For Food's Sake

Restaurants around the world are taking action against Climate Change by going carbon neutral. A new generation of chefs – the modern-day ambassadors of the food movement – have a vision: radically transform the restaurant industry by turning sustainability into a culinary virtue. By sourcing differently, cooking creatively, and eliminating the by-products of their restaurant operations, carbon neutral restaurants are pioneering the sustainable dining movement. In this episode, we talk with ZeroFoodprint and two critically-acclaimed restaurants Amass and The Perennial leading the carbon neutral restaurant movement. We discuss: What it means and what it takes for a restaurant to go carbon neutral How The Perennial supports Carbon Farming to combat climate change How Amass Restaurant is eliminating its waste by turning food scraps into culinary gold How carbon neutrality affects your dining experience and what you’ll find on a carbon neutral menu How carbon neutrality can find ways to scale and conquer the

Farm subsidies are central to agricultural policy. But do farmers need them? In this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of the EU Common Agricultural Policy with Dr. Alan Matthews, Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy at Trinity College, Dublin. We discuss: The origins of the EU Common Agricultural Policy Hectare-based subsidies: how larger farms receive larger subsidies Subsidies: a barrier or incentive for sustainable farming? Agricultural lobbying in the EU A silver lining of Brexit A way forward for farming in Europe Links: Follow Dr. Alan Matthews on Twitter EU CAP Reform Website Harriet Bradley: ‘CAP 2020: A poor vintage?’ You may also like: FFS 026 – We Need To Talk About Monsanto FFS 023 – COP 23: Is Meat Finally On The Table? FFS 002 – The Carbon Food Tax

Is chocolate going ‘extinct’? Are we heading towards a ‘world without chocolate’? In this episode, we explore what lies behind these recent media headlines that suggest chocolate may not survive climate change. To find answers, we deep dive into the world of chocolate with Simran Sethi. Simran Sethi is a journalist focused on food, sustainability and social change. She is the best-selling author of Bread, Wine and Chocolate: The Slow Loss of the Foods We Love, a fellow at the Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First) and the creator and host of The Slow Melt: an award-winning podcast about chocolate. We discuss: What chocolate actually is: how its grown and processed, and by who Chocolate in the spotlight: going "extinct", or not quite? Costly northern appetites: mass deforestation and biodiversity loss A real and present threat: farmer livelihoods, low prices and the cruel irony of oversupply Consumer consciousness: how we can take positive action Links: Simran Sethi Website, Twitter, Inst

Over the past decade, Monsanto has become a pop cultural bogeyman. Surrounded by controversy, cover-ups, and conspiracies, the agricultural giant is for many the face of corporate evil. At the same time, the company continues to deliver commercial success. Reporting record sales, the world’s largest seed company shows no signs of slowing down. In this episode, we talk with Carey Gillam, veteran investigative journalist and author of Whitewash: The story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science.  A former senior correspondent for Reuters, Carey has spent over 20 years covering the agricultural industry and big food business. Today, she continues her work as the research director for consumer advocacy group US Right to Know. We discuss: The origins: how Monsanto came to be the agricultural giant it is today Monsanto’s lucrative business model: patented GMO-seeds & ‘Round-up’ weed-killer Monsanto, farmers and the Green Revolution The GMO controversy The rise, dominance (and eventual fall?) of

This week, we talk with Natalie Pukasemvarangkoon about the Paleo diet. Natalie has experimented with pretty much every diet in the book. She’s been a carnivore, a pescatarian, a vegetarian, and a vegan for a solid 3 years. She’s tried the 80/10/10 diet, raw till four, the HCLF diet, and yes, the Paleo diet. Natalie is the founder of the Paleo Collective - an umbrella for the Paleo lifestyle: providing Paleo-friendly caterings, personal chef services, they host pop-up dinners and provide corporate talks and demos to educate people on the diet and lifestyle. They also run a blog with recipes and health tips related to the Paleo diet. In this episode, we discuss what the Paleo diet is, and why its Natalie’s diet of choice. We explore: How to pronounce Paleo – the little things matter! How to eat Paleo: why eating grains and beans are a big no-no, why gluten is sin, and how choosing quality meat is essential What the gut microbiome is, how gluten can affect the gut, and how it influences our health and mood The

