Unwasted: The Podcast

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We’ve all had the experience of buying that apple, or avocado, and having it go bad before you can eat it. It’s so widespread that there are memes about it now.

Have you ever wondered what exactly makes food go bad and what we can do to slow this process down? The folks at Apeel Sciences took this real conundrum of how to make our favorite foods last longer and answered it with a game changing new product. Apeel is an innovative, plant-based coating that goes on your favorite fruits & veggies to keep them fresh for longer, which means less wasted food, less stress about squandering money on avocados you never get to eat, and more delicious meals!

To learn more about how this works and what it means for the future of food waste, we chatted with Jessica Vieira, head of sustainability at Apeel. We discussed all things ripeness and food waste and explored how Apeel is making it easier than ever to waste less food on the farm, at the store, and in your home.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Apeel on their website and Instagram.
To see where you can buy produce with Apeel, head here!
Jess outlined that the key factors that make fruit go bad are water loss and oxidation.
This article from Wired does a great job explaining how Apeel works to keep produce fresh for longer.
Jess shared that one of the first farmers to benefit from Apeel was growing finger limes, a fruit as quirky and fascinating as it sounds.
Jess shared that food waste accounts for 8% of Greenhouse gas emissions globally
Jess's go-to karaoke song is "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5
To learn more about Jess and her background, connect with her on LinkedIn

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When it comes to making farming truly sustainable in the long run, the elephant in the room is land ownership. Healthy soil matters, but so does who owns the soil.

Did you know that there were nearly 1 million Black farmers in 1920 and fewer than 45 thousand today? Overall Black landowners own only 0.8 percent of land in the US today.

What accounts for this huge racial disparity in land ownership? We’ve brought in agricultural law expert and farmer advocate Jillian Hishaw to help teach all of us some important legal lessons that shape everything about who farms in the US.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Jillian by heading to her website. You can also get in touch with her by emailing info@jillianhishaw.com
Follow Jillian on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
You can pre-order Jillian's book, "Systematic Land Theft" here.
You can get Jillian's other book, "Don't Bet the Farm on Medicaid" here.
For a full breakdown of who is farming in the United States, check out the most recent USDA Census.
Jillian's go-to Karaoke song is "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" by Natalie Cole.

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Did you know that over 20 billion pounds of textiles are thrown away in the United States every year?

Just like the food industry, the clothing industry creates a shocking and honestly overwhelming amount of waste. So what can we do about it?

After getting frustrated with how much fabric he saw going to waste in the fashion industry, Daniel Silverstein quit his job and started his own company, Zero Waste Daniel, focused on turning fabric scraps into stylish new clothes. For every piece of clothing they make, they recover about a pound of fabric scraps from going to waste.

He stopped by our podcast to teach us how he's working to make the fashion industry less wasteful.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Zero Waste Daniel and where you can buy their clothes on their website and be sure to follow them on Instagram.
Daniel was the third podcast guest to recommend the documentary "The True Cost," which takes a necessary but sobering look at the dark side of the fashion industry.
Daniel's go-to karaoke song is "No Scrubs" by TLC.

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Does environmentalism have a racism problem? Is veganism elitist? Why do so many young environmental activists suffer from burnout?

These are some of the thorny but important issues that Isaias Hernandez fearlessly tackles everyday. He is an educator and speaker who’s passionate about environmental justice, veganism, and zero-waste.

Our conversation was thought-provoking and packed with insights about our food system, environmentalism, plant-based diets, and more!

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Isaias and his work by heading to his website, connecting with him on LinkedIn, and checking out his Instagram (@queerbrownvegan).
Isaias shared his love of vegan conchas, a traditional Mexican dessert.
Isaias's go-to karaoke song is anything by Kali Uchi.

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Plant-based eating is here to stay.

Most of us have heard about the health benefits and the environmental benefits of going plant based thanks to documentaries like “The Game Changers” and “What the Health.”

While eating plant-based sounds great on paper, a lot of us wonder how you can possibly replace the unique taste of dairy products like butter and cheese. So, is dairy really the final frontier for plant-based eating? Miyoko Schinner thinks it is.

Miyoko is the founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, a company that makes incredibly delicious vegan, plant-based cheeses and butters. In this episode, she's sharing her journey as a plant-based entrepreneur, dishing out advice for how to eat more plants, and more! This is a conversation that vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores alike will get something out of.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Miyoko's Creamery on their website and Instagram.
Check out Miyoko's books: "Artisanal Vegan Cheese," "The Homemade Vegan Pantry," and "The Vegan Meat Cookbook."
If you're feeling plant-curious, Miyoko recommends trying the Veganuary challenge.
We discussed the fact that 80% of antibiotics sold in the US are for animal agriculture.
Miyoko recommends watching the Vegan 2020 documentary on Youtube.
Miyoko also has a fun cooking show called "Miyoko's Home Comforts."
Learn more about Miyoko's animal rescue, Rancho Compasion.

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Nothing makes you feel quite as warm, fuzzy, and cozy as eating some of your comfort foods from childhood. What is it about these meals that is so magical? How can they bring us meaning and connection even across oceans and decades?

Hawa Hassan has spent her life exploring the magical power of family memories and recipes. She turned this experience into a marvellous cookbook called “In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean.”

In it, she shares the recipes of 8 African grandmothers and writes a moving and delicious love letter to African food that’s also a thought-provoking testament to the universal power of family recipes. We're chatting food, family, spices, and more with Hawa!

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Hawa on her Instagram and be sure to check out her amazing cookbook.
Our photo of Hawa comes from photographer Khadija M. Farah.
Hawa also has an incredible line of hot sauces called Basbaass.
Some of Hawa's go-to spices to have you your pantry to make Somali food are: cardamon, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.
Hawa is also a big fan of Xawaash, a Yemeni spice blend that Hawa often calls the "Garam Masala of Somali cuisine."
Learn how to make Hawa's Suugo Suqaar, a delicious Somali take on pasta sauce.
Hawa's go-to karaoke song is "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" by Shania Twain.

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We’ve all heard the phrase, health is wealth. We know that how we eat is one of the biggest things that determines how healthy we are, but it seems like eating healthy is such a moving target sometimes.

There’s new studies, trends, and diets coming out every week and it can be genuinely hard to separate fact from hype and misconception when it comes to the seemingly simple act of feeding ourselves. Why is it so hard to figure out what to eat?

Brooklynne Palmer is a medical student with a passion for sharing sound, nutritional advice that helps all of us invest in our physical and mental health. In this conversation we dive into answering the million dollar question: What does healthy eating look like and how we can make it easier to do? We also discuss why we should all be skeptical dietary headlines, the key difference between a dietician and a nutritionist, and how fad diets focus too much on weight and not enough on health.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Brooklynne by checking out her Instagram page.
Brooklynne stressed that we all ought to take nutritional studies with a grain of salt, since many of them are funded by food industry groups that would like us to eat more of their foods.
She also cited the now famous incident of a scientist trolling the media and public by publishing a bogus study that chocolate was healthy just to prove how gullible and biased towards catchy diet headlines the media had become.
Contrary to popular belief, most Americans are eating more than enough protein.
Brooklynne's principles of a healthy diet: eat less high-sodium processed food and eat more high fiber foods and fresh fruits and vegetables.

