The Freegan Lifestyle

There are so many diets and food lifestyles out there, we aren’t surprised that you can’t keep up. From vegetarians to vegans, raw foodies to passionate paleos, everyone has their own idea about where to buy, how to cook, and what to eat.

But freeganism is a little different.

The trend started in the 1990s as a result of the environmentalist and anti-globalisation movements. At a basic level, it is the practice of reclaiming goods (including food) that have been discarded and using them.

How do I know this? Because I used to be one”¦ kinda.

Yes, I Was A Part-Time Freegan

In my university days, living in Melbourne and struggling to balance a full study load as well as a part-time job, I met a guy named Sunshine. Well actually, I pulled him out of a Woolworths skip bin. In doing so, I unintentionally discovered the world of freeganism and spent the next few months eating better food than I’d ever been able to afford as a student. Although I’m not freegan anymore, I’ll always appreciate the community of people who initiated me and shared their finds (and their advice) freely.

Free and Vegan

The word freegan combines the words free and vegan. It embodies the entire ethos of the freeganist movement. Vegans, as you might be aware, are people who avoid animal products of any kind, usually for animal rights reasons. Freegans take this idea one step further in realisation that within our mass-production economy, both humans and animals are abused in the manufacture of many of the products on our shelves.

The industrial economy has been linked to a number of harmful practices, from the destruction of rainforests, to sweatshop slavery, to the extinction of local animals considered as pests, and even the displacement of indigenous communities, all to keep the system running. So they boycott the system that causes the damage by refusing to put money in, and taking advantage of the massive waste that occurs in this economic model.

Now, the freegan movement is a massive one and growing every day. In this article, we’re only going to look at the freegan attitude to food, but there are a range of other freegan ideas as well. Dedicated freegans might practice all of these, while others may choose (or may only be able) to follow their food beliefs.

Where’s Dinner?

If you’re a freegan, there’s more than one way to get yourself a meal. Dumpster diving (or bin raiding) is one of the most commonly publicised methods. Despite the taboo surrounding eating foods that have been labelled as waste, the practice can be very hygienic. Most foods discarded by major retailers are still in packages, and are often dumped before their ‘sell by’ not their ‘use by’ dates. In most cases, due to the size of the bins, you’ll need to climb in, so freegans usually dumpster dive in groups, and share out whatever is found.

Freegans also source their food through:

Wild Foraging & Gardening

Depending on where freegans live, they may be surrounded by edible plants and therefore possible meals. There are many edible plants that grow wild in Australia, and with a little bit of know-how it’s easy for freegans to take advantage of this. Many freegans are also avid gardeners, planting their own food often participating in community gardens where people come together to plant, harvest, and share the food they grow.

Give Aways

Many smaller food outlets, including some independent stores, may consider giving away their expired goods. But there are some legal limitations for this as stores worry that they will be held accountable if the food makes people sick. Other give away spots include homeless shelters, where freegans offer their time in exchange for the food served to the people.

Table Diving

Probably not something that would go down too well in Australia, and certainly not for the faint of heart, table diving involves sitting in eateries (often fast-food joints or malls) and grabbing the leftovers diners leave on their plates. This, less hygienic, practice is far from fool-proof, and often results in freegans getting booted from the establishments.

Bartering

In objection to the cash economy, which through inflation can leave people at a disadvantage, freegans practice bartering. In a bartering system, goods and services are traded by the people who need them. For example, bin raiders might trade the ‘fruits of their labours’ for a haircut, or another kind of food they don’t have. This means that freegans often have active networks where this system flourishes.

Other Methods

Some hardcore freegans recommend other methods for sourcing food that not all agree with for ethical reasons. These include scams, shoplifting, employee theft, and more. Not all fregans agree with these methods as they often result in people at the bottom of the consumerist pyramid to blame.

What Do You Think?

Now that you’ve got the basics of a freegan lifestyle, do you think it would be something you’d try? There’s a certain quality about not being a part of a flawed system, that often fails to value the best aspects of humanity. But at the same time it a challenge, and way outside of your personal comfort zone, to fight the system that you’ve lived in your entire life.

Would you ever try Freeganism?