On Urban Foraging, Living off the Grid, and the Possibility of Corporate Freegans
Today I was surfing stumbledupon and came across a comprehensive guide on how to disappear, stay disappeared, and create a new identity (in a mostly legal way). I ended up reading the whole thing, and then I remembered a story told to us by a couch surfer my mom and I hosted. She told us about a man she stayed with who lived almost completely off the grid. He scavanged for what he needed, squatted in a cabin on a lake and worked occasionally to pay for the things he couldn't avoid not having.
Then I looked up some resources on urban foraging, and found freegan.info and I found the concept really interesting. The general premise is that pretty much all consumer products hurt someone or something in some way. Even a mindful consumer can't help but support sweatshops, environmental destruction ect. So instead of trying to boycott the worst companies and supporting the lesser evils, freegans don't pay for anything. They dumpster dive for their food, clothes, computers... you name it. They squat and bike and if they have to own a car, they convert a diesel engine to run on biofuel that they make from used oil they get for free from restaurants. I don't necessarily agree with all of their philosophy, but as I become more aware of the practices of businesses, particularly large corporations, I become more and more disgusted with what they do and what I, as a consumer, support.
I have been mulling over the idea of boycotting products of the USA (I don't like their politics) but it's not like Canada is perfect, or even that much better. The upcoming federal election is a mess of immature, mud-slinging and lazy candidates, and most of my friends (myself included) are protest-voting for the Green party, though no one actually wants them to win.
I briefly considered the 100 mile diet, but I'm not prepared to eat nothing but wheat and beef, supplemented with garden vegetables if the summer is long enough for them to grow. I've attempted vegetarianism, but I'm already underweight and very active, and giving up animal products would probably push me over the edge to unhealthy. Besides, Alberta cattle are generally free-range, healthy and happy so it doesn't make much sense to stop eating them. I don't have a problem with killing animals for consumption; I have a problem with wasting animal products, and animal cruelty. If I had a stronger stomach I might be a hunter, because I think responsible hunting is a fantastic way to get healthy, cruelty-free food.
I've romanticized the thought of just ditching and becoming a hermit, but even if I did it, that wouldn't fix any of the problems that bother me so much. Freegans are essentially doing the same thing, minus the solitude part. They have found a way to minimize their contribution to a number of problems, but they aren't fixing them either. Sure, they're reducing the amount of waste, but the waste is still being produced, and faster than Freegans can reuse it. I don't think there will ever be enough people who would chose to eat out of dumpsters to offset the amount of waste the average person/company produces.
I don't know if I would ever be happy as a freegan, even if I decided to pursue that lifestyle. The thing I want most, the thing I've wanted most for years, is to own my own property, which is a concept that freegans actively reject. But I want a house full of stuff. I want to eat strawberries in the winter, and mangoes and fish. I want to have things produced in factories, like unicycles and refrigerators. I want to teach my children how to use aerial silks and let them taste food from around the world. I couldn't have any of those things if I were truly environmentally and socially conscious.
Then I thought about the job interview I had today. It's for a company that does waste recovery for industrial companies. They recover products like oil, and help companies reduce waste production. They designed their building to be ergonomic and eco-conscious. There are windows, adjustable desks, a fitness centre. My job there would be doing a number of different things and constantly on the move, so I wouldn't be subject to the crippling boredom that plagues the majority of office employees.
Wouldn't working to support a company that recovers waste have a larger ecological impact than stealing a few sandwiches out of a dumpster? I could feel good about working for a large company, and I could have all of the things I want. I would still be a consumer, and still try to make ethical choices about what I buy, but I think it does more for the greater good to work to improve things, rather than just take advantage of a wasteful society.
I may not get the job, but wouldn't it be great if I did?
Then I looked up some resources on urban foraging, and found freegan.info and I found the concept really interesting. The general premise is that pretty much all consumer products hurt someone or something in some way. Even a mindful consumer can't help but support sweatshops, environmental destruction ect. So instead of trying to boycott the worst companies and supporting the lesser evils, freegans don't pay for anything. They dumpster dive for their food, clothes, computers... you name it. They squat and bike and if they have to own a car, they convert a diesel engine to run on biofuel that they make from used oil they get for free from restaurants. I don't necessarily agree with all of their philosophy, but as I become more aware of the practices of businesses, particularly large corporations, I become more and more disgusted with what they do and what I, as a consumer, support.
I have been mulling over the idea of boycotting products of the USA (I don't like their politics) but it's not like Canada is perfect, or even that much better. The upcoming federal election is a mess of immature, mud-slinging and lazy candidates, and most of my friends (myself included) are protest-voting for the Green party, though no one actually wants them to win.
I briefly considered the 100 mile diet, but I'm not prepared to eat nothing but wheat and beef, supplemented with garden vegetables if the summer is long enough for them to grow. I've attempted vegetarianism, but I'm already underweight and very active, and giving up animal products would probably push me over the edge to unhealthy. Besides, Alberta cattle are generally free-range, healthy and happy so it doesn't make much sense to stop eating them. I don't have a problem with killing animals for consumption; I have a problem with wasting animal products, and animal cruelty. If I had a stronger stomach I might be a hunter, because I think responsible hunting is a fantastic way to get healthy, cruelty-free food.
I've romanticized the thought of just ditching and becoming a hermit, but even if I did it, that wouldn't fix any of the problems that bother me so much. Freegans are essentially doing the same thing, minus the solitude part. They have found a way to minimize their contribution to a number of problems, but they aren't fixing them either. Sure, they're reducing the amount of waste, but the waste is still being produced, and faster than Freegans can reuse it. I don't think there will ever be enough people who would chose to eat out of dumpsters to offset the amount of waste the average person/company produces.
I don't know if I would ever be happy as a freegan, even if I decided to pursue that lifestyle. The thing I want most, the thing I've wanted most for years, is to own my own property, which is a concept that freegans actively reject. But I want a house full of stuff. I want to eat strawberries in the winter, and mangoes and fish. I want to have things produced in factories, like unicycles and refrigerators. I want to teach my children how to use aerial silks and let them taste food from around the world. I couldn't have any of those things if I were truly environmentally and socially conscious.
Then I thought about the job interview I had today. It's for a company that does waste recovery for industrial companies. They recover products like oil, and help companies reduce waste production. They designed their building to be ergonomic and eco-conscious. There are windows, adjustable desks, a fitness centre. My job there would be doing a number of different things and constantly on the move, so I wouldn't be subject to the crippling boredom that plagues the majority of office employees.
Wouldn't working to support a company that recovers waste have a larger ecological impact than stealing a few sandwiches out of a dumpster? I could feel good about working for a large company, and I could have all of the things I want. I would still be a consumer, and still try to make ethical choices about what I buy, but I think it does more for the greater good to work to improve things, rather than just take advantage of a wasteful society.
I may not get the job, but wouldn't it be great if I did?