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When it comes to sustainability, the holy grail a lot of people dream about is growing your own food. What better way to eliminate food miles, cut out the pesticides, and become self sufficient, right?

However, as anyone who has ever tried gardening can attest, it’s pretty intimidating at the start. Knowing what to plant, when to plant, and how to get started requires a lot of research. Once you get going you realize that it’s not as simple as just putting something in the ground and waiting.

Slugs eat your precious lettuce, birds and squirrels descend on your beloved berries, leaves turn yellow for some reason, and you’re never sure if you’re watering things too often or not enough.

That's why we couldn't wait to sit down with Kevin Espiritu of Epic Gardening. He's built a thriving Youtube channel, podcast, and Instagram aimed at getting 10 million people to learn how to grow their own food. In this conversation, he's sharing some garden tested wisdom we can all benefit from.

Show Notes:

Learn more about Kevin by checking out Epic Gardening's website, Youtube channel, and Instagram.
Kevin also has an excellent book all about gardening: The Field Guide to Urban Gardening.
If you enjoy Kevin's take on gardening, be sure to listen to his podcast.
Kevin has put out too many excellent videos on common gardening questions to list here, but some of our favorites are his guide to common watering mistakes and 5 veggies you can grow in under a month.
To better understand your soil, Kevin recommends getting in touch with your local extension office to arrange a soil test.
Kevin's must-have gardening gear: A good pair of pruning shears, a pair of micro-tip shears, a Japanese hoe, a garden apron, and a garden cart to hold your favorite tools.
Understand the facts and fiction of regrowing plants from common vegetable scraps.
Kevin highly recommends the book "Six Seasons" by Joshua McFadden.
Kevin's go-to karaoke song is "Drops of Jupiter" by Train.

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What is wellness and who is it for? Outside of the colorful healthy smoothies and Lululemon branded yoga classes we see on our Instagram feeds, what does wellness really mean in 2020?

Maryam Ajayi has a lot to teach us about the wellness world and its blind spots when it comes to racial diversity and inclusion. She argues that the world and industry of wellness has a long way to go until it prioritizes the health and wellness of all people.

In this candid conversation she shares her personal journey from Republican lobbyist to wellness practitioner. She also outlines her vision of a more equitable and healthy world, and shares how we can get there, one breath at a time.

Show Notes:

Learn more about Maryam Ajayi on her website and Instagram, as well as her organization Dive in Well.
Maryam's go-to comfort meal for loved ones is a roast chicken.
Maryam's go-to karaoke song is "Kiss By a Rose" by Seal

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Real Food Real Stories is an organization on a mission to humanize our food system, one story at a time. We sat down with their founder and director to learn how they're using storytelling to make food more just and sustainable in the long run.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Real Food Real Stories on their website and Instagram and be sure to check out their Curious Eater podcast.
Jovida and Pei Ru are fans of Diaspora Co spices and Eatwell Farm.
We discussed our mutual admiration of Nik Sharma, who we also had the pleasure to interview on another podcast.
"How We Show Up" by Mia Birdsong is a must-read book about the power of community and recognizing our interdependence.
Pavlova is a delicious dessert and a favorite of Jovidas.
Pei-Ru loves singing "Morning Sun" by Melody Gardot with her son.

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Close your eyes and imagine you’re eating at a fine-dining restaurant for a special occasion. What cuisine are they cooking? French? Italian? Spanish? New American?

Why not Ghanaian, Nigerian, or Ethiopian food? Which cuisines do we choose to elevate and which do we sideline or leave out of the conversation entirely?

Today’s guest is Kess Eshun, a Ghanaian chef and pastry chef who makes a living creating magical meals that weave together her memories of growing up in Ghana with her culinary journey here in America. She’s here to take us on a delicious and informative journey that all food lovers will get something out of.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Kess on her website and Instagram. She also has an app!
For an extra flaky pie crust, Kess recommends freezing your butter and then grating it. She also recommends using vodka in your pie crust for en even better texture.
One of Kess's favorite Ghanaian dishes is Red Red, a dish of stewed black-eyed peas in palm oil.
Learn how to make Kess's Jollof Rice in this fun video!
If you're looking for a game-changing African ingredient to have around, Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced ghee) is incredibly flavorful and easy to make at home.
Kess's go-to karaoke song is anything by Whitney Houston. "I Will Always Love You" always gives us chills.

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We all love chocolate, but what do we actually know about where our chocolate comes from and how it’s made?

The fact is that 70% of the world's chocolate is grown in West Africa, in an industry that currently employs more than 2 million child laborers. How did chocolate and child labor become so intertwined and what would a more ethical chocolate industry look like?

We sat down with the chief chocolate evangelist from Tony’s Chocolonely, Ynzo Van Zanten, to find out.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Tony's Chocolonely on their website.
You can join the fight for a more ethical chocolate industry by signing this petition.
To better understand the dark side of the chocolate industry, Ynzo recommended watching the chocolate episode of the Netflix Series "Rotten." Check out the trailer for season 2 here.
As a reference, 60% of the world's chocolate supply comes from Ghana and the Ivory Coast, much of which is currently grown using child labor.
Read their most recent Annual Report to learn about the impact on the chocolate industry.
Ynzo's go-to karaoke song is "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

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Everyone knows that farming is hard work, but a lot of us still fantasize about quitting our 9-5 and starting a small farm somewhere. So how hard is it to start farming, really?

According to the USDA, only 1 out of 2 small farms survive beyond their first five years, and out of those, only 1 out of 4 survive after 15 years. Why is it so hard to make a living by growing food?

To separate faring fact from farming fiction, we sat down with Noelle Fogg Elibol of Kitchen Table Advisors, a nonprofit dedicated to making agriculture a more viable business model for small farmers. In this fascinating conversation she share lessons about how we can to make farming a sustainable way of life for generations to come.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Kitchen Table Advisors and check out their Instagram to stay up to date on their work.
The USDA defines a small farm as any farm with gross income under $250,000 per year.
It's important to note that according to the USDA, "while most U.S. farms are small – 91 percent according to the Census of Agriculture – large farms ($250,000 and above) account for 85 percent of the market value of agricultural production.
Noelle is proud to have worked with Javier Zamora of JSM Organics
If you want to get in the weeds of agriculture, there's no better place than the most recent US agriculture census, conducted in 2017.
The Heal Food Alliance does important work to build a food system that is healthy, accessible, and affordable for everyone.
Noelle recommended reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer, and "The Fate of Food" by Amanda Little to better understand our food system.
Noelle also recommended watching the documentary Food Inc.

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It's safe to say the world is pretty obsessed with food blogs and Instagram pages these days. Have you ever wondered: "who runs these pages and how do they end up making amazingly beautiful food and recipes for a living?" Meet Hetal! After burning out on her career in health care, she ended up as a contestant on season 6 of Master Chef, which launched her into the world of food media. Since then, she has published a cookbook of Indian-Inspired desserts that’s been featured in the New York Times, and runs a truly delightful blog, Instagram, and online bakery called Milk and Cardamom that’s well-worth a follow. In our thought-provoking conversation dig into:

What it's actually like to be on a food competition show and how shows heavily edit, manipulate and type cast their contestants
Why Indian cuisine often gets misunderstood or oversimplified in the United States
The most fun and most overlooked parts of what it's like to run a food blog and Instagram as part of your business
What principles, ingredients, and gear Hetal recommends for all home bakers
How Indian desserts differ from European desserts
What she's learned as mother about the importance of writing down recipes and getting children involved in cooking

Whether you're already a fan of Hetal's or just a curious cook looking to learn more about baking, spices, Indian cuisine, reality TV, and food history, this discussion will satiate your appetite.

