Freegans Bring Third-Side Thinking to Issues of Waste, Environment and Economy

When somewhere around 50% of all food produced worldwide is wasted, when people are struggling to thrive -- or even just survive -- in the current recession, and when many people want to make choices that protect the planet AND their pocketbooks, some wily citizens are turning to a strategy called Freeganism. In the simplest definition, freegans seek out food (and often other items) that others have discarded.

When freeganism first hit the pro-environment, anti-capitalism scene in the mid-90's, many people equated freeganism with crazy, fringe, pseudo-homeless behavior. But, just as with many other movements that seemed strange or unpalatable at the beginning, freegans are finding their way to mainstream attention, becoming viewed as less weird and more as a clarion call for reforming the ways we deal with food and waste. A recent article from The Guardian featured freegan and author Tristram Stuart and his quest to bring attention to the enormous amount of food waste in Western countries. A slideshow demonstrating the kinds and amounts of food wasted accompanies the article.

Recently Treehugger highlighted a new short video about Freegans in Portland, Oregon. You can see it below:

Meet the Freegans from shieldsfilms.com on Vimeo.

While not everyone is ready for a freegan lifestyle, freegans can serve as a great springboard for discussion about our food, our consumptive and disposable lifestyle, and creative solutions to challenging problems. Freeganism can also help us remember to pay attention to how we deal with these issues in our own lives and can inspire us to reduce waste and broaden our view of what's "good" food and other stuff.

~ Marsha

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