Could you be a freegan?

New philosophy
Freegan (free+ vegan) is an offshoot of the vegan movement. Basically participants are tired of all the waste we generate and are looking for a new way to “reclaim, recover, repair and recycle.� They want to reduce consumption, work less, save money and build a community where generosity and sharing is the main focus.

One man’s garbage is another man’s treasures
Everyone has picked up something useful from the garbage but freegans take dumpster diving to another level. They feed themselves with food thrown out by stores and restaurants.

If the thought of eating food thrown out makes you nauseous, you’re not alone. North Americans have been trained to be suspicious of garbage but our obsession with cheap, fresh and flawless has resulted in 40 percent of all food produced being thrown out. More often than not, our garbage cans are filled with perfectly edible food.

Freegan founder
Adam Weissman, one of the founders of Freegan.info has not bought anything for 10 years. He's managed to maintain a fairly regular lifestyle. By day he works for Wetlands Preserve and at night his heads out to lead New York freegans on Trash Tours. Participants collect food and some of it is turned into a Freegan Feast open to anyone with an appetite. His website has plenty of useful safety tips for urban foraging as information on the growing freegan movement.

Media goes foragingg
When CBS News reporter Benno Schmidt, CNN's Anderson Cooper and Oprah did reports on freegans, all were pleasantly surprised at the high quality produce they recovered from the garbage. They've helped remove some of the stigma and Dumpster Diving Meetup, which lists all the best places to forage in a variety of cities, is now reporting 7,000 hits per day.

Other freegan activities
If you can’t stomach the idea of dumpster diving, there are still plenty of other ways to participate:

Food Not Bombs: This organization dumpster dives in order to prepare warm meals to the homeless or anyone else.

Freecycle: Swap or give your items away for free. The Freecycle Network and the Craigslist Free Section are Internet swap site where you can or give away items.

Freestores: Also known as give-away shops, freestores are shops where you bring items you don’t want and leave with something you need. No money changes hands. First established in the Netherlands in 1997, give-aways are firmly established in most of Northern Europe. The Really, Really Free Market (RRFM) is the North American equivalent. Start your own and stop paying for stuff.

Share Gas. Heading out of town? Need a drive or want help paying for the gas? eRideshare and Craigslist Ride Share let you hook up with people going your way.

Community Gardens. Grow your own food to create a no-buy, zero-mile diet. Condo dwellers can get a community garden plot. An offshoot is Guerrilla Gardening, where unused urban space is reclaimed for gardens.

Ride a bicycle/use public transportation. Get peddling and save money. Look on the Internet for free bicycles or to learn how to repairs yours. For inspiration visit the International Bicycle Fund.

Happy foraging!

Shelagh McNally is the editor of Green Living Online. She's been known to dumpster dive for furniture and loves the BBQ she recycled from a neighbour.