The word freegan has been popping up in news stories more and more often of late. What is a freegan? A freegan is an activist who scavenges for free food to reduce consumption of resources. Rather than buy food in a traditional grocery store or restaurant, a freegan consumes food that other people, stores, and organizations throw away.
But freeganism goes beyond just foraging for food in dumpsters. Freegans embrace scavenging, volunteering, and squatting over buying, working, and renting, with a primary focus of living entirely off the grid (an impossibility, however, that is the ultimate goal).
Many freegans look at their lifestyle as a way to reduce the need to be gainfully employed, and refer to employment in negative terms. They oftentimes feel that the money based economy in which we live impacts negatively on the core economy of home and family.
The word freegan is a mash-up of two words: free and vegan.
On August 9, 2014 the Lacrosse Tribune published an article by Allison Geyer about activist Rob Greenfield. This activist went a year without showering in the traditional sense from April 21, 2013 through to April 20, 2014 as his way to promote water conservation awareness. In 2012, he traveled to Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) on a one-way ticket and only took his passport, his cellphone, and the clothes on his back with him. He hitchhiked back home to raise awareness that international travel is possible without money and possessions.
In 2014, the Ashland, Wisconsin native was biking from California to New York via a homemade bamboo-frame bike with only a tent, sleeping mat, some clothing, cellphone, computer, and solar charger for his bike lights to his name. The article was entitled, “Free-Wheeling Freegan Bikes To Promote Sustainability.”
The word was used in a Gettysburg Times article by Bonnie Erbe on August 22, 2006. Please note that The Post referred to is the Washington Post newspaper.
The Post reports on one 17-year-old who was “caught (by a store employee” dumpster diving, though he is neither homeless nor destitute. He considers himself a ‘freegan‘ — a melding of the words ‘free’ and ‘vegan’ — meaning he tries not to contribute to what he sees as the exploitation of land, resources and animals wrought by commercial production.”
While the Merriam Webster Dictionary claims the word was first used in 2006, the word appeared in the Houston Press on November 25, 2004 in a news story entitled, “Free Lunch.” The article, written by Keith Plocek, told the story of Patrick Lyons who grew up near Rice University, attended Lamar High School, and who (at the time) worked at the Menil Collection.
The journalist shared the freegan belief with readers: Whenever a product is purchased, the purchaser contributes to the problem of consumerism. To get around and avoid consumerism as much as possible, a freegan must be willing to dig around dumpsters for his or her meals.
The article included this paragraph as well:
Lyons is a freegan. He doesn’t want to contribute to consumer society, so he eats for free whenever possible. Sometimes that means digging through Dumpsters behind grocery stores.
What’s more, the article stated that the local chapter of freegans had been in Houston for ten years, and that the national movement had been in existence for twenty-four years. This means that the word freegan existed as early as 1980.
No earlier published mention of freegan was found before 1980, and so Idiomation pegs this word to 1980 when the movement began.
Historically Speaking 