If eating trash became the socially conscious thing to do, would you take part? A new phenomenon sweeping the United States consist primarily of non-homeless individuals exclusively living off on discarded food is becoming a growing subculture. The basis of this ideology is anti-consumerism and those who engage in this practice refer to themselves as Freegans. To distance themselves from an environmentally damaging capitalistic state, Freegans limit their daily consumption and waste through reusing, recycling, and scavenging for resources. They scour garbage bags and supermarket dumpsters hunting for food considered unsellable by food safety standards such as minor damage on the outer package. People unaware of this subculture or even their political statements Freegans are creating so there is great deal of intrigue looming to understand the culture, the individuals, and their influences which motivate this group to adopt a form of environmentally conscious living.
Without prior knowledge behind the oddly sounding nomenclature “Freegan,” one might assume its relation to veganism and be close to correct. Freegan is a term coined within the last decade from the words “free” and “vegan” use to describe the lifestyle of a person who voluntarily abstains from contributing to the economy through urban food foraging and minimal spending. The definition has since evolved to include a growing political movement aim to eliminate all unnecessary waste. According to the website Freegan.info, “Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.” The movement consists of college-educated people with middle-class upbringing, whose practices include cooperative living, volunteering, guerilla gardening, illegal squatting, train hopping, hitch hiking, and practicing veganism to an extent (Dowdey, 2007). Furthermore, Freegans choose to barter or trade goods for services to obtain necessities in the absence of consumeristic spending. The main motivation behind these actions stems from core Freegan morals such as remaining a nonparticipant in an industrialized society and rejecting consumerism and capitalism. Other reasons include the reduction and minimization of one’s carbon footprint and the unsustainable living fueled by a wasteful economic model.
Adam Weissman looks like the typical Freegan member but he is consider by many to be the unofficial spokesperson of Freeganism. As one of the leading founders of Freegan.info, the eco-activist promotes environmentalism around New York City to which a small minority might refer to the city as a proverbial mecca for dumpster divers. His website dedicates to Freeganism, describes the philosophy and lifestyle with announcement of dates of “trash tours” for the experienced and the uninitiated to sign up. In a past interview, Weissman explains the factors that inspired him to adopt this approach to living. He answers, “Psychologist Ken Shapiro once described animal rights activists as “caring sleuths,” people who keep their eyes open to injustices around them that others might not notice” (Satya, 2006). Weissman elaborates on his path to Freeganism by making deliberate lifestyle changes, at first by being a vegetarian, then going vegan, and eventually consuming only organic foods as he believes this will makes him more socially conscious of his impact on the environment. He finally settles on Freeganism when he came to the realization that a vegan-organic lifestyle is not truly environmentally friendly.
Weissman believes standard organic production practices today are not naturally sustainable nor animal friendly. According to him, the attitudes displayed by organic farmers are no different than the attitudes displayed by non-organic farmers. These farmers still poison and kill animals and insects with no indifference using harmful chemicals effects derived from non-petroleum-based pesticides which leave destructive after-effects. This environmental damage is further exacerbated when organic farmers substitute commercial fertilizes by using factory farm manure. This is relevant because factory farm manure, unlike manure from smaller-scale farms; produce an excess amount of manure which is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gases (Fahrenthold, 2010). The farm manure contains dangerous bacteria and toxic gas emissions that have been found in some cases to kill aquatic life and harm human health (“Factory Farms”, n.d.). Weissman reiterates the fact that being an animal activist and a vegan was not satisfactory for his lifestyle because he felt like he was indirectly participating in animal oppression comparable to someone buying meat at the supermarket. His unwillingness to accept this idea passively led him to become more self-aware of the growing food waste epidemic; Weissman came to realize he could have a life fully sustained by the growing retail waste and make a positive contribution by not being part of the problem.
