Freeganism: Why do people eat expired foods
Thousands of people around the world refuse to shop in supermarkets — instead, they look at garbage cans and dumps in the backyards of stores in search of discarded, but still edible products. This phenomenon has a name - Friganism: its followers strive for the most conscious consumption. We decided to find out why more and more people want to eat expired and discarded food - and whether it can be done without harm to health.
Text: Alisa Zagryadskaya
Hunting and gathering in the city
In a broad sense, Friganism is not a habit to eat expired products, but a lifestyle and ideology: freegans strive for maximum savings of resources and have a negative attitude towards overproduction. It is believed that the word "freegan" in 1995 was introduced into use by Keith McHenry, the leader of the anarchist non-profit group Food Not Bombs - it spreads vegetarian food among the homeless and protests against militarism. Later, a former member of the group Against Me! Contributed to the popularization of the term. Warren Oaks, who wrote the manifesto "Why am I freegan?". In the manifesto, which he anonymously published in Zine, Oaks calls freeganism "anti-consumist ethic of nutrition."
According to the freegans, humanity relates to the environment consumer and predatory, and corporations, which in such a situation have a huge influence, care only about profits. As a result, an endless stream of overproduction arises: the economy devours resources, turns them into goods, and throws away unsold surplus, believing that it is easier to throw away than to sell. Freeganism is closely related to vegetarianism and veganism, the term itself is derived from the combination of the words "free" and "vegan" (i.e., "free" and "vegan"). Freegans who still eat meat are called "megans" or "migans" (from the combination of the words "meat" - "meat" - and "vegan").
In 2003, a freegan organization appeared in the United States, coordinated on the freegan.info website - it is perhaps one of the most famous in the world. They organize various events, such as free-markets, expeditions for dustbins and free dinners, and also organize master classes (for example, on bicycle repair). Of course, the Freegans are not limited to the New York organization: there are corresponding groups in many other countries - in France, Singapore or Australia. At the same time, it’s impossible to say that food in dumps is sought only because of the ideological position: for many people in Russia and in other countries, this is common practice, and not everyone who does this is associated with some kind of movement. .
Some freegans believe that you need to give up work or reduce the time spent on it, so as not to become part of the system that exploits resources
The search for products in garbage cans (both those belonging to private houses and those located near shops) is called dumpsters diving - literally “diving into a garbage can”. A grocery hike at certain points at a certain time where food can be thrown away is called a raid - they can be both single and collective. In addition, many freegans are looking for other ways to break out of the business cycle: they pick berries, mushrooms, and medicinal plants, as well as grow vegetables and fruits themselves. Freegan practices include exchange and donation - such ways to get the right things also make it possible to go beyond the limits of money turnover. In New York, the freegan.info group periodically distributes free products and items collected during raids and organizes swaps. So if you ever had a party with the exchange of unwanted clothes, you could say that you acted according to the principles of freeganism.
Squatting is also related to this ideology. Empty buildings are considered to be "waste" of the economy, as well as unnecessary products, which means that they can be disposed of at their discretion. Some freegans believe that you need to give up work or reduce the time that is spent on it, so as not to become part of the system that exploits resources. They say that the main goal of the work for many people is the accumulation of material values, and the time saved can, according to freegans, be spent on political actions and socially useful actions - for example, helping relatives or volunteering. Many of them work irregularly or choose socially important professions.
Of course, freegans do not always follow all these principles, much depends on the circumstances and ideology of a particular person or group. It is worth remembering that Warren Oaks in his manifesto as one of the ways to get food without resorting to money, mentioned shoplifting as well - the most radical followers of anarchist freeganism do this, but this is, of course, illegal.
Freegans in Russia and in the world
Asya Senicheva coordinates food activism projects in the St. Petersburg community of "Trava" - they include catering from the "saved" products, conferences and lectures about food. “I was fascinated by food activism, watching the Austrian film“ Wastecooking ”about who and why throwing out food and how it can be saved,” she says. “With a team of like-minded people, we started to cook from food products at events and organize lectures on food, ecology and society. And then I watched another film - “Just eat it.” It tells the story of a couple from Canada who decides to eat six months only for those products that someone threw out. My friend and I decided to repeat this experiment, but not in for six months, and during the week We took unwanted food from friends, took yesterday's bread from bakeries, went to the garbage dumps next to supermarkets. "
According to Asi, the most shocking for her was how much edible food can be found in the garbage dumps: “You go and you happily think that you’ll save food now, but you pack yourself a bag of fruit, vegetables, milk, cereals, cottage cheese, and there are still ten packages of twenty kilograms each with such content. "
Senicheva talks about various Russian projects built on the principles of freeganism. There is a foodsharing group where you can share food, the Food Without Borders projects, which activists collect food from vegetable warehouses and cook free lunches, Zamori Worm (promote dishes from insects, an alternative source of protein), “They Eat Like” - the markets of the day off of the day, the organizers of which are responsible for the topic of waste, try to separate the garbage and not to throw out food. In Moscow, there are projects "Change Food Waste" (on the Danilovsky market, cooks were prepared from food left over from vendors) and "Volunteers" (neighbors prepare food for people in need).
