Freegan
 

How easy would it be to be a freegan in oz saying you owned a campervan? I`m a carpenter but due to the economic climate it could be tricky to get work. I play guitar as well so this could be handy. Any ideas?

Re: Freegan
 

:confused:Are you speaking a new language ???
WTF is a freegan :confused:

Re: Freegan
 

Have a look here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism. I admire those who do this for ethical reasons, though would draw the line at theft.

Re: Freegan
 

Watched a programme on this once here in England and sorry but its not my cup of tea !

Routing around in bins for left over scraps and food the supermarkets have thrown out for a pretty good reason !

But hey ho whatever flicks your switch, I am very sure there is plenty of ways to eat cheaply even if you did have lkimited storage in your campervan and had to shop daily



Dougie

Re: Freegan
 

Can't say it's my cup of tea either, but I'm not sure it's true to say that supermarkets throw all the food they throw out for a good reason, the implication being it is inedible. Most food which has reached its sell by date is perfectly edible at the time they bin it and there is a tremendous amount of waste of resources doing so. Some of the more responsible companies (such as Pret a Manger) arrange for surplus food to be collected and distributed to homeless people by charities. Personally I'd much rather see it eaten - by freegans taking it for themselves if the supermarkets are not prepared to give it away - than be wasted.

Re: Freegan
 

What concerned me in the footage I watched was that the family had a kiddie, think he was about 10 or 11? They lived in a very small caravan, he had no toys, no TV, no computer, nothing in fact that he could call "his". The family didn't celebrate birthdays as they thought the idea was too consumer-orientated, so he had never had a present of any kind. But more concerning was the fact that they were feeding the kidien on stuff from the bins and nothing else. So it wasn't a balanced diet, it ws just whatever they could scrounge. No thought of what a growing boy might actually need for good health.
Its the sort of lifestyle that could be OK if you are adults and choose to do it, but I personally would have real concerns for a child brought up that way.

Re: Freegan
 

Shouldnt be too difficult as, like the UK, Australia has a plentiful supply of rubbish filled bins.

Re: Freegan
 

I agree there is proberbly nothing wrong with it but they put a sell by date on there for a reason dont they?

Dougie

Re: Freegan
 

Old thread resurrected as tonight's Wife Swap (which I'm watching between doing the storm reports :o ) is a repeat of the one with the Freegan family, so I thought I'd try and re-start this thread.

The whole community lives without working, pay no tax of NI, there food is all scavenged food from supermarket bins, they receive no benefits, but they will freely use the NHS, schools and other facilities when they need to.
Is it a good way to live when the only food you feed your kid comes from a filthy wheely bin. If the adults are happy to live that way, should they inflict it on the child?

Has anyone actually lived this lifestyle? It fascinates me in that I would love to understand why people choose this way of life.


From the Wiki link above -

Many freegans get free food by pulling it out of the trash, a practice commonly nicknamed dumpster diving in North America and skipping or bin diving in the UK, as well as bin raiding. Freegans find food in the garbage of restaurants, grocery stores, and other food related industries, which they assert allows them to avoid spending money on products that exploit the world's resources, contribute to urban sprawl, treat workers unfairly, or disregard animal rights. By foraging, they believe they are keeping perfectly edible food from adding to landfill clutter and that can feed people and animals who might otherwise go hungry.[2]

Dumpster diving is not, however, limited to rummaging for food. Many divers search for anything that can be recycled or reused, from accessories to power tools in need of small repairs. Some divers collect aluminum cans, which they can then sell for a small profit. And though their name suggests much more of a physical aspect of this process, divers usually do not actually get into dumpsters

Re: Freegan
 

The old man got me a fabulous sewing table from a dumpster behind an office tower in Toronto. It was formerly a board room table so big he had to cut it in half to get it in the back of his van to bring it home. I could lay out an entire quilt on it! We also had dozens of computers (which we sold when we moved here) made up entirely of parts he got dumpster diving.

Re: Freegan
 

If I saw a pice of furniture outside, unwanted such as your sewing table I'd inspect it and think nothing of taking it home if I thought I could use it.
Wouldnt actively go scavenging for things though and wouldnt dream of taking food out of a bin yuck!

I did place 2 arm chairs on the street one summer and was pleased someone took them. They needed/wanted them I didnt, better than being in landfill.

Re: Freegan
 

A lot of companies do chuck things away, The main reason is becuase companies can't give items to charities due to Health and Safety reasons and Hygiene rules!!! Its just the world going mad!!!!!
Gary