I don't like the whole Freegan idea, it stinks of communism and believe anybody who wants to have any significant effect on exploitation etc has a better chance of doing so by taking advantage of the capitalist system we live in - cue examples of the booming market for "fair trade" products. However I think arrowinore's philosophy of minimising waste through bartering and recycling is great, and a role model for society as the century goes on. It would be great to see the complete elimination of household waste by the time my children are grown up, and it isn't that hard to achieve. Just look at your typical rubbish - the vast majority of stuff can be recycled already - but even this is inefficient compared to what could be achieved by better selection of packaging materials etc. By raising consumer consciousness, supplemented with intervening legislation, the rubbish bin can be a thing of the past within our lifetimes. The idea of eliminating waste is part of the reason I am still anti-nuclear despite power shortages where I live right now - I can just imagine the headaches future generations will have with the nuclear waste we have created - but that's another story

Well, I don't have a problem with people eating out of the garbage because food that is otherwise ok to eat would be wasted. However, i'd never do it...eww!

I do think asking for contributions is a bit unfair though, why not just get jobs? Either way they're still taking money from people.

i do think that we waste so much that our trash should be filtered of some way...i mean people throw away stuff that is perfectly good! its amazing how much it is...

but on the other hand, digging food out of the garbage that someone else has eaten? thats so unsanitary in so many ways!..i think there should be different dumpsters for different things, like wood and such, then food...i mean i really think we need to settle down on all the trash we waste...its getting bad

What if the food was trown because of a food recall like the listeria outbreak here do they still get compensation from the company since it was trown out.

i think that a judgment of the entirety of what these people do is unnecassarry. i totally agree with taking food from supermarket dumpsters. we used to have a friend who worked in produce, and we have seen how much stuff really gets thrown out. if it has a blemish the size of a dime its considered unfit, and many things even expred are still edible. in the hunger and economic crisis we are having in the world right now, i believe its a good thing to utilize all of the plants and animals possible for sustinance and that is is wastful and neither ecnonomic nor ecological to waste things for such a trival reason.

just think about ripe papaya and how it tastes, being taken out of your hand and used for compost... and since you are too poor to afford buying it you can never have it. doesn't seem right does it?

as for the rest of what these people do religiousely and leisurly living, we could just as easily judge priests, ministers, and other religious figureheads for driving expensixe cars and living in multi-million dollar homes at the price of thith.

Being Freegan is not about spongeing off the state or getting Freebies while other people work for things. I think you are confusing Freeganism with Freeloading - not the same.

In a world where perfectly good things in working order are thrown away just because they have a bit of a scratch or are just not fashion items any more, Freeganism seeks an alternate way of living which is more in harmony with the needs of the planet, its people and its environmental global networks. We are all one global village whether we like it or not nad if we don't live together we will simply die together.

To me, not looking to see if a piece of rubbish or thing thrown out by someone else is of any use to me or can help prevent me from buying brand new items, which puts additional demand on the panet's finite resources, is a bit like turning on all the lights and fires in the house and then going out to the cinema. If that doesnt make sense to you, then maybe you are a Freegan too!

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