Hippies charged with stealing food from a skip

chopper6

A man will stand trial next month after being caught taking some tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese from the dustbins behind a branch of Iceland.
It is expected Paul May, a freelance web designer, will argue that he was taking the food because he needed it to eat and does not consider he has done anything illegal or dishonest in removing food destined for landfill from a skip.
The case will require magistrates to scrutinise the phenomenon of "skipping" – taking discarded supermarket waste to cook and eat, and will highlight the issue of how much supermarket food is discarded, despite long campaigns to reduce the waste. It will also focus attention on a group of people taking radical steps to feed themselves as they struggle with the rising cost of living in London.
May, 35, along with Jason Chan and William James, all residents of a squat in north London, were arrested on 25 October, just before midnight, after a member of the public called the police to report three men climbing over a wall at the back of Iceland in Kentish Town .
Police arrested the men as they left the area with a holdall and trolley containing food. The total value of the items taken allegedly amounted to £33 and they were of low value, consisting of tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes.
Initially arrested for burglary, the three men were charged under an obscure section of the 1824 Vagrancy Act, after being discovered in "an enclosed area, namely Iceland, for an unlawful purpose, namely stealing food".
Police returned the items to the Iceland store. The men were held in a police cell for 19 hours before being released, May said.
Lawyers for the three men have asked the Crown Prosecution Service to consider dropping the case, but the CPS responded this month that the case would go ahead, because "we feel there is significant public interest in prosecuting these three individuals".

Some people have no dignity...i hope the law deals with them and others of thier ilk top prevent this "freegan" freeloading.

mathie

If people are throwing it away then whats the problem (despite trespassing?)

BillyMitchel

chopper6 wrote: »

Some people have no dignity...i hope the law deals with them and others of thier ilk top prevent this "freegan" freeloading.

So he's a hippy? Not some desperate man looking for food?

Wibbs

I can't abide hippies. Like Cartman level 10. However taking food that's been thrown away is hardly stealing FFS. If you're at the level where you need to do this I say the law should leave you the fuq alone. That's before we get into the subject of the huge waste of food in the west, when half the worlds population go hungry of a night.

sbsquarepants

chopper6 wrote: »

Some people have no dignity...i hope the law deals with them and others of thier ilk top prevent this "freegan" freeloading.

How is it freeloading - the food was being thrown out. It's completely wrong to destroy good food when people are hungry.
I also don't particularly like this new breed of soap dodging hippies, but the food was being thrown out - if he wants it let him have it, it harms no one.

chopper6

BillyMitchel wrote: »

So he's a hippy? Not some desperate man looking for food?

It is expected Paul May, a freelance web designer

Web designers arent usually starving to death.

pickarooney

How can they put an exact monetary value on refuse? If anything it could constitute a tiny saving on waste disposal.

Legs.Eleven

chopper6 wrote: »

Some people have no dignity...i hope the law deals with them and others of thier ilk top prevent this "freegan" freeloading.

Seriously?

chopper6

sbsquarepants wrote: »

How is it freeloading - the food was being thrown out. It's completely wrong to destroy good food when people are hungry.

Tell that to Iceland and to the Police...they dont seem to agree.

BillyMitchel

chopper6 wrote: »

Web designers arent usually starving to death.

Freelance. Look the word up. Doesn't mean he's working. Still don't see how it makes him a hippy.

Wibbs

"freelance web designer". Translation; "haven't had a paying job in six months and that was for a mate and well a bit got lost in translation and I only got half". IME freelance web designer is up there with actor in between jobs as far as earnings go for the vast majority.

anncoates

mathie wrote: »

If people are throwing it away then whats the problem (despite trespassing?)

I think they can't give away out of date food for health and safety reasons (don't know why: presumably somebody could sue them if they got food poisoning maybe).

I remember working in a restaurant years ago and it was heartbreaking seeing unused food being thrown out (into a caged bin) at the end of the night when there were no doubt people in shelters or on the streets that could have eaten it.

Gran Hermano

Likely skip owner is concerned that if he was to get food poisoning from the food in the skip the could sue the the store.

