Gleaning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the agricultural process. For the bird feeding behaviour,
see Gleaning (birds).
The Gleaners, Jean-Franois Millet, 1857
Gleaning (formerly 'leasing') is the act of collecting leftover crops from farme
rs' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is
not economically profitable to harvest. Some ancient cultures promoted gleaning
as an early form of a welfare system.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Bible
1.1 Old Testament
1.2 New Testament
2 Rabbinical views
3 Modern times
4 Gleaning in art
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Bible[edit]
Old Testament[edit]
According to the Holiness Code and the Deuteronomic Code of the Torah, farmers s
hould leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and they should not attempt
to pick up that which was dropped or harvest any left-overs that had been forgo
tten when they had harvested the majority of a field.[2][3][4] On one of the two
occasions that this is mentioned by the Holiness Code, it adds that, in vineyar
ds, some grapes should be left ungathered,[5] an argument made also by the Deute
ronomic Code.[6]
These verses additionally argue that olive trees should not be beaten on multipl
e occasions, and whatever remains from the first set of beatings should be left.
[7] According to the Holiness Code, these things should be left for the poor and
for strangers,[3][5] and the Deuteronomic Code commands that it should be left
for widows, strangers, and paternal orphans.[4][6][7] The Book of Ruth features
gleaning by the widow Ruth to provide for herself and Naomi, also a widow.[8]
New Testament[edit]
Jesus and his disciples practiced a form of gleaning as they walked through grai
n fields breaking off heads of wheat to eat.[9]
Rabbinical views[edit]
Gleaning by Arthur Hughes.
In classical rabbinic literature, it was argued that the biblical regulations co
ncerning left-overs only applied to grain fields, orchards, and vineyards, and n
ot to kitchen gardens;[10] the classical rabbinical writers were much stricter i
n regard to who could receive the remains. It was stated that the farmer was not
permitted to benefit from the gleanings, and was not permitted to discriminate
among the poor, nor try to frighten them away with dogs or lions;[11][12][13] th
e farmer was not even allowed to help one of the poor to gather the left-overs.[
11][12][13] However, it was also argued that the law was only applicable in Cana
an,[14] although many classical rabbinic writers, who were based in Babylon, app
lied the laws there too;[15][16] it was also seen as only applying to Jewish pau
pers, but poor non-Jews were allowed to benefit for the sake of civil peace[17]
Modern times[edit]
Alawite woman gleaning in 1938

The Shulchan Aruch argues that Jewish farmers are no longer obliged to obey the
biblical rule.[18] Nevertheless, in modern Israel, rabbis of Orthodox Judaism in
sist that Jews allow gleanings to be consumed by the poor and by strangers, duri
ng Sabbatical years.[19]
In eighteenth century England, gleaning was a legal right for cottagers. In a sm
all village the sexton would often ring a church bell at eight o'clock in the mo
rning and again at seven in the evening to tell the gleaners when to begin and e
nd work.[20] This legal right effectively ended after a legal case in 1788.
In the modern world, gleaning is practised by humanitarian groups[21] which dist
ribute the gleaned food to the poor and hungry; in a modern context, this can in
clude the collection of food from supermarkets at the end of the day that would
otherwise be thrown away. There are a number of organizations that practice glea
ning to resolve issues of societal hunger; the Society of St. Andrew, for exampl
e, is dedicated to the role, as is the Gleaning Network in the UK.
When people glean and distribute food, they may be bringing themselves legal ris
k; in the Soviet Union, the Law of Spikelets (sometimes translated "law on glean
ing")[22] criminalised gleaning, under penalty of death, or 20 years of forced l
abour in exceptional circumstances.[23] In the US, the Bill Emerson Good Samarit
an Act of 1996 limited the liability of donors to instances of gross negligence
or intentional misconduct, alleviating gleaning from much of its definitions of
the Good Samaritan Act, to consistently deliver surplus food from restaurants an
d dining facilities to emergency food centers.[clarification needed]
Gleaning in art[edit]
Gleaning was a popular subject in art, especially in the nineteenth century. Gle
aning in rural France has been represented in the paintings Des Glaneuses (1857)
by Jean-Franois Millet and Le rappel des glaneuses (1859) by Jules Breton (image
), and explored in a 2000 documentary/experimental film, The Gleaners and I, by
Agnes Varda.
Vincent van Gogh's sketch of a Peasant Woman Gleaning in Nuenen, The Netherlands
(1885) is in the Charles Clore collection.[24]
See also[edit]
The Gleaners (Lon Augustin Lhermitte, 1898)
Dumpster diving
Food Bank
Food rescue
Food Salvage
Freeganism
Tzedakah
Waste picker
The Gleaners and I
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Carpenter, Eugene E. (2000). Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 G
reek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved
2013-08-06.
Jump up ^ Leviticus 19:9
^ Jump up to: a b Leviticus 23:22
^ Jump up to: a b Deuteronomy 24:19
^ Jump up to: a b Leviticus 19:10
^ Jump up to: a b Deuteronomy 24:21
^ Jump up to: a b Deuteronomy 24:20
Jump up ^ Ruth 2:2
Jump up ^ Mark 2:23
Jump up ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public d

omain: "Gleanings of the field". Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901 1906.

^ Jump up to: a b Hullin 131a
^ Jump up to: a b Pe'ah 5:6
^ Jump up to: a b Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, 4:11
Jump up ^ Pe'ah 2:5 (Palestinian Talmud)
Jump up ^ Hullin 134b
Jump up ^ Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, 1:14
Jump up ^ Gittin 59b
Jump up ^ Shulchan Aruk, Yoreh De'ah 332:1
Jump up ^ "Israel prepares for 'fallow' new year". BBC News. 2007-09-12. Retriev
ed 2010-05-03.
Jump up ^ L W Cowrie (1996) Dictionary of British Social History Wordsworth Refe
rence p.130 ISBN 1-85326-378-8
Jump up ^ "Food Banks Finding Aid in Bounty of Backyard NYT". New York Times.
Jump up ^ Poli?a?n, PM (2004). Against Their Will: The History and Geography of
Forced Migrations in the USSR. Central European University Press. p. 87. ISBN 97
89639241688.
Jump up ^ "Repression Cycles in the USSR legal burden; American Food Salvage pro
grams work within the legal" (PDF). Indiana.edu.
Jump up ^ "Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings". vggallery.com.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gleaning.
Gleanology: Home of Gleaning Research Gleaning publications, presentations, teac
hing, public engagement, research network & mailing list
Gleaning Network UK Saving thousands of tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables was
ted on UK farms
The Gleaning Network of Texas Connecting Resources~Alleviating Hunger
Boston Area Gleaners Harvesting Against Hunger
Gleaners in the Philippines
Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network
MAGNET:MidAtlantic Gleaning Network
Society of St. Andrew
How to glean from abandoned fruit trees
Goglean.org
Senior Gleaners Inc.
Gleaning Stories Stories of Gleaning and Gleaners
Volunteer Gleaning
foodshuttle.org
Categories: Waste collectionPovertyInformal occupationsHarvestFood security
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