There were hundreds upon hundreds of questions and comments generated by the HuffPost Food article published on Thursday, July 28. I'm answering them in a series of entries, each addressing a different recurring question/comment. Please keep in mind that I do not (can not) represent the whole of the freegan population. I represent only myself and my own views/motivations/concerns. 

Many people ask whether I would still practice freeganism with a wife and kids, with my family. The truth is, I don't know! I get the feeling that's still somewhat far off. Nevertheless, I can say that ideally I would remain freegan and they would join me.
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I can't speculate what will happen in my romantic future (if anything), I can only say that the kind of woman I seek is the kind that shares my concerns for the poor and oppressed people of the world, for the environment, and for the ethical treatment of animals. Freeganism is a worldview I've stumbled upon that most comprehensively and adequately addresses these concerns. As such, my conscience is clean and I can sleep at night. My future wife need not be freegan yet (or ever) but hopefully she would see with time and experience that it is, in fact, a remarkable way to respond to such concerns, even if she chose not to adopt it herself, for whatever reasons.

Commenters have joked sarcastically that the women must really be lining up to be with me. They are right in assuming that women do not line up to be with a freegan, especially in a materialist and consumerist culture like the US (further amplified in the Empire City). But I don't base existential and deeply spiritual decisions on whether women will line up to be with me. There's a greater God that I aim to please and follow. When I find a woman who is also passionately following God, working towards peace and justice, living a radical generosity and discipleship without regard to what other mere humans think - if we can call commenters on the internet human - then, and only then, will I have found the kind of woman I seek.

Some of those same commenters have suggested that women have no interest in freeganism or freegans. This is simply not true. There are far more females involved with freegan.info than males and I've met many other freegan woman (including Christians) who are as passionate about these issues as I am. Some of them are married, some of them have kids; they've made freeganism an important aspect of existential and/or spiritual praxis within their family.

As for my own family: whether my children will live and eat freegan will depend on what agreements my wife and I make regarding their rearing. If we are teaching them our same values, then I see no reason why they should not also live as freegans until old enough to determine for themselves whether it is a lifestyle they wish to keep (they may have to find their own work to provide for themselves in such a case, ha!). Some may find this to be negligent or otherwise harmful. Such accusations are utter nonsense. The food that I eat is nutritious, healthy, often organic, well-cleaned-and-cooked; many fruits and veggies, soups and salads, whole grains; I hardly ever eat junk food, fast food, drink coffee or soda. Indeed, I dare say that I eat much healthier than those criticizing me and accusing me of negligence to my own body and future family. Eating food off the shelf or restaurant plate doesnot guarantee food safety or purity. Conversely, food found in garbage bags is still food. It is just as likely to make me sick as any other food I might venture to eat. Safe preparation and cooking is what guarantees health. Surely I would employ such practices as I provide for my wife and children.

I consider freeganism a mark of God's provision for me, a great blessing, and it would similarly be a blessing to any family including my own. I understand that there are some ideological complications here. Some thoughtful commenters have correctly recognized that I live off the same waste that I condemn. They see this as hypocrisy. While I appreciate these observations, they do not present a real intellectual stumbling block for me; I've long reconciled my ideology and practice. I will thus address this seeming contradiction and delve deeper into the ethical implications of freeganism in the next entry!


If you have further questions or comments on this particular issue, then I encourage you to subscribe to this blog, where I discuss freeganism, busking, volunteering - where I continually learn how and why to reject the global economic empire whose idealogical cornerstones are exploitation and greed and to submit instead to a God whose kingdom is built on peace, justice, and generosity.

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