Originally published September 2 2014
Man rides bamboo bicycle across U.S. while 'dumpster diving' for edible, wasted food
by Raw Michelle
(NaturalNews) In an effort to increase awareness about food waste and help find solutions to fight the problem, an activist by the name of Rob Greenfield is cycling across America on a bamboo bicycle for his Goodfluence tour.(1) As he rides, he finds dumpsters that are filled with food that many consider not worthy of eating, although they are perfectly safe for consumption. His effort highlights the need to call attention to sustainability issues, urging people to become more mindful of the waste that's occurring in daily lives.
"Every time I open a dumpster there's food in it," he said. "Time after time I am finding grocery stores dumpsters filled to the brim with perfectly good food. I'm not going to stand for that anymore." He explains that one in seven Americans are without needed food, and still, the food that's tossed as waste can feed every hungry American five times over.(2)
Additional efforts that fight the problem of food waste
Greenfield is no stranger to such efforts. Last year, he cycled across the United States, also on a bamboo bicycle during his Off the Grid Across America bike tour. Greenfield has also engaged in acts such as biking from New York City to Boston while drinking only from leaky faucets as part of the Drip by Drip tour. It doesn't stop there. The young man has also biked across Iowa without a bicycle seat to symbolize his involvement in the Stand Up for Sustainability tour.(1)
"Grocery stores need to stop dumping and start donating!" he said. "It truly is a no brainer. Stores that donate are protected from lawsuits by the Good Samaritan Food Act, they get tax write offs which means it's profitable to donate, they spend less on dumpster fees, and most importantly they are doing what is right for their community!"
Others like him are also energized by the desire to create change. Twenty-year-old Baptiste Dubanchet, who is from France, is participating in an 1,864-mile bike journey while "dumpster diving," or eating only food that's been tossed by food establishments. He's doing this from Paris to Warsaw, Poland.(3)
On a smaller but still very helpful level, many others do their part when it comes to food waste. When eating in their own homes, many individuals choose to use all the parts of a particular food (such as eating the rind of a watermelon with the green outer layer peeled first or using carrot tops as food stock) rather than throwing it out and only purchasing quantities of food that they are sure they will eat.
Sources:
(1) http://www.treehugger.com
(2) http://robgreenfield.tv
(3) http://www.treehugger.com
About the author:
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle
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