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The photo above pictures my West End neighbourhood friend, Quincy Brandt, with his best day of shopping.  Wait, did I say shopping?  The goods on the table in front of him were the fruits of one of his earliest ventures into the world of dumpster diving.  That’s right, all of that unopened, perfectly edible food was tossed away with hardly a thought.  This experience made Quincy consider that a lifestyle change might be in order.

However, it would be unfair & inaccurate for readers to dismiss this as simply the eccentric behaviour of a strange young man- ok, so he is a little strange, but that’s why we love him!  Rather, Quincy’s commitment to this way of life is far more thought out than you might expect.  Let him tell you in his own words.

Jamie Arpin-Ricci: So why dumpster dive?

Quincy Brandt: One of the reasons I dumpster dive, is because I can. It boggles my mind how I can go to a certain dumpster on any day of the night and find enough food for a month (I don’t remember the last time I was able to take all of it home). And that’s just one dumpster, in one city, in one province, in one country. I’ve heard statistics of food waste before, and they’re absolutely ridiculous. I can’t feel good about spending $200/month on pizza pops and potatoes chips and veggies and fruit coming from every corner of the world when there’s piles of good food being thrown out every day.

JAR: How do people respond to it?

QB: If they don’t drop their jaws when I tell them about my secret, they think I’m exaggerating and laugh and say something like “What do you find, like, a soggy tomato?”.  Those are never the people who’ve opened the lid and looked for themselves though. I promise all the new people I take out who are not yet convinced, that they don’t need to believe anything until they see – “Just come along and see, friend. Have a little faith!” I’m not saving hungry people by eating “dumpstered” foods, but I am refusing to participate in the wasteful food system. In theory, they could stop ordering so much food if its sitting on the shelf too long. I guess it gets philosophical too. I sympathize to a large degree with freeganism, which is the reduction of consumption of goods sold through our inherently exploitative economic system, in order to withdraw support for it. We like the idea of foraging food, so a bountiful dumpster is like a fast food joint, except much much cheaper (and much much healthier!)

A lot of what I do is straight-up selfish, though. Really. I live simply because it requires less income, which means I have to work less, giving me more time for what I actually want to do with my life (currently I’m aiming to pursue humanitarian work). I spend under $5 on groceries per month (and maybe $15 on eating out), and can use what I save to get through my final year in university debt-free. I also think dumpster diving is one of the most exciting activities ever – Friday-night type stuff! It’s like Christmas every time you go, except I’ve never gotten $500 worth of chocolate, candy and cookies at Christmas. Especially when you go with a friend, there is nothing like cracking open “dumpstered” sodas chilled to perfection by winter to celebrate a good haul.

JAR: Clearly you make some lifestyle choices that are less than “average”. What are some of those those choices?

QB: Yeah, I guess you could say that. I’d say the major choice that I have made has been that of voluntary simplicity. I know to a lot of people that is a foreign concept, and to other university students like myself, it seems normal to live in a single room and not own a car. I feel like I’m in a different space than them, though, because I don’t plan to upsize the second I get my first full-time job. I had the 50+ hour per job week, sweet paycheque and car for a few years after high school, so I’m not just saying that because I’m now a student. In fact, I feel like school has been the cause of a slight accumulation of stuff recently.

There’s a certain flexibility to living simply, though, so I don’t have to consciously try to keep it simple everyday. I’ve never been huge into TV, since I just watch movies on my computer, but I’ve noticed after not watching it for a long time and then turning it on, that everything seems so bizarre and unbelievable. I genuinely feel confused when I see a commercial, because the messages they’re sending, “You need to buy this SUV to get closer to nature,” or “You really should show your dad you love him by buying him a 200 inch flat screen TV for Father’s day”- they just aren’t rhetorically convincing anymore.

JAR: How do you respond to the distractions that would pull you away from this?

QB: I love music and listen to it a lot, but I think that turning off the noise is important in helping us return to a more logical, reality-based way of thinking. And I think when that happens, it’s pretty hard not to keep life simple. Everybody wants a simpler life, but unfortunately people are buying into the insidious lie that a simpler life requires just a bit more money, just a few more hours at work. Studies have shown that technology has in fact not saved us work hours over the last 30 years, but increased it. Interestingly enough, hunter-gatherers remain the least-worked societies on record.

Some of the ways I’ve kept my life simple are by biking and walking instead of driving or taking public transit, living close to the university in downtown, purging unused stuff from my closet every few months, repairing my own clothing, opting for free entertainment instead of pay-for entertainment and social space (ex. venues with cover charges), etc. In summer travels I’ve hitchhiked and ridden freight trains. Dumpster diving is currently a pretty big part of my life, as I go every week or two. I know a few people who dive in back allies for clothing, antiques, other random finds, but I usually just stick to the grocery stores to avoid accumulating all the legitimately “cool” stuff one finds but can’t actually put to practical use.

JAR: Why have you made these choices? Help us understand.

QB: A lot of reasons, really. On the few days I actually feel like I’m doing something pretty different (most days it feels more sensible than radical to me), I’ve often wondered what experiences must have gone into the blender to produce the contemporary me. I think there’s a lot there, from my early childhood experiences to more recent philosophies I have. That could be its own book, I think. Certainly my personality plays a part, since I observe in myself a sort of disposition towards activities that exhibit intentions, strength of will and bravery (whether or not they do that is debatable) – basically, I see myself as a lifestyle activist. It seems important to me that ideals should be lived out as best as possible. I don’t necessarily do it best, but it’s important to try.

JAR: You are a person of faith, so what part does that play?

QB: I’d certainly say that my faith in Jesus is playing into the decisions I’m making. My interpretation of what he wants me to do in life is a lot about social responsibility (read justice), living changes and pursuing a depth of good life beyond the rat-race. He has a much bigger dream, I’d say. I think ethics say a whole lot about what you believe. If it doesn’t match up with what you’re claiming, people will discount you. For example, I think a lot of people find creationism a bit mythical because many people who insist the earth was created inherently valuable by and as a testimony to God, don’t treat it as such. The idea of nature as revealing something about God is a big deal for me, so it follows that I’m trying to leave less of an impact. There’s a lot of sentimental talk about stewardship, but for the most part the word has become synonymous with the right to exploit.

JAR: Thanks Quincy.