Viewed in
2010
Formats
DVD
Premise
A documentary about dumpster-diving, and America's food waste dilemma.
Liked
The direct, fair approach to the subject.
Thoughts
It did a good job of passing on valuable information without preaching down to me, boring me with numbers, or manipulating my emotions.
Director Jeremy Seifert had a clear narrative, as he introduced us to the dumpster-diving subculture (one participant listed the rules), then tried to get answers from local grocery stores about waste, and finally channeled it into an exploration current solutions. My favorite part was when he interviewed his professional chef friend, who had no problem cooking with recovered food for his friends.
As a diver himself, Seifert was obviously passionate about the subject, but he did a great job of being fair, especially towards grocery stores. He repeated mentioned that Trader Joe's was the prime example only because its dumpster was most accessible, and that all stores were equally part of the problem. At the same time, he also credited those same stores for their attempts to reduce lost resources.
One aspect I wished he explored was whether it was truly safe to obtain sustenance this way. Considering none of them got sick is not as convincing as asking a health expert about the perceived/true risks about consuming such edibles. Also, he mainly focused on his neighborhood in Los Angeles, so this subculture might be different in the rest of the country.
In just forty minutes, I was fed some valuable, interesting information about dumpster-diving and reducing food waste in America. It did not make me want to become one, but I appreciated the thoughtfulness by Seifert and his ilk to show that we can do more to ensure our precious food does not get lost.
To date, this documentary had not been picked up by a distributor, so if you are interested in watching this, you can reach the film makers at www.divethefilm.com. Or I can loan you my evaluation copy =P.
What I would change
Nothing.
