Podcasts about new food economy

How do online restaurant reviews affect foodways in an emerging migrant destination? In this episode, rhetorician Consuelo Carr Salas and geographer Colleen Hammelman unpack the intersection of digital and physical culinary contact zones. In conversation with Gastronomica Editorial Collective member Jaclyn Rohel, Consuelo and Colleen share insights on tastemaking from their new research on Latin American and Caribbean food businesses in Charlotte, North Carolina, one the America's fastest growing cities. Drawing attention to the many ways in which customers and restaurateurs use notions of authenticity, they shed light on how people give meaning to new culinary spaces.HRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we're asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.Gastronomica is Powered by Simplecast.

We may be starved of our freedom, but we do not need to go hungry. Food sovereignty is my next goal as we enter a new year – and potential apocalypse. I'm not talking about hoarding cans of beans from the supermarket. Instead, I'm exploring how we can create a sustainable, healthy food revolution in your own backyard. It's called a Food Forest.  Jim Gale, the mastermind behind Food Forest Abundance, is here to fertilize your curiosity. He's on a mission to facilitate food forests in every (misused) lawn and corner of soil in the world. In this episode, we discuss how to grow your own food, profit from produce, and create an abundant food ecosystem for generations to come!    05:19 — What is a Food Forest? The benefits of wild food foraging  Growing grapes in Texas  Why we should turn lawns into Food Forests    19:48 — Improving Urban Landscapes  Why now is the time to learn to grow our own food  Why centralization is the enemy to a sustainable food future  Making vegetables thrive in your own backyard, with or without sun  Storage of excess food + eating according to seasons   38:41 — The Hierarchy of Food Whole foods vs. poisoned food Timespan between farm to  aisle  How plants support one another  What a sustainable food system looks like The act of food as a “re-LOVE-ution”  Calculating the investment to grow your own  The timespan to grow plants, fruits, and vegetables  Micronutrients found in dirt    55:09 — Keeping Soil Robust The best way to compost Natural pest control and why we don't need to fear bugs  The poison we feed ourselves with programing  Keeping deer out of your garden  How to become part of the supply chain  Integrating medicinal plants into permaculture   01:14:41 —How to Participate In a New Food Economy  How you can imitate Jim Gale's business model for yourself  Scaling globally and profitability  The bio-marketing package to help you get to market  Why food sovereignty is the most revolutionary act you can do   More about this episode. Watch on YouTube. Connect with Luke on social media to learn how to take your lifestyle to the next level, plus catch exclusive live interviews & events: INSTAGRAM - @lukestorey // instagram.com/lukestorey/ FACEBOOK - facebook.com/MrLukeStorey/ TWITTER - @MrLukeStorey // twitter.com/MRLUKESTOREY YOUTUBE - youtube.com/c/LukeStorey   THIS SHOW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: CACAO BLISS. Back in the day, I used to have to take about 50 ingredients to make an elixir or a smoothie. I had to mix them together, make a big mess, and it took up a bunch of space in the cabinet. But Cacao Bliss has changed the game. Now I have amazing ceremony-grade organic ingredients like raw cacao, turmeric, black pepper, MCT powder, cinnamon, monk fruit, coconut nectar, lacuma, mesquite, and Himalayan salt all in one. So this is the ultimate superfood elixir, but it really tastes like chocolate milk. It's just absolutely fantastic. Try it yourself by using code “LUKE15” for 15% off at earthechofoods.com/lukestorey.   AND...   LEELA QUANTUM TECH - Improves your health, fitness levels, and mindset. Their products harmonize harmful frequencies like 4G,5G, microwaves, and WIFI and give your body, home environment, and even your pets a huge quantum upgrade. Go to leelaq.com and use the code “LUKE10” for 10% off their product line.    AND…   JOOVV. A new generation of Joovv devices are here and I am stoked. They're sleeker, lighter, easier to set up, and allow you to stand 3x further away from the device while still getting the recommended dosage. There's also a new ambient mode to help you wind down at the end of the day and a recovery mode that will help you rejuvenate after a tough workout. If you are ready to get a new Joovv device, you can get a discount for a limited time over at Joovv.com/luke. HELP SUPPORT THIS SHOW! Love the show? You'll really love Luke's Master Market Online Store!  It's a win-win! Get direct links to all of Luke's hand-picked biohacking and health products all in one place, exclusive discounts, and support the show by making purchases through the web store >> SHOP NOW.   Other ways to support:  SUBSCRIBE >> Apple Podcasts + Stitcher + Google Podcasts + Spotify LEAVE APPLE PODCASTS REVIEW >> Simple step-by-step instructions SHARE >> Spread the word! Tell your family, friends, neighbors, and all your social pals   Resources Website: foodforestabundance.com Instagram: @foodforestabundance Are you ready to block harmful blue light, and look great at the same time? Check out Gilded By Luke Storey. Where fashion meets function: gildedbylukestorey.com Join me on Telegram for the uncensored content big tech won't allow me to post. It's free speech and free content: www.lukestorey.com/telegram   Related Shows Episode 292: Fake Food and Modern Medicine: Reclaim Your Health w/ Nature's Wisdom 

