Freeganism

[Celine]

Freeganism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle whereby people employ alternative living strategies based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources.

Freegans "embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."[1] The lifestyle involves salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters, known as 'dumpster diving'. Freegans salvage the food for political reasons, rather than out of need.[2][3]



I have been hearing about..reading about and meeting people, who live this life style for the last few years.

I heard murmurs of it about 10 years ago when I was involved with grassroot level community organizations such as food banks and free day cares for working moms.

Foraging for food in a city was a lot of fun for me...growing up in the country , i didnt learn half the stuff i learned in that group..

Dumpster diving always seemed to me to be a logical choice, but i have never done it...it is something i am considering more and more as i research how far this movement has come.

here is an example of what can be collected

http://www.treehugger.com/food-waste-freeganism.jpg

Now if we compare it to this...

http://fredsitelive.com/fun/yumburger.jpg
thank you Fred..

Who do you think is eating better?


It has come to the point that the garbage they put in our foods has GOT to be worse then getting our food in the garbage

For more information on a Freeganism lifestyle.

http://freegan.ca/

[heyokah]

If you don't want to be a Freegan you could at least stop throwing food away.

In Europe every citizen throws up to 240 kg of food away each year, according to scientists from the Institute for Waste Management at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna (BOKU Wien). And this costs money: Around 100 euros are thrown away each year by every private household in Europe. Even groceries that are still in their original packaging find their way literally from the supermarket straight to the bin.
The British top the list of wasters. They throw away almost 20 per cent of the food they buy, even though it is still edible. In Austria, that figure rises to twelve per cent.

Dairy products are most likely to end up in the bin (15 per cent), followed by vegetables and bread (13 per cent) and meat (12 per cent) and ready meals (9 per cent).

Wasted food is also a huge energy gobbler

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/10/03/wasted-food-a-huge-energy-gobbler/

[Celine]

SECRET FREEGAN: Rescuing Food to Feed Homeless

http://www.squidoo.com/SecretFreegan

http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/lens2190309_1239824832Rescued_Food_by_Secret_Freeg an_.com_daily_grcoery_waste_800_per_store_Large.JP G

"I've gathered over $52,000 worth of food and other stuff during the last 20 months. I've discovered that most grocery stores throw out $600 worth or more of fresh food every day. They will not donate the food to the hungry because of "liability concerns" and tax issues. I've cut my family's monthly grocery bill by $300 and given the rest to feed the homeless and needy. I love following your heart, kindness, and empowering others. I call myself a Secret Freegan. My hope is that our country will learn to distribute their leftover food to the homeless so everyone is nurtured. I'm doing a little by gathering and distributing about 400 lbs. of food weekly."



Daily Waste from One Store
Fresh food rescued and donated

http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/draft_lens2190309module96003891photo_1271560439sav ethefood.com__MG_5517_




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZyLWcp_g-s&feature=player_embedded

[shadowstalker]

Wow that's a mess when you consider all the starving folks even in the cities, let alone in 3rd world countries, how did we get this far and still sleep at night.

[Ki's]

You've certainly nailed the question, shadowstalker....how do we sleep at night with so much of the worlds population starving. The food this nation throws away could feed a small country.

[Celine]

HUnger exists cuz they want it to..

[Celine]

Find a local group

http://dumpsterdiving.meetup.com/

[heyokah]

What many of us don't properly realise is that this consumer waste represents just the tip of the iceberg.
Although individuals contribute a massive amount to food waste, even more occurs further back along the supply chain.
A huge amount is wasted during or immediately after harvesting, especially in developing countries, where poor transport and other infrastructure mean that food often perishes before it gets to market.

Then there are the unwieldy and complex workings of the global supply system: to get from its source to our plates, much of the food we eat undertakes a journey of epic proportions, involving carts, ships, planes and lorries, warehouses, processing plants and supermarket distribution centres.
At each stage of this journey – inevitably, perhaps – a proportion gets wasted.
When all this is added together, it is possible to estimate that more than a third of global food supplies is wasted (with the proportion in rich countries being as much as 50%).

At the same time, nearly a billion people on the planet live close to starvation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/19/freegan-environment-food

[sjkted]

Wasn't this a webbot hit from prior to last edition that a way of living with no money would become mainstream and would start a national movement?

--sjkted