Menas

Seems to me that they were arrested for stealing the food in 'an enclosed area'. ie, they had to trespass to get to the skip.
If the skip had been in a public area then there would be no offence.

sav1980

So waste of food and waste of police time!

Wibbs

chopper6 wrote: »

Tell that to Iceland and to the Police...they dont seem to agree.

Iceland are throwing out apparently edible food when that food could go to charities to distribute. It's hardly a once off either, they and others are throwing tons of still edible food out. Objectively speaking what's the bigger crime and moral issue here? The cops are just following the letter of the law here. I'll bet most cops who spotted someone stealing food from bins would turn a blind eye and think there but for the grace of god...

sbsquarepants

chopper6 wrote: »

Tell that to Iceland and to the Police...they dont seem to agree.

They don't agree with me, I don't agree with them - funny old world innit!

Annasopra

chopper6 wrote: »

Tell that to Iceland and to the Police...they dont seem to agree.

How is that answering the question you were asked?

Lapin

Iceland should be prosecuted for throwing out perfectly edible food rather than giving
it to any number of homeless shelters or soup kitchens who would be glad of it.

But unfortunately there's no law against that.

Whats the source of this article OP?

Annasopra

chopper6 wrote: »

Some people have no dignity...i hope the law deals with them and others of thier ilk top prevent this "freegan" freeloading.

Your concern for starving people is quite charming.

Cee-Jay-Cee

He's been prosecuted for trespassing with intent to steal NOT for stealing food from a skip. The title is misleading.

BillyMitchel

This belongs in the failed threads in 5 4 3 2...

chopper6

chopper6 wrote: »

Some people have no dignity...i hope the law deals with them and others of thier ilk top prevent this "freegan" freeloading.

I don't think your definition of dignified behaviour matters to someone who is hungry.

Menas

Lapin wrote: »

Whats the source of this article OP?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/men-charged-with-stealing-food-from-iceland-supermarket-bins-9091967.html

Lapin

Trigger Happy wrote: »

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/men-charged-with-stealing-food-from-iceland-supermarket-bins-9091967.html

Cheers Trigger.

OP, the headline in that article actually reads "Men charged with stealing food from Iceland supermarket bins".'

Nowhere is the word 'hippy' mentioned in the piece. Your decision to twist someone elses work and misquote them without acknowledging them as a source only highlights your own prejiducial views right from the start and therefore renders you as someone not worth having any form of meaningful discussion with.

Oranage2

It's Iceland's food they can do What they want with it. The guys should have asked first. They broke the law now Face the consequences.

Frank Black

Lapin wrote: »

Iceland should be prosecuted for throwing out perfectly edible food rather than giving
it to any number of homeless shelters or soup kitchens who would be glad of it.

But unfortunately there's no law against that.

Whats the source of this article OP?

How do you know the food being thrown out is 'perfectly edible'? - what information do you have on the food and how did you come by it?

Who would be to blame if Iceland gave out of date food to a homeless shelter and a large number of people suffered food poisoning due to it?

And the reason there's no law against throwing out food which is past its sell by date is because such a law would be, ****ing ridiculous.

At what point does it stop becoming Iceland's food? When it reaches the dump? The only thing the guy did wrong was trespass, he most certainly did not steal. If you've worked in any sort of retail or service industry, then you know the crazy amount of waste that goes on - things that are perfectly OK, but are still thrown away regardless.

Oranage2

Deleted User wrote: »

At what point does it stop becoming Iceland's food? When it reahes the dump? The only thing the guy did wrong was trespass, he most certainly did not steal. If you've worked in any sort of retail or service industry, then you know the crazy amount of waste that goes on - things that are perfectly OK, but are still thrown away regardless.

I use to do returns and waste in a supermarket, Yes a lot is thrown away, would it be Okay for me to place that food in a bag and take it home?

chopper6

When i worked in Dunnes there was a rule that any unsold food *if not returned to the supplier* had to be destryoyed.

The reason for this was the company had paid the supplier and if unsold stuff was to somehow make it's way back onto the market it would a)make suplier liable for health and safety concerns and b) possibley be sold at a price that would undercut the customer.

