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An Attack on Consumption -
- In Defense of Donuts -
Why Freegan?
Freeganism
is essentially an anti-consumeristic ethic about eating; asking "Why
freegan?" is essentially asking "Why not consumerism?, so here is a
quick criticism of consumerism.
Treading
lightly on the Earth - Our high impact, produce & consume society
puts a very intense strain on the Earth and her resources. Rainforests
are clear-cut to provide more land for food production. Food production
also consumes vast quantities of fresh water, one of our
fastest-depleting resources. And then there is the packaging! Go look
in your trash right now and most likely it will be filled with plastic,
paper, and styrofoam packaging from food products (if not you get mad
props!). Go look in any trash or landfill and you will see literally
tons & tons of packaging. The act of consumption is the
transformation of natural land and resources into money for
corporations and acres of trash in landfills. (This is not a good
thing.)
Anti-Capitalism
- If you are an "anti-capitalist", what better way to protest the
economy than withdrawing from it and never using money?
Working Sucks - Where does the money you spend come from? You or your
folks working long hours at a dehumanizing job, most likely. You don't
have to compromise yourself and your humanity to the evil demon of
wage-slavery! Working sucks and if a little scavenging can keep you
from needing a job than go jump in a dumpster! Even if you do need to
work to pay your bills, think about how much less you would have to
work if you didn't have to buy food.
Privilege - We, in America, have so much and so many people all over
the world have so little. Why do we have more? Because we're number
one! Other folks are literally starving so that we can have
fully-stocked shelves at our supermarkets and health food stores. If
this concerns you (as it should) you can protest the unbalanced
distribution in America and the world by sacrificing some of your
privilege and feeding yourself off of the ridiculous excess of food
instead of consuming products from that supermarket shelves we are so
injustly privileged to have access to.
The Ultimate Boycott - By not consuming, you are boycotting EVERYTHING!
All the corporations, all the stores, all the pesticides, all the land
and resources wasted, the capitalist system, the all-oppressive dollar,
the wage slavery, the whole burrito! That should help you get to sleep
at night.
Your Life - Think about how your life is wrapped up in the game of
consumptions: think about the job you hate, the ugly billboards in your
community, the horrible waste, the stink, the fast pace and lack of
compassion that surround you and understand that as you consume it, it
consumes you. How much of your day is spent dealing with money? How
does money affect your ideas about other people? Think about how much
more to life there is and find it, do it, go!
Criticism of Veganism:
The vegan theory is essentially a boycott of any products that injure
animals in their production. The vegan consumers are flexing their
monetary muscle and "voting with their dollars" for the products that
don't injure animals. These dollars are voting for Coca-Cola, big
corporate grocery stores, greasy-fast food (we all know Taco Bell
vegans), and worse. Shouldn't truly conscientious folks seek something
more? I don't vote because no matter who I vote for, the government
always wins and when you "vote with your dollars", consumerism always
wins, capitalism always wins. So.... make a list of all the unethical
practices that really piss you off and make a list of all the
corporations and products you want to boycott. Veganism is a good first
step, but is your only concern animals? I made this list and when I was
done, I couldn't really justify buying anything, I couldn't get behind
any aspect of the corporate death consumer machine so I decided to
boycott everything. I still spend money sometimes (I love going out for
Thai food) but I try to be very conscientious about my consumption.
Besides the concern that veganism as an ethic for eating stops short,
it is also still a very high impact lifestyle. The packaging from vegan
food doesn't take up less space in the landfill or consume less
resources just cause the food is vegan. The whole produce and consume
dynamic is still played out, but the setting is a fancy health food
store instead of a supermarket. Veganism is not a threat, or a
challenge to the wasteful practices of our capitalist society.
How Freegan?
Freeganism, also known as ethical eating, voluntary simplicity,
monetary minimalism, the ultimate boycott, etc is fun and easy. Here
are some basic tips:
Quality of Food - Freegans wildy vary in their concern for health -
some freegans gorge themselves on dumpstered donuts and some are still
totally vegan, but get all their food for free. Most fall in the happy
medium who would rather eat a loaf of bread with whey in it than make a
$2 donation to the corporate death machine. Some freegans eat "edgy"
food (on the edge of edibility) and some don't take chances. Some folks
are even "meagan" - they eat meat if they get it for free.