Episode Show Notes:

You can learn more about Hetal, see her recipes, order her cookbook, sign up for a cooking class, and even order her desserts on her website.
Hetal helpfully clarified that most Indian food you can find in the United States is Mughal-influenced. The Mughal empire controlled India for 300 years and left a strong mark on the cuisine.
Some of Hetal's favorite Gujarati Indian restaurants in the US are Ghee in Miami, Tailor in Nashville, and Besharam in San Francisco.
Indian desserts use a lot of cardamom, which Hetal dubs "the Indian vanilla" because of how common it is in sweets. She also noted that ghee is used as a key baking fat, along with toasted flour and nuts for their distinct flavors.
One of Hetal's signature dessert recipes is Gulab Jamun, which she's also reinterpreted as a miniature bundt cake.
Hetal recommends always using a scale to weigh out ingredients while baking. Other go-to baking gear for her is her stand mixer, and infrared thermometer.
For parents worried about picky eaters, Hetal's top tips are to get your child involved in the cooking process. She's also a huge fan of the Daniel Tiger PBS program for kids.
Hetal's waste fighting tip is to save your onion and garlic skins and make a rich and aromatic stock that you can then freeze in silicone ice cube trays!
Hetal's go-to karaoke song is "Rumor Has It," by Adele

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The United Nations Environmental Program recently estimated that "for every square mile of ocean" there are about "46,000 pieces of plastic."

Many of us have seen the truly sobering videos and photos of the Pacific garbage patch, which is twice the size of Texas. To help us understand the thorny problem that is plastic pollution in our oceans, we're chatting with Mimi Ausland, a passionate activist and founder of Free the Ocean, an organization dedicated to getting plastics out of our oceans.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Free the Ocean on their website and Instagram.
The Free Rice project's click-to-give model was an inspiration for Mimi in starting Free the Oceans.
Mimi works closely with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii to remove plastic from the ocean.
Need another reason to care about ocean health? The majority of our planets oxygen comes from marine plants!
Mimi is a fan of compost tumblers
We discussed this fascinating story of how Bay Area green waste becomes valuable compost for farms and wineries.
Mimi's go-to karaoke song is "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.

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What should the future of agriculture look like? What if instead of focusing on growing food to feed our cities, we pivoted to growing food within our cities?

This seemingly revolutionary concept is the inspiration behind a growing number of urban farms across the country. To learn more about the power and possibilities presented by growing food in a modern American city, we sat down with Yemi Amu, founder of Oko Farms in Brooklyn. In our thought-provoking conversation we cover:

Why aquaponics is such a revolutionary, yet surprisingly ancient, way to grow food.
How urban farms like Oko help increase food security, mitigate climate change, increase biodiversity, and even reduce stormwater runoff.
Why Yemi uses the term "food swamp" instead of "food desert."
What's stopping urban farming from making the jump from a niche concept to a truly viable way of feeding more communities in America.

Get ready to dive into the weeds of sustainable farming and urban gardening, quite literally!

Episode Show Notes:

You can learn more about Yemi's work at the Oko Farm website and Instagram.
Some other notable urban farmers that came up in our conversation include Will Allen of Growing Power and Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm.
Yemi recommends reading "Microbia: A journey into the unseen world around you" by Eugenia Bone.
Yemi is an fan of Yute, and underrated vegetable.
Yemi's go-to karaoke song is Pretty Young Thing by the one and only Michael Jackson.

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What's it like to be a Black food entrepreneur in 2020? To understand this better, we're joined by a true culinary Renaissance woman of the Twin Cities. Lachelle Cunningham runs a catering business in Minneapolis, runs culinary education at the Good Acre, and is an advocate for food as a tool for economic development and better health. In this conversation we cover:

How Lachelle's work helps her clients overcome racial trauma and realize their dreams.
What many people misunderstand about working in the restaurant industry.
How home cooks can waste less food and become less reliant on recipes by thinking like a caterer.

This episode touches on a tapestry of fascinating topics at the intersection of food, entrepreneurship, race, history, and more!

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about chef Lachelle on her website.
In addition to running her own catering company, Lachelle is proud to be an educator at The Good Acre in Minneapolis.
Lachelle referenced Black Wall St, an important, but often tragically forgotten community and incident in the history of Oklahoma and the United States.
Lachelle is a big fan of cleaning out your fridge as a way to help prevent food waste and make cooking easier. Here's a guide to help you get started.
Lachelle's go-to karaoke song is anything by Erykah Badu, especially "Tyrone."

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Is our country's obsession with health actually making us healthier?

Even before COVID-19 hit, health and wellness in modern America was big business, and a growing feature of our social media feeds. However, is our society focused on the right aspects of health or are we viewing it in a healthy way? This week we're getting a refreshingly holistic take on the world of health. Dr. Tiffany Lester is here to shed some light on this complex and often misunderstood field, including:

Why it's a mistake to see healthcare as a debate between traditional medicine and functional medicine, and how they really can help inform each other.
Why properly managing sleep and stress needs to be a bigger focus for most Americans.
What all the fuss about gut health is really about and why we all should nourish our microbiome.
Why it can be risky to take trendy supplements like Ashwagandha, magnesium, or fish oil without understanding them properly first.

In a year defined by one of the biggest health crises of the modern era, this episode has eye-opening perspectives and practical advice for all of us to live healthier, happier lives.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Tiffany on her Instagram page and her home base on Parsley Health.
Season 2 of the podcast The Dream is all about the wellness industry.
TIffany recommended using Google Scholar and PubMed for legitimate health and nutrition studies.
Tiffany says that higher-priced fish oils are often higher quality.
Tiffany's go-to karaoke song is anything by Whitney Houston.

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How can growing food heal us and ground us in a world that seems to have gone crazy?

After the devastating trauma of her father murdering her mother while she was in school, Amber Tamm lost herself, and then found herself, in the world of farming. Today she's a floral designer, horticulturist, and farmer in New York City focused on nourishing a better food system, one plant at a time.

In this fearless conversation she shares:

Why so many modern farming practices persist despite not being environmentally or economically sustainable.
What working on farms taught Amber about the prevalence of racism and sexual assault in agriculture.
Why Black farmers are often left out of the narrative of farming in America.
What changes she seeds as necessary to improve our food system for better and for always.

If you're looking to understand agriculture, race, or American history in a new way, this episode has a lot to offer you.

Episode Show Notes:

Amber's headshot is by Safiyah Chiniere. Check out her Instagram here.
Learn more about Amber Tamm on her Instagram page and her website.
There were nearly 1 million Black farmers in 2020 but there are just 45,000 today.
Black farmers won 1.25 billion dollars in the Pigford racial discrimination lawsuit against the USDA.
We discussed the book "Farming While Black" by Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm.
Amber admires Indian scholar and food sovereignty activist Vandana Shiva.
Amber recommends learning more about the story of activist Assata Shakur.

