Ryan Beiler: Waste Makes Taste

Sojourners magazine readers may remember an article in our special issue on food last May in which I wrote about my adventures in dumpster diving.

Since then, I've received a somewhat steady stream of media inquiries into the phenomenon, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal (I was interviewed, but an editor killed the story), a Baltimore TV station, and a national talk radio show. I declined the last few of these, since I was a bit miffed by the Post article's set-up, focusing on opposition from store managers. I don't want raised awareness to lead to problems for me and fellow divers. But when the CBC called, I said yes - since it will only be broadcast in Canada, my local spots will not be compromised. I'm reasonably happy with their report, though they interviewed us at length and didn't include any of my testimony regarding the spiritual underpinnings of eating garbage. You'll just have to read the Sojourners piece to get that. (And special thanks to my partner in crime Laryn Kragt Bakker for posting this to YouTube, so I didn't have to!)