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I watched these people on Oprah today that call themselves freegans. They are people that purposely go out and look through the trash for food! They are not homeless. One was a couple that the women was an engineer and the guy was in school to be a doctor! It was crazy watching them pull out garbage to eat. The food they took home was anything that looked good not damaged. But I just could not understand why they would want to do this? One women gave up a six figure job to live like this! They say it is because there is no sense in wasting food that there really isn't anything wrong with. So eat who knows what? You only live once eat good and have fun! I thought this was Nuts! 
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Posts:
2,120
From:
Boston, MA.
Registered:
2/23/07
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(1 of 29)
Feb 28, 2008 4:31 AM
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I watched these people on Oprah today that call themselves freegans. They are people that purposely go out and look through the trash for food! They are not homeless. One was a couple that the women was an engineer and the guy was in school to be a doctor!
It was crazy watching them pull out garbage to eat. The food they took home was anything that looked good not damaged. But I just could not understand why they would want to do this? One women gave up a six figure job to live like this! They say it is because there is no sense in wasting food that there really isn't anything wrong with. So eat who knows what? You only live once eat good and have fun! I thought this was Nuts!
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Posts:
1,914
Registered:
7/31/07
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(2 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 4:49 AM
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Is this for real?
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I own the cutest dog on earth.
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Posts:
1,476
From:
Sterling, VA
Registered:
4/11/07
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(3 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 7:30 AM
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I too saw the show and had never heard the term. I was shocked a doctor and his wife were dumpster diving too and thought that they were taking away food from people who live on the streets who might rely on this as a food source. A lot of the food they took out of the bins from grocery or bakeries were sealed and while I would never do this, I could see how the homeless might benefit from food that is still sealed, etc.
I do know people who don't need to look for furniture to furnish their homes, and as far as getting desks, or chairs, more power to them. Again, not what I would do, but I have seen perfectly good things in our area sitting in yards waiting for someone to take even with FREE signs on them.
The show was very interesting and while it grossed me out in some ways, I think it is unconscionable that stores and bakeries throw good foods away instead of giving them to homeless shelters or dispose of it in ways to help those who are poor. Guess they are afraid of lawsuits, but there should be better ways of dealing with good excess foods that won't harm people. JMO
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Posts:
3,455
From:
C.C.
Registered:
11/5/07
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(4 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 7:44 AM
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YES! It's for REAL. I think they take it too far. Too bad they don't do it for the good of someone else instead of themselves. However, I worked in food service and we were seriously limited in what we could 'give' to shelters, etc.
I like the idea of not buying everything you think you WANT and wish I'd had the idea many many years ago. I'm on it now, tho.
The parents of the college students must be horrified. I suppose it's better than drugs and alcohol, but still. There shouldn't be time for these things if you're really there to learn.
I have to say, we have neighbors that have never bought furniture!! Lots of family pieces and yard sale items and their home is lovely.
It was very interesting, but I won't be dumpster diving any time soon.
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Posts:
3,935
Registered:
4/13/07
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(5 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 8:09 AM
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I saw a show about this a few years ago. I just wonder how they don't get sick doing this.
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Posts:
2,282
Registered:
7/26/05
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(6 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 8:40 AM
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That is simply crazy. Its one thing if you are homeless and that is your source its another to be able to afford it. She gave up her job to do what - garbage pick? How does she support herself rent, etc.? weird
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Posts:
294
Registered:
6/20/07
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(7 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 8:48 AM
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I was curious as to what they do with their money. He is a doctor, she a civil engineer, so they make nice incomes I am sure. So I was thinking, hmm do they take all that money since they aren't using it, and donate it to charity, or are they stashing it away for themselves? Of course they can do what they want with their money, but I would hope that if that is how you are living, then you are doing something philanthropic with the money you are saving.
And gee whiz, it looked like they lived on boxed pizza!
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Posts:
591
From:
NYS
Registered:
1/20/07
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(8 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 8:56 AM
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I found this show disgusting and had to change the channel.
Are the freegans free of brains? Made me sick! It is one thing to pick up furniture etc., but food from the trash? YUCK!
DOUBLE YUCK! I'm now gagging.
I do know restaurants in our area that donated left-over food to shelters etc. each night after closing. They were told to stop by the shelters because of liability concerns. So all that food is being disposed of and going to waste. There is something wrong with our world.
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Posts:
719
From:
Wishing for So. Cal...
Registered:
7/31/07
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(9 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 9:08 AM
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I also watched this show and was shocked at what they were doing. As far as the couple, they said they give away most of their money to church. He stated that they are trying to pay off their mortgage also.