Quantity of Food - A lot, everywhere. You have all seen that Food Not
Bombs flyer about how many million pounds of food is wasted, well it is
true. The food is plentiful. The food is good.
Strategy:
Dumpster Driving! - The best, easiest way to to get the most food. Just
head to your local grocery store, produce store, bagel and donut shop,
bakery, K-mart (expired shelf goodies), and open up the dumpster and
take a look. Don't be afraid to climb in and dig around! have fun, go
with your friends! If you just find a big, scary compactor behind the
store (a bunch of big supermarkets have these) you can't get in, but
you can fight back. Start a local DLF (Dumpster Liberation Front!) and
stick it to those compactors: superglue them so they don't work or hit
them with a bat, pee on them or paint them up; have fun - compactors
are the enemy. P.S. Food is not the only thing in dumpsters! Happy
scavenging!
Give-Aways! - A lot of small, independent places and even some bigger
stores will give you food they are about to throw out if you just ask
them for it. Also, free lunches and soup kitchens! Make sure you aren't
taking food from someone who really needs it much more than you, but
most places have a lot of extra to go around. If you can get government
food or food stamps, go for it! Go to Food Not Bombs and help out, then
take some extra soup and bagels for the road... Just don't be afraid to
ask and the food will come to you.
Plate scraping/Table-Diving - Go in a restuarant and either ask a
worker if you can eat plate scraps or just sit with a drink and hop up
and grab plates off tables when diners leave and finish off what they
left. In fast food places you can pull half-drunk sodas and half-eaten
orders of french fries out of the trash. Me and my dear sweet friend
Peter once sat in Denny's for hours eating table dives. After awhile,
diners would intentionally leave food on their plates for us or
actually bring left-overs to our table. If a waitress/waiter lets this
go on, leave a tip! I have heard stories of plate-scrapers in the mall
food court getting offered money to buy some food- free cash if you
want to work the pity. It is possible that you will get harassed and
kicked out so this method is not fool-proof.
Wild foraging/Gardening - Get a book on edible plants and start looking
around; there is a lot more edible food growing all around us than we
realize. Also, if you live down the street from orange and grapefruit
vines, don't buy oranges and grapefruit! If you live down in West Palm
Beach, don't buy cans of coconut milk for Thai curry. Learn what grows
in your area and find it or plant it. You can start your own garden in
your yard or in that empty lot up the street. You don't need a lot of
land of gourmet soil, just some dirt. Maybe your city even has a
community garden and you and your friends could get a plot. For seeds,
remember all those great fruits and veggies you just dumpster-dove?
Plant the seeds and stick the bad parts, stems and excess in a pile
outside with some dirt. As the plant matter decomposes it will be
magically transformed into super-rich compost, which makes a great
fertilizer. Your newly planted seeds will be thrilled.
Barter - Set up a local network that trades and/or shares goods and
services. "I'll give you my extra ten pounds of brocolli if you fix my
bike." "Hey dudes! Feast at my house! We made a great find and I love
sharing the wealth of the dumpster!"
Scams/Shoplifting - There are a slew of shady ways to score free
food...always let your conscience be your guide!
Shoplifting - There is some debate over how freegan this really is
because you are still creating an empty shelf that must be restocked,
but it is more freegan than forking over big bucks. This is a more
direct attack on the store selling the goods, not the producer (unles
you hyper-boycott a product: pick something you can't stand and
consistently get it off the shelves, steal it, break it, hide it, just
eliminate it and the store will eventually stop selling it) so you
should consider if you are putting a ma & pa organic veggie stand
out of business or just chipping away at a corporate giant.
Employee Theft - Some folks believe this to be more ethical than
shoplifting because it is a trade-off: they steal your time and energy
and you steal their food. If you work somewhere that sucks, hook
yourself up, hook up your friends, hook up strangers, hook up your
local FNB! I have heard tales of a kid who feeds a three-person
household of his workplace acquisitions from the health food store.
