Freeganism

Freegans

Freeganism has been described as a reaction to “industrial eating.” This can mean a rejection of process and heavily processed foods. However, this is not always the case; many freegans will eat just about anything that they find that is still comestible, whether it is Twinkies or carrots. Some freegans are devout vegetarians or even vegans. What the individuals of this diverse group have in common is a desire to break from the capitalist cycle—they are opting out of consumer society. At the same time, freegans are often skeptical of charity and government programs. They have also spoken critically about the foods made available through government aid. Ultimately, freegans realize that the majority of a person's life is spent working for money to buy consumer goods, something that often takes them very far from food production. In their own way, freegans are connecting with their food source through foraging. Anthropologist Joan Gross has noted that this group models its subsistence strategy on preagricultural hunter-gather societies. At the same time, there are many aspects of the freegan movement that are distinctly contemporary.

Methods

Many freegans are outspoken political activists, while some individuals use freegan tactics as a survival strategy to overcome social and economic exclusion and others substitute their diets and consumer habits with some forms of freeganism. Freegan activities include dumpster diving and other forms of foraging. Some people also include guerrilla gardening (planting crops on unclaimed land) and growing food in community gardens as part of their freegan activities. These activities, unlike stealing, underline resourcefulness and a degree of self-sufficiency. Most importantly, freegan subsistence tactics stand in direct opposition to consumerism and mainstream distribution channels.

Organization

There are freegan gatherings such as the Really, Really Free Markets, where individuals can give away their excess foraged goods rather than disposing of them. Many freegans may choose to forage alone, but in cities in the United States and the United Kingdom, a sense of community grows among freegans.

One of the more organized expressions of freeganism is a group called Food Not Bombs (FNB). Founded in Boston in 1980, this group gathers vegan food through donations and from dumpsters and distributes meals to the homeless and poor each week. There are hundreds of FNB groups operating throughout the United States and Canada. FNB has been seen by authorities as a symbol of anarchism for its nonconformist food distribution activities.

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