Undocumented and formerly incarcerated Americans have been left out of federal pandemic relief payments. New York is home to about half a million undocumented residents, many of whom are essential workers. One year in, they're going on a hunger strike. On Tuesday, March 16th protestors gathered at St. John The Divine in Manhattan on the first day of the "Fast for the Forgotten''. Demonstrators are calling for government relief for New Yorkers passed over by federal pandemic relief. Jessica Fu published a story for The Counter after visiting the strike and speaking with participants and organizers. In this episode, she and HRN's Hannah Fordin discuss the strike, its implications, and what New York State is doing to support these excluded workers. To read Jessica Fu's coverage of the strike for The Counter, click here. Additional Links / Bibliography:Make The Road NYFund Excluded WorkersStreet Vendor ProjectAn Economic Profile of Immigrants in New York City 2017“How Long Can You Go Without Food?” Hunger Strikes 101 from SlateHave a question you want answered? Email us at question@heritageradionetwork.orgThis project is funded in part by a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act. This program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.The Big Food Question is powered by Simplecast.

Daniel Anthes ist aus Leidenschaft aktiv im Nachhaltigkeitsbereich. Um mehr Menschen zu einem nachhaltigerem Lebensstil zu inspirieren, gibt Daniel Vorträge, schreibt und berät. Oder er wird selbst aktiv wie mit dem erste Brotbier Deutschlands. Erwähnungen und Ressourcen: www.danielanthes.com/ (https://www.danielanthes.com/) https://www.knaerzje.de/ (https://www.knaerzje.de/) Zukunftsinstitut (https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/) Hans Rosling und Possibilismus The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less von on Barry Schwartz (Buch) Die Große Transformation: Eine Einführung in die Kunst gesellschaftlichen Wandels von Uwe Schneidewind (Buch) Über folgende Themen sprechen wir: Wie Daniel Anthes zum Thema Nachhaltigkeit gab [08:10] Nachhaltiges Arbeiten [17:32] Wie können wir dem Thema Nachhaltigkeit mehr Relevanz geben? Wie kann ein nachhaltiges Leben mehr Menschen wichtig sein? [28:16] Wie können wir entscheiden, worauf wir uns fokussieren? Die Bedeutung von Authentizität [50:12] Wie passiert Wandel? [58:42] Minimalismus und leben mit weniger Gast dieser Folge: Daniel Anthes Daniel Anthes, Jahrgang 1986 und diplomierter Wirtschaftsgeograph, Betriebswirt und Publizist, beschäftigt sich v.a. mit dem Megatrend Neo-Ökologie – ob auf einer Meta-Ebene mit Blick auf die Next Economy oder das Slow Business, oder aber auf Ebene des Individuums mit Blick auf neue Lebensstile, wie bspw. den Minimalismus und die neue Foodie-Generation. Außerdem schreibt der passionierte Blogger regelmäßig zu den Themen Zukunft und Nachhaltigkeit, v.a. in Bezug auf die Food-Branche. Nicht zuletzt engagiert er sich auch ganz praktisch im Rahmen der „New Food Economy“ – so z.B. als Gründer & CEO der Knärzje GmbH, welche das erste Zero-Waste-Bier Deutschlands kreiert hat, sowie als Vorstandsvorsitzender des gemeinnützigen Vereins ShoutoutLoud e.V., welcher mit unterschiedlichen Events zu nachhaltigeren Lebensstilen (v.a. Ernährung) inspiriert.

Carli also speaks with Assistant Teaching Professor Kate Gilbert who has years of industry experience with processing and packaging. Kate also shares ideas about consumer involvement and the direction we are headed with more transparency. National FFA Organization  National 4H Organization  Crops Feed The World From Kate Gilbert: 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat  America’s Eating Habits: Food Away From Home  50 Shades of Brown  The Counter - it used to be the New Food Economy.  The journalists there do a fantastic job covering aspects of the food system that we wonder about but don't often hear.   Reducing Wasted Food At Home - there are many good references about food waste. The EPA website is a good starting place & includes what consumers can do at home to reduce food waste. Healthy Soils Are The Basis for Healthy Food Production The Great Nutrient Collapse -This is a fascinating article about how increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are changing the composition of plants and foods (and not for the better).

