Submitted:
Thursday 12 June, 2008.
DEFINITION
Freeganism is a philosophy and a way of life. The word ‘freeganism’ is derived from the words ‘free’ and ‘veganism’. Many ‘freegans’ are vegans too, although there are freegans who are vegetarian, and others who eat meat (sometimes referred to as ‘meagans’). The main thing is to be happy with what we find, or are given, and not to worry about food and clothing.
Freegans attempt to live simply, treading lightly on the Earth. How we treat the world (and animals), is usually a reflection of how we would treat fellow human beings, if we could get away with it.
The Earth has a finite amount of resources. Gandhi said that ‘the world has more than enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed’. How true! If only we would learn to share the world, rather than fight and compete over it, things could be so different.
Freegans see the need to take responsibility for the imbalance that currently exists in the world, reflected in such things as the huge difference between the wealth of the rich and the poor.
Problems only persist in the world because often we wait for others to do the right thing, or we wait for a ‘global’ or ‘political’ solution. However, it is often simply in the process of waiting (apathy) that the problem not only persists, but intensifies. Freegans seek to break free of this vicious cycle by choosing to make changes in their way of life regardless of what other people choose to do.
THE PROBLEM
We’ve all heard it said that ‘money makes the world go round’ Don’t believe a word of it! If we simply shared our possessions, skills, expertise, time etc. the world would not only go round, it would be a great place to live while spinning on its axis! We live in a world where people have lost their sense of value. Resources are destroyed on a daily basis in order to increase the financial profits of the retailers. We can’t eat money, and yet while we hold to the lie that money makes the world go round, we end up destroying the very world we inhabit.
In the UK alone, 40% of food ends up in landfill or incineration. Something like 17 million tonnes of food etc. is wasted each year, and at least a quarter of this is edible. At the same time, thousands of people are not able to afford a healthy diet. Something is not right, and needs to change. First world countries are only able to chuck out vast amounts of food and other resources because people in developing countries are currently going without.
1.2 billion people in the world are currently suffering from malnutrition. On the other end of the scale, 1.2 billion people are suffering from obesity. We are all interconnected and every mouthfull of food we take in excess of what we need is a mouthfull of food someone somewhere else in the world is going without.
This is just one of a multitude of issues Freegans seek to address.
THE SOLUTION
The solution lies in a change of attitude, and in a change of lifestyle. Rather than hungering for the latest high-street gimmick, fashion, item etc., we need to draw comfort and satisfaction from the simple things in life. Behind the outward glitz of the things that are sold to us each day, lies an ugly truth - terrible working conditions of the people who make these products; the destruction of rainforests worldwide; depletion of natural resources at an unsustainable rate; war, famine, disease… and all because we choose to spend our time working for money and the things money buys, rather than truly valuing life, and seeking to improve the quality of people’s lives both inside and outside our sphere of influence.
A change in consciousness is necessary, both on an individual level and on a global level. We are part of a global family. What we do in one corner of the globe has a knock-on effect elsewhere. Although we may try to hide the consequences of our way of life, the truth is increasingly making itself heard. Natural disasters, climate change, a break-down in the world’s ecology… what will it take for us to start listening to reason?
There are many freegan practices, including recycling; re-using materials; squatting; sharing possessions through living in community; developing guerrilla gardens in urban settings; getting involved in social activism; volunteer work… the list goes on. The main idea with all this is to stop being dictated to by the economic system wherever possible. The ruling elite of the socio-economic system maintain their power through exploiting people’s natural drives, usually derived from fear and greed. However, this only occurs if we choose to let it happen.
The rules are set up to favour the rich and to keep the poor in constant fear of economic poverty. Slavery still very much exists today even if it isn’t called such. The new landlords of the modern-day feudal system are the shareholders of corporations, who in turn pull the strings of the politicians.
J.S. Mills once said that, “All it takes to destroy a system is to refuse to buy its products.” This is where simply refusing to consume more and to redistribute existing wealth, both locally and abroad, can be so effective. The way to make our voice heard is to stop playing by the rules of the consumer-driven society.