Is “Skipping” Enough to Save the World?

Yesterday, National Public Radio featured a segment on Freeganism. For those not familiar with this increasingly popular lifestyle choice, freegans are people "who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources,” according to freegan.info.

The sentiment is a powerful one, and so is the dedication Freeganism’s adherents have shown to living these ideals. Many use services like Freecycle, which has more than 4 million members across the globe, to trade and get things they need (clothes, furniture, and other durable goods) for free. Some even go so far as to dumpster dive (or “skip,” as they say in the UK) to get all or most of the food they eat.

According to the UK government, 70 percent of all food is wasted before it gets to the consumer’s mouth, with 5 percent thrown out directly by supermarkets. Salvaging this discarded food and other “stuff” is surely good for the Earth, preventing the use of additional raw materials, energy, and other resources to produce new items.

However, I’m not convinced that “skipping” is the best use of freegans’ time. How much time and labor does it take to get this food? What is the health quality of the food being scavenged? And, perhaps most significantly, is this activity helping or hurting the corporations that are at the root of the problem?

To answer the first two questions: if “skipping” doesn’t take much time, that’s ok. If you can consistently scavenge large quantities of healthy food in just an hour or two, then this surely makes economic sense. But if you get less than that and/or if the food is unhealthy (packaged foods, sweets, processed meats, low-quality vegetables, and other items typically sold at grocery stores), then perhaps skipping doesn’t make much sense. Why not use those same hours to work at a farmers market for bartered fruits and veggies—that is, strive to get healthy, local food in exchange for your labor.

To answer the third question: unfortunately, I think skipping is helping, not hurting, the corporate food system. Not a lot—but every time a waste-filled dumpster is emptied by a dump truck, it costs these companies money. By that same token, reducing their waste by diverting it before it hits the landfill saves them money, making them more profitable and perpetuating the system that needs to end. Why else would supermarkets seek out charities to pawn off their nearly expired (unsellable) food to the homeless? It’s because they care—not about the homeless, but about their own bottom lines.

Ultimately, if we’re going to survive on this planet for the long term, we need to lend our support to a sustainable food system: one based on local agriculture and small-scale farmers. Reducing the waste of major supermarkets doesn’t help that—though it is free food if that’s all you’re looking for. But why not spend your time achieving two laudable goals simultaneously: obtaining a source of healthy, locally produced, ecologically friendly food, and helping a local farmer make ends meet by lending a hand—instead of helping corporate food distributors save money by eating their garbage.

A final note: there’s always the danger of getting sick on dumpster food. Yes, it’s probably rare—and heck, you can even get sick off of spinach you buy at a grocery store! But why visit the supermarket at all when you can get healthy food from a local farmer and support the transition to a healthier, more sustainable food economy.

So, just a little “food for thought” for those considering freeganism. I agree absolutely with the goal: consume as little as possible, especially from the toxic conventional economy, and try to get all your stuff secondhand. But to survive for the long term, we must establish a sustainable alternative to the global economy. Volunteering at a local farmers market or homeless shelter (where you can share a meal with those you’re helping), and even doing some urban or community farming, can bring you closer to your goals—both ethical and practical.