The latest climate convention talks in Madrid fell apart- is America at fault?.. Jesse Hirsch from New Food Economy is here - Is high risk romaine the new normal?..In Geeky Science - There's a new toad in town, and its secretions may not be what you expect... The Environmental Defense Fund, U.S. Forest Service and Radical right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson show up in The good, the bad and the very very ugly. And finally- is there an alternative to feeding factory farmed animals so much antibiotics?

HRN’s Katy Keiffer and Lisa Held are joined by food media all stars Kate Cox of The New Food Economy and Tom Philpott and Maddie Oatman of Mother Jones. They talked about their highlights from the Young Farmers Conference and share stories from the heart of the food world.The holiday season is all about food and community. There’s no better time to show your support for food radio by becoming a member! Lend your voice and help HRN continue to spreading the message of equitable, sustainable, and delicious food – together, we can change minds and build a better food system. Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate  today to become a crucial part of the HRN community.HRN On Tour is powered by Simplecast.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has given their support to the dairy industry and recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not allow plant-based milks to use the label 'milk' on their products. Food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Tuesday to explain the money-based bias in studies that say children are better off drinking cow's milk. "The American Academy of Pediatrics gets lots of money from the dairy board," Kummer said. "So they pay attention to dairy board sponsored studies that say pediatricians are concerned that children might be lacking nutrients. It's a bogus study because New Food Economy called up a bunch of pediatricians who said they're not worried. It's just industry that wants to protect the designation of milk and doesn't want to lose its market." While cow's milk is a nutrient-packed product, it's incorrect to say that switching to plant-based milks will harm children, Kummer added. "The nutrient density of cow's milk is incredibly high and it's great for children, but it doesn't mean that if parents decide they want their kids to have almond milk or soy milk that its going to destroy their childrens' health," he said. "Most pediatricians said they've never seen it be a problem." Kummer is a *senior editor at The Atlantic*, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.

If you're a consumer at Chipotle or Sweetgreen, you might feel virtuous that the bowls used there are considered compostable. Yet new findings show that these compostable bowls can still cause harm to both the environment and human health. Food writer Corby Kummer joined Boston Public Radio on Tuesday to talk about what this new research means for the future of your food bowl. "A writer from The New Food Economy got 19 different samples of compostable bowls, from Chipotle to Sweetgreen. All of them had high content of fluorines, which is what these 'forever chemicals' contain," he said. Compostable bowls began to find increasing popularity when some cities like New York banned Styrofoam containers, Kummer said. "New York and others started banning single-use foam because it was so bad for the environment and it never biodegraded." These foam containers contained long chain PFAs, and switching to compostable materials seemed reasonable, Kummer said. Yet these compostable containers consist of the less researched short chain PFAs, he added. "What they didn't know is that all these short chain PFAs make compost toxic, because they never dissipate and they are long persistent in the human body and collect in your organs," Kummer said. The reason that PFAs are useful in food containers lies in their ability to resist liquid, preventing food from dripping through its holder, Kummer noted. "PFAs are used to resist water in cookware and carpets. The long forms [of PFAs] were ruled out for a lot human use, but there's no data on the shorter forms." A new law will go into effect in 2020 banning all PFA use in single-use serviceware in San Franciso. With this in mind, alternatives containers will be produced, Kummer said. "All sorts of manufacturers are racing to provide alternatives, since San Francisco will outlaw short form PFAs in January," he said. "Sweetgreen was the first to step up and say yes we're looking into alternatives and we're going to find a way around this." Kummer is a *senior editor at The Atlantic*, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.

