A Bookup on Freeganism…?

On Wednesday, April 3, we will host the first bookup on freeganism.✌🏽 I don’t expect many people to show up (if any) because the concept still seems foreign on this side of Europe. I do, however, believe it is necessary to start the debate and raise (at least) a tiny bit of awareness on this alternative lifestyle, not as a way of promoting it, but as a way of letting people know what their options are.

The generally accepted definition of freeganism is that of “a practice and ideology of limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, particularly through recovering wasted goods like food. The word freegan is a portmanteau of free and vegan.” (Wikipedia)

Freeganism is more than salvaging wasted food. It is essentially about turning your back to consumerism, about embracing a freedom that goes beyond our modern compulsion to possess, replace and dominate. It is an alternative, a possibility of going back to the basics of life, of re-gaining the independence and self-reliance which we sacrificed along the way.

Freegansim does not necessarily have to be about dumpster diving (salvaging goods from the garbage of retailers, residences etc), train-hopping or refusing to use money. It can start from as little as waste-minimisation, support for your community, buying less products, wearing old clothes or escaping the rat race in favour of pursuing your passion.

So you see, there are options and alternatives, and there certainly can be more freedom. But are we up to the challenge? 🙋🏻‍♀️ For those of you based in Bucharest, I look forward to meeting you on April 3, at our bookup. You can register here: https://www.bookups.co/events/bucharest-romania-freeganism.

Here are some resources for those interested to read a bit more:

For a general overview, I recommend https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/freeganism.asp and https://newfoodeconomy.org/freeganism-alex-barnard/

For options and advice on becoming freegan, you can check out https://www.moneycrashers.com/freegan-principles-problems-freeganism/ and the US freegan community https://freegan.info.