Food celebrity chef Bourdain rails against food waste at New York’s Tribeca film festival

Anthony Bourdain is not one for activism. Tattooed on his arm in Greek is “I am certain of nothing.”

But at the Tribeca Film Festival, Bourdain has, a little reluctantly, presented a documentary, Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, in which he argues passionately against the issue of food waste, from supermarkets to home cooking – even though advocacy of any kind makes him almost physically squeamish.

“Having travelled as much as I do, I constantly go into places thinking one thing only to be shown that I’m wrong and forced by circumstances and exposure to rethink whatever preconceptions I might have had,” Bourdain said in a recent interview. “Activism seems to require a level of certainly and dedication that I’m uncomfortable with. I’m a renter, not a buyer, when it comes to ideologies. I’m a sceptic. I believe very much in scepticism. I don’t ever want to look like a guy with an agenda.”

It’s not that Bourdain is apolitical. The countless meals shared on his years of TV, from No Reservations to the soon-returning Parts Unknown, are chiefly feasts – both through the food on the plate and the discussions held over them – of larger cultural conversation.

Of the traditions kept alive by immigrants. Of the glories of street food. Of the simple power of breaking bread with people from all walks of life.