Freegans, hero or cheapo?

[Vratenza]

2 hours ago, SGCM928 said:

Disclaimer: I don't hold anything against freegans, but if they are overly desperate in  hunting for free stuff and even work lesser, the line may be crossed.

If everyone stop spending, will the world not stop moving? Afterall, all these free stuff come for someone else pocket, and I wonder if taboo applies to these group of "free" thinker. 

Commentary: Living in Singapore doesn't have to be so expensive when you're a freegan

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/freegan-food-rescue-waste-lifestyle-cost-living-sustainability-2753251

SINGAPORE: With the cost of food and petrol increasing on a weekly basis, every conversation with friends is sure to touch on inflation. 

Sometimes I am shy to admit I have not felt it at all, because my expenses have not increased in the past five years.

Yet life has only gotten more abundant. At home, our fridge is full of fresh vegetables and fruits, sourced from food rescues where we collect “ugly” but edible produce from shopkeepers.

Our cupboards are full of canned food and condiments, gathered from cafes and restaurants that have shut down. 

We have more soap and shampoo than some provision shops stock, enough for maybe a decade of use. We have a brand new CorningWare gifted from a family after spring cleaning and a Rommelsbacher 40L oven picked up from a void deck. 

As freegans, we collect things other people no longer want, to reuse or repurpose for our own needs. We limit our participation in the conventional economy as much as we can to save the environment and our expenses.

Freeganism originated in San Francisco in the 1990s and has since spread globally. Our Facebook group Freegan In Singapore has grown to 10,000 members since I co-founded the movement in 2017.

Alongside the growing popularity of freeganism is rising concern about our carbon and waste footprint. According to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies published in 2021, three in five Singaporeans believe protecting the environment should be prioritised over economic growth.

However, making more sustainable choices is not always cheap. Vegan and fair-trade foods and clothes tend to be more expensive than their regular counterparts. So are electric cars, even with incentives and rebates.

But the freegan lifestyle marries sustainable and frugal living through its emphasis on reducing consumption. Each item you buy comes from a long supply chain that uses up resources and produces waste at every stage, even if those products are sustainably sourced. 

Take for example an audio store owner whom I recently met. He needs to keep a surplus stock of earphones to provide exchanges for customers claiming their warranty. After a few years as warranty periods lapse, the remaining stock is discarded.

That’s how I ended up receiving a hundred boxes of brand-new earphones. Multiply this by the number of businesses in Singapore, big and small, and it’s no wonder the country’s non-domestic sector generated 5.12 million tonnes of waste in 2021. 

But freegans don’t always strive to cut waste out of a passion for the environment. Some have a much more pragmatic reason – to reduce personal expenditure.

I used to spend S$2,000 a month in my pre-freegan days. Now my necessary monthly expenses have dropped to just S$350, including insurance. As I eat mainly rescued food, I’ve lowered my food costs from $500 a month to zero, not counting the occasional birthday treat at a restaurant for a loved one. I am also a lot healthier as the variety of food I eat has expanded.

I don’t remember when I last stepped into a shopping mall because I’ve been able to get items on my wishlist for free. What I spend on entertainment has plummeted because all my favourite leisure activities cost nothing: Communing with nature, visiting our island’s many parks and beaches, volunteering with social causes, and enjoying meals made from rescued food with friends.

My one luxury is travelling. Before the pandemic, I was travelling five to six times a year – much more frequently compared to the one or two yearly trips in my pre-freegan days.

This was due to having not only more disposable income but more free time. Because freegans spend less, we aren’t as pressured to earn more. Full-timers become part-timers. Dual-income households become single-income. Some choose to retire early, like I did three years ago.

Freegans believe the price of making money is too costly, because we buy money with our limited time alive. Think about it: In any kind of paid work, you are exchanging your lifetime for cash. Some squander it on impulse purchases, meaning they need to spend more lifetime to earn more money. 

I would rather spend four to five hours of my lifetime each week collecting things I need than spend 40 to 50 hours each week earning money to buy the very same things.

With that time saved, freegans can focus on activities that matter to them. This could be making art or writing, growing plants to beautify the surroundings and improve mental health, or building communities where members look out for each other. 

We rediscover the hobbies we enjoyed before a money-centric world taught us we had to monetise what we like to do or drop it. We no longer sell irreplaceable lifetime to buy replaceable material goods.

