Comments on: Ethical Living: Trendy Guy vs. Hippie Gal

By: indie

indie — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:11:25 +0000

I think if you all were to see the amount of food that gets thrown out by stores you’d not be too worried. Maybe in an area with a high concentration of needy people. But not in most areas. Besides, Food Not Bombs gets food out of the dumpster to share with homeless people and others.

By: amber

amber — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:05:57 +0000

I agree with Rachel… I would feel like I was taking something from the homeless if I took food from a dumpster

By: indie

indie — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:46:42 +0000

Maybe Ariah can tell us more about dumpster diving.

By: indie

indie — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:43:44 +0000

re: eating from the trash. I’ve done it. I’ve found fully packaged canned goods and nonperishables thrown out many times, usually by college students or the like who are moving and don’t have enough sense to drop the stuff off at a food pantry or their neighbor’s house. Also, stores throw out food that has hit its sell by date even though it is still good for a while after that. I personally wouldn’t get anything that was not properly packaged because I’m pregnant and have kids and don’t need the stuff bad enough to take the small risk. But I’ve seen plenty of things like vegetables that would be fine if washed up (which you need to do with any produce anyway).

I read a story recently where a woman said she was at the store and got a couple of cartons of orange juice that had been marked down because it was a few days before the sell by date. After she got the items, she noticed an employee loading the rest into a cart and wheeling them away so she followed him and saw him put them all in the dumpster. So she pulled them out of the dumpster and that is how she got started getting food from dumpsters.

The point is that you can be as picky as you want. There is a lot of discarded food that’s perfectly safe.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:39:38 +0000

Hmm. A mix.
-Breakfast: Usually cereal, yogurt, something like that. I have this weird idea that food that is dumpsterable should be left for people who need to dumpster dive for food, not for rich kids who like to get dirty. Also, in some segments, this *is* the trendy.
-Transportation: Fuel-efficient Civic. Commute that is deliberately only 3 miles.
-Day Job: A job that does not contradict your ethics and values. Check.
-Home: Small-modest size. Shared with one human and 4 animals.
-Dinner: Not so good on this one. Often out, with use of non-recyclable to-go container.
-Nightlife: whatever’s free.
-Summer: see “nightlife”

By: yesha

yesha — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:38:41 +0000

Sorry I’m at work, so can’t write something more substantive… But I wanted to just comment… I see that on more than one occasion, you’ve recommneded “dumpstering”… I can respect how it might work for some people, but for me I couldn’t get over the possibility of germs/sickness/disease from foods that were thrown away… So that’s one thing I could never do nor highly recommend to others, especially if they’re concerned about their health.

By: amber

amber — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:01:20 +0000

I’m a mix of all I think. We do spend dinners and evenings with family and I think that’s a good thing. In my opinion it’s possible to give yourself too much to others that you forget your family. Here’s my day.

Breakfast: Several cups of Fair Trade Coffee
Transportation: I drive a gas hog - a Jeep but I drive very little - just to work, the groc. store and church.
Day Job: A caregiver to developmentally disabled adults
Home: a two-story in the suburbs that we built ourselves.
Dinner: at home with family
Nightlife: watch T.V., movies or talk to friends
Summer: go on a mission trip