trashpolitics

reflections

Paris Dumpsterdiving: How food foraging in the ‘City of Lights’ divides and unites by Xoài David

This week I read Xoài David’s piece on the culture of dumpsterdiving in Paris, and how this community, which tries to correct an entrenched food waste problem, can still suffer from issues of internal divides and prejudices.

It’s an interesting piece which highlighted to me how our system of living produces so much waste to the point people have found creative ways to overcome it, forming sub-cultures that literally forage in our trash for food that is otherwise confined to rot.

In doing so, this trend has subverted, in some small way, the problem of mass-produced food leading to surplus.

this waste is our waste

This issue puts in perspective the sheer amount of food waste that is created daily, especially in richer nations. It’s astonishing that an estimated third of all food produced is thrown away, not consumed. This has disastrous social and environmental consequences. I was struck by this line in particular: “If food waste were a country, it would be the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the United States.”

We don’t often consider how much water, energy and land is needed to even process the amount of uneaten food there is. Great efforts and resources go into food being grown, harvested or produced, packaged and transported to supermarkets or restaurants, only for much of the excess to simply end up in landfills.

Xoài also points out how lots of food is disposed of for arbitrary reasons. “People don’t realise how much of the food that is thrown away by the industry is perfectly edible,” she writes. “It’s not uncommon for dumpsterdivers to find food that hasn’t even reached its expiration date – an entire carton of eggs might be thrown out simply because one of the shells is cracked.”

It’s also of note, and a sad indictment of what we prioritise, that food aesthetics still play a role in what is rejected by the industry. Fruit and vegetables being wonky, the ‘wrong’ size or shape, or discoloured is a common reason that commercial buyers will turn down produce. This demand for ‘perfect’ food leads to excessive waste for reasons of vanity.

expiration nation

Supermarket expiration date labels also contribute to food waste. Often the dates are meaningless – calculating something that is dependent on so many factors. As with planned obsolescence – designing products to have a limited lifespan so they need replacing quicker – corporations have an incentive to promote quicker turnaround on food. It’s complex: expiry dates are sometimes needed for safety reasons but there’s also a lot to be said about how it often relates to the quality and appearance of food instead.

The simple solution to the ‘off’ problem is to use your critical faculties, not rely on labels. As Xoài explains: “Dumpsterdivers believe in common sense – look, smell, and taste.”

I used to be more paranoid about expiry dates, sometimes thinking best not to risk it, but I largely now rely on my senses and it hasn’t steered me wrong yet.

This expiration issue relates to food in restaurants and cafés too.

My partner works in a London café, so she’s fully aware of how much food waste just one business can produce. Imagining this figure scaled up for all major cities and towns begs belief. Her current employer is decent on wastage compared to others in the industry, but one of her old cafés used to sometimes produce a binbag full of food wastage after just one day. The amount of ‘expired’ sandwiches, pastries, salads and fruit salads present in London toward the end of the working day must be staggering.

I’m glad we have been able to make use of the excess food she shares but sometimes it’s even been too much for one household to consume in time. She used to make a habit of taking what she could and giving food to unhoused people, but this was not always possible or workable as just one person. Apps like Too Good To Go try to also deal with this surplus but at times it feels like a drop in the ocean.

There’s simply too much food waste!

dumpsterdive into my ocean

The food waste problem demonstrates the inefficient way we produce what we eat. It’s like we throw all these varied products at the wall, see what sticks and toss the unsold items away. Demand and supply dictates that some things will be produced more than others, but overproduction seems way more common than underproduction, especially in the Global North.

Our habits for food variety and novelty have damned us to produce to excess, while 35% of the global population can’t afford a healthy diet.

Although legal liability for ‘off’ food and other factors have to be considered, surely there’s a better way to consume food than over-producing and over-wasting?

Dumpsterdiving for perfectly fine food is a great way to feed for free, and help curb the amount of food left to rot in our society. But it’s a product of a systemic issue, it alone won’t solve this crisis but at least acts to mitigate some of the worst consequences.

Let’s rethink how we produce food, how we eat, how we live. But for now, maybe catch you by the Tesco bins?

~ Tommy