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Have you ever wondered why hunger in America is such a persistent problem, despite all of the volunteer hours, money, and yes, food, that nonprofits throw at it every year?

If so, this episode will drop some much-needed knowledge on you. Robert Egger is a nonprofit icon, speaker, and activist who founded DC Central Kitchen as well as LA Kitchen. He has won a Humanitarian Award from the James Beard Foundation, been named one of LA Weekly’s People of the Year, as well as an Oprah angel, and one of the ten most caring people in America by the Caring Institute.

In this candid, passionate, and far-ranging conversation we cover his decades-long career in the food nonprofit space. We discuss why charities so often fail to make lasting change and how we can finally break out of band-aid solutions to poverty and hunger and create real and lasting positive changes that help everyone.

A Note From Imperfect: As a friendly heads up, this episode contains a fair amount of profanity, so be advised if that's not your thing or you're listening with young children.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Robert Egger on his website and his more current and NSFW home base fuckingshitup.org.
Check out his book, "Begging For Change."
Robert referenced the classic James Brown song "I don't want nobody to give me nothing."
Even though the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act actually encourages businesses to donate food, many businesses still worry they'll be liable if someone gets sick after eating donated food.
Robert is a huge fan of José Andrés and his work with World Central Kitchen.
Robert admires Paula Daniels, co-founder, and chair of Good Food Purchasing.
Robert's go-to karaoke song is "Wild Thing" by the Troggs.

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Have you ever wondered how the science of cooking works? After falling in love with cooking as a grad student, Nik Sharma discovered a lifelong passion for using science to better understand food and to better understand science. Today he uses his dual expertise in science and cooking to teach home cooks how to up their game via his writing on Serious Eats and via his blog, A Brown Table.

He's also the author of a truly stunning and informative cookbook called Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food. In this charming and informative conversation we cover:

How Nik went from a life in academia to writing a food blog and publishing cookbooks
How you can apply scientific principles to become a better cook
How to properly clean and sanitize your kitchen
What spices, ingredients, and cookbooks Nik recommends having in your kitchen
How Nik wants his work to be reflective of, but not defined by his experience as a gay Indian immigrant

Whether you're looking for ways to become a better home cook or want to dive headlong into the weeds of food science, this episode has something to teach you.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Nik by visiting his website, reading his blog, buying his books, and checking out his Instagram page.
Nik is an expert on spices. His favorite spices to have around the kitchen are Garam masala, Za'atar, Baharat, Shichimi Togarashi, Urfa biber, Aleppo Pepper, Marash Pepper, and Smoked Salt.
Nik recommends steeping dried chili flakes in vinegar to infuse their flavor into the vinegar. This could form the flavorful base of a hot sauce!
Here's a Harissa recipe Reilly highly recommends.
Check out Nik's blog post all about the chemistry of vegetable stock.
Nik's advice on sanitizing your kitchen during COVID-19 is a must-read.
Nik's top cookbook recommendations are How to Eat by Nigella Lawson, Jenis Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer, Gluten-Free Flavor Flours by Alice Medrich, and The Food Lab by J Kenji Lopez-Alt.
Nik has been loving watching the Miss Marple TV series and the Father Brown detective series to unwind from work.
Nik admires the Irish food writer Diana Henry.

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What does it take to create positive change where you live? How can we heal as individuals and communities after experiencing trauma?

Princess Haley has spent her life courageously answering these questions. She's one of the founders of Appetite for Change, an organization in North Minneapolis focused on using food to create health, wealth, and social change.

In this truly moving discussion we cover:

How food justice and racial justice intersect in 2020.
How Appetite for Change responded to the murders of Jamar Clark and George Floyd.
How losing her son to gun violence shaped her outlook on healing.
What a better way to break out of cycles of violence and trauma looks like.

This episode is a timely way for us all to better understand what's happened in 2020 that's also packed with wisdom we can apply to any year in our lives.

An Imperfect Note on The Audio: Princess Haley had to change locations part way through recording due to technical difficulties. You'll notice that her audio changes part way through as a result. Recording podcasts can be imperfect, too, but we hope you still enjoy this episode as much as we did!

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Appetite for Change on their website and Instagram page.
AFC has produced several inspiring music videos including Grow Food and Trap or Grow as well as songs like Beautiful Black Queen.
Princess Haley recommends reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.
Princess Haley has worked with Reesma Manakem, author of, My Grandmothers Hands to learn how to heal and recover from trauma.

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What type of food do Black chefs cook?

Answering this question in an empowering and authentic way has become Chef Mimi's life's work. After going to culinary school and not seeing herself or her culture represented in the curriculum, Chef Mimi knew she needed to prove to the world that Black chefs cook more than just barbecue and soul food.

In this thought-provoking conversation about the powerful intersections between race, cuisine, and culture we explore:

Why Black chefs get stereotyped as only cooking soul food and barbecue and what Chef Mimi is doing to change this
Why dietary diseases like diabetes are so common in Black communities and how food can become a part of the healing process
Why Black representation in food matters
How Chef Mimi started the first all-Black cooking competition show and the Black Food and Wine experience

Get ready to see diversity in the food world in a delicious and inspiring new light!

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Mimi and The Black Food and Wine Experience on her website.
Mimi recommended reading her article "Black Girls Don’t Eat Avocados" for a deeper understanding of how food choices get racialized in America.
Mimi's a fan of the Mandela Food Cooperative in Oakland.
Looking for a Black winemaker to support? Mimi is a big fan of McBride Sisters.
We got into the weeds of food storage at the end of this episode, which you can learn more about by checking out our food storage guide.

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What can you eat if you have multiple food allergies? For many Americans, the answer is "unfortunately, not very much."

When Denise Woodard found out her daughter had multiple serious food allergies, she was frustrated with the taste and nutritional profile of the snacks she could still eat. To solve this problem, she took matters into her own entrepreneurial hands and founded Partake Foods.

Partake Foods makes cookies that are free of the top 8 allergens, made with simple, delicious whole-food ingredients. We dig into Denise's journey with Partake, which started with her leaving her career at Coca-Cola to sell cookies out of her car and discuss her experiences as a woman of color in the natural foods industry. This episode is packed with learnings about allergies, starting a small business, balancing work and family, and overcoming adversity in your life.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Partake on their website and Instagram
The CDC found that about 1 in 13 children, or about 2 in every classroom has a life-threatening food allergy.
When pitching Partake Denise received 86 "no's" from investors before securing funding.
We discussed the stat that, according to Business Insider, only six of America's 615 billionaires are Black.
Denise is a fan of the Food Equality Initiative, which seeks to improve health and end hunger for people with food allergies
Denise's go-to karaoke song is "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé
Denise admires Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. NPR featured Sara's story in a fun episode of their podcast "How I Built This."

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What's it like to run a food magazine, anyway?

After seeing a lack of representation of women in the food world they so admired, cousins Jessica and Jaya teamed up to create Compound Butter, a new magazine all about food, art, and the surprising connections between them.

From humble beginnings as a project in art school, Compound Butter has grown to a charmingly eclectic magazine with issue themes like "Booze Cruise," "Fantasy," and "Girls Club."

In this episode Jaya and Jessica share:

What inspired them to start a food magazine and what it's actually like to run one in 2020
Why the food world still has a long way to go in terms of gender equity
Their take on the ongoing reckoning around cultural representation in food
Their favorite cookbooks, chefs, food writers, and more!