When so many things we need can be acquired for free, there is little else we absolutely need to spend money on – meaning that the cost of living in Singapore doesn’t have to be sky high. What many people find expensive could be the cost of lifestyle instead.

there is a fine line between being freegan and parasitic.....😁

Who pays the farmer who grew the produce/poultry or the factory worker who produce the headphones/oven?

This is living off at the expense of others...definition of parasite.

[Fitvip]

My thought is if one is to save the excess food/objects that are going to be discarded and distribute them to those in need, it is a noble act. But I cannot say the same for those who live on such things.

[Benarsenal]

24 minutes ago, Vratenza said:

there is a fine line between being freegan and parasitic.....😁

Who pays the farmer who grew the produce/poultry or the factory worker who produce the headphones/oven?

This is living off at the expense of others...definition of parasite.

They never steal what. These are things that were going to be thrown away anyway.

I don't like our modern society's obsession with spending money. IMO if we can wean ourselves off this addiction to money we might be a better society overall.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Benarsenal

[Throttle2]

Ok lah.  Some others get paid for doing nothing. Or even better wear many hats, hold many positions, paid many folds.  Champion….😂😁😄

[Fitvip]

14 minutes ago, Throttle2 said:

Ok lah.  Some others get paid for doing nothing. Or even better wear many hats, hold many positions, paid many folds.  Champion….😂😁😄

Hahaha, holding 68 directorships?🤐🤐

[Confusedboi]

29 minutes ago, Benarsenal said:

They never steal what. These are things that were going to be thrown away anyway.

I don't like our modern society's obsession with spending money. IMO if we can wean ourselves off this addiction to money we might be a better society overall.

That is true, Singapore is becoming too materialistic a society  just like many other Asian cities  like HK, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Confusedboi

[Fitvip]

3 hours ago, SGCM928 said:

Disclaimer: I don't hold anything against freegans, but if they are overly desperate in  hunting for free stuff and even work lesser, the line may be crossed.

If everyone stop spending, will the world not stop moving? Afterall, all these free stuff come for someone else pocket, and I wonder if taboo applies to these group of "free" thinker. 

Commentary: Living in Singapore doesn't have to be so expensive when you're a freegan

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/freegan-food-rescue-waste-lifestyle-cost-living-sustainability-2753251

SINGAPORE: With the cost of food and petrol increasing on a weekly basis, every conversation with friends is sure to touch on inflation. 

Sometimes I am shy to admit I have not felt it at all, because my expenses have not increased in the past five years.

Yet life has only gotten more abundant. At home, our fridge is full of fresh vegetables and fruits, sourced from food rescues where we collect “ugly” but edible produce from shopkeepers.

Our cupboards are full of canned food and condiments, gathered from cafes and restaurants that have shut down. 

We have more soap and shampoo than some provision shops stock, enough for maybe a decade of use. We have a brand new CorningWare gifted from a family after spring cleaning and a Rommelsbacher 40L oven picked up from a void deck. 

As freegans, we collect things other people no longer want, to reuse or repurpose for our own needs. We limit our participation in the conventional economy as much as we can to save the environment and our expenses.

Freeganism originated in San Francisco in the 1990s and has since spread globally. Our Facebook group Freegan In Singapore has grown to 10,000 members since I co-founded the movement in 2017.

Alongside the growing popularity of freeganism is rising concern about our carbon and waste footprint. According to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies published in 2021, three in five Singaporeans believe protecting the environment should be prioritised over economic growth.

However, making more sustainable choices is not always cheap. Vegan and fair-trade foods and clothes tend to be more expensive than their regular counterparts. So are electric cars, even with incentives and rebates.

But the freegan lifestyle marries sustainable and frugal living through its emphasis on reducing consumption. Each item you buy comes from a long supply chain that uses up resources and produces waste at every stage, even if those products are sustainably sourced. 

Take for example an audio store owner whom I recently met. He needs to keep a surplus stock of earphones to provide exchanges for customers claiming their warranty. After a few years as warranty periods lapse, the remaining stock is discarded.

That’s how I ended up receiving a hundred boxes of brand-new earphones. Multiply this by the number of businesses in Singapore, big and small, and it’s no wonder the country’s non-domestic sector generated 5.12 million tonnes of waste in 2021. 

But freegans don’t always strive to cut waste out of a passion for the environment. Some have a much more pragmatic reason – to reduce personal expenditure.