ÜBER DEN GAST: Daniel Anthes, Jahrgang 1986 und diplomierter Wirtschaftsgeograph, Betriebswirt und Publizist, beschäftigt sich v.a. mit dem Megatrend Neo-Ökologie – ob auf einer Meta-Ebene mit Blick auf die Next Economy oder das Slow Business, oder aber auf Ebene des Individuums mit Blick auf neue Lebensstile, wie bspw. den Minimalismus und die neue Foodie-Generation. Nicht zuletzt engagiert er sich auch ganz praktisch im Rahmen der „New Food Economy“ – so z.B. als Gründer & CEO der Knärzje GmbH, welche das erste Zero-Waste-Bier Deutschlands kreiert hat, sowie als Vorstandsvorsitzender des gemeinnützigen Vereins ShoutoutLoud e.V., welcher mit unterschiedlichen Events zu nachhaltigeren Lebensstilen inspiriert. ÜBER DEN HOST: Florian Kondert ist Geschäftsführer der Future Day GmbH. Sein Team begleitet Unternehmen seit über 15 Jahren dabei, Zukunft in ihr Heute zu bringen. Im Kern aller Tätigkeiten stehen jene Momente, die uns neu auf die Welt blicken lassen, und in welchen wir entscheidende Weichen für die Zukunft stellen. Die Future Day GmbH kreiert solche Momente, die intellektuell und emotional inspirieren. Die Fragen an Daniel Anthes Wie kommt jemand auf die Idee, aus Brot-Resten Bier zu brauen? Und dann auch noch zum definitiv richtigen Zeitpunkt? Du hast immerhin mit Deinem Konzept auch ziemlich abgeräumt, was Preise und Ehrungen betrifft. Ist das ein Beispiel für diesen überall auftauchenden Begriff der Disruption oder steckt was anderes dahinter – gerade wenn wir das jetzt mit den Stichwörtern zu Beginn vergleichen (Minimalismus, Next Growth…)? Ich stelle mir vor, ein konventionelles Unternehmen will Dir nacheifern – also jetzt nicht zwingend Bier brauen – aber im Sinne von der richtigen Idee zum richtigen Zeitpunkt. Was sind die wichtigsten Spots, die ausgeleuchtet werden müssen, um eine Chance zu haben? Du warst als Berater oft genug in genau solchen Situationen dabei, wo die Kunden bei der Innovationsagenda in einer Sackgasse gesteckt sind. Woran scheitern Unternehmen Deiner Erfahrung nach? Kann man den schwarzen Peter einer bestimmten Job-Position geben, oder ist das Problem wo anders zu suchen? Nochmal zurück zur Next Economy, Next Growth, Minimalismus: Prof. Andé Reichel hat bei unserem Future Day 2019 unter anderem den Suffizienz-Gedanken in den Mittelpunkt gestellt. Wie knacken wir diese Mammut-Aufgabe, denn das ist ja eigentlich ein Abgesang für den Kapitalismus, der unsere Epoche des wirtschaftlichen Handelns dominiert? Ist Dein Knärzje ein früher Use Case für das neue Normale? ––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Melden Sie sich für unseren Newsletter an, um über neue Inhalte auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben: https://futureday.network/newsletter/ ––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Future Day online https://futureday.network https://twitter.com/fd_journey https://www.facebook.com/fdjourney/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-day-gmbh

On the last show of the summer season, we’re looking forward to fall. On this episode, Tech Bites host Jennifer Leuzzi (@mmesnack) talks with journalist Gabriella Gershenson (@gabiwrites) and Heritage Radio Network's Kat Johnson (@kathryncrosby) about what they’re most looking forward to this fall. Spoiler alert: it’s HRN’s 10th anniversary. This episode of Tech Bites (@techbiteshrn) is made possible by the generous support of Brooklyn Ball Factory (@bkballfactory_hk). Tech Bites is powered by Simplecast.

One of the summer’s best restaurant tech stories involves delivery giant Grubhub buying up tens of thousands of restaurant websites, unbeknownst to the restaurant owners. The discovery, along with a public hearing on the commission structure restaurants pay to GrubHub for phone orders, generated enough public interest that Senator Chuck Schumer to called for a federal investigation. On this episode of Tech Bites, host Jennifer Leuzzi (@mmesnack) talks with H. Claire Brown (@hclaire_brown), the New Food Economy (@newfoodeconomy) reporter about how she broke the story. This episode of Tech Bites (@techbiteshrn) was made possible by the generosity of Cart-Driver (@cart_driver) Denver’s home for pizza, oysters, community, and conviviality! Image courtesy of Jonathan Karp. Tech Bites is powered by Simplecast.

Adrianne tries to order from a local sushi restaurant, but an unfamiliar voice answers, promising "awesomeness." Awesomeness for whom? Show notes: 2:16 - “GrubHub is buying up thousands of restaurant web addresses. That means Mom and Pop can’t own their slice of the internet,” published June 28, 2019 by H. Claire Brown at The New Food Economy. 13:07 - Dark patterns 13:54 - A report about Munish Narula’s class action lawsuit from Nation’s Restaurant News 14:19 - “Restaurateurs across the country say they are waking up to a years-long, high-tech bamboozling by Grubhub involving hidden fees for orders that never happened,” reads the lede for The New York Post’s first story in a series on phony fees, May 19, 2019. 23:03 - “Grubhub repays one eatery $10K over fee protest,” published June 24, 2019 by The New York Post. 23:30 - Watch the full hearing, “The Changing Market for Food Delivery,” here. 32:17 - Grubhub and Yelp announced a “long-term partnership” in 2017

Kate Cox, Editor at The New Food Economy, is the special guest host of this episode. Kate spoke with Grant McCargo, Meriwether Hardie, and Lilly Hancock from Bio-Logical Capital. They discuss regenerative agriculture and the work that goes into investing in agriculture and improving the systems in place to support growers along every step of the food production pipeline as well as the burden of America’s focus on commodity agriculture. HRN On Tour is powered by Simplecast.

