I feel the same way as I would about if I found discarded human meat. I might eat it if I was going to die otherwise, but I wouldn't be happy about it.
this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2025
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skin, hair and nails ain't the same but I'll live with it.
comrade get some supplements they're not that expensive. you do not have to waste away for the greater good. the meat eaters don't even get this shit naturally, the animals just get the supplements instead
thank you for your concern. that's not in the cards right now but maybe in the future. got any recommendations, like generic stuff that might be effective?
Now I ain't a doctor but if you're vegan supplementing B12 is basically a must unless you're eating ungodly amounts of fermented food and even then the jurys kind of out on that one. Literally any OTC stuff will do, if you're already dumpster diving I figure you might well find a pack of b12 pills in a blister there that are as fine to take as anything out of a dumpster
Hair and Nails might also be protein depending on if you just axed all the animal based stuff out of your diet with little replacement.
My dumpster diving days are far behind me, but that attitude used to be called "freegan".
For me, I wouldn't criticize anyone who chose to eat animal flesh sourced in this manner - no one in the capitalist supply chain is going to make any money off you, you're not increasing demand for animal flesh, eating that flesh does no harm to any living animal and makes it no more or less likely that more animals will be killed.
At the same time, the personal is political, and part of that is living your values in a way that is not only consistent but appears consistent to others. Publicly eating like a vegan, and sharing how your diet reflects your system of ethics, normalizes veganism and encourages people to respect and consider your point of view. Every time you, as a vegan, share a meal with others, you are also sharing your values, even if you unobtrusively choose a vegan meal option and don't say a word about other people's choices.
But if you call yourself a vegan, and then you eat meat, or wear leather, or otherwise consume animal products, it taints you with perceived hypocrisy, discredits your words and actions, and makes other vegans look bad by association.
Also, it just feels icky.
OP, I would ask, are you part of a collective? Are you in contact with other dumpster divers you could share or trade food with? Because I hate the waste involved, too, and though I wouldn't eat the animal flesh myself I would be willing to give it to someone whose ethics permit it.
am not. thought about giving it away to street folk I come across but the idea doesn't jive with me - hey here's some expired shit hopefully you won't die bye!
And you're right to feel that way. Sharing dumpstered food with other dumpster divers who share your values is one thing - plenty of urban communes with shared kitchens do it. Sharing dumpstered food with random people on the street? I wouldn't do that either 😆
People also call themselves "freegan" if they accept any animal based food others are giving them.
So I dont like that word
The point is harm minization right? Well eating it is gonna cause as much harm as letting it rot so might as well? As always the comparison for me is what if it were human and in this case I would be revolted at the thought but don't see a good reason not to if you aren't.
In the same way that anti-racists can still have unaddressed racist beliefs, vegans can still have unaddressed carnist beliefs that they should try to get out of their minds. Thinking of uneaten meat as a 'waste' of food is one such belief. It means you still ultimately think of non-human animals as products to be eaten. Like, do you consider a burial to be a 'waste' of good human meat? Why do you have a different opinion on non-human meat? If you don't like seeing them rotting in the trash, you can give them a burial.
Unless you do consider burials a waste of resources I guess, then keep doing what you're doing.
My main concern would be the bacteria thriving on that.
Stale bread: just less tasty, and mold can seen/tasted easily
Similar for veges, probably thrown because "not as fresh looking"
But expired meat? That means the poor animal has been butchered weeks/months ago and it's in decomposition
It might be worth saving, simply for the sake of preventing food waste. You don't have to eat it, but you may know people who could prevent it from going to waste.
I'm not a vegan but I think vegans are fucking awesome. That's all.