I used to spend S$2,000 a month in my pre-freegan days. Now my necessary monthly expenses have dropped to just S$350, including insurance. As I eat mainly rescued food, I’ve lowered my food costs from $500 a month to zero, not counting the occasional birthday treat at a restaurant for a loved one. I am also a lot healthier as the variety of food I eat has expanded.

I don’t remember when I last stepped into a shopping mall because I’ve been able to get items on my wishlist for free. What I spend on entertainment has plummeted because all my favourite leisure activities cost nothing: Communing with nature, visiting our island’s many parks and beaches, volunteering with social causes, and enjoying meals made from rescued food with friends.

My one luxury is travelling. Before the pandemic, I was travelling five to six times a year – much more frequently compared to the one or two yearly trips in my pre-freegan days.

This was due to having not only more disposable income but more free time. Because freegans spend less, we aren’t as pressured to earn more. Full-timers become part-timers. Dual-income households become single-income. Some choose to retire early, like I did three years ago.

Freegans believe the price of making money is too costly, because we buy money with our limited time alive. Think about it: In any kind of paid work, you are exchanging your lifetime for cash. Some squander it on impulse purchases, meaning they need to spend more lifetime to earn more money. 

I would rather spend four to five hours of my lifetime each week collecting things I need than spend 40 to 50 hours each week earning money to buy the very same things.

With that time saved, freegans can focus on activities that matter to them. This could be making art or writing, growing plants to beautify the surroundings and improve mental health, or building communities where members look out for each other. 

We rediscover the hobbies we enjoyed before a money-centric world taught us we had to monetise what we like to do or drop it. We no longer sell irreplaceable lifetime to buy replaceable material goods.

When so many things we need can be acquired for free, there is little else we absolutely need to spend money on – meaning that the cost of living in Singapore doesn’t have to be sky high. What many people find expensive could be the cost of lifestyle instead.

Hero? No way la. Cheapo, oh, they are not. They are free after all.😁😁

[Ender]

1 hour ago, Vratenza said:

there is a fine line between being freegan and parasitic.....😁

Who pays the farmer who grew the produce/poultry or the factory worker who produce the headphones/oven?

This is living off at the expense of others...definition of parasite.

It's not on someone else expense if the food or items are going to be discarded. It's extended the life usage for the items.

[Raychay]

some like free gans, some only go for paid ones 🏩

Different strokes for different folks.

[Vratenza]

36 minutes ago, Benarsenal said:

They never steal what. These are things that were going to be thrown away anyway.

I don't like our modern society's obsession with spending money. IMO if we can wean ourselves off this addiction to money we might be a better society overall.

just my opinion. If these so called  "freegans" collect those thrown away food to be redistributed to those in the society who need them more (eg. those who really cannot fend for themselves even if them wanted to) or collect used items to be resold for cash to put back towards the less fortunate in the society, then yes, I support what these people are doing.

But when one has the physical and mental capacity to work for their food and living and yet chose to work less or do not work at all just because they are able to parasite off the unwanted food/stuff hiding behind the pseudo-name of "reduce wastage", that is taking advantage of other people's hard work further down the chain.

Work (paid) contribute to the society for sustenance, growth and innovation.

As an extreme example: imagine the world today if Bill Gates/ Steve jobs/ Jack Ma/ Benjamin Franklin/ Henry Ford became Freegans straight out of school?

[Vratenza]

8 minutes ago, Ender said:

It's not on someone else expense if the food or items are going to be discarded. It's extended the life usage for the items.

we have to see it from the point of view of circular economy..... let's put to you an example:

A Freegan managed to cut all his living expenses from $2000/mth to $250/mth.

For sake of simplicity, this Freegan works as an hourly rated worker/gig economy worker.

To achieve $2000/mth income to sustain his living expenses, he used to have to put in 52hrs/week of work.

Now, after starting Freeganism, he spend most of his time scourging for "waste" while putting in only 5 hrs/week of work to earn that $250/mth.

That means someone else have to be working that 47hr/mth to "cover-up" that reduction in work by the Freegan.

So, unless we can all go back to Kampung days, accept the regression of the society, accept the lower standard of healthcare and living standard that all of us have achieved over the generations as a society, I still standby my term for them as parasite.

[Jamesc]

I support them.

If they need a MIL

I have one for free.

Free delivery too!

[Jamesc]

I don't think people understand the world's resources are finite.

Meaning when the oil runs out there is no more.

No more oil means no more petrol, no more plastics, no more nylon based clothing.

That's just oil. Add metals, iron, copper etc

So all this arguments that people only work 10 hours instead of 50 means what?

They have less money means they buy less cars, use less petrol, iron, copper etc etc

Isn't that a good thing?

To me that's the best thing.

[Benarsenal]

24 minutes ago, Vratenza said:

just my opinion. If these so called  "freegans" collect those thrown away food to be redistributed to those in the society who need them more (eg. those who really cannot fend for themselves even if them wanted to) or collect used items to be resold for cash to put back towards the less fortunate in the society, then yes, I support what these people are doing.

But when one has the physical and mental capacity to work for their food and living and yet chose to work less or do not work at all just because they are able to parasite off the unwanted food/stuff hiding behind the pseudo-name of "reduce wastage", that is taking advantage of other people's hard work further down the chain.

Work (paid) contribute to the society for sustenance, growth and innovation.

As an extreme example: imagine the world today if Bill Gates/ Steve jobs/ Jack Ma/ Benjamin Franklin/ Henry Ford became Freegans straight out of school?

It doesn't say these people don't work. Work doesn't have to be for monetary gain. You can work and be productive and your product/service be given to those who need it, in return you receive something that can sustain your own life if that's what you desire. The ideal situation is a fair exchange, not one-sided take without giving.

The likes of Gates/Jobs/Ma are a double-edged sword IMO. Yes they have brought about modern innovations but let's not pretend they are completely good for our society. Their capitalist corporate greed have brought about many problems in society too.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Benarsenal

[PSP415]

Those excess food will still go to waste anyways. 

Yes, paid for, to go to waste too. 

This group willing to eat discarded or rejected or excess food, is actually doing a service. 

His personal view that MONEY is just an exchange for one's precious and unreturnable time/life for material comfort, luxuries etc that the world is so focused on, is not new. 

He chose to live his life fully, by feeding on food that ppl throw out, using things that ppl discard, and he's happy liao. 

Hero yes, he's not wasting the food that's thrown out. Fully paid and on their way to the dumps, garbage whatever. 

Parasite, yes too, he's doing what parasites do, feed on anything. Except that while parasites will even eat food gone bad, he does not dive that deep. He reminds me of the good germs and good cholesterol, for want of a fine line. So, good parasites. 😂

Yada-ing 

Stay safe all 

Cheers 

Edited June 18, 2022 by PSP415

[Ender]

27 minutes ago, Vratenza said:

we have to see it from the point of view of circular economy..... let's put to you an example:

A Freegan managed to cut all his living expenses from $2000/mth to $250/mth.

For sake of simplicity, this Freegan works as an hourly rated worker/gig economy worker.

To achieve $2000/mth income to sustain his living expenses, he used to have to put in 52hrs/week of work.

Now, after starting Freeganism, he spend most of his time scourging for "waste" while putting in only 5 hrs/week of work to earn that $250/mth.

That means someone else have to be working that 47hr/mth to "cover-up" that reduction in work by the Freegan.

So, unless we can all go back to Kampung days, accept the regression of the society, accept the lower standard of healthcare and living standard that all of us have achieved over the generations as a society, I still standby my term for them as parasite.

Too complex for me to understand.

If someone who needs to do extra 47 hours, I am sure there's no lack of people with his lifestyle choice to do the extra work to earn the money. Too many unemployed PMET here liao. I am sure we have enough  people to accommodate people with different lifestyles choices.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Ender

[Vratenza]

27 minutes ago, Benarsenal said:

It doesn't say these people don't work. Work doesn't have to be for monetary gain. You can work and be productive and your product/service be given to those who need it, in return you receive something that can sustain your own life if that's what you desire. The ideal situation is a fair exchange, not one-sided take without giving.

The likes of Gates/Jobs/Ma are a double-edged sword IMO. Yes they have brought about modern innovations but let's not pretend they are completely good for our society. Their capitalist corporate greed have brought about many problems in society too.

That exchange is barter trading? Regression to pre-currency days?

with reference to these people, that's why I mention are extreme examples and do note that I did not state whether I feel their contribution is all good for the society, just very vastly different. With hindsight, their non-Freeganism has palpable effect on the society.

[Vratenza]

16 minutes ago, Ender said:

Too complex for me to understand.

If someone who needs to do extra 47 hours, I am sure there's no lack of people with his lifestyle choice to do the extra work to earn the money. Too many unemployed PMET here liao. I am sure we have enough  people to accommodate people with different lifestyles choices.

in summary, what i am saying is someone else has to pick up the slack. the society is not run by a single person and there will be chain effect down the line.