Real Food Reads

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. "In 2021 is the first time in the country we had a huge women protest, like a sit-in protest. We occupied 55 days the presidential house. We demanded law reforms. And we did it! That's how I believe women can change the society." Anuka Vimukthi De Silva is a member of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform of Sri Lanka (MONLAR) and La Vía Campesina. Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. "I'm always thinking about the natural seeds and the natural plants also because in Sri Lanka, we lost like a lot of varieties of our of native seeds... We’re trying to make an agroecology school in my land—that's my main goal." Anuka Vimukthi De Silva is a member of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform of Sri Lanka (MONLAR) and La Vía Campesina. Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. “Multinationals are rampant in my country. They lure farmers to take climate resistant seeds by offering them loans [for] seeds, which are not Indigenous, by offering them TVs, radios, and solar panels... At the end, they lose their lands to the multinationals." Catherine Banda is a member of Kenyan Peasants League and La Vía Campesina Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. “La Vía Campesina is a network of social movements with a very horizontal structure. You could say we're a movement of movements." Amaru Faustino Torrez Ruiz is a member of Climate Justice Collective and a youth delegate to La Vía Campesina from Nicaragua. Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. "Women and queer people have always existed and have been doing a lot of work that hasn't been visible. I think we have to change our relationship to production. That's the main thing. And women and queer people carry the knowledge around how this can be done." Sarasvati Shrestha is a youth delegate to La Vía Campesina from Sweden with roots in Nepal. Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. "The Palestinian relationship with the land is not abstract… It's reciprocal. It's not about what we get from the land. It's about what we give to the land. We have a responsibility to care for the land and for each other." Yasmeen El-Hasen is a member of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and La Vía Campesina. Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

"Everything to do with food is in women's hands most of the time. So it seemed to me, and to many others, that if we were going to build a movement which was actually transformative, it would have to include women at the center of it." Nettie Wiebe is a farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada, a long-time small farm activist, a member of the National Farmers Union, and one of the founders of La Vía Campesina. Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

The peasant youth who are fighting to remain on the land and feed their communities around the world are defying expectations and reshaping what it means to be a peasant farmer today. Their stories challenge old ideas of what a farmer looks like, and ask us to imagine a movement bold enough to shift its politics to meet them. “We see many youths being dragged into mining because mining is a priority in my country... So many people are shunning farming because there's money there. My dream is that those youth come back to the rural side because that's where the means of surviving are." Hendrick Mgcini Ndhlovu is a member of Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF) and La Vía Campesina Interviewer: Katie Brimm Editor: Jaime Roque Producer: Tanya Kerssen Photographer: Erika Piñeros Music: “We made it to the other side” by Alvaro Acevedo Learn more about La Vía Campesina: viacampesina.org 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum: nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-global-forum Real Food Media: realfoodmedia.org

Alicia Kennedy's No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating, delves into the subcultures and politics that have defined vegan and vegetarian cuisine in the United States—from tempeh production to vegan punk cafes. In this episode, Alicia talks to Anna Lappé about the feminist origins of her own veganism, how she eats in Puerto Rico, and how the cultural signifiers of meat and plant-based eating have shifted over time. SHOW NOTES: 3:18 | Alicia’s love of okra ​​4:28 | What Alicia hopes people will take away from her book about veganism and vegetarian politics 6:00 | Meat eating in the US culture wars 7:06 | The abundance of meat tied to United States as US as an “exceptional nation”; political tolerance for injustices like child labor in the meat industry; meat eating linked to ideas like masculine virility 8:40 | Link between vegetarianism and the feminist movement 10:10 | Lagusta’s Luscious’ vegan “Furious Vulva” chocolate 11:55 | Alicia on corporate fake meat alter

Can you believe five years have gone by since the last Farm Bill? It feels like a lifetime ago — SO much has changed politically. Bone up on your Farm Bill history and get ready to organize for a transformative Food & Farm Bill in 2023. This 2019 Real Food Reads interview with Dan Imhoff, farm policy expert and author of “The Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide,” is a great place to start. Follow Real Food Media wherever you get your podcasts. DIG DEEPER: Get the book - The Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide, https://islandpress.org/books/farm-bill HEAL Food Alliance’s Farm Bill 101, https://healfoodalliance.org/ “This Farm Bill Really Matters. We Explain Why.” by Lisa Held, Civil Eats, March 20, 2023 https://civileats.com/2023/03/20/farm-bill-explainer-2023-bill-snap-nutrition-climate-smart-farming-commodities-insurance-congress/ “HEAL Food Alliance Shows Up Big in DC for a Transformative Farm Bill” by Eloni Porcher, March 24, 2023 https://healfoodalliance.org/heal-food-alliance-shows-up-big-dc-for-a-transforma

Insects are the often-times invisible workforce that take on planetary care. According to Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse, “they pollinate, break down waste and provide food for us and countless other species. If they vanished tomorrow, the apocalypse would begin the next day.” Today, insect populations are in rapid decline, with estimates of population loss ranging from 40-75% across regions. The main drivers? Habitat loss and widespread use of dangerous chemicals—both of which are linked with industrial agriculture. In this special Real Food Reads episode commemorating the 60th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Anna Lappé speaks with Dave Goulson about agrichemicals, biodiversity, and how we, together, can avert the insect apocalypse. SHOW NOTES 3:52 The importance of insects and the ecosystem services they provide 6:00 An example of insects at work in Australia 9:20 Unknown number of insect species, but we do know that insect populations are on the