I think a more shocking thing about this is the amount of food that is just thrown away every single day! With so many starving people in our counrty, you would think the government would find a way to make good use of it. I understand about food that has been touched by people has to be tossed. Yet unopened perfectly healthy food should be given to the needy! Just my .02 worth!
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Caramel Brown Hair w/ Blonde Highlights, Hazel Eyes, Cool Tones, Fair today, tomorrow maybe Medium, Medium Beige sometimes too!
31 yrs old, Mom of 2 precious girls & 1 handsome male chihuahua named Peterbilt
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Posts:
2,374
Registered:
10/6/06
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(10 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 10:07 AM
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> The show was very interesting and while it grossed me
> out in some ways, I think it is unconscionable that
> stores and bakeries throw good foods away instead of
> giving them to homeless shelters or dispose of it in
> ways to help those who are poor. Guess they are
> afraid of lawsuits, but there should be better ways
> of dealing with good excess foods that won't harm
> people. JMO
I remember a fast food place that wanted to do just that. When they stopped serving breakfast, they wanted to give the biscuits left from that morning that weren't sold to a shelter across the street. Seems like a good idea, right? Apparently it is illegal to do that. Food put out to be sold and not sold MUST be thrown away. The store was fined but at least they didn't jail the manager, who was only trying to do a good deed.
basenjimom
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Posts:
1,542
Registered:
10/6/04
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(11 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 10:12 AM
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I saw the promo for this and didn't waste my time on it.
Why would they (the freegans) do it? Attention, publicity, to get on Oprah.
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Posts:
4,408
From:
Baltimore metro area
Registered:
11/5/06
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(12 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 12:13 PM
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> I think a more shocking thing about this is the
> amount of food that is just thrown away every single
> day! With so many starving people in our counrty, you
> would think the government would find a way to make
> good use of it. I understand about food that has
> been touched by people has to be tossed. Yet unopened
> perfectly healthy food should be given to the needy!
> Just my .02 worth!
I'm not sure what the government can do about it but in Maryland, the Maryland Food Bank has a program called Second Helping. Here's a little more about it....
Second Helping gathers ready-to-eat meals from over 50 Baltimore area restaurants, caterers, cafeterias, and other food service donors and distributes the food directly to 30 soup kitchens and shelters. Pans of lasagna, beef stew, chicken casserole, turkey sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob, fruit salads, yogurt, donuts, and cookies provide special meals for the clients of these food providers and reduce the cost of food preparation.
I think that's a great idea and it's a fairly new idea. 
gg
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Posts:
4,755
From:
Marana, AZ
Registered:
10/19/04
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(13 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 12:51 PM
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I was kind of wondering about the woman that said she left a job with a six figure income & now is a freegan. She said she no longer works for money, so how does she pay for her rent/mortgage & utilities? I doubt that the electric/phone/gas/water companies will let you pay your bills discarded fruits & veggies!
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"Always be a little kinder than necessary." - James M. Barrie, author
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Posts:
3,522
Registered:
6/29/07
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(14 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Feb 28, 2008 1:09 PM
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I saw yesterday's program. Regarding the couple, the man was actually an optometrist. They kept referring to him as a doctor, which maybe gave the false impression that he was an M.D. I would hope any M.D. out there would know of the health risks of getting food from a dumpster---insects, rodents, and spoiled food.
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Posts:
2
Registered:
4/22/08
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(15 of 29)
Re: On Oprah-- Freegans!!!!
Apr 22, 2008 9:16 PM
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i think all of you are missing the point. or all the points.
try this: take out a garbage bag ( a heavy-duty, industrial one) and walk to your fridge. opening the fridge, select and toss into the garbage bag any 20 items that have NOT been opened.
take the bag to the curb, or to your garbage can, and deposit. to keep this interesting, walk back inside, drink a glass of water, pet the dog.
now, go back to the can, or curb, retrieve the bag, and take it back to your kitchen. open, and inspect the items.
you will notice, firstly, that most of them appear edible. if you threw eggs in, one or several may have cracked. even cracked, eggs are perfectly edible.
secondly, you may notice that, unless you stopped to watch oprah on the way, or you live in arizona, most of the things in the bag are still cold. or at the very least, cool.