Kate Cox and Joe Fassler join us to share the most recent food journalism produced by The New Food Economy, an award-winning non-profit newsroom using independent, deep, and unbiased reporting to investigate the forces shaping how and what we eat. In its reporting, The New Food Economy goes beyond the gustatory to tell the urgent, under-reported stories of a changing system no one can opt out of. HRN Happy Hour is powered by Simplecast.

In our visit with Mark Tilsen in the Black Hills for Episode 5 about Tanka Bar, our interview happened to take place right before a prayer walk to a proposed gold mining site up the creek from Mark's place.  As I began to include this synchronous content in the Tanka Bar episode, I realized that it lit up a section of the rabbit hole that needed it's own episode for a proper introduction, so I created this bonus episode to explore some of the complexities that emerged while looking at gold mining in the Black Hills.  It includes another historical introduction, audio from the prayer walk, and recordings from phone conversations with Mark Tilsen and Cheryl Rowe of Dakota Rural Action. Here's a photo of the Homestake Mine site, photo credit to Rachel Harris: Links: Tanka Bar: Dakota Rural Action:  Mineral Mountain Resources:  U.N. Special Report on Indigenous Peoples in the U.S.: You can find the album, Under a Buffalo Sun, containing John Trudell's Buffalo Wild poem, and another album of Mignon and Good Shield's entitled Soul-A-Mente. You can find the New Food Economy article Mark mentions in the update interview . Michael DiGiorgio recorded the banjo-bird jams I'm using in the intro and ending. You can find his amazing nature art at . Mike says that if you'd like to buy the album of his nature-banjo jams, you can find his email on his website and he can mail you a CD.          

In this episode, the second of four in this series on the bison in the Great Plains, we visit the lands of the Oglala Lakota in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota, where we met with Mark Tilsen, cofounder of Tanka Bar.   Tanka Bar, a company owned and operated by the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation, created the first commercial bison meat and fruit bar based on one of their sacred foods, called wasna.  The mission of Tanka Bar is to restore the Pine Ridge landscape and economy by bringing back the buffalo.  Before the interview with Mark, I also share a bit more history of the time of the buffalo slaughter.  I feel it's useful to have some understanding of the creation of the wounds that Tanka Bar is working to help heal. There's also a bonus episode that wove with the buffalo investigation in the Black Hills, that will be released days after this one. We'll look at historic and and current natural resource struggles in lands granted to the Oglala Lakota in 1868.  It's much the same story as the extermination of the buffalo that we dive deeper into in this episode, but has enough non-buffalo complexities that I decided to give it it's own space in a bonus episode.  It includes an interview with Cheryl Rowe of Dakota Rural Action. You can find out more about Tanka Bar and the Tanka Fund at the following links: You can find the album, Under a Buffalo Sun, containing John Trudell's Buffalo Wild poem, and another album of Mignon and Good Shield's entitled Soul-A-Mente. You can find the New Food Economy article Mark mentions in the update interview . Michael DiGiorgio recorded the banjo-bird jams I'm using in the intro and ending. You can find his amazing nature art at . Mike says that if you'd like to buy the album of his nature-banjo jams, you can find his email on his website and he can mail you a CD.    

