-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The wonders of dumpster diving
- Thread starter storafötter
- Start date
- Status
This has been going on long before the "hipster" trend...
Seriously this is pretty mind blowing to me. I was ready for a huge thread backfire after clicking this thread. I mean if I saw a scimitar on top of the pile like in that always sunny episode sure I'd grab it and clean it but generally I stay away from things that smell like someone after a taco bell visit.
Grocery stores actually throw out perfectly good unspoiled food all the time. Sometimes in sealed packaging.
It's quite possible to eat entirely off stuff grocery stores throw out and never get sick.
storafötter
Member
It is ridiculous that you think everyone is doing it to save cash. There are plenty of genuine people who dumpster dive for the environment, animals and people. It is more sad to judge people doing this like they are hurting others by doing so. You actually thought it would be more justified to go through a trash for an ipod than a banana. Does the ipod nourish you? your priorities are questionable as it is not about whether it is expensive or not, good food is still good.
Alligatorjandro
Banned
My dad tound a basketball goal once in a dumpster.He used to drive a sweeper truck cleaning parking lots and would find cool things.
elrechazado
Banned
hahahaha
anyone here ever dumpster dive from a dunkin donuts? it's probably the best place to go around where i live. they literally fill an entire garbage bag full of them and just set them by their dumpster for people to take. when i used to do it, i'd just ask them about it and they'd set it by the front door for me.
the amount of food in one of those bags could feed a family for a week.
the amount of food in one of those bags could feed a family for a week.
storafötter;37163306 said:
Bullshit. If they were doing it for that they'd be starting groups and fighting for stores to change their polices or take that food and give it to homeless. But they don't. They dive it, take it for them self and nothing gets fixed.
Well done removing that part. I wouldn't give a shit what they thought, I'd give a shit about admitting that I do such a disgusting thing.
Beerman462
Member
Yeah, people are just trying to be funny or sound elitist in the thread. They are ignoring the links to videos that show the "dumpsters" that are being dove in are pretty clean. They just imagine dumpsters from movies with rats and baby shit shoved into a New York alley.
Also, to address this second travesty of a post:
The only facts you present are that it's cheap and that I don't want to buy food. Absolutely true. Then you try to throw in an addition statement to pass off as a fact, but you fall on your face. I save a ton of money. I was spending between 100 - 150 a week on groceries before I start diving. I spend about $40 now. Oh, and taking what someone else has thrown away isn't dishonest.
Are you sure you don't own a grocery store or something?
Getting in a car to go to the grocery store is fucking risky. So what? You do it anyway. Eating out of a dumpster isn't anywhere as risky as getting in the car. The risks are so small, in fact, that I've never suffered for dumpster diving. Not a single case of food poisoning, disease, or accidentally eating shit. The bottom line is you've been taught to fear food. That's what our culture does. If it's not layered in plastic, sitting under fluorescent lights, you won't touch it. I'm not so freaked out. I grow food and I eat it. It grows out of the fucking dirt. Dirt made by composting nasty, rotten old food. I eat food out of dumpsters. Food thrown out by the grocery as unsuitable. And in the end? I eat really well, and I enjoy the hell out of food, and I don't get sick or suffer for it. There are your facts.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fact?s=t
The only facts you present are that it's cheap and that I don't want to buy food. Absolutely true. Then you try to throw in an addition statement to pass off as a fact, but you fall on your face. I save a ton of money. I was spending between 100 - 150 a week on groceries before I start diving. I spend about $40 now. Oh, and taking what someone else has thrown away isn't dishonest.
Are you sure you don't own a grocery store or something?
