Climavores
Post Script Media
Subscribe
Climavores is a show about eating on a changing planet. Each week, journalists Tamar Haspel and Mike Grunwald explore the complicated, confusing, and surprising relationship between food and the environment.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Feb 7, 2023
We can feed the world without frying it. But will we?
In this last episode of the season, Tamar and Mike discuss what they’ve learned over the past six months and debate whether there’s hope for solving the food and climate problem (spoiler alert: they both say, “Yes, if….).
They discuss techno optimists who see the rise in food and ag tech innovations as an overall win for the climate, but admit that technology can only slow climate change if people embrace it. In this episode, Mike and Tamar weigh in on a recent Bloomberg article titled “Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just Another Fad.” They point out that naysayers also doubted the solar industry in the ‘60s and plant-based milks in the ‘90s. And look where they are now!
They also dig into the belief that the way we grow food and the food we eat should be rooted in a natural system. Tamar admits that until people can disassociate naturalness from their view of the food system, we're not going to make the progress needed to save the planet.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Jan 24, 2023
Is Kernza the climate-friendly answer to wheat?
Wheat feeds billions but it has some big climate problems. Wheat production degrades the soil, which releases carbon. It also requires a lot of land. That means clearing land—often forest—to make room for it, which also releases carbon. Plus, wheat harms ecosystems: fertilizer runoff causes water pollution, and monoculture hurts biodiversity.
One alternative? Kernza. Developed over decades by the Land Institute, it’s a perennial relative of wheat that sequesters carbon with its massive root system. But does its carbon-sequestering power make it truly climate-friendly?
This week, Mike and Tamar talk about Kernza and the decades-long movement to domesticate the holy grail of grains: a crop that not only produces high yields but also improves the environment.
To leave a message for Mike and Tamar, call the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Jan 17, 2023
Rowan Jacobsen on Wild Chocolate and the Climate cost of Cacao
It’s no secret that chocolate is a sweet loved by pretty much everyone (well, everyone except Tamar). Here in the states, the average American eats about 12 pounds of chocolate a year, and worldwide we eat eight million tons of it annually. Unfortunately, our obsession with chocolate comes with a high carbon footprint. It also often creates terrible labor conditions for the communities who cultivate it.
This week, Mike and Tamar speak with Rowan Jacobsen — author, journalist, and host of the podcast “OBSESSIONS: Wild Chocolate” — to discuss how we make chocolate in a way that’s good for the planet and people.
Full transcript here.
To leave a message for Mike and Tamar, call the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Jan 10, 2023
New Year’s Mailbag! Plastics, precision agriculture, grains, and more
It’s a new year, and that means a new stream of voicemails filling up our listener hotline. This week Mike and Tamar kick things off by answering questions about the impact of food packaging, the scope of precision agriculture, lamb and goat meat compared to beef, and much more. They also share some of their predictions for what 2023 will bring in the worlds of nutrition and climate.
It’s the mailbag episode! And it won’t be the last, so keep your questions about food and climate change coming.
To leave a message for Mike and Tamar, call the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Dec 20, 2022
YouTube's Hank Green is ready for lab-grown nuggets
This week on the show, internet sensation Hank Green talks with Mike and Tamar about the future of cell-based meat. Hank lives in Montana, which is hardcore ranching country. It’s a place where beef is king, cowboys are real and pickup trucks are the norm. But he’s convinced that the future of meat looks a lot different than it does today. And Mike and Tamar agree.
But there are huge hurdles to overcome before the majority of us sit down to cell-based steaks at the dinner table. Scaling up bio reactors in a way that maintains sterility is complicated; making cell-based meat that’s affordable to the general public is a long way out; and changing the “ick” mindset around cell-based meat will take a monumental cultural shift.
But despite all that, Hank predicts he’ll be eating cell-based nuggets by 2030 and loving them.
Click here for a full transcript of the episode.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Dec 13, 2022
Never heard of first-hand food? Ask Tamar
Mike and Tamar talk a lot about eating better for our bodies and our planet. They’ve tackled meat versus plants, processed food versus whole food, cow milk versus almond milk. They even did a whole episode about the pros and cons of local food.