  H. Claire Brown: How an FDA Algorithm is Killing Bodegas (Ep. 169) The New Food Economy’s Claire Brown joined Joe Miller to discuss how an FDA algorithm is killing bodegas by flagging otherwise legal transactions as fraud. Bio H. Claire Brown (@hclaire_brown) is a staff writer for The New Food Economy focusing on food policy and the environment. Her reporting has won awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York and the New York Press Club. She is based in Brooklyn. Resources New Food Economy How an Algorithm kicks small businesses out of the food stamp program on dubious fraud charges by Claire Brown Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister News Roundup Federal officials worry about shutdown’s effect on cyber security Federal security officials are worried about the short and long-term harm to the nation’s cybersecurity during the shutdown. They’re worried about losing furloughed talent and about criminals and foreign actors taking advantage of the shutdown to launch cyberattacks. Illinois Congresswoman Robin Kelly issued a strong rebuke against Trump for the shutdown saying it’s immoral and unnecessary. She noted that when she served as the ranking member of the IT subcommittee in the last session of Congress, the subcommittee repeatedly discussed the federal government’s inability to attract top IT and tech talent. She said the shutdown makes federal IT jobs seem even less attractive than they were before. Motherboard paid $300 to a bounty hunter to access customer location info from carriers Remember in 2017 when the Republican-controlled Congress repealed the Obama-FCC’s privacy rules that would have required carriers to obtain opt-in consent from customers before sharing their data? Well, Motherboard’s Joseph Cox reported last week that he paid just 300 bucks to a bounty hunter to identify the location of a phone. This is exactly the kind of harm the privacy rules were designed to prevent. The Motherboard investigation found that all the bounty hunter had to do was purchase the location data that ultimately came from T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint and voilá – here’s your phone … or the phone of that person you’re stalking … So House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone demanded an emergency briefing from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai … Pai declined, citing the shutdown --- claiming that the issue wasn’t a “threat to the safety of human life or property.” AG nominee Barr to recuse himself from AT&T/Time Warner merger appeal Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar announced last week that Trump’s attorney general nominee William Barr assured her in a private meeting that he would recuse himself from the AT&T/Time Warner Merger. The Justice Department is appealing a lower court’s decision to approve the $85 billion merger of the two companies. Barr’s Senate confirmation hearing takes place today, Tuesday, January 15. Google shareholder sues for $90 million Andy Rubin payout Google shareholder James Martin filed a lawsuit against the company last week for its $90 million payout to former executive Andy Rubin after he left the company amidst sexual harassment allegations. The complaint alleges a “multi-year scheme to cover up sexual harassment and discrimination at Alphabet” and claims the board, including Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, breached their fiduciary duties as board members and as executives who set the internal tone that enabled extramarital affairs at the company. Thune/Wicker switch roles on the Senate Commerce Committee South Dakota Republican John Thune has stepped down as Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and now heads up the Communications Subcommittee. Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker now Chairs the full committee. Trump administration proposes to allow drones to fly at night The Federal Aviation Administration issued proposed rules Monday that would allow small commercial drones to fly over cities at night.  Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao says she’s keenly aware of the safety concerns.  

Native American Natural Foods makes Tanka Bars, the first brand of bison meat bars, experienced a couple of ups and downs in business since it started in 2006. But since competition from non-Native companies swept up all the investments and money in the last couple of years, Tanka Bar is left to restructure its brand. In this episode, I talk with Mark Tilsen, president and co-founder of Native American Natural Foods. The New Food Economy article: “Bison bars were supposed to restore Native communities and grass-based ranches. Then came Epic Provisions.”

Food policy and environment reporter Claire Brown's first job in food was helping SNAP recipients use their benefits at New York farmers markets, so we invited her on to talk about everything from SNAP to the Farm Bill and how they do or don't address food access.  Episode sponsor: Stitch Fix - visit stitchfix.com/the51 to sign up, and earn an extra 25% off when you keep all of your box. 

