Could I Live The Freegan Life?
Oprah had an episode on Wednesday on freegans. As I watched correspondent Lisa Ling - formerly of The View and also Laura Ling of Current TVs sister - take a trash tour in NYC, I kept thinking how I could totally give that a whirl. A freegan is someone who takes useful items that are headed to a landfill and puts them to good use. This includes groceries.
I guess I could say that I’ve dabbled in this world before. I admit it. I’ve always called it “curb shopping.” I live in a regular middle-class suburb of Chicago. If you drive the neighborhoods on garbage night (especially in the spring and warmer months), you’ll find all kinds of useful items. Have a kid? You’ll never need to buy a giant plastic toy again. Many of my finds aren’t even for myself. I’ll put them on Freecycle [insert link] or just donate them to Goodwill. We had a great unscathed coffee table in our basement for years that someone threw out. Maybe they were hoping someone would stop and pick it up. Sometimes I put items out by the curb and try to place them so someone will stop and take them. If they are still there when I leave for work, I drag them back in the house.
I’ve never really thought about obtaining food this way, though. It does seem logical. After watching the video, I can see how much waste is thrown out from a grocery store. Perfectly packaged dry goods and canned items that could go to a food pantry are just being put in a dumpster. People even get dairy. They show how a dozen eggs are thrown out just because one in the pack is broken. Tons of produce is discarded because one little blemish. Sure - exercise caution and common sense if you’re going to try this.
Mary at In Women We Trust and I were discussing Oprah the morning after the show. She was talking about how wasteful of a society we live in and I wholeheartedly agree. Until we stop looking at this planet as a disposable entity nothing is going to change. Over consumption and unnecessary opulence for vanity and comfort is disgusting compared to most cultures in this world. Mary has a challenge out to Oprah: I have a big favor to ask you Oprah, since you are culture and culture is you, could you do us all a favor and have a show dedicated to Sustainable Standards? Maybe if Oprah can continue to push for change - and believe me she has the power to influence this country - things will start to shift. Get the women who watch her show to start voting with their dollars. The one problem is that Oprah’s empire is built on commercialism and she needs to make changes in her life and her empire. The old adage, “Do as I say and not as I do” doesn’t hold much weight with the average adult.
Reference: Freegan.info
I saw this episode as well and was very intrigued. I was wondering about the safety of “dumpster diving”? In NYC all the trash is on the sidewalks, but in places like Chicago it goes in dumpsters in alleys which probably means Rats (yuck). Are there any local freegan tours here in Chicago?
Funny you should mention Freecycle, we featured that this week on http://www.ecosceneinc.com.
[...] “trash” will be recycled by the building automatically, but much of it won’t. I think my mole is a freegan without even trying! My favorite item that they threw away were the totes they were giving away for the Good and [...]
having lived in rural areas, i have raised chickens and eventually had to invest in larger stock such as calves, pigs and goats to process all the found or donated produce from local stores.
i harvested the tastiest eggs and healthiest lean meat. the waste was so appalling i had to save it from its demise. once popularized, this system did not last. what i bought for one dollar a box or obtained entirely free became unavailable.
the chain stores became afraid of reduced income and competition and in much of the West, they invested in giant disposals which ground ripe produce into the sewer system…end of Eden!
beware the corporate giant, he may clip the source of wealth. it is to be understood, bakeries which provide day-old breads, for animal fodder can be liable for lawsuits if a human were to sicken from moldy goods. dairy poses sanitary problems as well.
my animals were clean and healthy and capable of processing all donated foodstuffs which i collected promptly each day, but other people may not have had proper understanding of bacterial activity.
as for solid items, i still leave items on the curb in my midwestern town, they are gone by morning. the need is there. the farmers leave excess produce by the roadside with cardboard signs as well. FREE.