But in this episode, they talk about the ultimate local food, something Tamar calls “first-hand food.” It’s the food we grow, forage, raise, hunt or even fish ourselves; and it’s central to Tamar’s book “To Boldly Grow.”
In this episode Mike interviews Tamar on how her book came to be and outs himself as a major fan. “To Boldly Grow” is part memoir, part how-to guide. But it’s not just a book about food. It’s about doing stuff; it’s about love and marriage; and it’s available wherever books are sold if you need a last minute holiday gift…
Resources:
To Boldly Grow by Tamar Haspel
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Dec 7, 2022
Climavores Live: Can we eat right and still save the planet?
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card.
In this live recording of Climavores, Mike and Tamar talk with special guest Dr. Marion Nestle, a nutrition and food studies professor at NYU and author of Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics.
Over her long career, Marion has become one of the leading voices on food, nutrition and politics. Her research examines scientific and socioeconomic influences on food choice, obesity, and food safety, with an emphasis on the role of food industry influence. Tamar calls Marion “the premier Nutrition Scientist of the Western World,” and it’s only a slight exaggeration!
In this episode, Mike, Tamar and Marion dig into why we believe what we do about food and nutrition and explore where eating for the planet is – and isn’t – the same as eating for health.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Nov 22, 2022
How climate-friendly is your Thanksgiving dinner?
Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode of Climavores with guest Marion Nestle. Come ask a question about food, nutrition, and eating for the climate.
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card.
This week, a whole lot of Americans will sit down to Thanksgiving turkeys raised on farms; turkeys that have eaten corn and soybeans that needed land and fertilizer and other resources to grow. And although those turkeys are way better for the climate than beef (which is why Thanksgiving is way better for the climate than the Fourth of July), they’re still the most emissions-intensive part of the meal outside of Tofurkey or wild turkey.
In this first ever Thanksgiving episode of Climavores, Mike and Tamar break down the climate impact of America’s ultimate food holiday – from cranberries to sweet potatoes. Spoiler alert: it’s not bad! They also reflect on the intimate connection Native Americans and early settlers had with their food and the land. And they give thanks for the less than one percent of Americans who grow our food.
Plus, Tamar remembers her mother.
RESOURCES:
The Washington Post: Tamar on the climate impact of Thanksgiving dinner
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Nov 15, 2022
Important Not Important: Starting a food company in the climate era
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card.
Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode of Climavores. Come ask a question about food, nutrition, and eating for the climate.
As a Climavores listener, you know that we spend a ton of time trying to understand and help you understand how climate change affects food, and vice versa.
From beef to corn to rice to deforestation and overfishing, to water and soil, and even to food waste, our current food system is not great for climate change, or people – but that also means there’s huge opportunities to build a better one.
Today we want to introduce you to Important, Not Important – it’s science for people who care, like Climavores!
The critically-acclaimed show, hosted by Quinn Emmett, guides listeners through in-depth conversations with incredible humans working on the frontlines of the future, from climate to COVID, heat to hunger, agriculture to AI ethics.
Quinn teases out stories, tips, and tactics from senators and scientists, investors and doctors, students and CEO’s, and more, helping you to answer everybody’s favorite question: “What can I do?”
In this episode, Quinn welcomes Aishwarya Iyer, founder of Brightland, the wildly popular maker of climate-friendly and delicious olive oils and vinegars, to try and understand what it’s like to start a food company in the climate era, why their bottles are both beautiful and useful, and what California’s drought means for food.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Nov 8, 2022
Is industry-funded research a problem?
Last week, The New York Times weighed in on food and climate change in a big way. They devoted an entire section of page one to Dr. Frank Mitloehner, the head of an agricultural research institute at the University of California, Davis. The headline? “He’s an Outspoken Defender of Meat. Industry Funds His Research, Files Show.”
The implication of the story was that Mitloehner takes meat industry money and expresses meat industry views. But The Times article admitted it didn’t actually find anything unclean about the money, so it felt more like a smear campaign to some. Or just a bad journalistic call.