thirdly, and most amazingly, you will find that exposure to the inside of your garbage bag has in no way tainted, contaminated, or rendered inedible the food you placed in the bag. like plastic wrap, or the plastic bags you may put your produce in when you buy it in the grocery store, garbage bags are themselves new and clean when they come out of the box, whether they are your home garbage bags or the commercial kind used at the grocery. the commercial ones have the added benefit of being very difficult to puncture, further protecting the food within.
now, as a second exercise, take the amount of money you make each week and divide it by the number of hours you work. don't forget to use your after-tax income- you may "make" $20 an hour, but once they take out taxes, social security and insurance, that's probably more like $15 or less.
to make my point clear here, i'll tell you that i make about $20 an hour, and work part-time. i like to eat well- i eat almost entirely organic food, and whole-grain bread (it's worth it- i, and all my family, are healthy, take no medication, and are normal weight.) on an average trip to the market i can easily spend $60-$70 for less than a week's worth of food.
so in exchange for 3 hours of my time, aka 3 hours of my LIFE i can get enough good food to feed my small family for 5 or 6 days.
if i go out and "freegan," which i do often, i can $500-$600 dollars worth of food in the same amount of time.
what, you may ask, do i do with all that food?
well, i live in a big city, and i have a downstairs neighbor who is severely handicapped and on disability. his income allows him to buy TV dinners and wonder bread, coffee cakes filled with hydrogenated oils and canned foods loaded with sodium, preservatives, and genetically-modified who-knows-what.
ditto the family that lives across the street from me- they collect cans for a living, because they are old, and have no other way to make a living.
i have friends who are teachers, who can barely survive on their salaries, and others who do tons of charity work, preferring to work for others rather than working for money.
to all of these people i am able to bring FRESH food, organic yogurts that will "expire" in 2 or 3 days, fresh salads and sandwiches from an organic cafe near my office (they cost $6-$8 at 8 pm, but when i open the bag at 9 pm, i can take 10, 20, 30 sandwiches- as many as i can carry- and they're still COLD from the fridge.) The other night i found a 16-POUND container of organic soup- the soup was in two sealed plastic pouches, in a sealed cardboard box. It had never been opened.
12 people have eaten from that soup, and one of the bags is still in my freezer, untouched.
several months ago i was able to provide bread, salad, and a lot more for an unemployed friend's birthday party. all of it was top quality- the salad was all "Earthbound Organic", packaged washed greens- the kind that costs $4 a bag. I made a salad for 40-50 people, using 10 bags, and my husband picked out maybe 10 wilted leaves.
i think its unfortunate that the moment something goes into a garbage bag many people imagine it is like toxic waste, poison. you are 1000 time more likely to get sick from food contaminated in manufacturing or processing than from food that's "old" or even expired. the scary stuff happens in the factory, or in the field or the slaughterhouse. the expiration date on milk is a guideline, and a way for stores to keep track. milk doesn't magically spoil at midnight on its sell-by date. i regularly open, examine and then eat yogurt, cheese, and other foods that are 2-10 days beyond "expiration."
it is easy to tell when food is bad. if it looks or smells funny i don't touch it.
i have NEVER gotten sick from the food i've retrieved, and i have never made anyone sick. i wouldn't do it if i had.
instead, i feed my family for almost free, leaving me a lot more money to do things like pay down my mortgage and buy things i want. i give hundreds of dollars to charities, and i travel. i have no debt, beyond my mortgage- i pay my credit card in full every month.
i've renovated my house with beautiful materials, and i have the time to spend about 15 hours a week working for my local animal shelter, saving lives, and helping work toward a no-kill city.
and in any given week i feed 5-10 or more people food they simply couldn't afford.
i'm not bragging. i'm just telling you the truth.
is this really nuts? is it disgusting to want to help people, to want to spend my time saving lives instead of in an office? am i crazy for keeping my accounts in the black, while eating very, very well?
i think that it's crazy to believe the lies that you have been told, without investigation: food in a plastic bag outside a market is the same as the food that is in the market. (unless of course it's the middle of a heat wave- common sense.) bread from a bakery is the SAME bread a half hour after the bakery closes as it was the half hour before the bakery closed. it's just in a garbage bag.
it takes a lot of work and energy to grow and make food. people work very hard, animals suffer, and resources are used. i believe it's a sin to waste all that effort.
and people are starving all over the world. if we wasted less, we'd have more to share, with our neighbors, other countries, and the world. if we all had more money we'd sleep better at night, and have more to give to charities, our children, or whomever we wanted to. heck, we could all buy LOADS more stuff on QVC.
i thinks it's disgusting, crazy nuts, revolting, and stupid to waste all those opportunities to help ourselves and others.
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