Notes

Notes on "Do freegans commit theft" by Sean Thomas. Written about the UK.
Freeganism: does not have single ideology. However is broadly an anti-consumerist movement. Some Freegans attempt to avoid the market reconomy as a way of not supporting the capitalist system. Freegans use goods that "others deem obsolete". "Justify their actions because food is often disposed of for what are essentially economic or regulatory reasons, rather than specific health and safety reasons" (101). Exemplified by the California v. Greenwood case. (I am going to need to research this case more).
However, industrial food markets are not very likely to contain such confidential information.
Generally freegans dumpster dive for food because of its "inherent use-value". 
Another argument against dumpster diving is health and safety concerns

In an interview with a Freegan he claimed "The way we see it is if you put something in the bin, you don't want it any more. You have relinquished your responsibility for it."
Questions of ownership:
Theft takes ownership.
Interview with freegan:
"It is ironic to hear a store manager claim 'Hey, you can't steal our rubbish!' We have heard that, legally speaking, if you take something which someone does not value then it is not stealing. It  makes sense that if we throw something away we relinquish ownership of it."

Is Dumpster Diving Legal in North Carolina

There is technically no law against dumpster diving, but the police may stop you if you are on private property

(Chacha.com, Couldn't find it anywhere else. Anyone have ideas for a more reliable source?)

Research Sources

Today I rented several books from the library:
American Wasteland by Jonathan Bloom
Consumerism edited by Roman Espejo.s. This book has several chapters that should be useful. The book includes differing arguments on similar subject. I plan on reading Chapter 4, section 4 "Freeganism Adresses the Problems of Consumerism", and section 4 "Moderate Consumerism Is More Practical Than Freeganism"
As well as reading Chapter 1, section 3 "Consumerism May Be Linked to Mental and Emotional Problems".
Living Anarchy:Theory and Practice in Anarchist Movements by Jeff Shantz

I also found two interesting articles:
"Do freegans commit theft?" by Sean Thomas
"Buying out of consumerism: Freeganism ain't for sissies" by Michelle Hancock.

Food Waste in the United States

I began my research on food waste. I obtained the following information from the EPA website that is absolutely shocking:
33 million tons of food was thrown away in 2010, which is 100 billion pounds. This also means that 3000 pounds of food is wasted per second.
"Almost half of the food in the United States goes to waste"
"Food waste represents the largest component of municipal solid waste reaching land fills and incinerators."
Food waste losses account for up to $100 billion per year, 30-40 billion occurring within the commercial or retail sector. 20 billion occurring from farming and food processing.
Environmental impacts of food waste:
Food waste is a significant source of methane, which is a green house gas with 21 times the global warming potential as carbon dioxide.
Landfills account for 21% of methane emissions from humans.


I read a pamphlet on the EPA website entitled "Putting Surplus Food to Good Use"
It outlines the economic as well as the environmental and social benefits of eliminating and putting food waste to good use.
Economic Benefits:
Decreases disposal fees. Food banks often provide food pick ups. *composting fees are generally less than incinerator fees.
Decrease purchasing costs by only buying what you need.
Increase tax deductions by donating to charities
Increase revenue from selling compost.
Environmental Benefits
Using food waste as compost improves the health of soils
Reducing waste will conserve landfill space as well as decreasing methane emissions.
It will also decrease the amount of incinerator ash that is released into the air