Sometimes there is no “catch” at all, but sometimes it turns out to be truly royal - whole boxes are taken out from the backs of supermarkets.
To provide themselves and their families with the right amount of food, freegans regularly go to raids, inspecting the garbage cans of their area. Sometimes there is no “catch” at all, but sometimes it turns out to be truly royal - entire boxes are carried out from the backs of supermarkets. Someone friganit with friends and family, someone is looking for like-minded people in social networks: they agree on joint raids on frigansk resources, share frigi photos, offer fushering and discuss theoretical issues. “There are huge bags with loaves and bread near the tank”, “Today’s frigo made up about 10 kg of green cilantro, 7 pieces of pomegranates and 2 bell peppers” - this is what they found. Some do it because they are against capitalism, others are guided by more practical interests - on thematic resources you can find messages like: "Well, it turns out I have been freegan for many years! I did not know this word."
One of the frequent questions of freegans is how you manage to overcome disgust. Some of them answer that at first it was disgusting, but then the habit formed. Others share life hacking, for example, it is advised to wear gloves and special clothing. Briton Sam says that he spent his time in Edinburgh, where he was a medical student: “On the one hand, we did it because of poverty, on the other, because we wanted to cast doubt on social norms. Both are common. for students". He says that there was competition between the local frigans, so it was necessary to have time when looking into the tanks. “We took a flashlight, rubber gloves, dressed warmly, we knew in which supermarkets they threw out better products,” he says.
One of the most burning questions in the Freegan groups is whether it is possible to disclose the addresses of the "fish spots". Some believe that it is possible and necessary, because the essence of Friganism is to share. Others hide the address, fearing that due to the influx of new visitors, the dustbin will become unsuitable for "diving": it happens that, having seen an influx of people, the owners block access to the container or, as was the case with a Moscow cafe, they begin to open the plastic packaging before how to throw products in the tank. Freegans often advise what time is best for raids at specific points (it should depend on the hour when products are thrown out, and differs in different stores), and they discuss the specifics of different networks: some throw products in the trash, others don’t, others have tanks. locks.
Many dumpsters divers negotiate with store employees — for example, they ask them to carefully stack expired goods near the container, rather than throwing them to the bottom of the tank.
The human factor plays an important role in freeganing and successes in finding food. Many dumpsters divers agree with store employees — for example, ask them to carefully stack expired goods near the container, rather than throwing them at the bottom of the tank, or persuade them to report the exact time when products are thrown out. In some cases, it is not possible to agree and the store employees react negatively to freegans. “Some stores locked tanks for the night or covered products with dye specifically to prevent us, others went forward, leaving the gate and containers open,” Sam says. “Success depended on the day of the week: there was a lot of unsold food left on Friday , so as not to lose to other hungry hippies. Sometimes we only got a few fruits and vegetables, but on other evenings we had fine wine, brie cheese, cakes - if we hadn’t taken them, all of this would have gone to the dump. "
“We had very little contact with store workers. Usually they came to the garbage bin late at night when food was already in the tanks,” Asya Senicheva recalls. “But sometimes they came up to the owners of small fruit shops on the streets and asked if there was any food left in them Everybody said no, but at the same time they bashfully looked away. Obviously, absolutely everybody who trades in it throws out food, but nobody wants to admit it, it’s considered bad for reputation, and everyone’s afraid that from their store they will be poisoned. Moreover, if all Access the talking about it, it would be easier to keep statistics, to study the problem and deal with it. "
Legislation and Health
France became the first country that, at the legislative level, began to deal with huge food production wastes: in 2016, supermarkets in the country were banned from throwing out and destroying unsold food and were obliged to transfer it to charitable organizations instead. The law also prohibits spoiling products thrown into garbage cans (some French supermarkets used to pour acid on them).
In America and other Western countries, about 40% of food and ready-made meals get into the trash - so French laws seem no wonder. Attempts to rectify the situation exist, but so far rather at the level of individual initiatives: for example, in Denmark, a supermarket of expired products opened in 2016, where goods are released by 30-50% cheaper than the standard price level.