In the Age of People, the plow was, and remains, one of the most destructive inventions. In his new book Growing A Revolution, award-winning author David R. Montgomery calls on farmers to ditch the plow, bring back cover crops, and grow for diversity. Such an agricultural revolution puts soil health at the center of farming. It transforms agriculture from a destructive practice that is very much part of the problem to a major solution that combats climate change. In this episode, we talk to David and discuss: What soil is, and why farming depends above all on healthy soils What conservation agriculture is and why it works better, including: why tilling your land is not a good idea why an overdependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides turns plants into ‘botanical couch potatoes’ Why monocrops are vulnerable to pests, disease, and climate change How labels such as organic or conventional are missing the point How farming can shift from a carbon-emitting activity to a carbon-storing activity What obst

As the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) comes to a close in Bonn, Switzerland, where do we stand on our climate commitments? What issues are on the table, and which have been swept under the rug? How are we tackling what many consider to be one of the biggest elephants in the room – the role of livestock and global overconsumption of meat and dairy products? In this episode, we welcome back Mark Pershin on the podcast, founder and CEO of Less Meat Less Heat, an organization committed to shifting societal attitudes towards meat consumption to curtail agriculture’s damaging impact on the environment.   Mark and I discuss: Why so little progress has been made in reaching agreements on agriculture and food in UN Climate Change Conferences How a coalition is forming that aims to put the overconsumption of meat on the negotiating table and the role of livestock in climate change front and centre of policy debates Why grassroots movements and individual actions remain vital in the fight against climate change

This year for Thanksgiving, Americans will consume 46 million turkeys. Factory farming has never been more 'efficient'. This same year, the US has consumed 9 billion chickens. Worldwide, we managed to eat 50 billion. How does this system function? What makes it so effective and profitable? It all comes down to one word: genetics. Since the 1950s, heritage breeds of poultry, or standard-bred poultry, have been gradually replaced by an army of uniform hybrid birds. Bred to grow as large as possible and as quickly as possible, hybrids are exceptionally profitable for Big Agriculture, and have come to dominate the global poultry industry. In this episode, I talk with Andrew DeCoriolis from Farm Forward and Frank R. Reese Jr., owner of the Good Shepherd Poultry Farm, about the need to preserve heritage breeds. We explore: How animal welfare, the livelihoods of farmers and the environment are best protected when the genetic diversity of these birds is preserved. How free-range, pasture-raised and organic meat mov

In this episode, I talk about my beef with Veganism. I explain why, after a 30-day vegan challenge, I remain a sceptical vegetarian. I talk about: How Vegan-endorsed health hypes and food fads create their own ethical dilemmas which vegans need to confront How the ‘Go Vegan, save the planet’ discourse is unhelpful for the movement, and factually questionable. How Veganism needs to move away from a self-understanding as the movement, and instead embrace its place as a movement among many (imperfect) dietary movements that support a move away from factory farming and industrial food production Links: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (2013) ‘Tackling climate change through livestock’  Springman, A., Godfray, C.J., Rayner, M., Scarborough, P. (2016) ‘Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change’ Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences Vol. 113, No. 15  Blythman, J. (2016) ‘Can hipsters stomach the unpalatable truth about avocado toast?’ The Guardian (Opinion

Like the combustion engine, the telephone, and the Internet before it, blockchain has the potential to transform how human society functions. What would such a transformation look like in the food industry? In this episode, we talk with Blockchain theorist Melanie Swan about what is possible. We explore: What 'Blockchain' is How Blockchain is transforming Big Food businesses redefining operational efficiency and the transparency of supply chains How Blockchain can empower consumers Farm-to-fork transparency: instant verification of where your food comes from Holding Big Food accountable through real-time financial interest tracking of the businesses supplying your food Ensuring end-user data ownership How Blockchain optimises the sharing economy Community coins: local currencies enabling a peer-based local economy for sharing resources ‘The Uber for microgreens’: real-time on-demand peer sharing of overproduced local products with your neighbours How Blockchain can help in the fight against world

