what’s y’alls stance on found, discarded animal-based food?
I’m dumpster diving for the past couple of months. combined with cruising the farmer markets around closing time, I usually score enough food that I have trouble carrying it home. seasonal vegetables and fruit mostly. I know a couple of spots where supermarkets throw away whole loafs of “expired” bread. in the freezer overnight, 7 minutes in the oven at dinner time - perfectly edible.
I’ve stopped eating meat like five years ago and I abandoned dairy and eggs a year ago. feel fine, lost weight; skin, hair and nails ain’t the same but I’ll live with it.
occasionally though I come across thrown away, intact meat and/or dairy stuff. like today, almost 5 Kg of some deli meat shit, I imagine it’s pink slime inside, haven’t opened it. it’s past its best use date which don’t bother me none. I’m not drawn to it, don’t miss the taste or whatever, I’m just bothered by the waste of it.
so I’m not saying I’m gonna be swayed one way or the other but curious what other people think about this. thanks.
My main concern would be the bacteria thriving on that.
Stale bread: just less tasty, and mold can seen/tasted easily
Similar for veges, probably thrown because “not as fresh looking”
But expired meat? That means the poor animal has been butchered weeks/months ago and it’s in decomposition
I feel the same way as I would about if I found discarded human meat. I might eat it if I was going to die otherwise, but I wouldn’t be happy about it.
I’m not a vegan but I think vegans are fucking awesome. That’s all.
“I don’t think women should be allowed to own property but I think feminists are fucking awesome.” In what way, exactly?? Can you not see how condescending and insincere that sounds?
I think you misunderstand because my reply was so short and without detail. I would be a vegan but I’m too weak and don’t have discipline. I constantly admire vegans for doing something I won’t. I feel as though I am wrong and evil for consuming meat. Pathetic, even.
With that in mind, your analogy doesn’t make sense. In this instance it would be more like “I own land, but think land owning is bad.” Hypocritical, absolutely, but not bigoted. I feel like there is a distinct difference, and if you’re receptive to this, you may find in hindsight that there was no intended condescension or insincerity in what I said.
If I’m still missing the point I’m happy to learn something today, if you’ll teach me.
When I am out walking around in public, I don’t use any willpower or discipline not to steal someone’s phone. To not kick a child who gets in my way. To not murder someone whose car I want. Likewise, it doesn’t take any willpower or discipline whatsoever to not be cruel and violent to vulnerable individuals like cows, pigs, and chickens. You are not experiencing a failure of discipline but rather a failure of empathy. You are not engaging your empathy, and you are not recognizing the moral existence of the individuals you are murdering. Because if you were, YOU WOULDN’T DO IT, and you certainly wouldn’t fucking moan about how hard it is not to fucking murder to a bunch of vegans.
Your comments are so misdirected. We don’t do it for you. We genuinely don’t care what you think. If we cared what people thought, we probably wouldn’t have gone vegan in the first place. When you come here and tell us how much you support us, you’re really just using us for the purpose of moral self-licensing. It feels gross.
My dumpster diving days are far behind me, but that attitude used to be called “freegan”.
For me, I wouldn’t criticize anyone who chose to eat animal flesh sourced in this manner - no one in the capitalist supply chain is going to make any money off you, you’re not increasing demand for animal flesh, eating that flesh does no harm to any living animal and makes it no more or less likely that more animals will be killed.
At the same time, the personal is political, and part of that is living your values in a way that is not only consistent but appears consistent to others. Publicly eating like a vegan, and sharing how your diet reflects your system of ethics, normalizes veganism and encourages people to respect and consider your point of view. Every time you, as a vegan, share a meal with others, you are also sharing your values, even if you unobtrusively choose a vegan meal option and don’t say a word about other people’s choices.
But if you call yourself a vegan, and then you eat meat, or wear leather, or otherwise consume animal products, it taints you with perceived hypocrisy, discredits your words and actions, and makes other vegans look bad by association.
Also, it just feels icky.
OP, I would ask, are you part of a collective? Are you in contact with other dumpster divers you could share or trade food with? Because I hate the waste involved, too, and though I wouldn’t eat the animal flesh myself I would be willing to give it to someone whose ethics permit it.
am not. thought about giving it away to street folk I come across but the idea doesn’t jive with me - hey here’s some expired shit hopefully you won’t die bye!
And you’re right to feel that way. Sharing dumpstered food with other dumpster divers who share your values is one thing - plenty of urban communes with shared kitchens do it. Sharing dumpstered food with random people on the street? I wouldn’t do that either 😆
