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Have you ever wondered where the food offerings go after the prayers of the seventh lunar month?
While most of them are discarded by cleaners in the morning, a group of people have roamed the neighborhoods late at night, salvaging the fruits left behind by the devotees.
Daniel Tay, 41, is a freegan in Singapore who recently organized and led a small group of people in the search for fruit in Bishan and Ang Mo Kio.
Freegans reject consumerism and seek to help the environment by reducing waste. One way to do this is to collect edible food or usable items that have been thrown away.
Tay wrote in a Facebook post today (September 3) that they collected more than 200 fruits during the last two nights, most of them oranges. Other fruits included pineapples, apples, bananas, rambutans, and langsat.
But before assuming that the freegans simply took the offerings on the side of the trails, Tay told 8World that he had consulted a Taoist priest before starting the activity.
https://www.facebook.com/daniel.x.tay/posts/10158215206183005
In his Facebook post, Tay also shared what he learned about the tradition that Buddhists and Taoists observe during the seventh lunar month.
“Offerings can be removed after the incense is lit (has finished burning). Say a word of thanks and bow in respect.
“Do not take them while the incense is still burning. It is very rude to take food from those who are still eating it.”
After the spirits finished ‘eating’, the group bowed their heads respectfully and offered their thanks before taking the fruits and placing them in a shopping cart.
“As a true freegan, we collect everything that others do not want. We give thanks and proceed to use it for our own needs and wants,” he explained.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158217509383005&set=a.424077903004&type=3
Although it was quite exhausting to go around the neighborhood picking up the fruits, the participants said they were satisfied with the activity.
The group then divided the products, which they would then share with their families, friends and neighbors.
A student who participated in the search for the fruit said that he hopes Singaporeans may be more open to the idea of freeganism.
[[nid:413797]]“We collect these fruits not because we are stingy. We want to rescue these fruits that would otherwise be discarded and contribute to food waste in Singapore.”
Tay told 8World that the activity started during the seventh lunar month last year.
He tried to get more like-minded people to join him this year, but many of them expressed reservations. They were concerned about offending the spirits by doing so.
While not wasting food is a worthy cause, it may take some time before Singaporeans feel comfortable with collecting discarded food, especially those left behind by the “good brothers.”
