Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft is a public scholar whose latest book, Meat Planet: Artificial Flesh and the Future of Food, looks deeply at this question. These days, technologies for cultured meat are kept more and more under wraps; Ben’s research then, offers an incredible glimpse at the industry. We chat about the book’s stories, but also … Continue reading What makes cultured meat imaginable? →

Something about food engraves itself in our memories. It appeals to our physical senses in taste and smell, and cooking can quickly become part of muscle memory. But food touches on our experiences too: it’s part of conversations around the table (and sometimes the center!), capable of shaping traditions and histories. So where might a … Continue reading An Ode to Food Memories →

What roles do some of New Haven’s non-profits play in the city’s food landscape? We speak with Sanctuary Kitchen and Love Fed New Haven, and the city’s Food Systems Director Latha Swamy to understand how food-centered programming, organizing, and activism address the needs of New Haven’s various communities. While organizations build their own niches, so … Continue reading Nonprofits and New Haven: Driving Food-Centered Inclusion →

Banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich, has become a widely beloved dish. With its unique combination of flavors—crunchy bread, sour pickled carrots, fresh cucumbers, savory cold cuts, among other things—banh mi has captured the imagination of people, even at non-Vietnamese establishments. How did this happen? What can we learn when we examine the history of this … Continue reading Tracing Banh Mi →

Plant-based. Vegetable-forward. These terms have become more and more popular in a culinary world now obsessed with sustainable eating. But what if these ideas are hardly new? What if they have deep cultural roots around the world that often go underacknowledged or underappreciated? Bryant Terry is the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora … Continue reading Bryant Terry: Vegetable Kingdom →

In the early 2000s, eating local was believed to be transformative for our food systems. Those changes may not have come true, but what happens when we revisit local food today—this time, emphasizing equity, coalition-building, and approaches specific to place? Kiki Louya is a Congolese-American chef and entrepreneur who founded the all-women hospitality group, Nest … Continue reading Kiki Louya: A Detroit For All →

For chef Paola Velez, kitchens are spaces for endless exploration. Detailed historical research and precise culinary craft come together to centerthe flavors, foods, and experiences of the Black diaspora. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword, but is a substantive set of evolving practices and values. She builds teamwork and belonging, transforming the kitchen into its own “starter”: … Continue reading Paola Velez: Reimagining the Restaurant Kitchen →

Representation in the restaurant industry matters. Afro-Korean chef Nyesha Arrington joins us to reflect on her multicultural experiences growing up in LA, training in Michelin star restaurants, and competing on television and internationally. In navigating different––and sometimes exclusive––cooking spaces, Nyesha has drawn on her own identities and experiences to empower and evolve her craft. Listen … Continue reading Nyesha Arrington: Born to Cook →

At the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), the culinary arts have led to storytelling, job growth, and equitable development for New Haven’s marginalized neighborhoods. Erik Clemons, CEO and founder of ConnCAT, chats with us about what it has taken to address poverty in the city, and how food and health are at the … Continue reading Erik Clemons: Food & Empowering New Haven →

Food policies—even if seemingly fair or innocent—have disproportionately harmed communities of color and their health. Legal scholar Andrea Freeman asks questions of how we use the law to prove and address such injustices. In this archival episode, she shares more about this legal process, and the broader ways to challenge the interests of Big Food. … Continue reading Andrea Freeman: Race, Law, and Food Oppression →

Happy New Year! Enjoy our first episode of the next decade with ocean farmer and longtime YSFP friend, Bren Smith. We feature his new book, Eat Like A Fish: My Life as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer. What does it take to build an economy for ocean farming? Training and empowering a new generation … Continue reading Bren Smith: Eat Like A Fish →

Native peoples in the United States are sustaining and revitalizing their unique relationships to food, land, and more broadly, their own cultures. But how have tribes learned from one another and built broader coalitions? Brown University Professor Elizabeth Hoover has traveled across the U.S. to document these efforts, interviewing indigenous growers, seed-keepers, chefs, and many … Continue reading Elizabeth Hoover: From Garden Warriors to Good Seeds →

