be frugal. I am not above getting something out of the trash that could be sanitized. But food? NO WAY!!! I have a major aversion to food born illness. I was a waitress for a long time and had to repeatedly take the state run food safety class. Nope, no dumpster food for me, NO way! (now wood furniture etc... that I have done and will repeat You can sanitize that!)

M

I have a hunch that a cookie from a package of Chip's Ahoy would taste a bit different after it sat next to a dirty diaper for a couple days in 80 deg weather.

How appetizing would that bag of cheesy poofs be with a cat turd stuck to it?

I am endlessly amazed at what various groups do to "make a statement". They get so self absorbed they never realize that the only statement I see is they are borderline insane. And when the media no longer covers them and the novelty wears off they move on to something else.

One case of E Coli or Salmonella would change their attitude within minutes. When I was 18 I spent three days in the hospital from an under cooked burger. I will never, ever forget that hellish experience as long as I live. It's beyond amazing what our immune systems will do to rid our bodies of a dangerous toxin or pathogen. Even to the point of causing the body to die.

nothing wrong with being fiscally "wise" but dumpster dive....nope

yeah, I can see how a cool Porsche guy diving into a filthy dumpster could cause a few raised eyebrows


It was my first reaction, too - YUCK!!
but then, the food we are talking about is - unopened cans, vacuum sealed packages etc.
the insides are still perfectly good. for example, someone's thrown away slightly dented soup can. or, for unknown reason, still unopened, hermetically sealed Pringles chips.
(maybe they tried a new taste, but bought two at once and found out they didn't like the taste after all?)
why would someone throw away partially eaten bag - 3/4 left- of Smarties- maybe the kids got into it and the rest was thrown out as punishment? the rest was in small packets, hermetically sealed, all dry and clean and safe to eat inside.

I am saying not all the discarded food presented health hazard. I know, I am ambivalent about the whole idea myself... I dunno if I would so readily delve into it... I dunno...
but the longer I thought about it the less "heck, no!" I was, also.

One thing- it sure makes one stop and think about all this horrible wastefulness.

Risa

Yuuck- all this revulsion, it is easyl from the position of the comforts of the full fridge, cofmfort of choice.
Some people have no freedom of choice -this is waht occured to me when I read it.

It all depends how hungry you are.
Have you ever been really hungry? Really, really hungry?
Only then perhaps you could judge.

And BTW, have you looked into the subject of real food waste - and how many lorries of absolutelyy perfect food are dumped each evening in order to keep supermarket prices high. The official excuse is to keep food fresh, which is with few exceptions is an absolute lie.Most of that food is perfect and would be still perfect next day - they just order too much cheap food, to sell expenseviley to you and you did not buy it. "Sell by date" is an official name for this deliberate waste, to keep proces artificially high.

If you watch the loading bays of any supermarket each evening you will see how much perfectly edible food is thrown as garbage.
At the same time when so many people (many of them small children) go to sleep hungry?

Supermarkets refuse the charities who approach them and want to use the food for the needy people, sincethey say it is not their policy. Some let charities collect some of the dumped food, but not much.
Theey prefer to have it rot, instead to keep profits. This is not secret - only to you the ordinary it is great news. They all do it.

Did you know how much is wasted? Such wastage is kept quiet. So highest profits are made, under excuse of "sell by date".
Whilst people are truly hungry maybe not far away from, they might be sick, or lost their jobs in order that all the bankers can get even fatter bonuses this year etc.

I think when considering this subject it is important to mention wider picture, and that not all people have freedom of choice when it comes to their next meal, some people do not. Food is nourishemnt, people will eat in odred to survive even in USA, Canada or UK.
I am not even mentioning those millions of starving people elsewhere in the world who never know how it feels NOT be hungry.

I think these people you mention Risa who are collecting the wasted food are trying to attract attention to this important issue.
An issue which worries our grandchildren.
My grandchildren are already asking such questions - more children are asking questions.
What sort of world we are leaving them. Make sure that you know what to say to them when it is your turn and such subject is mentioned - remember all children deserve truthful answers.

Truth is seldom advertised, only lies.
So lies are believed, the truth - not so much.

And Risa, please believe me I am most definitely not talking about the spoilt meat that you were to ill to cook, it happens to all of us at times - and we cannot help it - but being aware of what is is hidden beahind those issues is important.

Senna

My MIL gave me a box of Christmas candy. And then told me my BIL got it at the dump. "Who would believe someone would thrown away perfectly good candy?" She said.

She was so proud of her find and was tickled to share it so I accepted graciously and went home and put back in the trash so that my BIL can find it at the dump again (he works there).

If I were hungry, of course it would be more palatable, but I'm not.

I'm not a germaphobe...we go by the 5 second rule at our house (or if you can beat the dogs to it), but eating out the dumpster when I'm not starving? Nope.

The grocery stores in the US donate a lot of surplus, mislabeled and damaged package food to food banks.

Survival is an entirely different situation then freegans. I saw a news report about them and they are not starving homeless people. It's symbolic and they are making a statement, which that's fine but the revulsion clouds it a bit in my opinion.

My wife and I spend about $400 per month on groceries and none of it goes to waste. Meat scraps go to the dogs and produce scraps go to the pygmy goat and chickens. We did not need a group of people eating out of dumpsters to convince us to not waste food. Our check books keep us from doing that.

It is obvious Brent, that you know no hunger, but some people in USA, and other western countries go hungry enough to overcome the revulsion and risk disease in order not to starve. You have that choice. I hope you and your family always will but please do not look down on those who do not.

You are right that this people try to make symbolic point. Good. Someone needs to. Thye are brave indeed.
Food situation is such serious issues thatd they are trying to attract attention to the greatest human challenge:
there is not enough food on this planet to feed people and whilst few countires keep throwing away mountans if the suff every day, progressively killing themselves from getting grotesquely more obese, the rests starves. Obesity is the issue. Something is wrong with that whole picture.

And do you happen to know what is the proportion of food given to charities by supermarkets
in comparision to the food being thrown away daily? Drop in the ocean of waste, insignifact drop in the ocean.
Just enough to use as an excuse, when they try to fool poorly informed people.

Senna

Freeganism is not about global hunger. It's anti capitalism, greed etc. Freegans are not impoverished homeless people. They are political social activists and I have a right to not agree with them. I have a right to find their practices revolting. They also endorse theft and trespassing, I don't.

"Freegans salvage the food for political reasons, rather than out of need."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism

You have a right to disagree with them, just as they have a right to speak for people who are suffering already as a result of capitalism and greed.
Yes, of course it is a political protest movement, movemnt which also tries to point to the fact that there are no endless food resources, and that we need to protect any land which is misused for production of food, which is then wasted.

Some other poitical movement might be working to protect the wildlife before human destroy what is left of it.
Just look at what situation that greed has created in the south (and north Alaska and Luisiana) of your country where wildlife and peopl's lives are beying destroyedt because no one has been paying any attention to some similar political voices, which some long time ago predicted such outcomes.

One day something like thiss might happen right in your backyard - but you have a right not to listen. You have a right not to agree. Denial works only for so long. In the end you will have to find an answer to such difficult questions. From the next generation.
I was sying, that you better be ready.

Senna

sorry something went wrong then posted twice. Senna

I am not going to get involved in a flame war with you. We have differing opinions and I am fine with that.