But the article raised a bigger question for Mike and Tamar: How should we think about industry-funded research, particularly when so much research about the links between agriculture and climate is driven by private-sector support? They also ask how we should think about scientists who moonlight as advocates as well as how pseudo-scandals like the one in The New York Times affect the larger conversation around food and climate change.
Resources:
The New York Times He’s an Outspoken Defender of Meat. Industry Funds His Research, Files Show.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Nov 1, 2022
Throwing soup to fight climate change
In recent weeks, climate activists in London, Paris and Germany have taken center stage for throwing food at famous works of art. Their goal? To focus attention on climate change and fossil fuel dependency. And it’s working. Videos of the protests have racked up tons of views on YouTube. But are these kinds of protests the most effective way to persuade the public?
Mike and Tamar are in the anti-food-throwing camp. But while they don’t agree on the methods, they push back against critical voices in the climate movement. As Mike says, “If you’re going to get pissed, get pissed at the oil companies and agribusinesses that are causing this mess, not these idealistic young people trying to do something about it.”
In this episode, Mike and Tamar talk about the tension between climate wonks and climate activists and weigh in on whether climate activists are being helpful or not.
Resources:
ResearchGate on the effects of extreme protest on popular support for social movements…
playlist_add
Oct 26, 2022
Are GMOs the worst? Or the best?
In the food world, conversations around GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) have been polarized and vitriolic for decades. Fights over the very early genetically modified corn and soy that were resistant to glyphosate, the herbicide in RoundUp, set the tone for an argument that we’re still having a quarter-century later.
Yet human beings have modified almost all of our crops and livestock for years. That’s the whole point of breeding programs. But people feel differently about it when scientists tinker with the genome.
In this episode, Mike and Tamar dig in on whether GMOs are the scourge of the earth or humanity’s salvation. Tamar looks at the nutrition and environmental health facts of GMOs and whether they’re actually bad for us. And Mike weighs in on advances in genetic engineering, “Frankenfoods,” and the sea of misinformation surrounding GMOs.
Resources:
Science Direct on using Camelina as a source of EPA and DHA in fish feed
Progressive Farmer on drought-tolera…
playlist_add
Oct 18, 2022
The magic of trees
The vast majority of habitable land on our planet is either agriculture or forests. So when cropland and grazing land expands, forests shrink. This is a problem because forests soak up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide we emit.
Mike and Tamar talk a lot on the show about ways to make more food with less land. Why? Because doing that helps stop the deforestation that’s transferring carbon from trees to the atmosphere. In the current climate emergency, reducing emissions isn’t enough. We need negative emissions, and trees are the best technology we’ve got.
But fixing the world’s deforestation problems, and its food and climate problems, is more complicated than just planting more trees. In this episode, Mike and Tamar answer a listener question about the negative carbon footprint of fruit and nut trees. Then they dig in on everything from agroforestry and using forests as carbon offsets to burning trees for energy and national and international forest policy.
Have a quest…
playlist_add
Oct 11, 2022
Keeping climate change anxiety from crippling the next generation
Last month, The Washington Post ran a story about college campuses offering therapy for climate change anxiety. The American Psychological Association found that nearly half of younger Americans say eco-anxiety affects their daily lives. And, globally, a study in The Lancet found that 59% percent of people aged 16-25 are very worried about climate change.
In this episode, Mike and Tamar respond to a question from a Bay Area pediatrician caring for teenagers with climate change anxiety and depression. Specifically, she asks how worried kids should be about climate change and if there’s any way to shift their emotions around it.
With the effects of climate change all around us – massive flooding in Pakistan, unprecedented drought in China, catastrophic ice melting in Greenland, raging forest fires in California – it’s easy to get caught up in apocalyptic speculation and hysterical warnings. But Tamar and Mike say some of the facts can be reassuring and even empowering for young…
playlist_add
Oct 4, 2022
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on 'climate-smart commodities'
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.
Climate change is a touchy topic in farm country. But one third of greenhouse gas emissions come from food and agriculture, so it’s crucial that the industry becomes part of the climate change solution.
