Hey!

My name is Chris and I'm an investigative reporter with CNN.

Today, we are going to have a look at an emerging culture and trend called -

Freeganism

What is freeganism?

Freeganism is the practice of minimal economical consumption and the recovering of the wasted goods of others.

Freegans avoid buying anything as an act of protest against the consumerist system in our society.

40%

of food in the United States

is never eaten

This amounts to

$165 billion

wasted annually

Simultaneously taking a toll on water resources and significantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions

Is it illegal?

Technically, no it isn't. When a person throws an item out, the item is in the public domain. Taking food that is thrown out is thus legal. However, if the dumpster is on private property, trespassing is an illegal offense. Moreover, some municipalities have also made freeganism illegal.

Dumpster Diving

It should be made clear that freeganism and dumpster diving are not the same thing. There are some freegans who grow their own food and simply do not buy food. On the other hand, there are dumpster divers who are not freegans and do buy food. Freeganism is the protestation of the system of consumerism.

Where?

There are freegans in every major city, but there are prominent groups in New York, Toronto, and Vancouver. In the next few slides, I will show you where and how these people find free food.

Freegans in New York

These New Yorkers organize monthly 'trash tours' so people can seek the best places for free food

Freegans in New York

This website hosts weekly Freegan events where they go about in teams of two, three, and fours to different neighbourhoods in search for food. There's actually a meeting today on July 19th.

Freegans in Toronto

Toronto freegans manage to scavenge this much fruit in one night

Freegans in Toronto

Freegans in Vancouver

Granville Island

Granville Island Market is one of the best spots in Vancouver for diving. The market closes at 7:00 PM and the businesses in the market stress freshness, which means that they throw out their food every night. The bakeries and pizza shops drop by ample quantities of fresh baked goods every night at around 7:30.