In this week’s Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn interviews Corie Brown, the co-founder of Zester Media. Brown writes about food and the food system, and is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Premiere Magazine, and BusinessWeek. Earlier this year, Brown wrote a story for The New Food Economy entitled “Rural Kansas is dying. I drove 1,800 miles to find out why.” Brown is from Kansas originally, and was aware of the state’s long, steady depopulation, but was struck by a report that rural Kansas had become a food desert: an area in which residents do not have adequate access to affordable and healthy food.  “How can this breadbasket be a food desert?” she asks: Kansas, after all, is a state that devotes an overwhelming percentage of its land to agriculture. And yet much of the state is dotted with towns that have lost one-third, half, or more of their population in the last generation. It’s to the point that basic amenities like fresh groceries can be hard to come by. “There are no people here. Not enough to justify a delivery truck.”  The apparent paradox, Brown says, reflects the fact that Kansas has always had a commodity-based agricultural economy, not a subsistence one. The origins of Kansas’s settlement are not in family farms serving an immediate household and community, but in export agriculture, originally promoted by the federal government through grants of free land under the 19th century Homestead Acts. The carving up of the semi-arid Great Plains for intensive agriculture led to a slow-rolling environmental disaster that culminated in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The problem with commodity agriculture is that small farmers cannot compete with industrial-scale operations by making a higher-quality product. Says Brown, “A thousand-acre farmer in Ellis County, Kansas, is very specifically, directly competing with the government of China. Or the government of Brazil.” And the price that farmer can sell their wheat for is the price that the global commodity wheat market will bear. The result has been a relentless pressure to mechanize agriculture and improve efficiency, using less and less labor over time. Modern technology allows one farmer to manage a vast number of acres. The cost, however, is depopulation: fewer classmates for your children at school, and less access to culture and amenities. Thirty years ago, Brown, reflects, she was at a wedding in Downs, and it was a “quintessential small Kansas town”—there were people on the street, stocked shelves in the stores, a local newspaper. It was small, but active. “When I came back, it had lost a third of its population in 30 years. A lot of the store windows were blank.” Those business owners who were still around had moved their businesses out of store fronts and into their homes. Compounding rural Kansas’s suffering, says Brown, is that the state has a culture of bootstrapping—Kansas attracted people with nothing to lose. In a great game of musical chairs, “they all believe they won’t be the one left without a chair,” and pride can prevent people from acknowledging that they need help. Resistance is still strong in Kansas’s shrinking towns to the idea of dependence on government subsidies and assistance, or to the notion that the $1 billion a year that Kansas farmers already receive in federal farm aid even constitutes a subsidy. People work long, hard hours—“They’ve never worked harder”—and farmers who help feed the world don’t even grow vegetable gardens at home anymore, because they don’t have time. Marohn muses on the commonalities between this situation and inner city poverty: the food desert aspect, the long work for little income just to stay afloat, the isolation and lack of opportunity, and often the inability to leave if you wanted to—how can you sell your house in a place in the process of being abandoned? Who would buy it? And yet, most rural Kansans, both Marohn and Brown agree, would not see themselves as having anything in common with the urban poor. And while wealthier urban residents often look at the urban poor with empathy, they may not have the same degree of empathy for those left behind in depopulating small towns. Playing into this is Kansas’s own rural-urban political divide, in which the residents of the Kansas City suburbs who make up a large share of the state’s population are less attuned to rural priorities and needs, and may see rural Kansas’s politics as holding the state back. There are also the politics of immigration to consider. The only rural areas in Kansas to be gaining population are in the state’s southwest, where the meatpacking and food processing industries produce a lot of demand for low-wage labor, much of it provided by immigrants.  What can Kansas do? There are no easy answers. Marohn asks Brown about the possibility of getting out of the commodity-wheat game and into something like organic produce. But this not only requires learning to do something new, but entails high up-front costs in equipment and infrastructure, and proximity to a major market for such produce. “It’s not that they’re unwilling to task a risk,” Brown says of Kansas farmers who might go organic; it’s that they can’t afford to take that risk. Given the lack of an economic raison d’etre for many of these small towns, perhaps the question that remains is whether they should continue to exist. Do we try to pour in outside resources, Marohn wonders, to save places that can’t be saved? Or do we do the economic-development equivalent of hospice care for a dying town—make the quality of life a little better for those who are still there? Brown says that in areas where the towns are too small to provide services, the people living there need to regionalize their local economies. Where five towns are no longer viable, one larger town might be: it might have the critical mass to provide a school, a pharmacy, and other basic amenities. But there’s a huge amount of work and cooperation and sacrifice involved in doing this. “In a lot of these towns where people have left,” says Brown, “the people that remain mow the lawns of the abandoned houses and maintain the look, because they have pride in their town and they don’t want people to know.” This pride of place can be a uniquely human strength, but in the end, it may also be a uniquely human failing.

When people in the food industry meet Robyn O’Brien for the first time, they often remark, “Funny, you don’t look like one of them.” “One of them,” presumably being the stereotypical food or environmental activist. And in a way, they're right. Robyn is a self-described “conservative Texas mom” raised in a military family, and admittedly, the last person you’d expect to be leading a crusade to reform the food industry. Yet she is at the forefront of a movement to fundamentally rethink what goes into our nation’s food supply. As a financial analyst in the food industry, Robyn began to undercover undeniable links in the chemical pesticides, GMOs, and antibiotics in our food and troubling health trends like the explosion of childhood food allergies. Through her writing and her now Famous TEDx Talk, Robyn triggered an allergic reaction in the food industry when she dared to asked: “Are we allergic to food or what’s been done to it?” Today, she is a sought-after advisor and speaker, inspiring organizations and individuals to engage in the “New Food Economy.” Robyn was a delight to interview, and as usual, the conversation took some unexpected turns. What we found most fascinating was Robyn's insight into her journey from financial analyst to food warrior. Fear, she says, was the one thing holding her back, but how leading with love (something she learned from her mother as a child) has given her the courage and resolve to bring these important issues to light.  Key Takeaways Why Robyn is optimistic for the future of the natural foods movement, and why the big food industry players are finally admitting that it isn’t a fad or a trend. Why what we feed ourselves and our families directly impacts how we feel, live, and work. How a conservative girl from Texas from a military family became a crusader for reforming our food supply. How observing the exploding rates of food allergy in children inspired Robyn to dig deep and uncover the untold story of the food industry, and why accepting that this is her purpose has enabled Robyn to let go of the fear that has held her back from making a difference. How and why everyone should listen to their heart in order to find their true purpose and be the person that we’re truly meant to be on this planet. Why our traits and emotions are like muscles, and why courage is just as easy to exercise as fear. The origin behind Robyn’s now famous TEDx Talk, and why she didn’t want to do it at first. Why making a difference isn’t about focusing on the naysayers, but being energized by the positive voices you see opportunity in the challenges ahead. Links Field Trip Jerky www.RobynObrien.com  Robyn on LinkedIn Robyn on Facebook @foodawkenings on Twitter Robyn’s TEDx Talk Recommended Reading The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O’Brien The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist and Teresa Baker Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

