I was listening to Marketplace on NPR (I guess I've already outed myself as a public radio nerd)and heard an interesting commentary by a Native American journalist. She talks about the Freegan movement and how it's interesting that these people have what she calls the "luxury of choice" during their dumpster dives. She goes on to describe how dumpster-diving is part of the reality of everyday life for many Native Americans, that the dump is an integral part of the way people find the resources they need to survive. I found this interesting because although we know that many people in the world are compelled to survive on what others discard, (we’ve all read articles about how this happens in India, Africa, Latin America, etc.) it doesn’t seem to be on the radar of the media here in the States, except for as part of the very political and borderline trendy Freegan movement. I'm including the link and although you can read the transcription, I suggest that if you listen to the piece.
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/23/pember_commentary/