Did any of you pick up today’s NYTimes? Today’s issue was a little thin, but I was fascinated by the story about Freegans. I’m all for dumpster diving, swapping, picking up furniture on the curb, etc. but freegans take it to the next level. They scope out the best dumpsters (like on the day the NYU students move out), they pick up items like half empty detergent bottles (OK, but I’d be paranoid some psycho poured bleach in there or something, but I can understand doing that) and then they take it up to 11 by grabbing half eaten jars of peanut butter and bruised produce. This is all part of making a political statement and is considered a movement.

I’m all for recycling and freecycling, but the thought of eating food that someone else has deemed inedible and that has touched a trashcan is not for me. I should add that I’m a bit of a germaphobe, and I still remember Puck on The Real World SF picking his nose and then sticking that same finger in the peanut butter. Why do they do it? Here’s the explanation from Steven Kurutz:

Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to mnimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism. They forage through supermarket trash and eat the slightly bruised produce or just-expired canned goods that are routinely thrown out, and negoiate gifts of surplus food from sympathetic stores and restaurants.

Apparently, they are also pissed off about the mainstreaming of environmentalism, and this also has to do with a bunch of anti-capitalism/consumerism diatribes that you can imagine without me expanding on it. This could make for an interesting debate – isn’t it better to have a more people trying to do their part in some way, and more aware of every action they take and its impact on the environment than not? Discuss amongst yourselves.

As for me, after some up close and personal experiences with rats and their feces, and after reading all the recent posts on Apartment Therapy about bed bugs (beware of upholstered furniture), and the memory of Puck burned on my brain forever, I say no thanks . What do you all think? What would you use after it touched a dumpster, and what would you say “no thanks!” to? How about that meal pictured above? It’s all made from freecycled food. Would you dig in?

all photos from They New York Times, except Puck, which came from realitytvhallofshame

for more information about Freegans, check out Freegan.info