The oldest, continuously running newspaper in the Western Hemisphere was founded in 1834 and is called The Gleaner. This reputable, English-language paper is based in Kingston, Jamaica. It would be reasonable to assume that the word gleaner then is familiar in Jamaica. The term is also familiar in other English-speaking countries such as the USA and UK. Here in Australia, it doesn’t come with the same provenance. However, if we look at the word and its history, we may find good reason to become familiar with it.
Although the terms ‘gleaner’ and ‘gleaning’ may be less well-known in Australia than in other countries, their meaning is richly and deeply connected to the history of food production. The name of our company pays homage to gleaning, which refers to the once widespread practice of collecting produce after seasonal harvests. Previously a customary practice, gleaning left-over produce after a harvest declined in the 20th century in wealthy western societies. Contemporary sensibilities may not fully appreciate the sentiment expressed by English writer H.E. Bates in his short story The Gleaner – a portrait of a lonely gleaner at work who Bates calls ‘the last survivor of an ancient race’.
Gleaning has always been a topic of interest to writers, painters, law-makers, film-makers and the like. Gleaners were a common sight across fertile fields and, importantly, were protected by law. A gleaner is a person who, according to Samuel Johnson’s 18th century dictionary of the period, ‘gathers after the reapers’.
When a young Vincent Van Gogh was finding his way in the art world, first as an art dealer and then as a painter developing his style, he was influenced by many artists of the mid-19th century. One considered to have had a profound influence, and who was almost a father figure to young Vincent, was Jean-Francoise Millet. Millet was a renowned painter of workers, farmers and peasants (and later in his career, of landscapes). One of his best-known paintings is called The Gleaners (1857). The image of peasants gleaning stalks of wheat after a harvest was controversial at the time as it was perceived as an insensitive glorification of peasant life, despite the fact that Millet’s painting was actually a kind of social commentary on the conditions of the poor.
Over time, the painting became more influential precisely because it was viewed in a more accurate light and valued for its critique of societal conditions in rural France. With the revival of gleaning in contemporary times, the painting has become a de facto, go-to image for stories about gleaning.
While Millet’s iconic painting has also been the subject of a more contemporary treatment by the global sensation Banksy, it should be noted that Millet was not the first artist to turn his attention to gleaners. In fact, he may have been inspired by others who studied these workers in depth.
Like French painter Jules Breton who executed several paintings, studies and drawings of gleaners executed in the mid-19th century. This strong interest in gleaning was not without a good reason. As often is the case with art, the background can be found in contemporary socio-economic events and conditions. Breton painted gleaners over a 20-year period and his work is now held in galleries around the world, as well as in private collections. One of his paintings, Woman Gleaning, is also featured in the ‘The Gleaners and I’, an award-winning documentary by legendary French film director and artist Agnes Varda.
However, the once forgotten practice of food recovery has been experiencing a revival in an entirely new global food system. Communities and governments around the globe are taking action. For instance, in 2010 the United States Department of Agriculture launched its ‘Let’s Glean!’ campaign which provided guidelines and advice to communities on how to minimise food waste through traditional gleaning. The practice has also been viewed in the context of circularity and waste reduction, and is increasingly receiving attention in other parts of the world and in mainstream print media.
The Guardian newspaper recently wrote about a growing network of community groups that are embracing gleaning in England, while a BBC Business Report asked, ‘could the biblical practice of gleaning cut food waste?’.
Cultural anthropologists remind us that the reference to gleaning in ancient, even biblical, times is an interesting reflection on values and practices where landowners were obliged to leave some of the produce for the underprivileged, such as the poor, strangers, orphans or widows, to gather after a harvest.
Other countries such as Belgium, Spain and Greece are seeing an increase in the practice in its new context by creating networks and educating communities about the broader value of gleaning, beyond what has been traditionally viewed as a poverty alleviation practice. Instead, gleaning in the 21st century is about circularity, waste reduction and community building.
Gleaning has also been the subject of other media. Perhaps most notably, The Gleaners and I documentary provides an excellent exploration of the centuries-old practice. Viewers are taken on a journey through both urban and rural France to witness the diversity of reasons people find to glean crops discarded after a harvest. Among the notable ideas explored by the film is the notion of gleaning being more than just about gathering produce in fields; but rather, as Agnes (who also narrates the film) points out, one can glean ideas and information as well.
Gleaning was once a practice that was protected by laws or promoted through various religious teachings. Mostly it was a sort of a social strategy aimed at alleviating poverty, and may even be the reason the term fell out of contemporary use in an economically developed world. Some forms of gleaning have been revived in different ways – ‘dumpster diving’ being one of the better-known practices (also known as skip diving and skip salvage). These are contemporary versions of gleaning which extend beyond food and include a variety of items and materials.
As the concept and practice of gleaning continues to gather interest globally, with different interpretations of what it could mean for communities to produce and consume food without unnecessary waste, there are new opportunities for creating a circular economy model.
Gleaning in the 21st century is a practice with a new set of sensibilities and imperatives. Cities worldwide share common motives for making the practice a part of the culture of everyday life. The very concept of gleaning can help people across disciplines reimagine the idea of waste and sustainability. Gleaning can be about the way communities share knowledge and ideas, and create value that is inclusive and collaborative.
And that, in a nutshell, is what our Gleanr platform strives towards.
