Edible East Bay: Letter to the Editor
Dear Edible East Bay:
I am writing in response to your recent article on freeganis, “The Diver’s Diet” by Matthew Green.
Thank you for providing a perspective on a lesser known reuse culture. I appreciate the attempt of individuals in our community to make better use of a deeply flawed food system. While an opposing perspective was included from business owners, I would like to include in the dialogue a perspective from those of us that have lived, or are living, in poverty.
The practice of freeganism brings attention to the appalling waste intrinsic to our current food system. While Green touches upon the fact that it is not the amount but the distribution of the food that leads to hunger, his article goes no deeper in helping the reader understand the larger system of poverty that leads to hunger for those that don’t have. Green’s article also does not acknowledge that by bringing attention to the accessibility of “free food,” freegans are increasing the inaccessibility of even discarded food for the hungry and homeless. This is clearly an unintended consequence, yet when people of a privileged class start commodifying a resource that had previously been left to the poor, it leads to gentrification of poverty.
Rummaging through the garbage for food and other resources is a stigmatized behavior associated with only the most deeply impoverished. Creating a subculture where a previously taboo behavior is “cool” is a form of tourism in the realm of poverty. Sociologist George Ritzer calls this McTourism. The individuals that are going on this vacation are not poor, they do not truly want to be poor or even perceived as poor. There is a significant difference between a middle-class urban hipster dressing and acting poor and the realities of living within a stigmatized community. In fact, there appears to be a correlation between freeganism and the use of other cultural symbols associated with lower classes (i.e. poverty props) to appear more urban, street smart, and politically savvy.
While I can appreciate the act of freegansim as a criticism of the waste our food system produces, it bears noting that it also obscures real poverty and loses focus on the crucial change needed. If we are seeking to create alternative urban systems to improve our cities and strengthen our communities and our environment, we need to look to the system of poverty. Rather than gentrifying poverty, lets eliminate the abysmal inequalities that lead to it.
Sincerely,
Esperanza Pallana
Oakland resident and urban farmer