To mark 50 episodes on the podcast, I share my own evolving thoughts on food. I reflect on the state of agriculture and on what sustainability might mean in the food movement today. My experience over the last half decade engaging with the food movement has been that debates are all too often reduced to soundbites on social media. Complex arguments are reduced to 280 characters on Twitter, angry posts on Facebook, and rants on YouTube. We're talking past each other. That's unhelpful.  By...

Guilt and shame are deeply present in our relationship with food. How do we harness these emotions for good? When it comes to eating animals, can guilt and shame positively influence our behaviour or those of corporations to reduce our environmental foodprint?   We are joined by Dr. Jennifer Jacquet - Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at NYU. Jennifer does interdisciplinary research on globalized environmental problems, including the wildlife trade, fisheries,...

From its more humble origins to its modern-day status as a dominant yet destructive wonderbean, the story of soy concerns us all.   Soy is much more than tofu or tempeh. It's a global commodity crop: the driving force of animal agriculture and a hidden fuel of growing importance for our cars.   In this episode, we deep dive with Dr. Christine M. Du Bois into the history of soy and the vital role it continues to play in our lives.   Christine M. Du Bois is a former...

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has become Europe’s problem child.   Vested interests behind one of the Union’s oldest policies threaten to derail Europe’s ambitious new climate, biodiversity and food strategies.   In this episode, we deep dive into the controversial CAP - over €350 billion of taxpayer money spent on European farming - and discuss if there is still any hope in reforming a policy that continues to baffle and disappoint many of Europe’s citizens, farmers,...

What is the future of protein, and of animal agriculture? Can we raise animals sustainably or should we move beyond meat? To feed a growing world population, we need protein. For many, protein means meat. As our reliance on animal products grows, so does its destructive impact on the natural world. Mass deforestation, biodiversity loss, and significant greenhouse gas emissions of livestock put our dietary habits into the spotlight. In this panel discussion, I am joined by Nathalie Rolland...

Everything begins with a seed. Seeds are both a story of loss and a story of hope in our food system. On the one hand, we are rapidly losing seed diversity, and with it, perhaps the single best weapon agriculture has to withstand an increasingly volatile climate. When we lose biodiversity, we lose our ability to be resilient. What (or who) is causing this loss?  On the other, seeds are central to resistance and hope. From seed saving, sharing and storing to embracing indigenous farming...

2019 was the year of climate strikes. Animal rights activists, emboldened by a new wave of mass civil disobedience, are determined to end industrial animal agriculture. Millions of ordinary people took to the streets in 2019. They put their bodies on the line, engaging in mass civil disobedience to demand climate action. In an era where food is produced in factory farms with an immeasurable scale of suffering and destruction, what role should animal rights activists play in the transition...

To transcend infighting in the food movement, finding our common ground is as important as targeting our common enemy. The food movement is amazingly diverse. From personal health and animal rights to protecting worker’s rights and precious ecosystems, our why’s for wanting to radically transform our food system widely differ. So do our tactics and our strategies.  That diversity may just be the food movement's greatest strength, yet it also risks being its biggest weakness.  Infighting is...

The continued expansion of industrial-scale chemical-intensive agriculture around the world relies on one central powerful myth: only industrial agriculture can feed the world.   Timothy A. Wise - author of Eating Tomorrow - joins us to discuss why, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, governments continue to invest in a model of farming that is devouring the natural resources on which future food production depends. By choosing the path of industrial agriculture today, we are,...

We are on the cusp of a post-antibiotic era. The golden age of miracle drugs may be coming to an end. To understand why, award-winning author Maryn McKenna joins us on the show to discuss the long intertwined history of antibiotics and industrial animal agriculture.  We discuss: What antibiotic resistance is and why it’s ‘the greatest slow-brewing health crisis of our time’ Why bacteria are winning and why Big Pharma are dragging their feet The birth of antibiotics and how it enabled...

