Woman Arrested After Taking Thrown Out Food

Originally posted by Jinglelord
reply to post by ANOK

 

Capitalism doesn't do anything of the sort. Capitalism allows the people to decide if they will accept this behavior.

In a capitalist system the people have more power. They can discover these facts and boycott, or they can ignore it and the will of the people is done. Especially if there are anti-monopoly rules.

Capitalism allows for choice, allows for people to express their will, should they choose not to you can't get mad at the corporation. Get mad at the people buying their stuff.

Wrong. Capitalism is the private ownership of the means of production.

The people do not have the option to choose, we are coerced and exploited to the benefit of the capitalist at expense of the people.

In order for capitalists to maintain their profits they have to control the supply of resources they make their money from. The only thing keeping people from food is the artificial scarcity of the production of that food, as over production is not in the best interest of the capitalist.

As the worlds economy worsens, and less people can afford resources, less will be produced. What happens if no one can afford to buy anything? They will let us all starve. There is no morality in capitalism.

Socialism doesn't allow for the same kind of choice, there is not the same kind of incentive to be better and to suit the will of the people.

Yes it does. Socialism is the workers ownership of the means of production. Workers earn directly from the profits made, instead of the profits going to a private owner. There is more motivation when your income is directly associated with your labour instead of the whim of a private owner.

If the people owned the means of production, land machinery etc., they could feed themselves.

Don't hate the game, hate the player...

Hmmmm no hate here, just common sense.

So much good food wasted.

So many homeless or starving people.

Where's the justice?

This is beyond the pale. Really.

When I was 16, eighteen years ago (geez) I had a job at McDonalds. When I would close on the weekends we were made to throw tons of food in the trash. Good food. No one was allowed to take any of it home, they would not donate one nugget to a church shelter down the street even when we offered to deliver it. Any employee caught taking a cheeseburger (or other food) before it was thrown away was terminated. No questions asked.

Even at that age I could not understand why people would rather throw food away than see it be eaten.

The woman wasn't hurting anyone. To have her arrested is a whole new level of idiocy. These companies could make a killing if word got out that they were donating left over food to help feed the hungry. But instead of common sense we see this.

Pathetic.

I used to get leftover produce for my hogs from an all you can eat salad place - I asked the manager why they don't donate leftovers to homeless and whatnot. They threw out pans of leftover food from the all you can eat buffet - granted it had been sitting out all day but if one is hungry hell who can be choosy.

Simple explanation was liability. The risk to the entrepreneur in our society is too great to risk getting sued by the overly litigious who want a get rich quick.

Imagine if you dumped food into the trash and someone eats it and they end up suing you for having put it there in a state that it "appeared to be still edible". That's why places make the food inedible when they throw it out.

This is a two way street - the businesses are only reacting to actual instances when they take these measures. I wanted to donate excess milk to the shelter and they couldn't take it because it was not pasteurized.

My lawyer almost cried when I told him I offered to do this, He said if they would have taken it I could have gone to jail (illegal to sell milk for human consumption that is unpasteurized – I sell to a bulk tank and they pasteurize it) and if anyone got sick I could have lost everything.

So it is the "innocent homeless and hungry" who sort of created this standard by litigation.

there is a reason for that law, some enterprising crook might have the idea of salvaging that food and selling it back to you at his local grocery store. it's been done.

i don't think that was the case, it think it was for personal use. but still, how can you steal something someone threw away, especially stealing something you found.

How is it that in England people don't call the food bank to come and pick up the food and feed the needy individuals? This is a crime against humanity to be wasteful with food. People need to be charitable and share.
I am sure they must be pressing charges against the girl, they need to drop those and reconsider their store's
procedures.

Originally posted by TV_Nation
I remember reading an article a while back that had to do with theft by finding.

A woman bought a briefcase from a goodwill store and and when she got home and inspected the case further she noticed the seems were not completely sewed up so she pulled back the fabric. She found around $100,000 hidden in the briefcase and she deposited the money in her bank account.

Then shortly after she received a visit from the police and was arrested and charged with theft by finding. I'm not sure what happened but theft by finding carries the same penalty as theft so my guess is she is doing jail time somewhere and not a short stay either.

The way the system is set up is a way that makes you have to use your resources to gain anything. No freebies or you may end up in jail. Pretty sad and it shows just how we are all just a number to the system.

This woman needed a damn good lawyer. She bought the bag which means she also bought everything in it. Then how can it be theft by finding? or whatever?
On the other hand if it was me I would not have banked it.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


taco bell express,pizza hut express. store in your area express. thats alot of microwave food stock gone. claimed on big company insurance as loss? more money for them?. taking thrown out food & arrested?? really?

Well, one good company (which I do not work for or have any affiliation with) is Panera Bread, they donate all their leftover breads to local soup kitchens.

