According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30-40% of our food supply ends up in landfills. That’s equal to about 133 billion pounds, and $161 billion worth of food. 27-year-old Cameron is trying to change that statistic by only cooking with ingredients he harvests from the trash.
“The first time I opened up the dumpsters, it was like opening up a treasure chest,” Cameron said in a Facebook video produced by 60 Second Docs. “I just had this idea. I’m pulling all this food out of the dumpster and my mom knows how to cook really well, so let’s try something cool.”
For breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, Cameron and his mother cook meals using produce, dairy, and other foods that have been tossed by restaurants and grocery stores.
After making sure the item of food is “scrubbed clean” to keep bacterial infection at bay, Cameron and his mother whip up tasty-looking dishes and donate their unused food goods to local shelters and charities. “Not once have I ever had any food poisoning,” Cameron assured the viewers.
“I just want people to start rethinking food,” he said. And after seeing how Cameron eats these days, we’re definitely rethinking food in more ways than one.
Although he doesn’t define is lifestyle as such, Cameron seems to be eating like a “freegan.” As defined by freegan.info, freegans are “people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources.”
everyone stop what u’re doing and check out FREEGANISM https://t.co/y7Zzx00Qs1
— mira 𓆈 (@M0THERMIRA) July 14, 2019
Basically, those who follow a freegan lifestyle often find their food goods in the trash, just like Cameron. It’s a great way to make the most of the food waste issue in America while saving big time on groceries.
Preaching freeganism to uninterested bar patrons as I fill up on stale popcorn and swipe an unattended drink
— Attica! Attica! (@Almighty_Prismo) July 10, 2019
“Urban foraging” and “dumpster diving” are the two most common strategies freegans use to acquire their food and lifestyle products.
“Despite our society’s sterotypes about garbage, the goods recovered by freegans are safe, useable, clean, and in perfect or near-perfect condition,” freegan.info states, “a symptom of a throwaway culture that encourages us to constantly replace our older goods with newer ones, and where retailers plan high-volume product disposal as part of their economic model.”
You won’t believe some of the stuff freegans have come across during their foraging expeditions. Many, like Cameron, find fresh fruits, vegetables, and day-old bread.
And if you’re lucky…(Just kidding).
For many, freeganism is an appealing lifestyle. Not only are you saving money, but you’re actively choosing to not give into troublesome politics while helping reduce the amount of food waste in landfills.
Have finally found an '-eganism' I can get behind: 'Freeganism: buying as little as possible and making use of recycled or discarded goods and materials, in an effort to reduce waste and limit environmental impact.' #sustainuary
— Kristen Reyher (@Reyher_UofBVet) January 20, 2019
And come on — How much longer can these receipts get? Looking at you CVS.
My shopping receipt is almost a meter long.
— Renata Varea (@rravfj) April 18, 2019
I think I might start to seriously consider freeganism 😭😭
#RelationshipGoals, TBH. Obviously, freeganism brings couples together.
Phone sex is cool, but talking with your girl about freeganism and society issues it’s the real turn on. 🤤
— siuvz (@yagirlsiuvs) April 4, 2019
However, others can’t seem to get behind the idea of fishing food out of a dumpster with the intention of eating it. Fair enough.
Well, yeah. It doesn’t sound good when you put it that way.
Phone sex is cool, but talking with your girl about freeganism and society issues it’s the real turn on. 🤤
— siuvz (@yagirlsiuvs) April 4, 2019
Obviously, freegans aren’t following this account. They definitely would.
Even if freeganism isn’t your thing, we can all agree that Cameron and those others who choose to grab their produce from the trash are bringing attention to a very concerning issue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that every person discards about 218 pounds of food waste per year, and that has to change.
2019 goals: full-time freeganism
— dr. jay, ph. d. Basketball Ethics (@denvermayor) December 6, 2018
So perhaps you don’t rifle through dumpsters in search of ingredients for your next meal. But perhaps you will begin to think differently about buying, eating, and discarding food.
What are your thoughts on freeganism? Would you be cool with eating food from the trash?
We’re not entirely sold on the idea, but we have to give major kudos to Cameron for doing what he can to make a difference.