Also...refuse skips at the back of supermarkets etc are off limits for good reason...they are used by heavy traffic such as trucks and forklifts,many of which are reversing into loading bays blind.

Goods inwards and outwards bays are often in the same area and it's perefectly possible to pilfer from storerooms when in an unauthorised zone.

There are also bailing machines and crushers and in some cases furnaces...loading bays are dangerous places and if a Hippy(for example) was to get injured whilst scavenging for food who would he sue??thats correct,the supermarket.

Legs.Eleven

Frank Black wrote: »

How do you know the food being thrown out is 'perfectly edible'? - what information do you have on the food and how did you come by it?

Who would be to blame if Iceland gave out of date food to a homeless shelter and a large number of people suffered food poisoning due to it?

And the reason there's no law against throwing out food which is past its sell by date is because such a law would be, ****ing ridiculous.

I've 2 good friends in London who live off food they find at the back of supermarkets and they generally eat stuff that's obviously not gone off like canned food, fruit and veg in decent nick etc. Often stuff is thrown out because the wrapping is torn but the contents are in date. I stayed with one of them a few years ago and was surprised by the stuff they found. All of it in perfect condition.

Boxes of frozen food could well be dodgy though and risky to eat but declaring that they've no dignity or are free-loading is a load of bollocks; the food was going to be thrown out anyway.

In this case it's probably risky as Iceland sells mostly frozen food (correct me if I'm wrong here) but morally, I can't see anything wrong with it all.

PizzamanIRL

If anyone should be prosecuted it should be Iceland for throwing out edible food.

osarusan

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

If anyone should be prosecuted it should be Iceland for throwing out edible food.

This line of thinking is a bit silly.


Should you be prosecuted for throwing some of your food scraps in the kitchen bin after dinner?

PizzamanIRL

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

If anyone should be prosecuted it should be Iceland for throwing out edible food.

Even when it's within date and still on the shelves, Iceland's food isn't edible.

That poor guy must have been desperate.

the groutch

anncoates wrote: »

I think they can't give away out of date food for health and safety reasons (don't know why: presumably somebody could sue them if they got food poisoning maybe).

this pretty much sums it up, the compo culture has ruined it for everyone.
but like it or not, even if the food is not being sold, as long as it's on their property they still own it, theft is theft.

TwoShedsJackson

osarusan wrote: »

This line of thinking is a bit silly.


Should you be prosecuted for throwing some of your food scraps in the kitchen bin after dinner?

There might be a slight difference between a few scraps of meat or veg being scraped off a plate, and perfectly fine, uncooked/unopened food being thrown out when it could be taken and used by somebody.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

There might be a slight difference between a few scraps of meat or veg being scraped off a plate, and perfectly fine, uncooked/unopened food being thrown out when it could be taken and used by somebody.

The problem is they're no longer allowed give unused food to charities for the homeless or shelters and they're also not allowed sell food that's past it's best before date. Legally they've no option but to throw it out. It's totally ridiculous, but health and safety around food has gone a bit OTT in my opinion. I often eat stuff that's perfectly fine but is a few days out of date. But lots of people will immediately throw it in the bin even though it looks and smells fine.

--Kaiser--

I used to work in a convenience store during college and anything that was even an hour out of date was counted, recorded and then moved into the back room to be discarded. I'm not ashamed to admit I took some of this food home with me

jimgoose

chopper6 wrote: »

Web designers arent usually starving to death.

He's probably more of a self-facilitating media node. Anyway, it's a pure solid disgrace the amount of perfectly decent food that's wasted in the developed world. I would have thought the mighty forces of Law and Justice had better things to do.

chopper6

jimgoose wrote: »

He's probably more of a self-facilitating media node..

he looks like a smug prick anyway.

We dont know if he's been previously warned to stay away from the area due to his trespassing or whatever he was doing.