When we speak of biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, and food injustice, we have to go to the root: colonialism. From the perspective and "voice" of the nutmeg, The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis by acclaimed author Amitav Ghosh does just that. Ghosh was born in Calcutta and grew up in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka and is now based in Brooklyn. He’s the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction including The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. His most recent book, The Nutmeg’s Curse, opens with the Dutch Empire’s brutal war in the Banda Islands—a small archipelago that’s part of what is now Indonesia—to establish a monopoly on the nutmeg trade. From there, he takes us halfway around the world and back again, weaving together stories of colonial violence, human resilience, and non-human agency. SHOW NOTES: 2:32 | Why European navigators sailed off in search of spices in the 17th century 4:00 | Dutch colonialism and the 1621 Banda Massacre 9:46 | Nutmeg pro

Indigenous people make up 5 percent of the global population and steward 80 percent of the world's biodiversity, yet they aren’t centered in most discussions or actions for environmental justice. An Indigenous woman and scientist, Dr. Jessica Hernandez talks about the importance of Indigenous science (and scientists) in her new book Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science. In this conversation, Jessica talks about the importance of Indigenous-led stewardship projects, Black-Indigenous solidarity, and shares the moving story of how she came to the book’s title. SHOW NOTES: 1:51 | The difference between an interdisciplinary scientist and an Indigenous scientist 3:50 | What is Indigenous science? 5:50 | Indigenous people support 80% of the world’s biodiversity 10:15 | Conservation as a Western construct and the trouble with the original concept of National Parks 12:44 | The importance of #LandBack and Indigenous-led stewardship projects 17:49 | The impact of bana

There is a broad consensus around the “endangerment” of crop diversity—among scientists, advocates, policymakers, and corporations, actors who tend to disagree on a number of other issues. But Helen Anne Curry says: not so fast. Where does this endangerment narrative come from? Whose interests does it serve? And what assumptions does it make? Conventional approaches to crop conservation largely center on conserving seeds off-farm in gene banks, as opposed to protecting the livelihoods, communities, and farming systems of the peasants and Indigenous peoples who developed and steward those seeds. In this conversation, Curry delves into the history and science of seed conservation—and its implications for the future of food. SHOW NOTES: 2:23 | What is the “endangerment narrative”? 6:11 | Origins of endangerment in the early history of plant breeding and industrial agriculture 14:35 | Endangerment as an outgrowth of settler colonialist & racist assumptions 19:01 | Defining ex situ (off site) vs. in situ (on site

Colonialism is at the root of the problems we see in our food system, and, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently stated, it is also at the root of the climate crisis. By cultivating diversity within the soil and amongst farmers, we can work towards a liberated future. “Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming” by Liz Carlisle shares the stories of Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian-American farmers around the United States who are using their ancestral agricultural traditions to heal the soil, build climate resilience, connect with their culture, and create pathways for racial justice. Tiffani’s conversation with author Liz Carlisle and scientist Aidee Guzman highlights what is possible when we focus on diversity above and below ground. SHOW NOTES: 02:25 | The four per mille study and why regenerative agriculture has sparked hope in recent years. 04:35 | What’s possible when you take “regeneration” and regenerative agriculture to heart 06:25 |

Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by James Beard award-winning author Mayukh Sen gives us an intimate look into the lives of seven women who’ve changed the way we think about food in the US, while sharing some unique insights into how food media shapes our appetites.

Frances Moore Lappé's groundbreaking book in 1971 exposed the true cause of hunger while also changing the way many people eat, for the better. 50 years later, she released a new edition with an updated introduction that speaks to her ethos, what has changed in the last 50 years, and what's next.

The Covid pandemic, mass uprisings against injustice around the world, raging forest fires... Our bodies, societies, and planet are inflamed, argue Raj Patel and Dr. Rupa Marya. Their epic and timely new book "Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice" will forever change the way you think—not only about food—but about the ruptures in the web of life that have wrought so much damage on our health and relationships. Rupa is a physician and professor of medicine dedicated to healing the wounds of colonialism through food medicine, story, and learning; and Raj is the best-selling author "Stuffed and Starved," "The Value of Nothing," and co-author of "A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things." For more on this episode, visit: https://realfoodmedia.org/portfolio/inflamed/ Join the Real Food Reads book club: https://realfoodmedia.org/programs/real-food-reads/

The story of humankind is usually told as one of technological innovation and economic influence—of arrowheads and atomic bombs, settlers and stock markets. But behind it all, there is an even more fundamental driver: food. In this episode, Anna Lappé and Mark Bittman dive into how food has shaped our past, but also how we can transform it to reclaim our future. For more on this episode, visit: https://realfoodmedia.org/portfolio/animal-vegetable-junk/ Join the Real Food Reads book club: https://realfoodmedia.org/programs/real-food-reads/

“Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice” centers the Black experience within the US food system: what is missing and what is possible. Edited by Dr. Ashanté M. Reese and Hanna Garth, this anthology features voices and experience from around the nation.