Get ready for a candid glimpse behind the curtain of food media.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Compound Butter on their website and Instagram
Both Jaya and Jessica drew inspiration from the now-defunct Lucky Peach magazine
Gabrielle Hamilton's story in the New York Times Magazine is a must-read to understand how the restaurant industry has been impacted by COVID-19
Jaya and Jessica are proud to support charities including Everyone In, The Okra Project, The Authority Collective, Cheffing While Black, and the ACLU
Jaya and Jessica are fans of chef Andrea Nguyen
Check out Vegetables Unleashed by Jose Andrés
We discussed the popularity and the merits of the Ooni pizza oven
We found video evidence of the scientific fact that all COVID commercials are the same
Khao Suey is a delicious Burmese chicken and coconut soup
Jaya and Jessica's go-to karaoke songs were "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia and "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey
If you like illustration and design, check out the work of illustrator Jillian Tamaki

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Have you ever felt stumped by how to turn the random assortment of veggies in your fridge into a full meal? We've all been there.

Trishna Saigal took this familiar feeling of not knowing how to turn a veggie into dinner and transformed it into an exciting new food company. She is the founder of Down to Cook Foods, a company that empowers people to turn their favorite (or least favorite) veggies into easy, delicious, and protein-packed meals.

She shares what inspired her to start her own company, how her training as a chemical engineer changed her perspective on food, and what lessons she learned early on as an entrepreneur.

She also candidly shares her experiences with workplace racism as a woman of color and explores how standup comedy can help all of us become more woke in the long run. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur yourself or just looking to cook with vegetables slightly more often, this episode has some lessons and laughter for you!

Show Notes:

Learn more about Down to Cook Foods and order it directly from their website.
Their Instagram is well worth a follow, and we discussed Trishna's recent post about racism in the food industry in depth.
Trishna is a fan of making Bhaji, a traditional Indian snack
Trishna Saigal used to perform stand up comedy!
Trishna's go-to karaoke song is "Survivor" by Destiny's Child

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How is environmental justice related to racial justice?

After seeing how much race and people of color were left out of the mainstream environmental movement, Leah Thomas knew she needed to advocate for a more inclusive form of environmentalism.

Today she's a thoughtful advocate for intersectional environmentalism who insists that every environmentalist should be anti-racist. In our chat we explore:

How her personal experience of the killing of Michael in Brown Ferguson, Missouri made her look at environmental science in a new way
What intersectional environmentalism is and why it matters in 2020
How she responds to the argument that we live in a colorblind society
What environmental lessons we can all learn from Indigenous people
Where she hopes to see the environmental movement go in the future

This episode is packed with compassion, wisdom, and hope and will change the way you think about nature for the better.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Leah on her website and her Instagram.
Intersectionality as a term and concept was first coined by lawyer, scholar, and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989.
1491 is a fascinating and eye-opening account of indigenous civilizations and ecology before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.
The Cahokia mounds sit on the location of one of the largest settlements in North America before European contact.
Leah's Vogue article "Why Every Environmentalist Should Be Anti-Racist" is a must-read.
Leah is a big fan of the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes
Leah recommends reading books like Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer or Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry, Edited by Camille T. Dungy.
Leah's go-to karaoke song is "No Scrubs" by TLC

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How do we better political conversations? What does it mean to be meaningfully involved in our community?

To answer these questions, Manny Yekutiel set out to create a one-of-a-kind events space, cafe, and bookshop in San Francisco's Mission district. The result was Manny's, a central and affordable place to become a better informed and more involved citizen.

In this episode, Manny explains how compelling physical spaces are essential to making civic engagement more accessible and why we shouldn't make people choose between having a social life and a political life.

He also explains how his work is continuing a long tradition of civic gathering spaces in the US and in San Francisco. Together, we explore the importance of physical events in an age where we increasingly cannot have them, discuss how Manny has had to adapt his business to a socially distanced world and talk about the importance of storytelling in successful political movements

If you're a long time activist, new to politics, or just looking for ways that you can get more involved in the issues that you care about, this episode has stories and lessons that you can learn from and put into action in your life.

Episode Show Notes:

Learn more about Manny's on their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
The food at Manny's is provided by Farming Hope, an organization focused on using food to provide unhouse and formerly incarcerated individuals with job training
Manny's is supported in large part by community sponsors
Borderlands Books in San Francisco is an excellent example of another community-supported space
To learn more about race in America, Manny recommended the film Just Mercy along with the books White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
Manny recommended reading Team of Rivals to learn more about Abraham Lincoln
Manny is pondering what San Francisco and other major metro areas will look like after COVID-19 and found this New York Times article about the decline in tourism in Venice to be thought-provoking
The Ezra Klein Show is one of Manny's favorite podcasts
Manny recommended Swing Left to learn how about supporting Democratic political races
Manny's go-to karaoke song is "Vanishing" by Mariah Carey

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Why is eating less meat important to address climate change and how do you convince people to do it?

Environmental entrepreneurs Phil Wong and Dave Betts built a one-of-a-kind business around answering this question. Their company Misfit Foods started as a juice company that upcycled ugly fruits and vegetables and evolved into a sausage company aimed at getting people to eat less meat and more vegetables.

In our conversation, we explore what motivated this quirky pivot and talk about what stayed the same even after they completely changed their core product. We discuss why eating less meat matters and why they believe in marketing to omnivore's is crucial in getting to people to actually eat less meat.

They share their vision for a more sustainable and resilient food system along with a subscription box recommendation we didn't know we needed and some truly stellar karaoke songs.

This episode is packed with wisdom for environmentalists, aspiring entrepreneurs, and curious individuals who want to know how the sausage of sustainability is made, literally!

Show Notes:

Phil and Dave referenced research that showed that 2/3 of Americans have tried to reduce their meat consumption.
In modern America, over 80% of beef production is controlled by 4 companies.
Phil is a proud member of the Rancho Gordo Bean Club, which regularly ships him heirloom bean varieties to cook with. He's a particularly big fan of the royal corona bean.
Reilly shared that his go-to karaoke song is Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls.
Dave's go-to karaoke song is a tie between Don't Speak by No Doubt and Waterfalls by TLC
Phil's go-to karaoke song is What is Love by Haddaway.

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Americans have a complicated relationship with food. We obsess over food television, recipes, and cookbooks, and simultaneously grapple with dietary problems like obesity, anorexia, diabetes, and heart disease. There are seemingly more diets and diet books every year, yet it doesn’t feel or seem like we’re getting any healthier. Why is this?

To unpack our country's unhealthy love-hate relationship to food we sat down with Reshaunda Thornton, the dietician against diets. In her book, TED Talk, and one on one work with her clients, Reshaunda has built a positive alternative to diet culture that is as effective as it is compassionate and adaptable. In our chat, we explore:

Why so many people are drawn to diets even though most of them fail.
Why the idea of motivation is overrated when it comes to diet and why habits and consistency matter more.
The key steps that she has her clients take to better understand their relationship to food and start making choices out of love instead of out of fear or obligation.
Why she tells her client to "stop counting calories and start making every calorie count."
How eating better starts with loving yourself and making time for yourself.

This is one of our most eye-opening episodes to date that will leave you re-thinking how you relate to food and yourself for better and for always.

