[image by Shira Golding]

How to really, really check out of consumer culture: Become a freegan. Get all your food from dumpsters, and spend your free time — which you’ll have more of since you don’t have to work for money to buy food — concocting gourmet meals from trash.

The lifestyle’s rather hardcore for me — I’d rather just spend my food money more wisely at farmers’ markets and co-ops — but the movement’s been getting a lot of press lately. The LA Times, for example, recently covered the freegan phenomenon — though the piece focuses on New York freegans for some reason.

Surely we have some LA freegans? If you’re interested in this super-alternative lifestyle, here’s a little how-to help with lots of resources.

If dumpster diving for food’s too much, maybe you’ll dumpster dive for — electronics? For $25-$35 (sliding scale), you can be part of a Junk Yard Tour and visit 5 of of LA’s best junk yards with an expert.

Led by Ray of Apex Electronics, the Junk Yard Tour’s described as “one shopping tour you’ll never forget” where you’ll find stuff you want while preventing more crap from going into landfills.

The tour — limited to 12 participants — happens Saturday, Sept. 22 at 10 am, starting at Apex Electronics, 8909 San Fernando Rd., Sun Valley. For more info, call 818-834-7074; RSVP to cobanation@yahoo.com.

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