"Bin Appetit"

A short film outlining the reasons why people become Freegans.

"Why Freegan?"

After some research I have found that the closest thing to a Freegan manifesto is the pamphlet "Why Freegan". It's written by former Against Me! drummer Warren Oakes in 1999. It is quite unclear in its definition of what constitutes freeganism. At one point, it defines freeganism as "an anti-consumeristic ethic about eating" but goes on to describe practices including dumpster diving, plate scraping, wild foraging, gardening, theft, employee scams, and barter as alternatives to paying for food. Motivations are varied and numerous; some adhere to freeganism for environmental reasons, some for religious reasons and others embrace the philosophy as a form of political consciousness. The pamphlet does include a lengthy section on non-food related practices, including solar energy, conserving water, precyclling and reusing goods. Some freegans consider these non-food practices to be components of freeganism itself; others simply consider them to be complementary practices.

Freeganism

I first became aware of 'Freegansim' from watching a really awfull dating program where one of the applicants lived a Fregan lifestyle. I became interested in the principals of this way of life, because in the last few years I've become really aware, and frustrated by the amount of food that is wasted in industry. After working in various cafes and supermarkets, I became aware of how much food has to be thrown of as a result of govenment ruling.

Freeganism is essentially an anti-consumerist lifestyle whereby people employ alternative living strategies based on "limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources".

Freegans "embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed." The lifestyle involves salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters, known as 'dumpster diving'. Freegans salvage the food for political reasons, rather than out of need.

The word "freegan" is a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan".Freeganism started in the mid 1960s, out of the antiglobalization and environmentalist movements. The movement also has elements of Diggers, an anarchist street theater group based in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco in the 1960s, that gave away rescued food.

Ice Cream Vans

An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (American) is a commercial vehicle which serves as a traveling retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near park, beaches, or other areas where people congregate. Ice cream vans often travel near where children play; outside schools, in residential areas, or in other locations. They usually stop briefly before moving on to the next street.

Ice cream vans are often brightly decorated and carry images of ice cream, or some other images, such as cartoon character. They sometimes have painted-on notices, which can serve a commercial purpose. Such as: "Stop me and buy one!" or a more serious one "Watch that child!", serving as a warning to passing motorists that children may run out into the road at the sight of the van, or appear without warning from behind it). Along the sides, a large sliding window acts as a serving hatch, and this is often covered with small pictures of the available products, with their associated prices. A distinctive feature of ice cream vans is their melodic chimes, and often these take the form of a famous and recognizable tune, usually "Turkey in the straw", "The entertainer", "Music Box Dancer" or "Camptown Races "hy7ju87ygt6pl,hgibhuygn cbxgt3h; or, in the United Kingdom, "Greensleeves", "Whistle While You Work" in Crewe and Nantwich, "You Are My Sunshine" in Vale Royal, and "Match of the Day" in other places^{[citation needed]}. In some places in the US, ice cream trucks play the song "Ice Cream" by Andre Nickatina (essentially just Turkey in the Straw with bass).

Ice cream van in Sydney, Australia.

Ice cream Van in Brisbane, Australia.

Most ice cream vans tend to sell both pre-manufactured ice lollies (American English: popsicles) in wrappers, and soft serve ice cream from a machine, served in a cone, and often with a chocolate flake (in Britain) or a sugary syrup flavoured with, for example, strawberry. Soft serve ice cream is served topped with sprinkles for a slight extra charge. Other vans tend to be run by small businesses, selling their own variety of ice cream.

In some locations, ice cream van operators have diversified to fill gaps in the market for soft drinks, using their capacity for refrigerated storage to sell chilled cans and bottles.

Early vans used relatively primitive techniques: their refrigeration was ensured by large blocks of dry ice so the motor was always turned off when the van was stopped for sales. The chimes were operated by a hand driven crank or a take-off from the motor, so they were not heard as often.

Eat Me Magazine

I  came across this publication whilst researching for my 'Breakfasts' part of this project. I think the concept is brilliant; a modern, fashionable approach to food. Food is a subject that the public seem to love, the amount of publications, cookery programs, food documentaries and competitions, such as Come Dine With Me, is astonishing. 

Eat Magazine is the first food publication designed

for and made by people who also love art, style, and culture.

Their mantra is:

"Eat Me is a new magazine for any young, sophisticated food lover who is tired of reading the turgid old food publications that occupy the shelves. This is where food meets modern sensibilities. 
Eat Me Magazine brings to the table a fine blend of dazzling recipes, incisive reviews and charming articles. Food should never be boring."

Decisions decisions decisions.....

This is an extract from Paul Arden's book Whatever you think think the opposite:

"When you look back there will be things you will regret.
You made the wrong decision.
Wrong.
You made the right decision.
Life is about decisions.

1. Am I going to have the practical car or the fast car?
2. Shall I go to college or get a job?
3. Will I have wine, beer or water?

Whatever decision you make is the only one you could make.

Otherwise you would make a different one.

Everything we do we choose.

So what is there to regret?

You are the person you choose to be."

Safeg Decisions

This is an extract from Paul Arden's book:

"Everyone wants an exciting life, but most people are afraid to take the bull by the horns. So they take an easy option for an exciting life. They live their excitement through other people. By aligning themselves with famous rebels, a little bit of glamour rubs off on them. They imagine that they're John Lennon, Ernst Hemingway, George Best, Liam Gallagher, Lenny Bruce, Janis Joplin, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, etc.

The difference being, these people when faced with a decision took the outrageous one, not knowing where it might lead them, but knowing that the safe decision had danger written all over it."

I feel illustrates my point that without sometimes taking risks and making what you might regard as the wrong decisions can be beneficial.