Getting in a car to go to the grocery store is fucking risky. So what? You do it anyway. Eating out of a dumpster isn't anywhere as risky as getting in the car. The risks are so small, in fact, that I've never suffered for dumpster diving. Not a single case of food poisoning, disease, or accidentally eating shit. The bottom line is you've been taught to fear food. That's what our culture does. If it's not layered in plastic, sitting under fluorescent lights, you won't touch it. I'm not so freaked out. I grow food and I eat it. It grows out of the fucking dirt. Dirt made by composting nasty, rotten old food. I eat food out of dumpsters. Food thrown out by the grocery as unsuitable. And in the end? I eat really well, and I enjoy the hell out of food, and I don't get sick or suffer for it. There are your facts.
And the shark has been jumped. Nothing like throwing out completely subjective value judgments and calling them facts. I hate to break it to you, but simply labeling something as a fact doesn't make it so. I think you need a little assistance. But hey, I'm a nice guy, and I've got you covered:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fact?s=t
GhostWriter24
Member
GAF never ceases to amaze me...:lol What are we third world, now?
Beerman462
Member
In the documentary that you will never watch they actually do it communally. They fill a deep freeze with the meat and start giving it away to neighbors because they were getting so much.
storafötter
Member
Sorry but you are blind. You have no clue thats a FACT (since you like to use that justification). There is a movement called "Food Not Bombs" where people make food this type of food and give it to the homeless and it happens all over the world.
Look it up because it isn't difficult. A lot of people try to change the policies but most of the time it is not accepted due to the health risk from finding food from dumpsters.
Broder Salsa
Banned
No, GAF is not a country.
Here's the problem I have with the logic of dumpster diving for food.
So let's say you're apprehensive about it. You think "Hmm...maybe I shouldn't do this. Eh...I dunno, what the heck? I'll try it once."
And lo and behold, you hit the jackpot. Perfectly good food. So you're like "Okay, not so bad. I was wrong. I think I'll do this again."
How do you develop this system of things you should and should not do? The only way I can think of is trial and error.
So presumably, after so many times, your luck is going to run out. If even one thing makes you sick, your luck has run out.
So how do you not immediately stop? Some serious mental gymnastics would be required to get to that point.
It's not "perfectly safe" because you're always having to be careful.
Imagine if someone asked you to go to a restaurant, and told you there was even a 5% chance that you might get sick from eating the food. Would you still go? What if they said half the menu was dangerous, but didn't tell you which half? Would you still order?
So let's say you're apprehensive about it. You think "Hmm...maybe I shouldn't do this. Eh...I dunno, what the heck? I'll try it once."
And lo and behold, you hit the jackpot. Perfectly good food. So you're like "Okay, not so bad. I was wrong. I think I'll do this again."
How do you develop this system of things you should and should not do? The only way I can think of is trial and error.
So presumably, after so many times, your luck is going to run out. If even one thing makes you sick, your luck has run out.
So how do you not immediately stop? Some serious mental gymnastics would be required to get to that point.
It's not "perfectly safe" because you're always having to be careful.
Imagine if someone asked you to go to a restaurant, and told you there was even a 5% chance that you might get sick from eating the food. Would you still go? What if they said half the menu was dangerous, but didn't tell you which half? Would you still order?
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
In this thread: people bitch about what absolutely doesn't concern them in any way shape or form.
elrechazado
Banned
Hahahaha. Nice try. But feel free to not do it. More for me.
But when it passes through the invisible field of grossness into the dumpster, it is covered in aids and herpes and shit instantly.
Again, it's not a blind hope kinda matter. When food spoils, it usually gives off signs of spoiling. From bad colors to rotten smells not unusual textures, it's not hard to spot something that you don't want to eat. And if you are unsure, don't fucking take it. Stick to the stuff that you are OK with. I promise you that there are plenty of things that take no guess work. Sealed and dry packaged food, non-moldy packaged cheese, etc. But even things like meat and eggs aren't hard to figure out most of the time. It's not the game of Russian Roulette that you outlined.
i don't think people have dropping standards just because they start dumpster diving. when i did it, i wouldn't touch anything that didn't look sealed or completely safe. i wouldn't bend those rules, and i never got sick.