Sam says that at the time when he was engaged in friganism, in the UK there were big problems with the disposal of products. “However, since then, progress has been made in this area - a lot of“ extra ”food is donated to charitable organizations, and some supermarkets distribute products with an expired shelf life, as is usually done in Scandinavian countries,” he says.
There is no exact data on how Russian retail chains handle products whose shelf life is coming to an end: a lot depends on the policies of each store. But judging by the stories of the freegans, most often they throw away food products whose expiration date has passed or will soon come to an end. In addition, it is often in the trash endure ready-made portions of food. In the photos that freegans share, whole boxes of slightly darkened bananas, stacks of yogurt, boxes of baked goods, cheeses and sliced ham, desserts and cakes. One way or another, practically all types of food products that can be found in supermarkets, including those that are considered delicacies, end up in tanks. At the same time, friganism is not such a dirty business as it may seem: many warehouses and shops emit defective products in whole packages, sometimes even in food film. However, some store workers spoil the products and pierce the packaging specifically so that someone does not profit from its contents. According to an anonymous employee of a Russian supermarket, an order was received in their store to fill in expired products with chlorine-based reagents.
Food safety researchers advise to be more careful with expired foods, especially if they are given to children or people with various diseases.
On the question of whether food can be expired, many are treated differently: some fear them as fire, others consider dates to be a formality. In Russian practice, the concepts of shelf life and shelf life are distinguished. According to GOST, the storage period is the period during which the products meet the stated characteristics. After its completion, the taste, color or texture of food may change (in other words, it will no longer look like on the packaging or in advertising) - but this does not mean that such a product can not be eaten or that it is dangerous to health. But the expiration date, according to the same GOST, indicates the time after the expiration of which the product is considered unsafe.
However, whether food with an expired shelf life will be harmful to health? Products, depending on the expiration date, are divided into three types: especially perishable (for example, cakes and pastries or seasoned salads), perishable (for example, cheeses without vacuum packaging and boiled sausages) and non-perishable. The latter can be stored at room temperature for more than a month - these include, for example, pasta and cereals. Of course, there are also products that have practically no shelf life - they can be safely eaten without fear of health consequences, provided that there are no sudden changes in temperature and humidity does not increase - these include, for example, white rice, salt and sugar. But it is important to understand that the actual suitability of the product for food depends on a number of factors - storage conditions (including the state of the refrigerator), the characteristics of the package, as well as the organism of a particular person - and sometimes can even be shorter than the numbers indicated on the package. Food safety researchers advise to be more careful with expired foods, especially if they are given to children or people with various diseases. Of course, you can get poisoned with food with a “normal” shelf life, but for “officially overdue” the risk is much higher.
Many freegans consciously take risks and take responsibility for their health. "I learned that expiration dates are a convention, and even the most unsightly-looking food can be tasty if it is cooked correctly," Asya Senicheva said. "Before, I could pour out milk if it was overdue for one day and throw bananas if they were blackened outside. Now I try to trust my smell and taste more than the inscriptions on the packages. "
It is important to understand that the actual suitability of the product for food depends on a number of factors - storage conditions, packaging features, as well as the organism of a particular person.
Many freegans do the same, bringing the products to the expired "to mind": cut rotten places from broken fruit, make cottage cheese from doubtful dairy products and bread crumbs. Dumpster divers say that in any case they are guided by common sense and first sniff and try the food: the unpleasant taste and smell of the product certainly means that it is spoiled. It is better not to forget that there are bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, which do not affect the smell - and they are easy to miss. In addition, there is botulism - a serious and potentially fatal disease, which arises from the fact that a person eats products (most often canned) that have not undergone proper treatment, because of which bacteria develop in them.
"Сроки годности не были для нас проблемой - фраза „употребить до“ на британских продуктах - это чаще всего рекомендация. У всех нас есть обоняние и вкус, которые помогут определить, подходит ли что-то в пищу, - считает Сэм. - Какие-то продукты мы выбрасывали, как только приносили их домой, что-то открывали, и оно выглядело так же, как на полке в магазине".
Трудно отрицать, что сегодняшняя экономика и маркетинг сильно влияют на восприятие людей, побуждая покупать больше и делая цикл жизни товаров короче. Stores reject "ugly" fruits and vegetables that are not inferior to the taste and benefit of more symmetrical and even brethren, and the buyer is more likely to take a product with a full label from the shelf than with a slightly torn one, although after returning home after half an hour . The overproduction system has obvious flaws. Whether it is possible to overcome them by fishing for expired products from the tanks is a question. But to think about overconsumption is worth it anyway.
Photo: chonticha - stock.adobe.com, Alpar - stock.adobe.com, kelifamily - stock.adobe.com