Show Notes:

Learn more about Reshaunda on her website
Reshaunda's TED Talk is a must-watch.
Stay up to speed on her work by following her on Instagram
You can learn more about Reshaunda's philosophy by buying her book: "Play to Win the Food Fight."
Reilly recommends reading "The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America" by Tommy Tomlinson
What's giving Reilly hope these days is the music video for "Grow Food" from the folks at Appetite for Change
Reshaunda's favorite song is "I Was Here" by Beyoncé
Reilly's favorite Beyoncé is "Freedom" featuring Kendrick Lamar

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Have you ever wondered why plant-based meats like the Impossible burger are having such a moment right now? What's the beef with beef, anyway? How could an innocent hamburger be so bad for the environment?

To get to the bottom of this, we sat down with some of the Impossible Foods team to talk about the environmental impact of the meat industry and how alternatives like Impossible have truly revolutionary implications for our environment.

They share why their mission to re-imagine the future of meat started with the hamburger and dish out some sizzling facts about the negative impacts of the beef industry. We explore why Impossible is marketed primarily to omnivores and not vegans or vegetarians. We conclude by exploring the overlaps between the mission of Imperfect and Impossible, and what we hope to see in the future of the American food system.

This episode is a must-listen for omnivores, carnivores, environmentalists, and curious grill-masters alike!

Episode Show Notes:

For Rebekah, eating more plants is a no-brainer for the environment. She points to the fact that since 1970, over 50% of all animal species have gone extinct due to human activity, much of which was deforestation due to cattle production.
Beef is the least efficient meat to produce from an energy standpoint. 97% of the plant calories needed to grow a cow are lost in production, meaning that a cow yields just 3% of all of the calories that it ate during its lifetime!
Compared to a beef burger, an Impossible burger requires 96% less land, 87% less water, and 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Learn more about the impact of eating plant-based using Impossible's impact calculator.
You can find delicious recipes featuring Impossible on their recipes page.
Rebekah recommends following the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, particularly their reports on meat consumption.
Daniele loves the kimchi fried rice recipe from the New York Times.
Imperfect has taken a stance on how confusion around "best by" dates causes hundreds of millions of pounds of needless food waste every year. Get the truth and stop dating your food!
Daniele's go-to karaoke song is "Case of the Ex" by Maya
Project drawdown lists reducing food waste and plant-rich diets as two of the best ways to reverse climate change

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After fibbing her way into the restaurant world, Sophia Roe has become a one-of-a-kind wellness advocate, and self-described food & feelings enthusiast.

Today, she helps folks build healthier relationships to food and themselves and we were incredibly excited to finally have her on our podcast. In this fun and passionate conversation Sophia generously shares her philosophy on food and principles for living better. She lays out the techniques and principles that anyone can use to become a better home cook and shares the lessons and takeaways she's learned from teaching other people how to cook, including why when a food is about to go bad is actually when it's the most flavorful.

We discuss the rise of cause-based brands, where she hopes to see the wellness industry go, and how she'd like people to better use the term "healthy" in the future. This episode is a delightfully positive and inspiring one that you will want to share with friends!

Show Notes

Check out Sophia's website to learn more about her.
Sophia's Instagram is a must-follow!
One of Sophia's go-to cooking methods is confiting garlic.
Sophia recommends that everyone have kosher salt, olive oil, miso, soy sauce, some form of nut or seed, and canned tomato in their kitchen at all times to make cooking easier and more delicious.
Sophia's video on salad really made our day.
One of Sophia's favorite secret ingredients is homemade citrus salt, which is surprisingly easy to make!
Sophia mentioned the billion oyster project.
Sophia is a big fan of blueland cleaning projects.
Sophia is a huge fan of singing along to anything by Donna Summer!

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The work food banks do to feed Americans who have fallen on tough times has taken on a whole new significance because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the saddest and most frustrating ironies of food waste in the US is that we waste close to 40% of our food supply every year while one in seven Americans struggles with hunger. Working to bridge the gap between these two tragic failings of our food system is our nation's network of food banks.

Susannah Morgan is the CEO of the Oregon Food and has spent 24 years working in food bans across America. In this episode, she candidly shares the lessons she's learned in a career in food banks, what she's learned about the root causes of hunger in America, and how concerned individuals can best support food banks and work to reduce hunger in this country.

She clears up some of the most common misconceptions about hunger in America, outlines why donating money is always better than donating food to a food bank, and explains how food banks are really the last line of defense against hunger, despite being the one most of us think of when we think of hunger relief. We close by discussing how addressing homelessness and healthcare in America are interconnected with addressing hunger and why she hopes to one day put herself out of business.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to truly understand why hunger is such a tough problem to solve even in wealthy countries and will give you a newfound appreciation for your local food bank.

Show Notes:

Learn more about the Oregon Food Bank on their website
Susannah asked that you talk to your elected officials and ask them to include addressing hunger in their efforts. You can find your elected officials' contact information here
Susannah mentioned that the modern-day food bank owes a huge debt of gratitude to the groundbreaking work of the Black Panthers free breakfast program
Susannah recommended reading the book "Breadlines Knee Deep in Wheat: Food Assistance in the Great Depression" by Janet Poppendieck to get a better historical context on hunger in America.
Susannah loves cooking Indian food for friends and family, especially lamb curry!
Susannah's go-to karaoke song is "Rocket Man" by Elton John
Susannah admires the CEO of Feeding America, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot

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Have you ever worried about climate change?

It’s certainly one of those environmental problems that is so big and so complicated that many of us are overwhelmed or confused by default. How do you break out of the cycle of climate guilt, stress, and paralysis and start doing something to address it head-on?

To answer this question, entrepreneur Jason Jacobs changed careers and started a podcast to better understand climate change. He’s had over 90 climate experts on his podcast, “My Climate Journey,” from a wide range of fields including business, policy, academia, and more. In our frank and timely chat, Jason walks us through some of the common misconceptions about climate change, why climate tech is bigger than just energy, and why suspending disbelief is essential to tackling a problem like climate change.

Jason shows us how to stop staring at the math and stressing out about the dire predictions and take the leap into positive climate action. If you’re looking to learn more about climate change or want to explore what climate solutions look like in the 21st century, you will learn something important from this episode.

Show Notes

Head to Jason’s website to learn more about his work and listen to his excellent podcast.
There are many amazing episodes but he mentioned that two of his favorites were Julio Freedman of Columbia University and Pat Brown of Impossible Foods
Be sure to follow Jason on Twitter
Jason recommended reading the IPCC’s report on 1.5 degrees of global warming: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Jason is a big fan of Project Drawdown and has also interviewed their executive director on his podcast. You can learn more about Drawdown on their website.
To learn more about climate change, Jason recommends subscribing to these newsletters: Heated and The Breeze
Jason also recommends following Vox, the Atlantic, Quartz, and Bloomberg for their coverage of climate change
Jason’s go-to karaoke song is anything by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith

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How is planting food in your community revolutionary? Just ask Ron Finley.

Frustrated with the lack of healthy food in his part of LA, Ron took matters into his own hands, picked up a shovel and built a garden. What happened after that was an eye-opening look into how all of us can make real, positive social change where we live.

