Feed: a food systems podcast

People across the world are consuming more ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Will Latin American countries and elsewhere follow the path of the US and the UK, where over half of calories consumed now come from UPFs?  Dr Neena Prasad, director of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Food Policy Program, joins us to talk about the power of and the power behind UPFs. We talk about the utility and harms of processing foods, the links between the tobacco industry and UPFs, and the public health measures advocated by the Food Policy Program. These include taxing UPFs, putting restrictions on marketing  (especially to children), advancing public sector health promoting policies, and front-of-package nutrition labeling.For more info and transcript, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode52More info on Bloomberg Philanthropies' Food Policy Program Read TABLE explainer on UPFsMusic by Blue dot sessions

Food systems are finally getting more attention at global climate conversations. But who is at the table shaping our food futures?  We caught up with Jessica Duncan, Associate Professor on the Politics of Food Systems Transformations at Wageningen University, to hear her thoughts and concerns about COP 28.Then we re-air our conversation with Jessica Duncan from May 2021, where we talk about dialogue and participation in food policy, why we shouldn’t always be seeking consensus, and the importance of bringing local actors into global policy conversations. We unpack Jessica and Priscilla Claeys' 2020 report Covid19, Gender and Food systems and discuss what is gained by "viewing the crisis from below".For more info and transcript, visit here. 

Is CRISPR the solution to controlling the pest plaguing California’s wine industry? In this episode of A CRISPR Bite, we take you to a lab where researchers are using CRISPR technology to genetically modify a frightening insect called the Glassy-winged sharpshooter responsible for spreading a bacteria and killing vines.CRISPR bites is five-part podcast series hosted by food anthropologist Dr Lauren Crossland-Marr. We're excited to share one episode from the series with you today.Listen to A CRISPR Bite, check out show notes, transcripts and more information on the podcast's website here.  For more info and episode transcript, visit here.

Ilva Kronkos-Varmborg, from Future Food at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of a mealworm factory in Sweden. Jonas House, a researcher at Wageningen University, shares his skepticism about insects overcoming cultural barriers as mainstream food. Meanwhile, Bernice Bovenkirk, an animal and environmental ethicist, raises ethical concerns surrounding insect farming. The discussion highlights the potential of insects as a sustainable protein source while tackling the challenges in acceptance and ethics.

The yield gap refers to the difference between the potential agricultural yield that could be achieved under ideal conditions and the actual yield that farmers harvest. In sub-Saharan Africa, the yield gap is in some cases 80% meaning that farmers have the potential to double, triple or even quadruple their harvests.The causes of the yield gap are debated and so are the solutions to narrow it. In this conversation with Martin van Ittersum, a professor at Wageningen University, and Klara Fischer, an associate professor and senior lecturer at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, we discuss if increasing yield is the right entry point for reducing hunger in the region; if bottom-up or top-down interventions lead to a more resilient food system; and at what time-scale (short- or long-term) should we be focusing food systems solutions?More info, resources and transcript found at: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode48

Presenting the Meat: the four futures series final episode.--Over the last few months, we explored what the future of meat and livestock could look like. We’ve talked about how our values, ethics and where we live in the world can impact our desired futures for meat. And we did a deep dive into four potential futures - efficient meat, alternative “meat”, less meat and no meat.To wrap up the series, we hear comments and thoughts from the listeners, and podcast host Matthew Kessler shares some personal reflections on what he learned about the future of meat and livestock after making this series.--Visit the episode page with more resources: https://tabledebates.org/meat/episode8Project webpage: https://tabledebates.org/meatTake the values-based quiz: https://tabledebates.org/meat/quizMusic by Blue dot Sessions and Epidemic sound.

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with episode 7.--We've heard four distinct visions for the future of meat and livestock. But realistically, won't they all play a role? As we wrap up the series in the next two episodes, we’re going to review what’s in conflict between the four futures and how parts of them might co-exist.In this episode we ask three experts to consider different arguments presented by the four futures as they relate to health, biodiversity and animal ethics. We ask a professor of diet and population health if it’s better to eat some, a lot, or no meat; we ask a biodiversity expert about how the different futures would help biodiversity to recover; and we ask an animal ethicist about the morality of eating animals and to interrogate the ethical cases put forward by the four futures.--Visit the episode page with more resources: https://tabledebates.org/meat/episode7Project webpage: https://tabledebates.org/meatTake the values-based quiz: https://tabledebates.org/meat/quizMusic by Blue dot Sessions and Epidemic sound.

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our fourth and final exploration of four different futures for meat - Plant based no meat.--Should we remove animals from agriculture and our diets altogether? What if all the land that produces animal feed now could instead produce human food--or be rewilded? Would this be a planet friendly future--or impoverished and unnatural? In this fourth and final scenario: the plant-based no meat future, we explore the motivations, the evidence and the arguments for adopting a diet that centers and celebrates plants. We visit a vegan restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden; a vegan food tech company in Lagos, Nigeria; and an animal free farm outside of Reading in the United Kingdom.But is dietary change at a societal scale unrealistic? Is this the most sustainable, ethical and efficient approach to eating and producing food? We explore all this and more.--Visit the episode page with more resources: https://tabledebates.org/meat/episode6Project webpage: https://tabledebates.org/meatTake the values-based quiz: https://tabledebates.org/meat/quizMusic by Blue dot Sessions and Epidemic sound.

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our third exploration of four different futures for meat - Less meat.--What if we had a more compassionate approach to farming animals, where we raised and ate fewer animals - and so meat cost more? We speak with farmers, researchers and campaigners who don’t see farmed animals only as producers of meat and milk, but instead highlight their ability to manage landscapes and to recycle waste and nutrients. They cannot imagine sustainable cropping systems without livestock.Is this less meat future a win-win-win for animals, people and the planet, or is it an unrealistic and elitist vision?--Visit the episode page with more resources: https://tabledebates.org/meat/episode5Project webpage: https://tabledebates.org/meatTake the values-based quiz: https://tabledebates.org/meat/quizMusic by Blue dot Sessions and Epidemic sound.

We continue featuring the Meat: the four futures series with our second exploration of four different futures for meat - Alternative "meat".--What do some entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, animal activists, and environmentalists have in common? They each envision a future where meat alternatives can tackle the environmental impacts and animal suffering caused by global livestock production.But in this futuristic vision of replacing livestock with plant-based substitutes and cultivating meat in labs from animal cells - are we living in a utopia or a dystopia? We speak with scientists, investors, and CEOs from across the world to better understand the motivations, scientific basis, and evidence that either support or raise concerns about the future of alternative "meat".--Visit the episode page with more resources: https://tabledebates.org/meat/episode4Project webpage: https://tabledebates.org/meatTake the values-based quiz: https://tabledebates.org/meat/quizMusic by Blue dot Sessions and Epidemic sound.