I just feel it's unlikely he would actually be prosecuted for a first offense of scabbing a bit of rotten food.

guppy

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I've 2 good friends in London who live off food they find at the back of supermarkets and they generally eat stuff that's obviously not gone off like canned food, fruit and veg in decent nick etc. Often stuff is thrown out because the wrapping is torn but the contents are in date. I stayed with one of them a few years ago and was surprised by the stuff they found. All of it in perfect condition.

Boxes of frozen food could well be dodgy though and risky to eat but declaring that they've no dignity or are free-loading is a load of bollocks; the food was going to be thrown out anyway.

In this case it's probably risky as Iceland sells mostly frozen food (correct me if I'm wrong here) but morally, I can't see anything wrong with it all.

But if your friends had gone in and paid for that food, it wouldnt need to be thrown out. Its a vicious circle. Why don't we all just scavenge sure? The food not sold would be thrown out anyway after all.

Big Tom Mainliner

I can't imagine that peoples only option was to steal food... We live in an era of very generous state supports and welfare. No one in the UK, and especially Ireland is so hard up that tbey can't eat...

Fair enough if supermarkets want to donate to charity, and have it strictly regulated to prevent distribution or resale. But thinking its ok for some anti-establishment type to go scrounging around private property and rooting around bins like a Possum is madness!

dyeti

I used to do this regularly when I was living off a €10er a week in Galway. I'd cycle to Supervalu or Dunnes (the westside one for any of you Galwegians here) after hours and have a rummage through. Most of the time I would come back with rice, tea, salt, spices & herbs, yogurt, chocolate, sweets, cakes, tinned fruit and veg, etc... once I even found 12 in date cans of Heineken, sound! I don't eat meat myself but I would always bring back packs of rashers and sausages (there was ****ing LOADS of them) to my friends who lived with me who would then merrily cook them and either eat them or refridgerate them for later eating!

I really don't see a problem with - perfectly fine free food is perfectly fine free food

Lapin

Frank Black wrote: »

How do you know the food being thrown out is 'perfectly edible'? - what information do you have on the food and how did you come by it?

From the article - "The total value of the items taken allegedly amounted to £33 and they were of low value, consisting of tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes".

I credit the those charged with taking the food from the skip with the intelligence to decipher whether it was edible or not.

Why would they take food that wasn't ?

Legs.Eleven

guppy wrote: »

But if your friends had gone in and paid for that food, it wouldnt need to be thrown out. Its a vicious circle. Why don't we all just scavenge sure? The food not sold would be thrown out anyway after all.

What if they didn't have the money to pay for it?

Supermarkets will always have more stock than they sell, so there'll always be leftovers.

bodice ripper

I have a couple of friends that feed themselves this way. They eat very well.

the groutch

Lapin wrote: »

From the article - "The total value of the items taken allegedly amounted to £33 and they were of low value, consisting of tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes".

I credit the those charged with taking the food from the skip with the intelligence to decipher whether it was edible or not.

Why would they take food that wasn't ?

and how long was that cheese sitting in the bins unrefridgerated?
1 hr? 5 hours? 3 days?

Big Tom Mainliner

Lapin wrote: »

From the article - "The total value of the items taken allegedly amounted to £33 and they were of low value, consisting of tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes".

I credit the those charged with taking the food from the skip with the intelligence to decipher whether it was edible or not.

Why would they take food that wasn't ?

If they spend their time rummaging through bins to save a few bob, I wouldn't credit them with that much intelligence to be fair.

Oranage2

Lapin wrote: »

From the article - "The total value of the items taken allegedly amounted to £33 and they were of low value, consisting of tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes".

I credit the those charged with taking the food from the skip with the intelligence to decipher whether it was edible or not.

Why would they take food that wasn't ?

Why? You can only assume that these guys are of questionable mental health if they're looking for food in bins.

Karl Stein

A total waste of police time, court time and tax-payers money trying to make criminals out of people for taking food bound for landfill. How much is this potential prosecution going to cost? Thousands of pounds?

The same busy-body freaks complaining about this victimless 'crime' are the ones who'd be on the blower to Joe Duffy whining about the costs of public services.

My name is URL

£33 worth of food taken from a bin in England and it's worthy of outrage and a thread here?

What a load of nonsense