Feed: a food systems podcast

TABLE staff member Walter Fraanje joins Feed co-hosts to talk about his new publication, "Rewilding and its implications for agriculture" co-authored with Tara Garnett. The explainer introduces the concept of rewilding, compares different rewilding strategies across the globe, explores their relationship with agriculture and unpacks some of the related controversies. We ask Walter how does rewilding differ from conservation, why might a farmer or fisher support or be against rewilding, and what does it mean to rewild your imagination?Read the full explainerRegister for the Uppsala Health Summit

This is not a typical conversation for Feed. We're still talking about food systems, and we're still talking about power, but we're focusing on the more-than-human world, specifically, mushrooms. Giuliana Furci, founder and executive director of the Fungi Foundation, joins us to talk about how fungi are as diverse as the animal and plant kingdom; what role fungi play in sustainable food systems; the contradicting lessons that you can learn from fungi; and what power do fungi have over humans and food systems?For more info and transcript, please visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode30

Joachim von Braun, former Chair of the Scientific Group for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, lays out the importance of an inclusive process and multi-disciplinary scientific collaboration to meet the calls for food system transformation. Dr von Braun joins us to talk about his experience as Chair, what he sees as the successes of the summit, and what work remains to be done. We also discuss who should be involved in knowledge production and how, and we hear his thoughts on whether we should create an Intergovernmental Panel for Food (not unlike the IPCC) that would have the power to work towards scientific consensus on food system issues.For more info and transcript, please visit https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode29

“Everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food” is written in the South African constitution. But how is that implemented, and who is responsible for making that a reality? Scholar-activist Busiso Moyo grapples with what ‘a right to food’ actually looks like in practice. In our conversation, he shares why he sees 'right to food as a valuable framework to build a just food system. We also cover various aspects of power in the food system including: agenda setting power; power of corporations; the power of paradigms; and who has power along the value chain. For more info and transcript, please visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode28

In this episode, Agricultural economist Jayson Lusk puts forward a vision of how science, technology and innovation are what we need for a sustainable food future, and what aspects of power he feels are getting in the way of this future. We discuss: whether having more information actually changes what food people buy; why Jayson is excited about venture capital flowing into the food system; and why he disagrees with some of the narratives and policy proposals put forward by the “food movement”. We also touch on some hotly debated topics like agricultural subsidies, GMOs, and true cost accounting.For more info and transcript, please visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode27/

Tamsin Blaxter, researcher and writer at TABLE, joins Feed co-hosts to talk about her forthcoming publication: "Parsing Grindadráp". Grindadráp is a Faroese whaling practice that's understood both as important to local food cultures, and as barbaric, primitive and cruel. In this chat, we use grindadráp as a case study to explore: what is animal sentience? What's different about killing whales versus farmed animals? Where do older food traditions fit into the present? How does international media coverage impact local debates? And lastly, what does the evidence say about whether this is a sustainable practice?Read Tamsin Blaxter's blog Parsing Grindadráp hereFor more info and transcript, please visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode26

In this mini-episode, TABLE staff member Helen Breewood joins Feed co-hosts to talk about her new publication, "What is ecomodernism?" The explainer describes the values, goals, and practical solutions promoted by ecomodernists; what they would mean for land use and the food system; the history of the ideas that underlie ecomodernism; and the main contestations around the values and evidence underpinning ecomodernism. We ask Helen about the explainer, the challenging review process, and how she changed her views on the topic.Read the full explainer here.Register for the online event here.

In our conversation with social anthropologist Elena Lazos Chavero (National University of Mexico), we discuss how her research interests were formed around rainforest conservation, food systems and indigenous rights in Veracruz, Mexico. Elena explains how local and global food systems as well as urban and rural communities are highly dependent on each other. We also explore what the food sovereignty movement in Mexico stands for today.This episode originally aired on 19 April 2021.For more info and transcript, please visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode7-rebroadcast

Has the increasing commodification of food and financialization of the food system left us more vulnerable to food crises? We speak with Jennifer Clapp about the 20th century history of food policy that led us to this moment, how the Covid-19 food crisis is different than previous ones, and how diversity, in all of its forms, is essential to building a resilient food system.This episode was originally broadcast on 25 March 2021.For more info and full transcript, please visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/episode5-rebroadcast

On 8 December 2021, TABLE hosted an open-ended discussion about power in the food system with representatives from civil society, academia, media and the private sector.  At TABLE we recognise that our own biases and perspectives will influence how we think about power in the food system so the purpose of the event is to hear a range of different views and understandings of power. This kick off event helps us think about who and what shapes, controls and influences past, present and future food systems. Event panelists:Media: Eddy Wax - Reporter covering food and agriculture for POLITICO in Brussels.Academia: Wendy Godek - Professor of Politics and International Relations with focus on Latin American food and agriculture politicsCivil society: Shefali Sharma - Director of Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) EuropePrivate: Sahil Shah - Co-founder of agri-tech company Sustainable Seaweed and policy consultantModerator: Matthew Kessler, Project coordinator forTABLE at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.We're curious to hear your views about power in the food system. Continue the conversation on our community platform.