For years almost all the action on climate change centered on energy – solar and wind and electric vehicles taking on coal and gas and oil. But now Washington is suddenly buzzing about “climate-smart agriculture,” and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is in the middle of the action. He just announced $3 billion in grants for “climate-smart commodities.” The Inflation Reduction Act is sending the USDA $20 billion for climate-smart projects. It’s incredible how quickly the food and climate issue has moved to the center of the plate.
This week, Mike and Tamar welcome Secretary Vilsack as their first Clima…
playlist_add
Sep 27, 2022
Are processed foods evil?
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.
Draw a Venn diagram of people who care about the climate impact of their food and people who are suspicious of processed food, and you’ll see an awful lot of overlap. People love to hate on processed foods.
But historically, food processing actually freed women from the literal daily grind of putting food on the table. And from a climate impact standpoint, more processed foods actually contribute to less food waste. So what gives?
This week, Mike and Tamar dig into the pros and cons of processed foods. From Impossible Burgers to Doritos, almost everything we eat is processed. But there’s a difference between processed and ultra-processed and the impacts each has on our health and our planet.
Resources:
Cambridge University Press on the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing
Have a…
playlist_add
Sep 13, 2022
Soy: the protein we love to hate
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.
When a lot of people think of soy, they think of allergens, overly processed food, and man boobs. There’s even a current full-court press in some corners of the nutrition community to blame seed oils like soybean oil for disease and obesity. And that’s not even taking into account environmental concerns around deforestation in the Amazon and heavy pesticide and herbicide use in soy monocultures.
The U.S. grows 90 million acres of soybeans annually, second only to Brazil in global soybean production. And almost all of that U.S. soy is genetically modified, another red flag for environmentalists.
But Mike and Tamar say soy has gotten a bad rap. And it’s time to set the record straight.
This week, they dig into the nutritional and environmental benefits of soy and ask how soy became a proxy for the evils of ind…
playlist_add
Sep 7, 2022
Mailbag episode! Bug protein, farmed fish, oysters, and more
Every episode of Climavores starts with a listener voicemail. In past episodes, Mike and Tamar have answered your questions about vertical farms (are they a climate-friendly alternative to traditional agriculture?), plant-based milks (are they actually better for the climate than dairy?), and beef (is it really that terrible for the planet? Spoiler: yes).
But our Climavores listener hotline is overflowing. So this week, Mike and Tamar are dedicating an entire episode to answering as many of your questions as possible. They tackle everything from soy’s bad reputation (did someone say “man boobs”?) to factory-farmed fish, bug protein and the topic Tamar loves to hate: regenerative agriculture.
It’s the mailbag episode! And it won’t be the last, so keep your questions about food and climate change coming.
To leave a message for Mike and Tamar, call the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a fu…
playlist_add
Aug 30, 2022
Don’t tread on my pork!
Earlier this month, Cracker Barrel announced the addition of plant-based sausage to its breakfast menu. It was a move largely applauded by vegans, vegetarians and environmentalists alike; but plenty of meat eaters had a different take. ”YOU CAN TAKE MY PORK SAUSAGE WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!! read one Facebook comment.
It’s not surprising to see food so intrinsically linked to our identities. We’ve become an increasingly polarized nation, both politically and socially. Across the U.S. there are now counties where Democrats make up 3% of the population and counties where they make up 95%. Mike describes it as two different Americas – one of bike paths, composting, and NPR; another of pickup trucks, megachurches, and Fox News.
In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at how we make decisions, and whether it’s possible for us to change our minds or behaviors around an emotional issue like food. They dig into confirmation bias, echo chambers, and our increasing ten…
playlist_add
Aug 24, 2022
Where food and agriculture fit into America’s big climate bill
Last week, Barack Obama called President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act a “BFD” on Twitter. With about $370 billion worth of climate funding, it’s an especially BFD for the planet.
The IRA marks the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, promising lower energy costs, increased energy security, targeted decarbonization efforts across all sectors of the economy, investments in disadvantaged communities, and support for rural communities. But how will it impact food and agriculture in particular?
