Known as ‘freegans’ (combining ‘free’ and ‘vegan’), this thrifty group of global eco-centrics are disgusted by today’s throw-away consumer culture and in response, have taken to foraging through trash in a bid to utilize ‘waste’ which would otherwise be consigned to landfill. “There’s so much waste in this consumer-driven society – it’s everywhere you look. Supermarkets throw out thousands of dollars’ worth of perfectly edible food every week,” says Martin Filla, “so I pretty much don’t shop.”
Freegans are not impoverished people – but they have made a lifestyle choice. They represent an international movement of anti-capitalists united in the belief that almost all monetary exchange within a capitalist economy has exploited someone, somewhere along the line. For them, buying nothing is the norm, not the exception, as they go ‘dumpster-diving’ in the bins outside supermarkets, for reusable goods and edible foodstuffs.
“One bin can provide everything you need and in perfect quality,” says Alfred Montagu, a freegan from Australia. “Recently, we found a DVD player in full working order in a bin literally full of frozen foodstuff, worth about $2,000. We had to acquire a freezer to store it all!”
While many people will find the prospect of foraging for food hard to swallow, freegans believe it is the excessive waste from mass production and consumption which leaves a really sour taste in the mouth. Filla and Montagu believe there is something rotten about the amount of reusable food wasted in rich countries.
In the UK, Fare Share, a charity which collects ‘waste’ food from supermarkets to provide for homeless people, estimates that in Britain alone, 17 million tons of surplus food a year is dumped in landfill. At least 4 million tons of this food is still edible, while approximately 4 million people in the UK cannot afford a healthy diet.
Madeline Nelson from New York has traded in her high-powered corporate career for a freegan lifestyle. “As a society, we are literally throwing away perfectly usable resources,” she said. It was her experience in the corporate world that inspired her decision to live at the other extreme. After twelve years as head of communications for a multinational bank, Nelson decided she wanted to “live life low on the food chain”. For over two years she hasn’t bought anything and realizes that there is a vast difference between what you want and what you actually need. She insists that through dumpster-diving she has really given up very little and is able to live cheaply and contentedly.
Freeganism does not stop at dumpster-diving. While this serves as a core aspect to draw attention to the scandal of corporate waste, sharing, growing and mending are all integral to the philosophy as well. With freeganism, mending your clothes, lending your labour or cycling to work are all part of a healthier lifestyle choice.
