---
title: It May Now Be Legal to Steal Food in Italy—If You're Poor and Hungry
description: 'A homeless man in Genoa had his theft conviction thrown out as a court ruled he was faced with an impossible choice: steal or die.'
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  - name: Ethan Wolff-Mann
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published: '2016-05-05T13:41:44.000Z'
modified: '2016-05-05T13:41:44.000Z'
section: Lifestyle
tags:
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word_count: 169
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![A homeless man sleeps at Bologna main railway station, Bologna, Italy, December 31, 2015.](https://img.money.com/2016/05/160504_em_homelessstealfood.jpg?crop=449px%2C625px%2C1380px%2C776px&quality=85)
*A homeless man sleeps at Bologna main railway station, Bologna, Italy, December 31, 2015.*

In wealthy cities in the 21st century, most people don't have to deal with food scarcity, but some people still do: most notably, the homeless. Sometimes avoiding hunger means doing something that's against the law—stealing, for example.

In Italy, where Vittorio Di Sica's acclaimed film *The Bicycle Thief* -- about an unemployed man's increasingly desperate attempts to provide for his family -- made waves in 1948, a court overturned a theft conviction for a Ukrainian homeless man, Roman Ostriakov, who had stolen $4.50 worth of cheese and sausages from a Genoa grocery store, [according to the BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36190557).

Ostriakov had been convicted of a 100-euro fine and half a year's prison time, but a judge recognized the impossible choice that a hungry Ostriakov faced. According to an op-ed in La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, the court noted that "right to survival prevails over property."

Another [newspaper called the ruling](http://www.italiaglobale.it/sentenza-storica-della-cassazione-rubare-per-fame-non-e-reato-2548) "historic." But despite seemingly unanimous support from the court and newspapers, it's unclear whether the ruling will have a lasting impact.

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