Enjoy a special holiday episode of Chewing the Fat with your Thanksgivings! Food writing needs better standards. From the places she visits, to the language she chooses to use, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho has shown how her writing tells deeper stories about food and the cultures it comes from. But what makes … Continue reading Soleil Ho: A More Honest Restaurant Review →

Ever wonder what it takes to produce an award-winning food podcast? At a live event with us, Gastropod co-hosts Cynthia Graber & Nicola Twilley share about their fascinating journey using science and history to tell stories about food. In the conversation, the two cover everything from the twists and turns of some of their episodes, … Continue reading Cynthia Graber & Nicola Twilley: Food for the Ears →

You’ve heard it before: over one-third of all food is never eaten. Meanwhile, one in eight families struggles with hunger. So goes the problem of food waste––an environmental, social, and moral blight that affronts our public conscience. But is all food waste created equal? What might actually be wasted in producing food? Who benefits most … Continue reading Wasted: Untold Stories of Food Waste →

Facing hunger and labor challenges, Latinx farmworkers in Vermont have still found ways to provide for themselves and their families—all while propping up the state’s dairy industry. University of Vermont Associate Professor Teresa Mares explores these stories of resilience in her recent book, Life on the Other Border: Farm Workers and Food Justice in Vermont. … Continue reading Teresa Mares: Life on the Other Border →

It’s about more than just business. Ninth Square Market Too Caribbean Style and Rhythm Brewing Co. are two of many black-owned businesses in New Haven drawing from history and family traditions to provide delicious food and drink for local communities. Ninth-Square owner Elisha Hazel and Rhythm Brewing Co. founder Alisa Mercado share about overcoming challenges … Continue reading New Haven’s Own: Ital Eating & Lady Lager →

How can film tell the stories of people and their cuisines? Their histories and identities? Alexandra “Allie” Cuerdo is the director of ULAM: Main Dish, the first documentary following how chefs and restaurants are building a powerful Filipino food movement across the U.S. We chat about the diversity of cuisine from the Philippines, and how … Continue reading Alexandra Cuerdo: Filipino-America is in the Food →

In our public conversation with farmer and activist Leah Penniman, we listen to her tell the powerful story of Soul Fire Farm, as told in her book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land. She shares with us on uncovering truth with language, how Afro-indigenous communities have influenced sustainable … Continue reading Leah Penniman: A Food Justice Movement for All →

How are movements for land ownership changing across the American South? In this week’s episode, Savi Horne, Director of the Land Loss Prevention Project, speaks to how demographic changes, recent legislation, and new cooperative models are affecting how we envision the future of land tenure. How might coalition-building around land—historic and contemporary—advance social and environmental … Continue reading Savi Horne: Shaping Land Justice Today →

Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is now a best-selling, James Beard award-winning cookbook, also turned Netflix series. Dive into Samin’s creative process as she was still writing the book back in 2015: her inspirations, doubts, collaborations, and hopes for writing something timeless. Plus, Samin shares more on what culinary stardom doesn’t tell us, and … Continue reading Samin Nosrat: Discovering Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat →

Pasta. Olive oil. Polenta. Much of Italian cuisine today has come to be defined by staples like these and their associated dishes (with strict recipes and rules to boot!). Yet how did we arrive at these ideas? Karima Moyer-Nocchi is a food historian who looks at the development of the Italian culinary landscape. She discusses … Continue reading Karima Moyer-Nocchi: Italian Foodways and the Myth of Authenticity →

What happens when chefs and scientists work together? On this episode of Chewing the Fat, flavor chemist Arielle Johnson chats about how her work has blended the kitchen and the laboratory. Understanding flavor, it appears, might not just help us push the boundaries of cooking, but also deepen our commitment for how to affirm food … Continue reading Arielle Johnson: Making Flavor Work For You →

As the way China eats transforms, food activism and education are rising to address these changes. This week’s episode of Chewing the Fat collaborates with Kate Logan of Beijing Energy Network podcast Environment China to interview Wanqing Zhou to learn about her research and grassroots organizing in China. Starting with an overview of the country’s … Continue reading Wanqing Zhou: Plant-Forward and Backward in China →