Since 2015, more than 150 cities around the globe have come together to rethink the way we feed our cities. As signatories to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, they share a commitment to developing sustainable food systems that are inclusive, resilient, safe and diverse. The city of Valencia, the 2017 World Sustainable Food Capital, is leading by example.  In this episode, we discuss: The history and vision of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact The role of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in helping to realise this mission  Why Valencia is the 2017 World Sustainable Food Capital Why cities truly matter in the fight for sustainable food and food justice We interview: Guido Santini - United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) Dorothee Fischer - International Press and Communications Manager - Valencia World Sustainable Food Capital 2017 Vincente Domingo - Commissioner of Valencia World Sustainable Food Capital  Links: Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Website  Milan Urban Food P

Rob Greenfield is an adventurist and environmental activist that has made it his life’s purpose to lead by example in living a truly sustainable lifestyle. Rob has completely transformed the way he lives over the last half decade. He continuously challenges himself and others by taking sustainable living to the extreme. From off-the-grid tiny houses to dumpster diving, Rob has managed to reach hundreds of thousands of people around the world, spreading his message of positive change.   In this episode, we discuss:   How Rob’s journey began Food waste and dumpster diving Rob as the ‘Trash man’ in New York City The Green Riders: Good deeds on bikes How individuals can make a tangible difference Rob’s advice: get started with ‘micro-challenges’ Rob’s next big challenge: One year of producing all the food he eats with his own two hands   Links:   Rob Greenfield Website, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube Rob Greenfield TEDx: Be the Change in a Messed Up World

As cities and populations grow, and the space to feed them shrinks, one proposed solution is to farm upwards rather than outwards, indoors instead of outdoors, in urban spaces as opposed to rural ones. Vertical farming is no longer science fiction; investors are pouring in to support promising companies offering innovative solutions. In this episode, I talk to Claire Gusko, growth manager at INFARM - a Berlin-based indoor urban farming company - about their approach to vertical farming and the role that indoor vertical farms can play in helping to build the cities of tomorrow. We discuss: What indoor farming and vertical farming is Why the industry is seeing investment soar What is unique about INFARM, their value proposition and vision How consumer concerns about price, energy efficiency, and ‘unnatural’ farming are being addressed Why local farmers and vertical urban farming can and must co-exist Links: INFARM Website, Facebook, and Twitter Vertical Farming: Is this the answer to the world's food shorta

In this week’s special episode, I had the honour of speaking with Dr. Cary Fowler, the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Cary has been working to preserve crop diversity for over four decades, he is the former Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and has been described by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as an “inspirational symbol of peace and food security for the entire humanity”. His work is a true inspiration for agriculturalists, archivists and environmentalists across the globe.    We discuss:  What crop diversity means and why it’s the most important natural resource on Earth Why sustaining crop diversity and saving seeds are vital as we brace for climate change The history and role of seed banks and why they are under threat How the Global Crop Diversity Trust is spearheading global efforts to protect seed banks  Why the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the most important room in the world Cary’s final words of wisdom    Links: Cary Fowler (2016) Seeds on Ice: Sval

From 10-dollar plant-based smoothies in trendy Californian cafés to Vegan helmets in the Israeli Defense Force, Veganism is as diverse as it is topical. What is Veganism really all about, where has it come from and where is it heading? Is it a religion, a social movement, or an ideology?  This week I talk with Nina Gheihman, a sociologist at Harvard. Nina is currently pursuing her PhD, focusing on a comparative study of veganism as a cultural practice in the US, France, and Israel. She is also the President of the Harvard Vegan society, as well as the Program Director of the Ivy League Vegan Conference, and is the founder of the community advocacy group Boston Plant-Based Millennials. In this episode, we explore Veganism in all its forms and all its wonders. We discuss how Veganism has evolved and transformed over time, how its adapting to different cultural contexts around the world, and how its grappling with a growing popularity that has it moving, slowly but surely, towards the mainstream.   We’ll talk ab