They eat damn good, too! You can also get the insider scoop and may be
able to intercept food headed for the dumpster.
Returns - Example: we just dove a bunch of jars of mayonnaise. We don't
want to eat it, so we return it to the store, say we bought it and
couldn't use it/don't want it and trade it in for cash or good food or
store credit. Some stores throw away anything that is returned that
costs less than $50, so you can find expensive stuff, in a package,
with a receipt!
Extending the Ethic - Withdrawl from the consumer death culture doesn't
have to end with food:
Energy - Use solar energy, make a solar oven, hang out laundry on a
line, don't use the air conditioner or heater when you can put on/take
off clothes, open a window or use a fan, wash your dishes by hand -
dishwashers consume a lot of energy and water, turn off lights when you
aren't using them.
Water - Don't shower often and when you do, instead of showering, "go
swimming" in the shower with a friend - it is fun, explorative,
liberating, and consumes less water! Don't flush when you pee! It won't
hurt you, pee just sits in the toilet not bothering anyone; it doesn't
warrant the 10 gallons per flush just to get rid of it. Wait until you
get a good healthy poop in there and then flush it all away. If you
don't like the smell of pee stagnating in the toilet, pee outside or
dilute your urine (7 water to 1 pee) and fertilize with it or drink it
(Gandhi drank a cup of his own pee every day). Also, you can make
manure out of your own poop! Or... dumpster dive some unused adult
diapers and have a party where everyone straps one on and fills it up
-no water wasted (only kidding!)
Carlessness - cars are gross and expensive, not to mention the gas
companies, who are as evil as can be (look at Iraq, do you really want
to fund the slaughter of innocent people?). Ride a bike or a bus or put
a bike on the bus or hitchhike or walk or rollerskate or canoe or
skateboad or hop a train or if you are gonna use a car than carpool,
for Pete's sake! Or have 10 people split the cost of a community car
that you all share. Or at least convert your engine to run on recycled
vegetable oil. (Yes, this can be done!)
Homebrew - Don't buy alcohol! Alcohol corporations are big and scary
and perpetuate fucked up gender roles and beauty myths with their
advertising. Brew your own wine and beer!
Get a Cup! - Get a big, durable plastic cup with a lid and a fork or
spoon and carry it with you at all times. This will dramatically reduce
the amount of disposable cutlery and bowls/plates/cups/bottles you
consume. Instead of buying a bottle of beverage, fill up your cup with
water. Eat out of it too. If you get one with a lid, you can take home
restaurant leftovers in it instead of in styrofoam!
Get a Hanky! - Carry a handkerchief with you and you won't need tissues
or paper towels and it is handy to have for spills, tears etc.
Squat - If you can live in an abandoned building for free, do it!
Stretch - Stretch what you have! Before you throw something away, ask
yourself (repeatedly) "will I ever use this for anything? Do I know
anyone who will?". Before you buy anything figure out if you can make
it, borrow it, do without, fix the one you already have or get it for
free somehow. How long will it last, how often will it get used, can
you share it with others, can you recycle it or reuse it when it stops
working? If it costs $5, ask yourself if it is worth an hour of your
life. If not, do without it. Repair your clothes, buy second-hand,
share! Fix old stuff instead of buying new stuff. Learning how to fix
things yourself saves you money and brings independence and
self-reliance. Free yourself from the consumer mindset - the solution
to all your problems can not be found at the shopping mall!
Conclusion:
There are two options for existence: 1) waste your life working to get
money to buy things that you don't need and help destroy the
environment or 2) live a full satisfying life, occasionally scavenging
or working your self-sufficiency skills to get the food and stuff you
need to be content, while treading lightly on the earth, eliminating
waste, and boycotting everything. Go!
** Yo! Copy and Distribute this Document!! :-) **
NOTE: This was typed up by an anonymous vegan in Feb of 2000. Very
little was changed from the original version obtained from the Death
Metal Militia Distro/Green Monkey Collective. If you lack a printer or
are reading this at a library with no printers, etc, and want paper
copies, send a dollar to them at po box 17838 / Clearwater, FL 34622 or
write to them via email at clearwaterfnb@hotmail.com for more info.