This week, we’re going to be releasing a DIY guide to the hottest new trend: freeganism. There’s a lot of history with freeganism, so bear with.
I’m sure you know that a lot of food goest to waste in the world. Whether that’s supermarkets throwing out ugly looking fruit, or stores throwing away items that didn’t sell that day, anyone who works in F&B can tell you that, come closing, their bin bags are bulging. According to the Natural Resource Defence Council, Americans throw away up to 40% of food that’s still safe to eat!
This can be for a multitude of reasons. Some stores pride themselves on having fresh products, like bakeries or cafes, where a stale loaf from the night before can lead to a bad review. Or, some stores over-order things because it’s better to throw away food than to run out, and risk an angry customer. In 2019, Singaporeans threw away roughly two bowls of rice per person per day, or 51,000 double decker buses a year.
This isn’t great, though.
All that food is still edible and safe, and it just goes out to rot. Many people — animal activists who think it’s a shame that an animal died only for the meat to be thrown away, environmentalists who think we use enough of the earth’s resources without food waste, human rights activists who think that the food should go to people struggling with food security before a bin — do not like being part of this system. That’s where freeganism comes in.
Tune it next week to find out what it takes to be a freegan!
Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst.