In this episode, Mike and Tamar dig into the bill’s fine print and highlight some of the “Climavores provisions” they’re excited about. They also check whether Congress followed their four-point plan to promote eating less beef, tackle food waste, ditch biofuels, and safeguard yields. (Spoiler alert: they mostly didn’t). But both agree, there’s still lots to like in this bill.
Resources:
AgWeb: What's Ag's Stake in the Senate-Passed Inflatio…
playlist_add
Aug 16, 2022
The intersection of animal welfare and climate
Prioritizing efficiency in the U.S. chicken industry has made chicken cheap. And that’s led, in part, to Americans eating way more chicken and significantly less beef than they did a half-century ago. From a climate change perspective, it’s a major win. From an animal welfare perspective… not so much.
In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at animal welfare in the beef, pork and chicken industries through a climate lens. They ask whether raising animals more humanely means accepting higher greenhouse gas emissions, or whether there’s a middle ground. And Mike responds to a reader’s critique of his recent Canary Media article “What’s the most climate-friendly way to eat? It’s tricky.” Plus, are organically raised animals treated better than industrially raised?
And Mike asks the question: What do we owe the animals we eat?
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at…
playlist_add
Aug 9, 2022
Got plant-based milk?
Plant-based milks make up 16% of U.S. milk sales. From soy, oat and almond milk to hemp, macadamia and quinoa milk, more and more consumers are pivoting away from animal milk.
And that’s a good thing for the planet.
Turns out, animal milk requires massive amounts of land (12 times more land per gallon than oat milk and 18 times more than almond milk). And all those dairy cows emit massive amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, too. But some argue that growing water intensive crops like almonds for almond milk does just as much to harm the planet.
In this episode, Tamar and Mike take on the dairy vs. plant-based milk debate and answer the question: “Which plant-based milk is best for the climate?” Tamar also looks at the nutritional value of plant-based milks vs dairy milk. And Mike convinces Tamar to do a taste test to see which non-dairy alternative might find a permanent place in her refrigerator (spoiler alert: it’s not almond milk).
Have a question about fo…
playlist_add
Aug 2, 2022
Today's food crisis is a postcard from our warming future
The current conflict in Ukraine combined with a massive drought in the horn of Africa are wreaking havoc on global food markets. Food supplies are shrinking; food prices are spiking, and the World Food Programme is warning of a “hunger hurricane” that could put a record 345 million people at acute risk of starvation.
In this episode, Tamar and Mike talk about how in a warming world, we’re going to see more of these breadbasket collapses. They also ask whether people’s eating habits might change for the better as a result. And they lay out a four-point strategy for growing more food without deforesting the planet.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Jul 28, 2022
Hot Farm: Enlisting unconvinced farmers
We’re currently working on some fresh content based on listener questions. We’ll have new episodes next week!
This week, we're running an episode from a podcast called Hot Farm. It's from our friends at the Food & Environment Reporting Network. The podcast is about what farmers are doing – or could be doing – to take on the climate emergency.
In this episode, you’ll hear from farmers who are skeptical about climate change. But you’ll also hear about how they are joining the fight against global warming once the issue is reframed. Hint: it’s about the soil.
Find Hot Farm on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
playlist_add
Jul 19, 2022
Are vertical farms a real solution?
Farmland covers almost 40% of the earth's land surface. When we think about all that farmland, most of us imagine endless fields of grain or corn. But vertical farms flip that idea on its head, literally. Instead of growing out, vertical farms stack plants in multiple layers indoors where they grow impressive yields under the steady glow of LED lighting.
Vertical farms are an attempt to sidestep many of the problems associated with traditional farming – bad weather, pesticides, fertilizer runoff, hard labor, food miles, and agriculture’s gigantic land use footprint. On the surface, they seem like a farming win. But there’s a problem – and it’s a deal-breaker.
