Ok so this isn’t related to our recent class discussions, but I was surprised and want to see how other people feel on the topic.
I work at MacKinnon’s, the café in the library, where at the end of the night a lot of food is thrown away. Initially this did not surprise me. After working a few years in a bakery back home, I have witnessed tons of good food going to waste. Throughout the day, MacKinnon’s café receives extra food from the other Java locations that close at earlier times. As a result, there tends to be many left-overs at the end of the night. All food is perishable and cannot be donated for liability purposes, so ultimately it is all thrown away. Baked goods like the doughnuts, pastries, etc. are composted while the refrigerated foods such as sandwiches, vegetables, salads, etc. are tossed to the dumpster.
Tonight while we were closing, the two women who take out the trash caught “dumpster divers”. Shocked and appalled, the women exclaimed to the divers that this was unsanitary and “not to come crying to us when they get sick.” Rather disgusted, they told me what they had seen and that they plan on stomping on the trash bags to smash the food before putting it in the dumpster in the future. The people digging through the trash (who looked like “college students”) said that this was perfectly good food going to waste and it is legal to go through trash. This is where I agree. It is such a shame to see good food go to waste. The sandwiches and other foods thrown away are individually packaged in plastic containers, meaning as long as nothing broke while being tossed, the food has not touched anything.
After work, I came back and told my roommate what happened to see her reaction to the situation. She too thought it was disgusting. So I’m wondering, am I the only one who sees the dumpster diver’s point of view? People all over the world are in dire situations for food and dumpster diving happens every day. But where is the line drawn? Is this ethical? Would you, as a college student, dig through a dumpster just to salvage a salad?
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I think throwing out food is a common practice. A lot of restaurants have to throw out their remaining food at the end of the night. Most of the time, it is in large quantities. I think it is such a big loss. When we have starving people all over the world, even here. I don't really get the reason for throwing this food out. If everyone who bought it is safe to eat it, why cant we refrigerate it and give it to local shelters. As for dumpster diving, I personally wouldn't do it unless I was starving and had no money. I do think it is kinda gross but I guess if it is wrapped up or in plastic so its not touching everything I could deal. I don't think it is unethical to dumpster dive. If someone throws it out, then they don't own it anymore so I don't see the problem with it.
ReplyDeleteWell....in a way it is a problem because, like you mentioned, health issues. However, if businesses are going to "write off" food as waste for tax purposes, let the hungry or drunk or "no food...had to pay rent" people eat! Cause I'm quite sure, if one is that hungry to dumpster dive, they certainly cannot afford an attorney to sue for botchilism...Your post was refreshing from the readings...I almost caught a second wind. Oh, by the way Wikipedia had me cracking up too...Other terms for "Dumpster Diving"..(did you read it..?) Urban foraging; aggressive recycling; D-mart; treasure hunting...hilarious.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Paula
I work at the commons and the amount of food that is wasted is amazing to me. We roll in garbage barrels and nothing that was out can be left everything must be thrown out. Then they have the 'Wasted' movement going on tell us not to be as wasteful with our food. My thought of the whole situation is, why not put some of that food from the other stations out for late night and if not everything is used from then either throw it out or find a shelter or some other place that would gladly take the untouched food. We seem to have so much food here that some countries couldn't even dream of having yet we are so wasteful when there are much more practical ways of food management.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, but im a little torn because of the food issue. I definitley think that someone can find some interesting things ( one man's trash is another man's treasure. I just dont know if I would be willing to eat the food, Unless i was starving of course. Also its really dick to want to crush the trash bags. It's not as if the divers are hurting business.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in my life, I cannot picture myself dumpster diving for food. After all, I have been blessed with supportive parents who have supported me throughout my entire time at college, so I have never been in desperate need of food to even consider it. While I do think scavenging for food scraps that have been half eaten, spoiled, or defiled in some sense is bad, I don’t view dumpster diving for perfectly good food as such. If the food was untouched, pre-packaged, and in good condition, then I would not be too concerned for the person seeking to eat it. But, since the food was thrown in the trash in the first place, I can understand why many people may not agree with the concept of dumpster diving. Regardless of the condition the food may have been it, once it is thrown away it is viewed as trash. Thus, when people retrieve food from the dumpster, they are consuming trash. I think that people who do dumpster drive should be very careful nevertheless. Even though many people may know about places like this that toss perfectly good food, they will never know the full reason why some food is tossed and could end up getting really sick.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with the dumpster divers, due to the fact that I have done so myself at times. I have a hard time coping with the prospect of throwing away completely untouched food, especially when it is individually packaged and there are so many people who go hungry every day. And if people are throwing food away, I couldn't imagine why it would be unethical to eat their "scraps". Getting sick could be a potential issue, but its a risk the divers assume when they choose to eat the food. I think it would be more unethical to not allow them to salvage good food.
ReplyDeleteThere's actually a pretty good movie on this topic. "The Gleaners and I" documents the centuries old French practice of "gleaning" wasted materials from modern production practices. Oddly, the practice used to be considered marginally acceptable, but in the late twentieth century--as the amount and quality of waste improved--it became a source of major social anxiety.
ReplyDeleteNow, if we're producing more waste and much of that waste is only nominally "trash,"--i.e. is it trash because it's in the dumpster or is it trash because it's not useful anymore?--do people have a duty to not just tolerate dumpster diving but to facilitate it? Instead of crushing untouched food destined for the trash heap, should we consider setting that waste aside to make it easier and safer for dumpster divers to get at?
Moreover, when so much usable material is being thrown away, why do people harbor such negative views about the practice of dumpster diving?
I agree with the "dumpster divers". I used to work at Panera for a short time and the same thing happened here. We, as employees, were allowed to take one pastry home with us if the right manager was on duty if not, it all had to be thrown away. I always thought this was absurd. Many of us would very carefully place the stuff in the bags to throw away so ten minutes later we could go get it right after. It is kind of crazy the whole idea that as soon as it is placed in a bag and set outside it is considered unsanitary and garbage. I really think working somewhere and seeing exactly how it goes from being on sale to being garbage within two minutes changes your view when you see people coming to get it. At Panera, one night a week someone would could and get the left overs to take to a shelter. I enjoyed reading this, it's not something I ever expected to be brought up but I agree with most of what people are saying.
ReplyDeleteMy friend who recently went to Greece to volunteer at an animal shelter has stayed there for over 3 months now. The work she is doing is purely volunteer so she is receiving zero income. She paid for the trip with money from previous summers working as a lifegaurd. Basically she had enough money for the flight and rent and some extra money so its easy to say she has been living on a tight budget. What her and the other volunteers there do for food is "dumpster dive". They get all the food that a nearby food market can no longer sell for free and its fine (for the most part). Over where she is living she says that many people do this and its basically acceptable. Their theory is, that if it tastes/looks bad, don't eat it. You are taking a chance but its proved to serve her and everyone else well so far and I admire this. Maybe i'll start taking up dumpster diving when Im out of college with no job and in huge debt...
ReplyDelete