Free To Be A Freegan

While Gothamist is a sucker for the entire process of cooking a meal, from thinking about a recipe, buying the goods, and then attempting magic in too-small kitchens, an article about people who forage the city's trash for food caught our eye. First of all, this takes a mindset shift, one from consumer to one of frugal scavenger. They call themselves freegans, and it sounds like some wacky hippie dippie idea, to wait for organic grocery stores to close, attack their garbage and then use "bare hands to scoop steaming brown rice and veggies into a plastic container." But, considering that much of the food is fresh that day and even unopened, in the scheme of things, this is not the worst idea we've heard. And people will pick up other people's old furniture or dishes that are left on the street. It's just that food...well, sometimes there's a reason why it's been dumped, and Gothamist wonders about instances of stomachaches and food poisioning. The article goes to great lengths to explain the freegans are employed and tend to forage for philosophical reasons. We do think people (ourselves included) are way too wasteful, and that's why we like charities like City Harvest, that donates uneaten food to needy people.

More about freeganism at Freecycle. This also reminds us of the part from The Day After Tomorrow, where Jake Gyllenhaal gets tips from the homeless man about insulating themselves with pages torn from a book. That might have been the most useful thing from the movie, that and remembering to always listen to the upstart kid if there's an apocalyptic event.

Photo of Weissman from Newsday/Oliver Morris

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By Jen Chung in Food on October 12, 2004 12:49 PM

Comments [rss]

jay kay ess

it's cool and ecologically responsible and all, but... ick.

Max

So if you have a job and eat garbage you are a Freegan and if you didnt you are a bum? There is a reason restaurants lock up their trash. I will be waiting for the first suit brought by a Freegan against a restuarant that happened to throw out the old rat poison with the food.

candleblue

I think it's great that these people actually do it, especially those who do it for environmental and ethical reasons. As for the health factor, 'tis no worse than being a college student and eating week-old pizza.

Sarah

This also happens in France. Check out Agnes Varda's "The Gleaners and I."

Tim

Actually, that guy looks more like the bastard son of Prince and Booger from Revenge of the Nerds.

homer fink

This is so totally a hoax ala cat house for dogs and clothing for animals.

christina

It is true that there is a lot of food that is perfectly good thrown out. If they want to feed themselves that way, it's their risk, I see no harm in it. They probably have more money in their pocket than I do.

Jimbo

Do they explain the best way to pick the little pieces of pork out of the fried rice? Also, it would be helpful if they showed how to differentiate between orzo and maggots in the dark. Service journalism is going downhill.

These folks are going to remove themselves from the food chain pretty quickly (and pretty nastily) with just one or two listeria, salmonella, or botulism outbreaks.

I would love to see them go toe to toe with skunks, racoons, or other "freegans" of the animal kingdom.