Four grain trading giants - collectively known as the ABCDs - dominate international grain trade in our global food system. Knowing who they are and what they do is vital to understand the whys and hows of our modern food supply.  A key branch of ABCD power and influence are their financial subsidiaries. Financialisation in the food system today has widespread and alarming implications. Local food movements, farmers and consumers must take heed of these global forces, or risk being crowded...

The global fertiliser market is a $200 billion industry. But who does it serve? Produced in large-scale, centralised facilities in developed countries, conventional fertilisers are neither cheap nor reliably accessible for rural smallholder farmers in emerging markets in Africa and India. Safi Organics in Kenya has a vision to decentralise and downsize fertiliser production. Using recycled waste from local farms, carbon-negative organic biochar fertilisers empower farmers by making their...

When we stop treating dirt like dirt, when we accept it’s neither ‘dirt cheap’ nor ‘dirt poor’, we will come to realise it is the most precious resource we have. Treat dirt, or soil, the way you want to be treated. In this episode, David R. Montgomery joins us to talk about how soil has shaped the course of civilisations. From the Classical Greeks and the Romans to the Maya civilisation – the story of soil and its mistreatment has been central to explaining why civilisations collapse. The...

The end of Capitalism is nigh. Or we should certainly hope so. Raj Patel makes a convincing case for the urgent need to think beyond capitalism if we are to move towards a zero-carbon economy. “Let us recognise that the system itself is dooming us and that we need to think outside it rather than within it” – Raj Patel. If this sounds revolutionary, that’s precisely the point. Raj and I discuss: Why we shouldn’t call this era the “Anthropocene” What Capitalism actually is The frontiers of...

Monsanto has been found guilty in the world’s first-ever court case over claims its Roundup herbicide causes cancer. It faces thousands of similar lawsuits. Is this Monsanto’s (Bayer AG) tobacco moment? Veteran investigative journalist Carey Gillam walks us through, step-by-step, the Monsanto trial that shocked the world. We cover: Who Dewayne “Lee” Johnson is and why he sued Monsanto What happened during the trial: the jury selection, the plaintiff and defendant’s arguments, the jury’s...

Are you a Wizard or a Prophet? Two largely forgotten 20th century thinkers – Norman Borlaug and William Vogt – continue to shape our competing visions of the future of our planet.   In this episode, we talk to Charles C. Mann, award-winning author of The Wizard and the Prophet, about these remarkable scientists and their lasting influence.   Borlaug – the Wizard – is a Nobel-winning scientist who kickstarted the agricultural ‘Green Revolution’, while Vogt – the Prophet – laid...

What role can livestock play in a sustainable food system? In Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Simon Fairlie lays out a convincing case as to why eating meat and dairy is part of a holistic and sensible agricultural system.   In this episode, we discuss: Why widely quoted figures on livestock’s impact on the environment are misleading: from feed conversion ratios to water use to greenhouse gas emissions. How a ‘default livestock diet’ makes ecological sense The uncertainties...

The urban-rural divide is more pronounced than ever. The 'last acceptable prejudice' - that against rural people and places - is not only real, it is destructive. As in our politics, the debates around food and sustainability are increasingly polarised. Conventional agriculture is pitted against organic agriculture, vegans face-off against carnivores, urban city-dwellers clash with countrymen and women. How do we bridge these divides? In this episode, we talk to Ash Bruxvoort about their...

In this episode, we talk to Patrick Holden about the hopes and fears of British farming after Brexit. Patrick is a pioneer of the modern sustainable food movement. He is the Founding Director and current Chief Executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, an organization dedicated to accelerating the transition to more sustainable food and farming systems. Previously, he has been the founding chairman of British Organic Farmers in 1982, and the former Director of the Soil Association, where he...

Shifting mindsets at the grassroots level lies at the heart of The Art of Living’s approach to sustainable agriculture. An epidemic of farmer suicides has claimed over 300,000 lives in India since 1995. By investing in social capital, The Art of Living focuses on bringing back self-esteem and self-confidence in rural communities. Farmers practice yoga, breathing exercises and meditation for stress-relief and personal development - investing in themselves to become productive and proactive...

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...

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...

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...

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...