Critique of Dumpster Diving-
Lately our local media (the Charlotte Observer and The University Times on two occasions) have printed articles on the phenomenon of dumpster diving. Let me preface this critique with a note; the following arguments are not against the people who practice dumpster diving, but against the act and its supposed and actual consequences. I will also say there are some benefits of dumpster diving, but I think they are very limited and not as radical as some may think.
In the articles, some people are interviewed as to why they practice diving into dumpsters, primarily for food. I think the main reason given, points to how diving can be a form of recycling. Or at least it saves food, and other items such as clothes, from going to the dump where it will be forever wasted. Initially this seems like a good point, and I think it is, but overall, it may be detrimental.
The ridiculous ills of consumer society left aside, we do have power as consumers. Corporations pay attention to what consumers are buying. For example, if more people buy organic food, the corporation will sell more organic food and less of the other stuff (we see this even in Wal-mart), until, theoretically, all the food is organic. When one dumpster dives, they essentially drop out of the system, they say no to power.(1)
From what I gleaned from the articles, the people interviewed would take any food that is still edible from the dumpster. It can be factory farmed beef or processed cake. By giving up consumer power you give up the power to tell the corporation what you want.(2) So the corporation keeps buying disgusting meat and never realizes the customer may not want it. What I am getting at is we should not give up power. If one wants to improve the environment, it has been shown that veganism reduces one’s carbon footprint dramatically. The point is factory farming and non-organic farming practices are much more damaging than the amount of food we throw away. When one dumpster dives, it is pointless to be vegan (besides health reasons) because you are not using your consumer power.
If one wants to drop out of the system, rather than eating the waste of capitalism, it would be much more productive to shop at farmer’s markets or to grow as much food as you can on your own.
One last point I’ll offer is how dumpster diving could not exist without capitalist waste. It is hardly a critique of capitalism for it could not exist without capitalism. By dumpster diving one effectively becomes a victim of capitalism. Victimization is not critique nor is it positive.
It is clear proponents of dumpster diving want to critique capitalism and its wasteful over-production and unjust distribution. But these things are inherent in capitalism. So, benefitting from these things, (dumpster diving is basically benefitting from the waste of capitalism), is not the best way to critique capitalism. Instead, we need to develop ways to live which are sustainable and ecologically safe, and could exist when capitalism eventually evolves into something else. For what we are seeing, and I think people are intuitively feeling, is the logical end of capitalism and corporations. They can offer us no more.
Lately our local media (the Charlotte Observer and The University Times on two occasions) have printed articles on the phenomenon of dumpster diving. Let me preface this critique with a note; the following arguments are not against the people who practice dumpster diving, but against the act and its supposed and actual consequences. I will also say there are some benefits of dumpster diving, but I think they are very limited and not as radical as some may think.
In the articles, some people are interviewed as to why they practice diving into dumpsters, primarily for food. I think the main reason given, points to how diving can be a form of recycling. Or at least it saves food, and other items such as clothes, from going to the dump where it will be forever wasted. Initially this seems like a good point, and I think it is, but overall, it may be detrimental.
The ridiculous ills of consumer society left aside, we do have power as consumers. Corporations pay attention to what consumers are buying. For example, if more people buy organic food, the corporation will sell more organic food and less of the other stuff (we see this even in Wal-mart), until, theoretically, all the food is organic. When one dumpster dives, they essentially drop out of the system, they say no to power.(1)
From what I gleaned from the articles, the people interviewed would take any food that is still edible from the dumpster. It can be factory farmed beef or processed cake. By giving up consumer power you give up the power to tell the corporation what you want.(2) So the corporation keeps buying disgusting meat and never realizes the customer may not want it. What I am getting at is we should not give up power. If one wants to improve the environment, it has been shown that veganism reduces one’s carbon footprint dramatically. The point is factory farming and non-organic farming practices are much more damaging than the amount of food we throw away. When one dumpster dives, it is pointless to be vegan (besides health reasons) because you are not using your consumer power.
If one wants to drop out of the system, rather than eating the waste of capitalism, it would be much more productive to shop at farmer’s markets or to grow as much food as you can on your own.
One last point I’ll offer is how dumpster diving could not exist without capitalist waste. It is hardly a critique of capitalism for it could not exist without capitalism. By dumpster diving one effectively becomes a victim of capitalism. Victimization is not critique nor is it positive.
It is clear proponents of dumpster diving want to critique capitalism and its wasteful over-production and unjust distribution. But these things are inherent in capitalism. So, benefitting from these things, (dumpster diving is basically benefitting from the waste of capitalism), is not the best way to critique capitalism. Instead, we need to develop ways to live which are sustainable and ecologically safe, and could exist when capitalism eventually evolves into something else. For what we are seeing, and I think people are intuitively feeling, is the logical end of capitalism and corporations. They can offer us no more.
1 It is impossible to say no to power, in other words, it is actually impossible to escape power.
2 These remarks are based on the current system of corporate capitalism. I realize this system is fucked up.
Eric Virzi
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