The 'Free Press' broke the first rule about Dumpster diving: don't talk about Dumpster diving

Following our guide to going freegan, "How to eat like a king out of the trash," The Free Press covered San Diego-based activist Rob Greenfield. On Sunday, Greenfield held one of his "food fiascos" in Detroit, in which he tours the country and displays the edible food he finds in each city to show how much waste Americans make, and at the end of the display he gives the food away to the needy. This all sounds fine and dandy to us.

But as "Adam" indicated in our interview, the first rule about Dumpster diving is you don't talk about Dumpster diving.

By that, Adam means specifics: "You never actually want to talk about where you're going to get your shit because you're putting it out there for competitors, but also you're putting the Dumpster at risk of getting shut down," he told us, noting that Trader Joe's had to change their practices after a YouTube video circulated detailing the things they were throwing away. The Free Press article name-dropped specific store locations where Greenfield recently found food.

It should be noted that Greenfield's activism is in fact aimed at solving long-term food woes by encouraging companies to donate their waste to the needy — noting that the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act shields donors from liability.

But in the meantime, for the people who rely on Dumpster diving for survival, putting their food sources at risk is kind of a bummer.