Suddenly, it seems that there are many thoughts that crowd together at this end of the month, along with Halloween, and the approaching E. day at your local library or city hall.  The inspiration for this day’s topic was found in a waiting room and is from Newsweek, October 1, 2007.  I don’t know how I missed it last year at about this time.

The topic is “Freegan” a joining of free and vegan and is explained in the article as:

“A freegan is a person who has decided to boycott capitalist society by severely curtailing consumption of resources through reusing, recycling and Dumpster diving.”

I go along with reusing and recycling and would even cut back on consuming resources that for me, at least, I know will, once gone, will no longer be available. A “Freegan” will do the above but the definition includes “Dumpster Diving”. I was going to say I drew the line on this but I did some thinking and came up with agreeing with the freegans that we waste an enormous amount of food that could be distributed to the hungry as well as devoted freegans.

Let me see if I can get you to follow their reasoning.  They seem to know that food markets that sell a lot of vegetables cannot be expected to sell you wilting and spotted stock.  You want fresh – but, if you are hungry and live as a vegan, why not take advantage of what is simply thrown away – hence, dumpster diving.

I can give you an example of where their philosophy was practiced years ago when Carol and I worked behind the counter in a food line, called Lunch Break.  We not only dished out the cooked lunches but helped to clean and prepare literally tons of vegetables that were sent to us or picked up by us that the food stores would ordinarily throw away in dumpsters.  They gave it to us and the usable (not always pretty) parts were prepared and given away free to the clients at Lunch Break.  The idea of free veggies was not new in 2007 but has for years and years before been followed by members of the “I served too” tribe of workers at soup kitchens.

I am sure that I approve this message about saving good and usable food from landing in the dumpster.  It is time to change our profligate ways.