English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> 译通四海> 翻译服务

Freegan

[ 2009-05-27 11:18]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

Freegan

Nancy Matos

Reader Question: freegan

“So you're what, a freegan girl?”

Could you explain “freegan”? Is it popular in western countries?

My comments:

Also known as ‘”dumpster divers”, “freegans” are people who look through garbage to find their food. It sounds alarming—unsanitary and probably unhealthy—but freegans swear by this practice.

The freegan movement has been getting a lot media exposure lately, especially during the current global economic crisis. The March 2009 issue of “The Beijinger” magazine featured an article on “freeganism” along with tips on being “green” and saving money, which goes along with the freegan movement. Freegan comes from combining the two words “free” and “vegan” (a vegan is someone who eats no animal products, including milk, eggs and honey).

Contrary to what you may associate with someone who looks through dumpsters and rubbish bins for food, most freegans are not homeless and even have well-paying jobs and homes. In fact, the true meaning behind freeganism is not about saving money but more about social beliefs and corporate protest.

According to the website freegan.info, freegans are: “people who employ alternative strategies for living 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.”

Some say freeganism has been around for thousands of years. Buddhist monks are even considered to be freegans, as they traditionally only eaten foods not prepared especially for them (just like freegans eat leftovers from the garbage) to avoid the bad karma involved in the production of food.

Freegans aren’t limited to only searching for food in other people’s or businesses garbage; everything from discarded furniture to tools are retrieved by freegans. So if you ever find yourself spying that chair on the sidewalk waiting for garbage pick-up and think about taking it to your apartment, you could be considered to be a freegan too.

本文仅代表作者本人观点,与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题,尊重他人,禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

Related stories

The royal we

Dead soldier

Upper crust

Hit the jackpot

Juggle的活用

Rock bottom

Whistle-stop

Cherry-pick

Spoiler alert

 

About the author:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.

 

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn