Freeganism ( English freeganism from free - "free, free" and vegan - " veganism ") - a lifestyle that denies the principles of consumerism . Its adherents limit their participation in traditional economic life and strive to minimize the resources consumed. Frigans use landfills , garbage containers , etc. as a source of food and other material goods. [1] Unlike the homeless and the poor , freegans do so for ideological reasons, to eliminate the harm from excessive consumption in an economic system aimed at profit, more than care, for the humane rational use of the planet’s resources: saving money so that it’s enough for the needs of all. In a narrow sense, freeganism is a form of anti-globalism .
The Freegan movement reached its peak in Sweden, the USA, Brazil, South Korea, Great Britain and Estonia [2] . In Russia, in recent years, there have also been sharp trends towards freeganism due to the rapid increase in the number of poor people. Also, the idea of freaking is quite common among followers of punk culture
Content
- 1 Etymology of the name
- 2 Background
- 3 The ideology of freeganism
- 4 Freganism and vegetarianism
- 5 See also
- 6 notes
- 7 References
Name Etymology
The term freegan appeared in the mid-1990s. The author of the term appears to be Warren Oaks, a drummer for Against Me! , which in 1999 wrote the manifesto of the freegans - the pamphlet "Why Freegan?" The word freegan comes from the word vegan - so called radical vegetarians. This is due to the fact that most freegans also support the basic principles of the movement of vegans [2] .
Prerequisites
The earliest forerunners were Food Not Bombs , as well as the anarchist troupe of street performers Diggers, which existed in the sixties in San Francisco and basically did not buy food and did not use paid social services. According to Bob Torres, a professor of sociology at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York , the Freegan movement has become so popular because of the growing frustration in society associated with the failures of the environmental mainstream. Torres points out that the "green" do not always think about how much natural resources are required to produce those natural environmentally friendly products that they consume [2] .
In developed countries, due to overproduction, the least cost-effective way to sell products is to send them to landfills . For example, it is easier (cheaper) for the store owner to throw out a whole box of apples than to hire a person who will sort out low-quality fruits. Due to the high percentage of suitability for consumption of discarded products, some people prefer to find the necessary benefits than to purchase them, both from pragmatic and environmental considerations [3] . According to some reports, from 30 to 50% of edible products and dishes are thrown into the trash.
Freeganism is especially popular in Europe and the USA. Adam Weisman , the creator of www.freegan.info , is a popularizer of freeganism in America.
The ideology of freeganism
According to Weissman, frigan seeks to oppose himself to a consumer society based on competition , immoralism , conformism, and greed . Therefore, a freegun should consume only the necessary minimum, help others and be generous .
The main goal of freegans is to minimize or completely eliminate their financial support to corporations and thereby stop the globalization of the global economy, to distance oneself as far as possible from uncontrolled consumption society.
Usually they eat those products that were rejected before entering supermarkets and thrown into the trash fresh. Typically, these products are suitable for consumption, and the reason that they were in the trash is because one sample from the batch turned out to be substandard. Many of them also put on things found in the garbage can and have household utensils also defective or discarded by someone in a used container. They exchange part of the found non-food items in flea markets for the things they need, without recognizing monetary relations.
Freegans have their own laws, their own code of honor. So, freegans rummage only in garbage cans of supermarkets and apartment buildings, everything that is lying on the backyards of private houses is not to be used. For safety reasons, freegans never delve into medical waste containers near clinics.
The Code of Honor prohibits frigans from climbing into containers in closed territories in search of prey. Freegans are required to maintain cleanliness near the garbage bins, to leave them in better condition than they were before their visit, in order to facilitate the work of the freegans who will come there next. Freegans should not take documents or papers with any confidential notes from boxes, interference in the personal lives of people based on finds from the garbage can is strictly prohibited [2] .
Freeganism and Vegetarianism
Freeganism arose on the basis of vegetarianism , but after a while went on its own way. Some frigans are vegans , others eat both fish and meat, but only that which will disappear if it is not eaten. Such a path of friganism was called “miganism” (“meganism”) ( English meaganism from meat is “meat” and vegan is “ veganism ”), and frigans, who eat animal products, are “meganes” [2] .
See also
- Anti-Consumerism
- Fast raised is not considered to have fallen
- Food sharing
Notes
- ↑ Freegan's Confession: “I never got sick from the food found in the garbage” . YLE Date of treatment January 23, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Roman Mamchits . Freegans: intellectuals in a landfill , Private correspondent (October 27, 2010). Date of treatment October 27, 2010.
- ↑ Residents of Kuopio struggle with food losses, passing each other leftovers . YLE (January 21, 2018). Date of treatment January 23, 2018.