It seriously blows my mind that there is more than just the OP defending this. It's like a thread that should be full of "wtf" gifs until it gets locked. Has the world gone mad? "I get my food from maggot and rat infested dumpsters. But it's perfectly honest and you're being close minded!"
EnderWiggles
Member
I thought this thread was about anal sex.
but that's garbage before they even throw it out
Yes, I do. Have been doing it for... I think 4 or 5 years now.
No I wouldn't. I do still shop at stores for stuff that rarely end up in dumpsters. And I'm often so busy that I don't have the time to wait for stores to close and then go dumpster diving too late at night, so I have to buy food because I'd have no food to eat otherwise. And yes, when I happen to have some money to spend, I do not have as much reason to go dumpster diving, so I don't go as often.
I'd have absolutely no problems with it if I knew the food was going to homeless or poor people. Sadly, with the way things are at the moment, that's simply not happening in most places (I do know some places do something like that, but none in the city I live in).
Let's be realistic, this shit ain't going to change with the way people are nowadays. Stores need to have excessive amounts of food to satisfy people's excessive needs and a lot of that goes to waste (either in the homes of people when they don't know how to properly store their food or before that to dumpsters from stores).
Small amount? This alone shows you don't know SHIT what you're talking about and your FACTS are just laugable.
1) As I said, a big part of the reason why I'm doing this isn't to save money, it's simply because I think these practices of throwing out edible food are absolutely incomprehensible and because, yes, we SHOULD be doing something about it. The fact is, there IS enough food to feed at least most of Earth's human population (if not everyone and then some), but shittons of that is going to waste in western countries who've become so picky and excessive in their needs that shitloads of food is thrown into garbage every day.
2) It's not just fruit & vegetables.
3) I can easily save anywhere from 30 to even, like, 80 euros (105$) with a single trip to 2-3 of my usual places and get food I (as a poor student, mind you) couldn't eat otherwise. That's not just some small change
It's not risky at all if you know what the hell you are doing. If you are a dumbass who can't tell inedible food from edible and don't understand a few things about certain food items (like the example about fish I already gave earlier), then you shouldn't dumpster dive.
FACT - I have yet to see (or hear) a SINGLE mouse or a rat or maggot in the places I dumpster dive at. The stuff I pick up are also always packed well so some bacteria from the dumpsters can't get in there (and I don't take food that's too old, so I have a minimal risk of taking food that's suffered from being in the warm too long). I also dumpster dive when the food has been in the dumpster for less than 2-3 hours, so that also lessens the risk of getting anything..
That's because you're someone who doesn't understand shit what he's talking about. "maggot and rat infested dumpsters", yeah, there are none of those where I do this stuff.
Nope, you're just got unrealistic expectations, a small, prejudiced little view of the world, and a problem with basic vocabulary. Just keep moving. Nothing to see here.
Zing!
Your paranoia sounds debilitating. I'm really sorry to hear that. It's no excuse for baseless insults, though.
TemplaerDude
Member
New age drifters.
My room mate knows some dumpster divers. I don't let them in my house, considering where they spend most of their time I would rather not take the chance on having their possibly disease ridden asses on any of my belongings.
Disgusting thing to do with your time and quite frankly anyone defending it needs to give their head a shake.
My room mate knows some dumpster divers. I don't let them in my house, considering where they spend most of their time I would rather not take the chance on having their possibly disease ridden asses on any of my belongings.
Disgusting thing to do with your time and quite frankly anyone defending it needs to give their head a shake.
Broder Salsa
Banned
Your posts in this thread is what deserves most GIF responses.
Beerman462
Member
GAFs idea of dumpster diving.
The one above yours takes the cake, I'd say.
elrechazado
Banned
Do you let people in your house who have walked on public streets?
Beerman462
Member
People were getting salmonella from food they bought. No food is perfectly safe.
I hope not! With their germs and shit. You are crazy if you do.