In our thought-provoking conversation, Ron shares the lessons he learned from his time in community activism and speaks candidly about the joys and challenges of running a community garden. He shares his thoughtful take on how urban design shapes all of us when we could actually do more to shape it. We conclude with some practical steps you can take to make a change in your community and thoughts on how to get started on building a garden wherever you live.

This episode is inspiring and packed with lessons you can share with your community to help nurture positive change. Warning: there is some adult language that may not be suitable for children.

Show Notes

Learn more about Ron's work on his website
Ron Finley's TED Talk is a must-watch
Keep up to speed on Ron's work on his Instagram
Watch the trailer for the documentary about Ron's work in LA: "Can You Dig This?"
Ron is a big fan of using old cardboard to sheet mulch
We touched on the benefits of worm composting. Here are some resources to get started

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Sometimes the worst types of waste are the ones that are invisible to 99% of the population.

While food and plastic are particularly visible forms of waste in modern America, have you ever wondered what types of waste the airbag, beer, and advertising industries are producing and what happens to it? In this episode, we sat down with Jenny Silbert and Stephanie Choi, the founder and head of marketing of Rewilder to learn how this extraordinary company came to be and how they're rethinking apparel, one material at a time.

After learning that a surprising amount of everyday materials like airbags, seatbelts, and more were going to waste for no good reason, Jenny Silbert founded an apparel company built around upcycling the overlooked and forgotten fabrics of modern life. Today, they make one-of-a-kind tote bags, backpacks, raincoats, and more out of the byproducts of other industries.

Taking a fabric-first approach to creative reuse, Jenny operates as a "waste detective" on a mission to finding new ways to use the underappreciated fabrics piling up all around us. Whether you're passionate about creative fashion, a fan of innovative design, or a hard-core environmentalist, this episode has something for you to learn from and get inspired by!

Show Notes

Learn more about Rewilder on their website
Their Instagram is well worth a follow
To learn more about the downsides of fast fashion, Reilly recommends this episode of "Patriot Act" with Hasan Minhaj
Jenny recommends reading the book "Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes" by Dana Thomas
Instead of buying new items, Jenny highly recommends consulting your local NextDoor or Craigslist pages
Jenny's go-to comfort dish is vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup
Stephanie's go-to comfort dish is mussels with aioli
Jenny recommends re-growing your green onions. Here's how to do it!
Jenny and Stephanie's go-to karaoke songs were "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day and "You Drive Me Crazy" by Britney Spears

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Did you know the majority of the American seafood diet consists of just 3 fish? The result is an industry that's driven by consumer demand instead of natural supply that is unsurprisingly depleting the oceans of wild tuna, salmon, and shrimp populations at an alarming rate and forcing unsustainable forms of aquaculture to try to take their place.

What would a more sustainable seafood industry look like? Ren Ostry has built a career answering this question. Her business, Kitchen Catch, encourages eaters to embrace a more diverse array of seafood by embracing bycatch, unsung species like Opah and Mongchong that fishermen catch alongside popular species like tuna and salmon.

In our chat, we dig into the history of the seafood industry and explore how it became so unsustainable and why a more sustainable seafood industry must involve getting comfortable eating more types of fish. Ren shares practical advice on how to shop for seafood in a more ethical and sustainable way and we also trade tips for cooking with fish for the first time!

If you're a fan of seafood, food history, or just feel confused about which fish you should be eating these days, this episode has something for you!

Show Notes

More than half of our seafood consumption in America is just 3 species: tuna, salmon, and shrimp.
Escolar is one of the most frequently mislabeled fish out there according to Ren, and eating it can lead to some digestive issues.
Ren recommended 3 books about the seafood industry: "Cod"by Mark Kurlansky, "Four Fish" by Paul Greenberg, and "Salmon From Market to Plate" by Maureen C Berry
Ren recommends against freezing fish more than twice as it will damage the flesh and decrease the nutritional content. She also recommends freezing fish fast and defrosting it slowly to preserve the quality.
Ren recommends burning a citrus-scented candle while cooking fish to avoid making your apartment smell like fish.
A simple caper and lemon sauce goes a long way in making any fish taste delicious. Here's a recipe.
Ren's go-to song to sing in the car is "Come and get your love" by Redbone from the Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack.

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Research has shown that simply having a shopping list and meal plan every time you buy groceries results in easier meals, saving money, and less waste. So why is it that this is so hard for so many of us to do?

Alison Mountford knows the answer all too well. After seeing how much waste was happening in people’s homes during her time as a private chef, she started a business to help empower people with meal plans to make cooking easier and less wasteful once and for all.

In our inspiring chat, Alison shares eye-opening and practical tips that you can try at home to shop smarter, make interesting meals, and stop throwing away your hard-earned grocery dollars. Alison walks us through how to do a food waste audit and explains why taking photos of everything you throw out for a month can help you turn around how much food you’re throwing out. She also shares her biggest pet peeve in any recipe and explains why too many recipes are actually too short to be useful in the long run.

We discuss the difference between fancy food TV recipes and ones you’ll actually make for dinner and how to bridge the gap between the two of them. We close by discussing how to get your kids in the kitchen with you, how to stop aspirationally shopping for lettuce, and exploring ways to keep your leftovers interesting. Relating to food better starts with a good meal plan and Alison is quite literally the woman with the plan. This episode is packed full of fun tips and delicious perspectives that you can put into action in your life!

Show Notes

Ends + Stems Website: https://www.instagram.com/endsandstems/
Alison’s Instagram is a must-follow! https://www.instagram.com/endsandstems/
Alison points out that the majority of food waste that happens in our country happens in our homes: https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton
Alison highly recommends saving the outer leaves that come off your Brussels sprouts and roasting them into chips for your kids! https://www.thekitchn.com/last-minute-app-161128
One of Alison’s favorite recipes of all time is honey Sriracha salmon: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a27722519/honey-sriracha-salmon-recipe/
Alison thinks everyone should eat beet greens. We do too! https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/15-ways-to-eat-beet-greens-article
Alison thinks group action and individual action can work together to address food waste. Organizations she’s a particularly big fan of are the Sunrise Movement, Food Shift, and 1% for the Planet sunrisemovement.org: http://foodshift.net/https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/
One of Alison’s go-to meals to make for other people is pasta carbonara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoHnwOHLiMk
Alison’s favorite karaoke song is the overture from the Hamilton soundtrack and wow is it epic! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhinPd5RRJw

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Have you ever wondered about the environmental footprint of your closet? Why is it that we are so concerned with avoiding pesticides and single-use plastics in our food but not our clothing? Is fast fashion worse for the planet than fast food?

To answer these thorny questions and more, clothing expert Taryn Hipwell founded “Beyond the Label,” a nonprofit focused on consumer education and advocating for a more sustainable fashion industry.

Her groundbreaking “What’s in my tee?” program showed consumers the ingredients that went into t-shirts so they could learn how to avoid pesticides, heavy metals, and unhealthy dyes in the fabrics they wear every day. In our eye-opening chat, we cover how fast fashion’s reliance on polyester and throw-away culture is virtually identical to the world of single-use plastics and why we should all think more about the health impacts of what we wear.

We then explore the end of life for clothing and dig into why only a fraction of the clothes we donate get sold, while the majority of them get shipped to Africa. Taryn also shares a helpful guide to being “fabric literate” and learning to decipher which fabrics and chemicals you should try to avoid and seek out when you’re shopping. This episode is the education about clothing everyone should have really learned in school and will make you re-think your closet and personal style for the better!

