Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism. They forage through supermarket trash and eat the slightly bruised produce or just-expired canned goods that are routinely thrown out, and negotiate gifts of surplus food from sympathetic stores and restaurants.

They dress in castoff clothes and furnish their homes with items found on the street; at freecycle.org, where users post unwanted items; and at so-called freemeets, flea markets where no money is exchanged. Some claim to hold themselves to rigorous standards. ‘If a person chooses to live an ethical lifestyle it’s not enough to be vegan, they need to absent themselves from capitalism,’ said Adam Weissman, 29, who started freegan.info four years ago and is the movement’s de facto spokesman.

Full Story: New York Times.

(via Hit and Run)