Weird and freaky – what Andy and team told me this week

I don't think so

Think it is the most Christ-like lifestyle in America

Heard of these freegan people?

Live as cheaply and simply as possible

Pick through trash, dive in dumpsters

Actually did an Oprah show on it

Daniel and Amanda – most authentic Christian witness in America

Dumpster divers

He is a doctor – she is an engineer

Try to avoid buying anything – anti-consumerists

Some folks do this to protest capitalism – stupid

Oppose materialism, competition, consumerism, conformity and greed

No cars – hitchhiking, walking, biking, trainhopping

Daniel and Amanda do it because of their faith

Core values of simplicity, generosity, sharing

Don't like to spend a lot on themselves

Share a lot of their money – not get happiness from things

Contacted them to be on show – in Haiti on medical mission trip

Andy and guys said these folks are freaky and weird

Not me – I think this is the finest Christian lifestyle I can imagine in our culture

Educated, hold good jobs, and give generously

5% consume 30% of resources

We are addicted to stuff

Don't think I could do it – admire them for their commitment and self-denial

The dumpster part is the tough part

teachings of Christ

Are you a freegan? Love to hear your story

Could you do it?



MISC

While most newlyweds spend their time picking out new furniture and china, Daniel and Amanda are picking through eggshells to find salvageable food. This doctor and engineer are Nashville-area freegans.



When Lisa visits their home, Daniel and Amanda show off some of the items they have stored up. Their haul includes fruit and vegetables, frozen pizza, milk and eggs, 50 boxes of cereal, 2,000 envelopes, sheets, rugs, lotion, furniture…even workout equipment! They say they especially love cooking using cans that have lost their labels. "They're the most fun," Daniel says. "We call them 'mystery cans.'"



Daniel says he and Amanda adopted their freegan lifestyle out of frustration with our wasteful culture. "I think we're 5 percent of the population and we consume 30 percent of the world's resources. We just think that's wrong that so many people suffer," Daniel says.



Amanda says she is not worried about what other people think of them. "We'd much rather be known as people that dig in trash than people that buy needless things," she says. "You have to learn to not get your happiness from things. It's a pretty easy thing to learn once you try it."



Daniel and Amanda started their freegan lifestyle about two years after they started dating. "At first, I was really grossed out," Amanda says. Daniel says he introduced the idea to Amanda because he had some friends who did it first. When he showed Amanda the quality of what they could get in the trash, she agreed to give it a try.



What made them think it was a good idea in the first place? Daniel says freegan ideas about consumption fit into their beliefs. "We try to live very simply, and we don't spend a lot on ourselves. We are very happy with having a little," he says. "We like to make it a priority to share a lot of our money. A lot of that comes from our Christian values of sharing and generosity."



They say their scavenging can be so productive that they sometimes can't even use everything they find! When that happens, Amanda says, they either give their surplus to others or donate it to shelters or charities. "Just put it back into the system rather than into a landfill," she says. (Oprah)



Richard Foster – simplicity, generosity

Brother Lawrence – lord of pots and pans

failure of missionaries