Kate Cox is the editor for The New Food Economy. She has written extensively about end-of-life issues, elder incarceration, and the plight of living organ donors. In 2014, she reported and produced The Hidden Crisis, a three-part radio documentary about the nation’s first emergency shelter for victims of elder abuse. Kate has been a contributor to The Nation and Huffington Post and co-created and produced Off the Radar, a travel TV show and blog about two women on a mission to see the world on $1k. Heritage Radio Network On Tour is powered by Simplecast

To preview of our coverage of Slow Food Nations 2018, Kat Johnson is joined by Kate Cox and Joe Fassler of The New Food Economy, an award-winning non-profit newsroom using independent, deep, and unbiased reporting to investigate the forces shaping how and what we eat. They speak about some of their recent coverage of the 2018 Farm Bill and explain why they're turning their focus to meat in July. Heritage Radio Network On Tour is powered by Simplecast.

On this episode of Eating Matters, we talk about the Farmer Fair Practices Rules (aka the GIPSA Rules) which, as wonky as it may sound, offers a fascinating look into the surprising process that 97% of chickens are produced in this country. These rules would have made it easier for farmers to sue companies they contract with over unfair, discriminatory or deceptive practices, offering more protecting farmers from abusive practices that advocates say are commonly experienced in their industry. Host Jenna Liut speaks with Claire Brown, a journalist at the New Food Economy who has covered this issue expensively. Eating Matters is powered by Simplecast

Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have author and editor Joe Fassler on the show! Joe earned his MFA from the University of Iowa Writing Program and is a senior editor at The New Food Economy. His writing has appeared in many journals including The Boston Review, Electric Literature, and Creative Nonfiction, but he’s probably most well-known for the author interviews he conducts as part of The Atlantic’s “By Heart” series. Joe’s latest work, Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process, is a compilation of numerous authors’ answers to one simple but profound question: What inspires you? Light the Dark is available now. I’ve been reading it and all I can say is if you’re a writer, you must put this book on your To-Be-Read list for 2018! Listen in as we chat about this amazing book, and some of the best ways to keep inspired and motivated to write.   In this episode Joe and I discuss: Learning to the draw the line, how to find your catch-all creative time. Why you need to celebrate your zero moment. Balancing what publicists want and what writers want in an interview. Techniques to help find that quiet place of creativity in your mind. The importance of the written word and the transformative power of books. Plus, Joe’s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/183

On this week's What Doesn't Kill You, host Katy Keiffer is joined by Joe Fassler and Sally Lee. Joe Fassler is Senior Editor for New Food Economy, where he covers the politics, economics, and culture of the changing food system His food reporting for TheAtlantic.com has been a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award in Journalism. Sally Lee works directly with poultry farmers and manages Rural Advancement Foundation International’s Contract Ag Reform program. She has a background in social justice, including working at RAFI previously for four years with the Agricultural Justice Project, a social justice certification program for farms and businesses. She also worked as the Social Justice Consultant for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in contributing to the development of the Sustainability Assessments for Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) indicators, which are used globally as a framework for policy development and business assessment.

On this week's What Doesn't Kill You, host Katy Keiffer is joined by Joe Fassler and Sally Lee. Joe Fassler is Senior Editor for New Food Economy, where he covers the politics, economics, and culture of the changing food system His food reporting for TheAtlantic.com has been a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award in Journalism. Sally Lee works directly with poultry farmers and manages Rural Advancement Foundation International’s Contract Ag Reform program. She has a background in social justice, including working at RAFI previously for four years with the Agricultural Justice Project, a social justice certification program for farms and businesses. She also worked as the Social Justice Consultant for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in contributing to the development of the Sustainability Assessments for Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) indicators, which are used globally as a framework for policy development and business assessment.

Jeffrey Kittay is a native New Yorker who spent time in the academic world as a journalism professor @ Columbia University. Later, he worked as a publisher. Four months ago, he decided to start his own e-magazine: The New Food Economy. I love the content. It is aimed to help entrepreneurs like us create change as part of the "food movement". We discuss: The art of helping food entrepreneurs with actionable advice How to create great long-form content How to find (and tell) interesting stories What is the online publishing business like? Certification nation!! The triple bottom line Why "everything in business is personal" How to find journalistic talent. Selected links from the episode: The New Food EconomyJeffrey Kittay BioWhat can open-source do for the food movement?In Maine, a farm-to-campus revolution?Verdict: in Maine, Big Food Service wins againWelcome to certification nationContact Jeffrey