On their quest to make the topic of food waste sexy, Anthony Bourdain and Danny Bowien talked about their new film, "Wasted! The Story of Food Waste," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this past spring, as part of The NY Times' "Times Talk" series.
The chefs explained how before food even reaches your home, there's so much waste that has already occurred.
"Go to any major chain supermarket and think about that tower of perfectly stacked, impeccable oranges or tomatoes, and understand that the supermarket by design has already figured and costed out the fact, the immutable fact, that they will throw 30 percent in the garbage just so it will look cool," said Bourdain. "This is horrifying."
Bourdain hit back at critics who said chefs should steer clear of political discourse and policy.
"Fuck that. Fuck that. There is nothing, look, is there anything on this planet more political than food?" Bourdain said. "No there is not."
As for how to reduce food waste at home, Bourdain called on the power of shame and making bruised fruit and vegetables trendy.
"That's going to be the big thing," said Bourdain. "Everyone's going to go to Whole Foods and say 'these tomatoes aren't bruised enough, they're all symmetrical.'"
The film explores the food waste crisis and offers solutions from chefs like Dan Barber and appearances from others, such as Mario Batali and Massimo Bottura.
Watch the conversation here:
