A February 12, 2006 article by Kerry Burke in the New York Daily News describes "freegans," a subculture of garbage-eating activists who combat what many of them see as the food waste inherent in a consumer society -- by dumpster-diving. Bucking conventional wisdom, ACSH's Nutrition Director weighs in with a comment more supportive of the group's hygiene than its ideology:
"I guess you could hurt yourself falling headfirst into an empty Dumpster," said Dr. Ruth Kava of the American Council on Science and Health. "But strange as it sounds, most food that's thrown out by stores is still safe to eat if you clean it and cook it appropriately."
Not all the freegans among us share the same ideology.
"I'm not trying to make any political statement," said Ian Reese, 23, an unemployed bartender. "I'm just trying to knock a few bucks off the grocery bill."