Also, looking around online it seems the main problem many companies have with donating leftovers is liability. Even though the food was donated in good faith, IF a person becomes ill from a hamburger not kept at proper temperature the company would still be liable. Some states do have laws that protect companies from this. The second problem is that they are on the hook for transportation and food packaging. Which they argue costs them money, a cost they wouldn't assume by placing all food in a single trash bag or what not.

I still fail to see their point though, because if they do business in a state with a good faith law, all states allow you to take a tax right off for the food donation (which would cover packaging). I fail to see the problem, it sounds like a win win

As sad and unfortunate as it is, I think the way the law is set up (not sure if its the "Theft by Finding" law) but anything in a trashcan is considered private property still. The only ones by law allowed to remove property from a trashcan is the owner of the property within and the owner of the can. Even trash collection is not allowed to root through the cans, the refuse is supposed to go right on the truck.

However there's a plus side... It's also illegal for LEOs to dig through your trash without a warrant.

So yes, technically, dumpster diving and shopping at curby's is illegal. It's also why (at least in my neck of the woods) people often put signs on stuff that might actually be good saying "free".

I worked at a large mid-western University Hospital on campus. They would cut the ends off hams, roasts, cheese blocks and throw those away. Also they would thaw out say 72 chicken breasts but only cook 40. Yep. You guessed it. Throw the other 32 thawed breasts out. Rolls. pies, breads, deserts, buns etc. Over what they needed each day? Thrown in trash. Some would get picked up by a food bank, but the majority tossed.

Now, If anyone went into the trash and unwrapped those hams and turkey and cheese ends (a couple pounds or more at least each one)or took those rolls? It was considered stealing and I could be fired.

Guess what? I got home buns, and cheese ends, and hams and 36...THIRTY SIX chicken breasts (which had to be cooked right away at home ie; baking, broiling, barbecuing, shredding because they were already thawed)...but I did, and gave it all to a few families and college friends living with us in a large campus rooming house.

Hey. It was over 10 years ago, so screw them. I put all that into a gym bag and tried not to slump over on the way to the bus which I road and then walked home.

It is an absolute crime that woman got into any trouble. If its in the garbage... today...you can be fired for stealing from the employer. Good or not. Thats absolutely shameful........

this has irked me for a long time.
20 years ago I used to work at walmart as a 2nd job so I could pay for my phone card and skiing.

I was told to pour motor oil over the expired various foods and chocolates from see's candies in the dumspter.
I never got it. why can't this go to people whom can get a tiny bit of desparate substance from this.... so f'ing sad... I hope we DO get to experienice a major "event" so that the tptb get to take this all into perspective...

Its a sad story. As We have programs in Australia where this TRASH Is donated to charities( religious and none religious) to be distributed to the homeless and the needy. Thousands of buisness's and even more volunteer's around australia every week make sure this food doesn't go to waste. Im proud to say Im an Aussie. No disrepect meant.

And, a lot of college students and a couple of welfare families ate good those the times I could get that food home from the Univ. And that was a crime? Yes. And it still is. No one should ever go hungry....but they do.

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
Now that's a dirty shame, the poor woman. What the hell is theft by finding?

I think I made a thread once exploring the concept, finders keepers losers weepers. One man's loss is another man's find, that should not be criminal.

To play devil's advocate. You drop your purse, someone finds it. Do you feel that they are entitled to anything it contains? Cash? Credit cards? ID? Losers weepers, after all...


Now I certainly agree that the theft by finding law should be updated to exclude things deliberately thrown away, but are you seriously suggesting that it should cover a lost wallet or purse?

Something thrown away is completely different from something lost.

Originally posted by windword
How is it that a private investigator is allowed to go though my ttrash, in order to find incriminating evidence of fraud, (worker's comp) but this lady is arrested for taking food from the trash?

Exactly. I think that the next time information is used against you in court by such means you bring up that the evidence should be omitted on grounds of theft by finding.

Obviously, the laws were written by banksters/corporations.

I know some of the bakeries in Melbourne Australia used to donate the left over bread and stock at the end of the day to local homeless shelters and charity's.

From what I was told they had to cease this as the baker would be held responsibility if some of the donated food made someone unwell.

I have seen first hand working in supermarkets damaged goods like bent tins or squashed bread being thrown out in locked bins when the contents could have been salvaged.
Its upsetting that people trying to help get held back from donating due to risks of people suing them etc

This is a little upsetting. Just goes to show you that a starving human being will go any length to feed themselves and their loved ones.

My criminal justice professor in college always said; 'There are people in this world who would be more than willing to kill you to take what's in your trash.' And I knew he wasn't joking. The OP proves it.

I remember we gave the local Iraqis our food that we didn't eat. Of course they won't touch the pork products but still at least they got fed what we threw away. Next thing you know they will place a camera on every trash bin to see if your taking someones garbage.