Jaffaboy
Member
I remember taking out the trash at work to discover a dude ferreting in the skip. He saw me and kinda played dead which was hilarious. I didn't know how to react at the time so just kinda went "Have fun!" and left him to it.
My brother and our friend went to NZ a few years ago and went dumpster diving and found about 20 birthday cakes and loads of biscuits. They didn't have any money so it fed them for a couple of weeks. They said they felt pretty weird after though probably through lack of nutrition and too much sugar, but they said they would do it again and to be honest I'd probably join them. I wouldn't tell anyone though!
My brother and our friend went to NZ a few years ago and went dumpster diving and found about 20 birthday cakes and loads of biscuits. They didn't have any money so it fed them for a couple of weeks. They said they felt pretty weird after though probably through lack of nutrition and too much sugar, but they said they would do it again and to be honest I'd probably join them. I wouldn't tell anyone though!
elrechazado
Banned
Really. Just imagine those disease ridden feet and hands.
This thread is filled with closet germaphobes.
Unrealistic expectations? Because I don't get my food out of a trash bin?
Hahhahaha. Food in a dumpster. Yeah, that wouldn't attracted rodents or flies!
Its about priorities really. These guys probably spent all their money buying an iPad instead of food.
People have been doing that shit for years and years.
i think you would be amazed at how big the frugal community is. many people do this stuff as a hobby.
Surface of Me
I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
This thread reminds me that I bought the wrong taquitos from walmart a weed while back. I haven't thrown them away, but they have been sitting in my freezer for months. Where do you live OP? If you live near me I'll gladly throw them in a dumpster and you can pick them up at your earliest convenience.
I've tried and i've never gotten anything major.
Some old cat food and poster of taylor swift and beyonce poster from a Petco and a shoe store respectively.
We did get a full wooden lighthouse with working light (about 6ft tall) but that was because we know some kids who were using it as a senior prank.
Also a fully useable barbeque but that was during July 4th and it was free on some dudes lawn.
Some old cat food and poster of taylor swift and beyonce poster from a Petco and a shoe store respectively.
We did get a full wooden lighthouse with working light (about 6ft tall) but that was because we know some kids who were using it as a senior prank.
Also a fully useable barbeque but that was during July 4th and it was free on some dudes lawn.
Is that trash-phobia or something? Open a trashbin sometimes, you'll be amazed to see there are no rats or flies in most of them.
There are even places in the world where the municipality (or, hell, common sense) forces people to clean bins regularly.
Beerman462
Member
I guess you know if there are rats and maggots that's probably not a good place to dumpster dive. Are you actively ignoring the posts of people that have done this and say explicitly how often the food is thrown out and they know the exact conditions of the places they dive at?
Its easier to ignore those posts, and continue to mock.
I was just thinking to myself today: soepje, you need a new hobby.. But i´m not sure this will be it..
Only ever did this when our neighbor who had dementia died and her family threw out all her stuff. Found some old encyclopedias from before World War I but nothing else really interesting. As far as food I once found some brownies on the side of the road in a plastic tin. Debated trying some but eventually just went about my business. Something about eating food that's been thrown out just sounds completely unappealing to me.
You do understand that dumpster diving isn't ACTUALLY diving amidst the garbage? The stuff is there, you just have to open the lid of the dumpster and reach for the (more recent) food that's usually on top of it all, that won't get you salmonella or AIDS or anything that you could spread to other people... >_>; Sometimes you have to dig around a little, but it's not like we dumpster divers don't, like, wash ourselves or our clothes ever (not that our clothes ever get dirty). Given that my "disease ridden" ass hasn't caused any problems in my home (when people who are visiting *SHOCKER* sit on the same sofa I have sat on) nor has it ruined the houses of the friends I've visited.
You're just being paranoid and prejudiced about stuff you clearly know nothing about. But then again, people always are negative about unharmful stuff they know shit about simply because they are afraid of what they don't understand, so your & Darklord's behaviour isn't exactly surprising.
- Status
Similar threads
- Poll