Boy: How many people in this audience consider themselves or know someone who is vegetarian? How about vegan? If you're unfamiliar with veganism, it's the strict form of vegetarianism in which individuals do not eat food containing any animal products, including dairy, eggs, or honey. Although some vegans choose this dietary lifestyle for health reasons, most do so for ideological reasons, ranging from a commitment to animal rights to concerns about pollution resulting from animal farming.

To many of you, this may seem like an extreme lifestyle choice. However, there are some people who take things a step beyond veganism. How many of you are familiar with the term freegan?

According to the website freegan.info, freegan is a combination of free and vegan. Freegans look for free products, from food to furniture, to minimize the impact of human consumerism on both the planet and other people. In fact, not all freegans are vegan. It is the free part that is key. Freegans oppose our consumer culture in which we buy things we don't need and throw away things that are still usable.

During this presentation, I will introduce you to the freegan lifestyle. What the freegan.info website defines as living based on limited participation in capitalism and minimal consumption of resources. I will first describe a few of the ways that freegans try to minimize their use of resources, then discuss some of the reasons why some people choose to live this way, and, finally, explore some legitimate criticisms of the freegan lifestyle.