Freegans

Wormella · Post: # 67819Post **Wormella** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:13 am

Despite the fact the name is misleading (The arn't vegan in any way) a interesting take on ethical living cropped up on the BBC News Magazine Yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6933744.stm

(sorry if it's been posted before).

Any thought, deluded people or the right way forward.

My personal view: I'm not sure on this. If they can afford to buy the food but don't feel they want to support Supermarkets then don't buy food from them. There are plenty of independent suppliers, veg box schemes, local shops they could support instead. I don't agree with food waste, I try and waste as little as possible, but there are better ways to act against supermarkets.

the.fee.fairy · Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:31 am

I used to be on a freegan mailing list. It got a bit boring to be honest.

A lot of freegans are vegans.

There was a bit on Hollyoaks a while ago, but they kinda took the pee a bit - they people supposedly being 'freegans' were actually stealing. I did write to channel 4, but never got a reply.

I think freeganism is a wiorthy cause if you live in a city with no way of accessing farmers markets, or independent shops.

There are food movements associated with everything (raw food fanatics also spring to mind) and i think each has a good cause to take, but i couldn't follow one specifically myself.

And i feel a bit awkward diving into a bin for food...

Wormella · Post: # 67828Post **Wormella** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:14 pm

I took a bit of exception that the ones quoted in the article wern't vegan - I'm sure many are.

I know I used to work in catering, and we did throw a lot of stuff out. It annoyed me more in Subway when we tried to find a home for our surplus bread and bcause we couldn't guarentee quantities or someone to deliver it no one was interested.

What kind of things came up on the mailinglist fee?

SueSteve · Post: # 67841Post **SueSteve** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:27 pm

Around 15 years ago when I was skint and lived in a bender in an orchard this was our main source of food! But then the supermarket and bakery cottoned on to it and contaminated the food (poured washing up liquid and bleach on it), and the supermarket put their bins in locked fencing!!
I think so much food is wasted, that is still good and could be given to those that are living on the streets!
I dont think it's something for those that can afford food, but would be welcomed by the homeless!

bogit & legit · Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:04 pm

suesteve do you fancy a midnight raid at or local morrisons??

the.fee.fairy · Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:30 pm

Wormella wrote: What kind of things came up on the mailinglist fee?

There were a lot of green issues, which were good, but there was a lot of non-freegan bashing, and a lot of non-vegan/vegetarian bashing as well. Maybe i chose the wrong list - it was the freeganworld one.

It also had no option for daily digests, so i'd end up with 20 or so emails in my inbox every day, and there was a definite click of 7 or so people who were always writing.

Freeganism to me is as worthy as vegan or vegetarianism, or indeed any other way of life. I just didn't like the way that these people were against other things.

I do agree that it is a waste of food - what the supermarkets and other places throw away. And it is quite appalling that they wer ewillingly contaminating food that was being thrown away to stop someone else having it!! What a waste!

possum · Post: # 67910Post **possum** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:03 pm

I think it is great if people are reducing waste by doing this, I can't say I would, I would be happy to fish non food stuff out of skips, but I would definitely be wary about foodstuffs.
It is a shame that supermarkets can't just give it away as pig swill, if regulations say it can't be given as human consumption, it would be better than going to waste.

Thomzo · Post: # 67975Post **Thomzo** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:10 pm

I must admit that I wouldn't trust food out of skips either.

I do agree though that it is a real waste. I know that there are health and safety concerns over feeding left overs to livestock but surely, if the food was handled properly between the supermarket and the farm, it should be safe? After all, it was safe for humans to eat. If it's given to the livestock before or on the use by date (which is often after the sell by date) then it should be OK.

Zoe

mybarnconversion · Thu Aug 09, 2007 1:13 pm

They argue capitalism and mass production exploit workers, animals and the environment. For the most extreme proponents, freeganism - the name combines free and vegan - is a total boycott of the economic system.

...but taken to its logical conclusion, they rely on capitalism and mass production for their food and produce nothing themselves, therefore they are parasites dependant on a host that they despise - not a way I'd choose to live.

I love the quote...

All food is washed before eating

...it'll be OK then!

Muddypause · Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:07 pm

mybarnconversion wrote:...but taken to its logical conclusion, they rely on capitalism and mass production for their food and produce nothing themselves, therefore they are parasites dependant on a host that they despise - not a way I'd choose to live.

Surely they are just foraging; nature chucks away a great deal of its produce, too. Capitalism has produced overcrowded, concreted cities, so they are the victims of capitalism, unable to forage in a natural environment. Plenty of people are 'non-productive', but their contribution to society may be just as valid as anybody else's. It only becomes invalid if you measure it purely in terms of capital.