This post is for Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty.
What is your first thought on hearing the phrase “dumpster diving”? Is it “Yuck! That’s disgusting!” Or is it “I feel so bad for those people?” or “How can I help?”
Our knee jerk reaction is to judge and pity people who do this. Why don’t we instead wonder why so much good food is thrown away?
There are in fact many somewhat well-known essays defending dumpster diving. One is “On Dumpster Diving“ by Lars Eigner, which is in the commonly used essay anthology The Writer’s Presence. And the story “The Tao of the Dumpster” by Dirk Jamieson, on the author’s father’s penchant for bringing perfectly good feasts from the dumpster home to his family, was recently broadcast on “This American Life.”
We throw away around 27% of our food in America including fresh produce, milk and bread. Who are we to judge others for taking advantage of this situation?
Why is there no shame in overspending and over-consuming to the point of near-economic collapse (see recent headlines) while scavenging for discarded food caries a deep stigma?
I’m currently reading “You are Here: Exposing the vital link between what we do and what that does to our planet”, by Thomas Kostigen. In the book what of the statistics he sites is that 1/3 of the waste put into dump sites in the US is food! I’m not going to sit here and say that I’ve eaten every scrap of food every put in front of me, but my wife and I compost anything leftover from the whole foods we buy (rinds, cobs, etc.) We pretty much eat what we cook. Needless to say, between the recycling and the compost our garbage amounts to probably one bag (which is half dog poop).
My sense is the Western world doesn’t get it, and probably won’t until it’s put into the only terms we understand.….cold hard cash. Why do you think so many of us were laughing at the Hummer drivers this summer? When food prices hit a critical level, only then will people truly try and conserve.
Great post!
Dine O Mite: The 1/3 of waste statistic is pretty disturbing. We’re pretty good about recycling but we still need to start composting. Part of the inspiration for the post was my own culpability. Thanks for replying!
Ohio Mom: Thanks!