What is a Freegan?
A freegan is someone who has chosen to live a lifestyle which has minimal environmental and economic impact. The word is a portmanteau of “free” and “vegan,” as much of the philosophy behind freeganism is similar to that of veganism, although a freegan tends to be more extreme than a vegan. Although the term integrates the word “vegan,” not all freegans are vegan, though many choose to be because they were vegans originally, and they are not interested in consuming animal products. According to freegan ethics, every human has a responsibility to live a life which reduces exploitation of animals, natural resources, and other people. While many vegans agree with this, freegans argue that veganism does not go far enough, and that a purely vegan diet can still be harmful. Most freegans reject capitalist systems as part of this ethic, because they believe that capitalism is inherently exploitative. A number of practices are incorporated into a freegan lifestyle. The cornerstone of living fo
Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed. After years of trying to boycott products from unethical corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse, many of us found that no matter what we bought we ended up supporting something deplorable. We came to realize that the problem isn’t just a few bad corporations but the entire system itself. Freeganism is a total boycott of an economic system where the profit motive has eclipsed ethical considerations and where massively complex systems of productions ensure that all the products we buy will have detrimental impacts most of which we may never even consider. Thus, instead of avoiding the