Feeding future generations simply won’t work without addressing the food we get from our oceans. Oceans serve as our main source of animal protein, with over 2.6 billion people depending on it every day. How we’ll be able to continue sourcing from our oceans however is the million-dollar question. Overfishing has plundered our oceans, pushing fish stocks and other marine life to the brink of collapse. Seafood farming—also known as aquaculture— is one alternative. It’s the fastest growing food production system in the world. Yet it continues to be shunned by some as part of the problem, not the solution. In this episode, I talk with Mike Velings and Amy Novogratz about how sustainable, smart practices in aquaculture – adopted by local businesses around the world – provides the most promising solution to meeting the demands of a growing word population. Mike and Amy are the Founder and Managing Partners of Aqua-spark, a global investment fund that supports sustainable aquaculture businesses around the world.  

Have the crops of today bent us to their will? Is corn king? Does our agricultural system still make sense, and can it in its current form cater to the needs of future generations? Are we smarter than a potato? In this episode, we explore how certain crops such as wheat, rice, potato, maize (corn) and soy have come to dominate our landscapes, labour, economic policy and health. We look at the transition from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural system 12,000 years ago and observe the fascinating co-evolution of plants and human beings.   Links: Lee & Devore (1966) Man the Hunter (birth of Original Affluent Society theory) Jared Diamond (1987) ‘The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race’  Yuval Noah Harari (2014) ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’  Michael Pollan ‘When a crop becomes King ’New York Times  Masanobu Fukuoka (1975) – One Straw Revolution

  A.k.a. Lab-grown meat or in vitro meat, there is a lot of hype surrounding cultured meat today. I talk with Erin Kim, Communications Director at New Harvest, about the future prospects of cultured meat. New Harvest is a non-profit research institute in the United States that funds and conducts open, public, collaborative research in the field of cellular agriculture. They're all about reinventing the way we make animal products - without animals. Erin started out at as a volunteer at New Harvest in 2014, whilst she was pursuing a law degree at the University of Alberta, specialising in environmental law. In this episode, we discuss: The definitions and terminology of cultured meat and cellular agriculture The origins, milestones and long road ahead for cultured meat The benefits of cultured meat and it’s amazing potential Managing expectations on cultured meat: The enormous media hype vs. the facts on the ground The problems of scaling, funding, and framing the debate around cultured meat What we can do to

Humans have been producing food using the same paradigm for 10,000 years. But the burden of a growing population and the impacts of an industrial approach to farming threaten the entire enterprise. The Land Institute is working on a solution. In this episode, we talk with Fred Lutzi, President of The Land Institute, about their unique approach to transforming current destructive agricultural practices. The Land Institute is a science-based research organization based in Kansas, US, that is developing perennial crops as an alternative to current unsustainable practices in agriculture. Instead of relying on and tweaking extractive industrial systems, the institute focuses on perennial grains grown using regenerative agricultural practices. “Agriculture must understand and mimic sustaining natural systems if we hope to feed a growing world population”.   In the episode we discuss: What Fred thinks are the major problems of agriculture today What the Land Institute means by transforming agriculture by developing

This week, I discuss my thoughts on tackling food waste together with Merit 360. Merit 360 is a year-long World merit program bringing 360 young individuals together to develop a set of action plans to help tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I share my views on SDG #12 : Responsible Consumption and Production. More specifically, how do we tackle crippling global food waste and food losses and how can we incentivise lasting sustainable consumption habits? The episode also touches upon : The current famine crisis in East Africa affecting up to 20 million people My visit to Mozambique and the local solutions I found addressing local food problems My ideas of how we can move forward to address some of these issues   This episode is part of For Food’s Sake’s Learn By Doing project in which we practice what we preach in sustainability by taking action on concrete issues. Links Donate Red Cross East Africa crisis appeal World Vision East Africa appeal Support my Fundraisin