In our previous posts, we had discussed how the aesthetics of food products dictated by the preferences of consumers have led to significant food wastage in the retail phase of the food industry. While this is rather unfortunate to hear and learn about, we stumbled across something rather peculiar while working on these posts. Ever heard the phrase, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? It seems to apply to food waste from our retailers too. Meet the ‘Freegans’, someone who rejects consumerism and limits their consumption of resources by retrieving discarded items for free (Barnard, 2016). This includes Daniel Tay who literally goes dumpster-diving for food! Catch a video about him below (The Straits Times, 2017)!
In 2017, Daniel had only spent $8 on food for that entire year (Cheow, 2017). That was possible with his efforts with SG Food Rescue, an organisation that he co-founded, that goes on hunts to rescue discarded yet totally edible produce from retailers. Apart from keeping about 10% of ‘treasure’ found for personal meals, they also direct them to soup kitchens and other charitable organisations as well. You can follow a week of his journey right here! One reporter also followed him around Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre for a ‘Veggie Rescue Mission’ organised by SG Food Rescue for just half a day and was able to save about 1000kg of fruits and vegetables that were meant to be thrown away yet fully edible! That amount would be able to feed many people, especially the 10% of Singaporeans that are said to be experiencing food insecurity as pointed out by a Singapore Management University Study (Goh, 2020). In fact, this is a regular event that salvages so much food that they even held several food drives with these rescued products to raise awareness about food waste in the CBD area in 2018 (CNA, 2018).
Personally, it is almost impossible to just fathom the idea of how perfectly edible food is just thrown away for their looks or their inability to be sold. Sometimes it just takes a wash or some cutting and you are left with a perfect looking food again. However, given the tedious process, it is always easier to take the easier route out by just discarding these food items away from our sight.
However, the blame does not lie fully on retailers as they are merely trying to cater to consumer patterns and preference. Hence, as consumers, we play large roles and have large power with our money expenditure to drive better consumerist practices. While there is no need for all of us to begin dumpster diving like Daniel, in our posts covering the next stage of the ‘foodprints’, we will be looking at how consumers like us are driving some of the pollutions caused. Maybe they can help you tweak some of your own practices to become more environmentally-friendly!
Trailing off,
Jade and Ridzuan
References
Barnard, A.V. (2016). Freegans : diving into the wealth of food waste in America. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press.
Cheow, S.-A. (2017). Causes Week 2017: He goes dumpster diving to reduce waste. The Straits Times. [online] 9 Dec. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/he-goes-dumpster-diving-to-reduce-waste [Accessed 11 Oct. 2020].
CNA (2018). Free vegetables and fruits: A veggie good giveaway. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLd9sZFg3qs&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=CNA [Accessed 11 Oct. 2020].
Goh, Y.H. (2020). 10% of Singaporeans struggle to get sufficient, safe and nutritious food: SMU study. The Straits Times. [online] 16 Sep. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/10-of-singaporeans-struggle-to-get-sufficient-safe-and-nutritious-food-smu-study [Accessed 11 Oct. 2020].
The Straits Times (2017). Causes Week 2017: Dumpster diving to prevent waste. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDuFHUDpY4&ab_channel=TheStraitsTimes [Accessed 11 Oct. 2020].