In this episode, Tamar and Mike explore the ins and outs of vertical farming, and dig in on that deal-breaker (hint: it’s all about energy). They also take a look at what vertical farms get right, and what outdoor farming can learn from them.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a…
playlist_add
Jul 12, 2022
The rise and fall of plant-based meat
Demand for plant-based meat products surged in 2019 as companies developed better-tasting products, negotiated better shelf positioning, and tapped into shifting consumer preferences. But demand flatlined in 2021, raising questions about whether plant-based products can put a dent in meat consumption.
Environmentalists have criticized companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for lack of transparency on land and water use. And nutrition experts dislike how processed they are. But the reality is clear: these products are much, much better for the climate than beef.
In this episode, Tamar and Mike look at whether people are going to ditch beef patties for a slab of soy or pea protein. What are all the cultural obstacles?
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a production of Post Sc…
playlist_add
Jun 28, 2022
It’s not the 'how,' it’s the cow
Few foods are as tied up in American identity as beef. Think rugged cowboys driving cattle across the open range, or all the good feelings that come with summer grilling season. We love our beef.
But meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gasses from food production. And beef production alone makes up a quarter of that. The pro-beef camp often argues that it’s not the cow that’s the problem for the climate. It’s how the cow is raised. But as Mike and Tamar explain, a lot of it is the cow.
In this episode, Mike and Tamar dig into how the U.S. fell so deeply in love with beef in the first place, and what the main problems are with conventional beef production in the U.S. They also look at efforts to green the beef industry and whether they’re having an impact. From grass-fed beef to local meat CSAs, they try to answer the question: are there climate-friendlier ways to eat beef?
Resources:
Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gasses from food production, stu…
playlist_add
Jun 21, 2022
Bursting the ‘eat local’ bubble
The eat local movement is huge. Bumper stickers in liberal towns across the U.S. tell us to “Eat local” or ask “Who’s your farmer?” But eating local food may be wildly overrated when it comes to climate change.
When we look at how foods are produced, transportation accounts for less than 10% of carbon emissions. So should we abandon farmers’ markets for big grocery store chains?
In this episode, Mike and Tamar break down the real carbon footprint of local food and ask whether the value of supporting local, small-scale farmers outweighs the climate benefit of not buying local (spoiler alert: Tamar says yes. Mike says no). They also dive into the history of the local food movement and explore why it’s gained such traction.
Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode.
Climavores is a produ…
playlist_add
Jun 21, 2022
Why eating for climate is so complicated
Searing heat waves, massive forest fires, rising sea levels – the effects of climate change are all around us. But the role our food system plays in fueling the problem? That’s less clear to most of us.
We know our food doesn't magically appear on grocery store shelves. Somebody's growing it. But that process of feeding the planet generates a third of all greenhouse gasses. And agriculture alone emits a quarter of all greenhouse gasses. Pesticides, fertilizers, burping and farting cows, cutting down trees to plant crops – it all wreaks havoc on our climate. But we all have to eat...so, what’s the solution?
In this premiere episode, co-hosts Tamar Haspel (To Boldly Grow, The Washington Post), and Michael Grunwald (The Swamp, Canary Media) talk about what led them to start thinking about food in the context of climate change and what it means to be a “climavore.” They also tackle the question, “What should people eat to be responsible humans on a warming planet?”
Turn…
playlist_add
May 10, 2022
Confused about how to eat for the planet? Give us a call.
Every day, we make a zillion decisions about food. We’re bombarded with marketing and media -- and nobody seems to agree about what to eat, where to get it, and how to prepare it.
Climate change is making all of this even harder. We all know food is a big deal for the planet. But it’s not always obvious what we should eat if we want to make things better.
Tamar Haspel and Mike Grunwald are here to help.
Tamar and Mike aren't going to make you feel bad about your lunch. Instead, they're cutting through hype and ideology to explore the complicated, confusing, and surprising relationship between food and the environment.
And they're answering your questions! Ask them anything about organic food, local food, meat, fake meat – anything you can throw at them.
We’re at 508-377-3449. Or drop us an email at climavores@postscriptaudio.com.
Full episodes drop on June 21. Give us a call, subscribe to the show, and prepare to dig in.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch…
playlist_add