What is a Freegan

For most people, consumerism is an ingrained and inevitable way of life. We work, we spend, we discard and we buy again. It is a cycle that seems almost inevitable in an industrialized society. But a group of people who call themselves Freegans have found a way out of the consumption cycle and live outside the network. They rummage instead of buying, volunteer instead of working, and occupy instead of renting. But there is a trap - to live outside the network, they have to eat from the garbage.

That's right. Freegans are garbage container explorers: they salvage furniture, clothing, household items, and even food discarded by others. They are not homeless, in fact, they could afford to buy their own food. Instead, they have chosen to live what they believe is a lifestyle ethically unadulterated, disconnected from capitalism and consumerism.

Many Freegans extend their beliefs beyond what they eat. In addition to engaging in urban collection, some occupy abandoned goods, and plant gardens in vacant lots. Some choose to work as volunteers, others teach the Freegan lifestyle in workshops.

Critics accuse them of being hypocrites. After all, avoiding purchases in a developed country is essentially impossible. The food salvaged was cooked with gas and electricity that someone paid, and that is why it is concluded that the Freegans are part of the system. However, every little bit counts, every saved item helps to minimize the consumption cycle.

In this article we will learn about Freegan philosophy, and practice.

Philosophy Freegan

While the excitement of a good find is enough motivation for some collectors, the Freegans are generally motivated by their anti-consumerist faith.

They believe that consumerism destroys the environment and degrades society, that deforestation, manufacturing and unfair labor practices are the natural result of a culture centered on profit. The most important thing is that they think that work and purchase implicitly approve capitalism and its sometimes unpleasant side effects.

Thus, the Freegans choose not to buy. They resist electronics and fashion changes. They repair what they already have. They traded among them. They look for what they need. And because most industrialized societies produce a large amount of waste, Freegans can usually live quite comfortably by buying occasionally.

With less financial dependence, they are able to choose jobs that harmonize with their ecological and social beliefs. They often find that they can work less, and sometimes, for nothing. The Freegans, however, are quick to point out that they are not lazy. Many use their free time to volunteer in humanitarian aid, and other causes.

They also believe that society is based too much on oil, and they try to avoid it at all costs.

They imagine a future with small and localized economies, where people work less and spend more time together. Some even hope for a return to a pre-agricultural state, in the belief that collecting cultures are the epitome of civilization.

Freegan in practice

Most Freegans live in cities where garbage is of high quality and abundant. Because they tend to concentrate in urban areas, most practice urban foraging. They look for furniture or clothing bags on sidewalks, electronics items in office trash bins, and food behind grocery stores and restaurants.

The most dedicated usually establish a routine - a set of garbage containers that they visit weekly or even daily. Many learn when trash is taken out and when garbage containers are unattended. Although it is always illegal to venture behind a fenced area marked "Prohibido el paso", the laws on urban collection vary considerably.

Some participate in searches for wild foods to collect edible plants in forests or parks. They also grow their own food. Some create parcels on their property, while others practice "guerrilla gardening" and convert abandoned lots into community gardens. And since the Freegans do not like to throw things away, many of them dedicate themselves to sharing them for free, without money that changes hands.

Many refuse to support large pharmaceutical companies . As an alternative, some Freegans join health care groups, or practice holistic medicine, acupuncture, exercise and herbal medicines.

Beginnings of the movement

Probably it has its roots in the Great Depression of 1930 in the USA, but it is also the result of anti-globalization movements that began in the 1960s. An antiglobalization, charitable and anti-war organization called Food Not Bombs, not bombs), which began the recovery of food in 1980 to provide free and vegetarian meals for the hungry.

Origin of the word Freegan

The word Freegan is a combination of "free" - in this context, it means free - and "vegan" (vegan), a vegetarian who abstains from all products of animal origin. However, not all Freegans are strict vegetarians. Some prefer to eat meat, dairy products and eggs found, before they are wasted.