Replate: first-rate or not so great?
June 14th, 2007 by Jonathan
A bunch of San Francisco “troublemakers who make good things happen in culture and commerce” are drawing much-needed attention to food waste. Language in Common recently launched a fascinating web campaign urging people to leave their unwanted doggie bags atop trash cans for hungry folks to eat.
Essentially, they’ve taken an observed behavior and made it a verb: Replate. Hmm…
Five things I like about Replate:
1. It gets people thinking and talking about food waste and hunger
2. We send too much food to landfills and this will help some.
3. The clever logo I wish I’d thought of.
4. The sentiment.
5. It’s catchy, simple and spreading virally as you read this. Nice use of the web.
Five things I don’t like about Replate:
1. Calling this activism sets the bar really low.
2. I’d rather encourage people to order less and restaurants to stop serving gigantic portions.
3. Why not just give the food to a homeless person? More of a sure thing and promotes interaction.
4. Great for big cities, but what about elsewhere? Any other ideas?
5. In San Francisco, Replaters should go one step further: leave leftovers atop food waste bins (for convenience in case it rots).
Stumble it! | Posted in Food Safety, Food Recovery, Waste Stream |
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Hi Jonathan, I just came across your post from replate’s website. I posted my reaction, basically not in favor, to this idea on my blog. I agree with the five things you don’t like. On the whole I think this is cheap activism, which doesn’t even deserve the “activism” label.
I hear you, Laura. But I will say I’ve come to appreciate how much attention a well-conceived, snappy-looking site like Replate.org can bring to an issue. And they do seem pretty flexible to all ideas. So it’s up to us folks to create a less cheap activism.
I love this effort! Replate.org is trying to bring awareness to this problem and awareness is the first step to activism. Please don’t minimize what they are trying to accomplish and don’t minimize what individuals can easily do, by complaining about “setting the bar too low”. Every little bit helps, both by putting food in a poor soul’s belly, and diverting this un-eaten food from the waste stream. The cumulative effect has great potential. I’ve personally tried to give food directly to homeless individuals in San Francisco and only sometimes have I had success. Many times they will decline the food but ask for money instead. I think leaving it atop a bin is a better solution - it allows the hungry to “save face” if they prefer since they can snatch up leftovers quickly and discreetly, and it allows the giver to avoid rejection and to quickly place their “offering” somewhere, since there are trash containers on almost every corner. I think “replating” is a thoughtful gesture and I have no problem calling it activism, even it if is on a micro-scale. I would almost guarantee that that small act will lead to even more action on the part of the “activist”.
Yeah, I hear you, teresa. I’ve come around a bit on the Replate thing. I still think it has some shortcomings, but it’s certainly better than nothing. Anything’s better than inaction! Hope you continue to redistribute food…