Another prominent member known within the Freegan Movement is Madeline Nelson. Nelson's background does not match the part when you discover she once worked a six-figure job as the director of communications for Barnes & Noble, a Fortune 500 book company. Ironically companies like her previous employer serve a singular purpose which is to push for mass consumption and this mentality opposes the Freegans belief. She has since quit her job and now organizes the New York Freegan Meetup group. Nelson explains what inspired her to change from her earlier lifestyle. “For me, it started as a consumer boycott,” she says. “I stopped buying new clothes, stopped buying a lot of consumer goods. The whole idea of quitting [my job] came out of that. The one thing I did after quitting work was to leave Manhattan. It was too expensive” (McCourt, 2010). Her beliefs harmonize with many vegans in the refusal to further their dependency on businesses and institutions who exploit the environment and participate in unfair labor practices. She understands that dumpster diving is socially frowned-upon but hopes it will lead “people to push their own limits and quit spending” (Hayasaki, 2007). She intends to use the rest of her time in devoting herself to create change and spread awareness about a problem unknown to most people. The common perception of the idea of eating from a dumpster relays unsavory imagery but in fact, she argues, “what's gross and disgusting is the fact that this food is being thrown out in the first place. What’s really disgusting is the system that allows this waste to happen” (McCourt, 2010). Nelson recalls one of the last trips when she salvaged a 10-pound chocolate bar and a bottle of olive oil with damaged packaging from Trader Joe’s trash bin. She says, "It's obvious to anyone that looks; they are throwing out good, viable, human-quality food. We've come to the point where we value the packaging more than the product itself” (McCourt, 2010). The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reports an estimate of 43 billion pounds of food waste is generated by stores in 2008, of which ten percent accounts for the total food supply at the retail level. Further research done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates supermarkets lose about 15 billion annually from unsold produce. The problem is attributed to the overstocking of huge quantities of food and it becomes too costly for supermarkets not to have an item in stock and face losing a sale or ruin the illusion of perpetual abundance.
Practicing members like Adam Weissman and Madeline Nelson are prominently publicized by the media for their Freegan lifestyles. Their motivations and paths may differ but what is truly inspiring is their wholly rejection to consumerism as well as achieving a form of simpler living. The sad truth about Freeganism is that the ideology remains completely dependent on a wasteful society. “The best thing to find would be nothing at all, and unfortunately that's not what I find" (McCourt, 2010), Nelson says. It would be difficult to correct the mindsets of corporations and their wasteful habits, but if change on a human level is possible then there is potential to create an impact on the entire economy.
Annotated Bibliography
What is a Freegan?. (n.d.). : freegan.info. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://freegan.info/
This site contains general knowledge and philosophy pertaining to Freeganism. It is own and operated by Adam Weissman, one of the individuals I am profiling in my essay. I feel some references to the site were necessary and prove to be supportive in my essay.
Gunders, D. (n.d.). NRDC: Wasted - How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf
The report contains statistical data that would support my stance and expand on how prevalent food waste in America is.
McCourt, M. (2010, April 17). Waste-hating Freegans Dumpster Dive for Food. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/40831/
The news article features a Freegan who you would not imagine to be influenced and changed by the lifestyle. I was most interested by her backstory and her attempt at life after leaving a job that practically fuels her new lifestyle. Her life story represents the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of a person fueling consumerism on one side and raising awareness about Freeganism on the other.
Satya May 06: Interview with Adam Weissman. (n.d.). It’s Not That Gross! Freeganism and the Art of Dumpster Diving. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://www.satyamag.com/may06/weissman.html
This interview gave insight on why Adam Weissman chose to live the Freegan way. The audience reading this article would be someone who is familiar or at least heard of Freeganism.
Hayasaki, E. (2007, September 17). Freegans: There IS such a thing as a free lunch - Chicago Tribune. Featured Articles From The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-09-17/news/0709160656_1_freegan-madeline-nelson-free-lunch
This was another article about Madeline Nelson and it provides information about her life and her decision to change.
Dowdey, Sarah. "HowStuffWorks "How Freegans Work"." HowStuffWorks "Business & Money". N.p., 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://money.howstuffworks.com/freegan.
This source contains general information about Freeganism and the things they do in their daily lives.
"How Factory Farms Impact You | Factory Farm Map." Factory Farm Map. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
This website gave insight on the detrimental effects from use of factory farm manure.
Fahrenthold, D. A. (2010, March 1). Manure becomes pollutant as its volume grows unmanageable. The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/28/AR2010022803978.html
This article contained new relevant information about factory farm manure being one of the major sources of greenhouse gases.