Show Notes

To get to know more about the fashion industry and buy the “How to Shop For Shift Guide,” check out Beyond the Label’s website: https://www.labeyondthelabel.com/
Keep an eye out for the “For the Feel Marketplace” coming soon! Sign up for the waitlist to be the first to be informed as the Seed to Skin marketplace launches: https://forthefeel.com/
Taryn recommends looking out for any of the following fabrics in your clothes, which are both more sustainable and softer than polyester fabrics: Organic cotton, recycled cotton, hemp, bamboo, tencel, and modal Agroloop is transforming crop waste into fabric! https://www.circular-systems.com/agraloop; https://www.circular-systems.com/agraloop
A must-read book about the fashion industry is “Fashionopolis” by Dana Thomas https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554229/fashionopolis-by-dana-thomas/
Taryn is a big fan of “Shop for Success” and “Dress for Success” which use used clothing to empower and enhance women’s lives by helping them get professional clothing for job interviews and more! https://www.shopforsuccessla.com/https://dressforsuccess.org/
Taryn recommends the following documentaries about the fashion industry: “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” digs into the business practices of retail giant Walmart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXmnBbUjsPs; “The True Cost” explores the hidden side of the fashion industry https://truecostmovie.com/; “River Blue” sheds light on the environmental impacts of clothing dyes http://riverbluethemovie.eco/
Taryn admires Sass Brown, Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro founders of Fashion Revolution, Tamsin Lejeune of Common Objectives, Sica Schmitz of Impact Fashion, Marci Zaroff of Yes And, Isaac Nichelson of Circular Systems/Agraloop, and Stephanie Wagner founder of For the Feel.

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"How can we waste so much food while so many people in this country go hungry?"

You've probably asked yourself this question before. This very frustrating disconnect between food waste and hunger is what motivated Matt Jozwiak to leave a career in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world to start Rethink Food NYC, a nonprofit dedicated to taking restaurant leftovers and using a network of trucks and cooks to transport and transform them into nourishing meals for nearby nonprofits.

Today, Rethink Food NYC is a shining example of how to build an effective, scalable solution to waste and hunger that has been eagerly embraced by chefs, business people, and activists alike. Matt explains how Rethink Food NYC got its start, why waste is such a pervasive problem in businesses even though no one is trying to waste food and explore the overlooked economic reason why restaurant food is usually trashed instead of donated by default. We also discuss some of the biggest misconceptions about food waste and hunger and explore how good solutions to both problems have to start with respect and thinking holistically. We close our episode sharing ways that everyone can help reduce food waste and hunger in their community.

If you're looking for an informative shot of inspiration and knowledge, this is the podcast your week needs!

Show Notes

Check out Rethink Food's Website
Be sure to follow them on their Instagram
Rethink's blog is also incredibly informative
While many people don't know about it, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act protects businesses from liability when they donate food.
Matt's go-to dish to make for loved ones is ratatouille. Here is a recipe!
Matt recommended turning your lemon zest into lemon oil. Here's how to make some at home!
Matt's go-to karaoke song is "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion

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Ever wish you could improve your home cooking skills? Sarah Nelson has built a career around teaching people like you how to cook at 18 Reasons, a food nonprofit organization in San Francisco.

Through her work, she’s learned dozens of actionable tips and tricks that anyone can use to become a better cook and include healthy foods in your diet in a way that’s fun, sustainable, and delicious. We discuss how to overcome common roadblocks to cooking at home like not having enough time, money, or the right equipment.

Sarah shares practical tips she’s learned from teaching hundreds of cooking classes on how to shop smarter, stock a pantry, make better meal plans, and make cooking a lasting habit for you and your family. She also shares her kitchen hot takes on why we should all use more salt, eat beans more often, have painters tape in the kitchen, and never use half a bunch of herbs. Sarah ends the episode by sharing some excellent tips for parents about impactful ways to get your kids to help in the kitchen, eat more vegetables and waste less food!

This episode truly has something for everyone, from the kitchen novice to the hardcore food nerd, and everyone in between!

Show Notes

You can learn more about 18 Reasons on their website
Sarah works closely with the folks at BiRite Market in San Francisco
Sarah teaches a lot of classes on knife skills and highly recommends the claw grip for cutting vegetables
Sarah is a huge fan of her rice cooker and recommends that everyone get one with a timer
Sarah’s go-to comfort food is ribs, and she’s a big fan of slow cooking them in the oven with beer and Mexican spices!
Sarah’s go-to karaoke song at the end of the night is “The Tide is High” by Blondie
Sarah really admires the founder of BiRite Market, Sam Mogannam

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Every year in the US, over 700,000 restaurants throw away 11 million pounds or over 25 billion dollars worth of food.

To help turn this around, Sabine Valenga helped found Food For All, a business that sources surplus food from restaurants and lets individuals pick it up for a discount. Sabine's revolutionary business model is helping restaurants dramatically reduce how much food they waste each day and is helping Americans from all walks of life get access to the food they want for less.

Learn how Sabine helped start Food For All as a graduate student and why restaurants have so much food waste in the first place. We also get into a delicious solution for surplus herbs, how businesses and nonprofits can actually work together to reduce waste, and what Sabine thinks many people misunderstand about hunger in America.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a budding environmentalist, or just hungry for ways to save money on convenient meals, this episode has something for you.

Show Notes:

Learn more about Food for All on their website
Sabine first learned about food waste from the hilarious and eye-opening feature that John Oliver did about it in 2015
Food for all tackles waste that happens in restaurants. You can see a graph of where exactly food waste happens from ReFED here
Sabine and the Food for All team work closely with the Greater Boston Food Bank. You can learn more about them and support their work here
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization found that we'd only need to recover 1/4 of all of the food that we waste globally every year to feed everyone in need on our planet
To help make food more accessible to everyone, regardless of their income level, Imperfect offers a reduced-cost box program
The federal government recently announced its cuts to food stamps
Sabine's tip for using up extra herbs is to chop them up and combine them with yogurt to make a quick and easy dip
Sabine is a fan of the work Urban-X is doing to improve life in cities
My Fresh Bowl is an urban vending machine that serves healthy food
Reilly recently had a productivity breakthrough thanks to the Pomodoro technique
Sabine's go-to food to make someone feel loved is Pão de Queijo, a traditional Brazilian cheese bread
Sabine has not one but 3 go-to karaoke songs!
- "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk
- "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes
- "Evidências" by Chitãozinho & Xororó
Sabine admires the work of architect Andres Jaque

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Conscious Eatery, aka “Seattle’s philanthropic sandwich shop,” is a restaurant and catering company in Seattle that donates a meal to someone in need for every meal sold.

To date, the chef owners Cierra and Chaz have donated over 25,000 meals, built a network of collaborative nonprofits, and learned some powerful lessons about hunger and housing in modern America. In our chat, they share their personal experiences with homelessness, discuss some of the most overlooked and misunderstood aspects of hunger and homelessness in America, and explain why solving homelessness has to start with acknowledging and listening to the diverse stories of the people that are affected by it.

We also explore why solving food waste in restaurants starts with re-thinking portion sizes and why dill is a truly underrated herb. Cierra and Chaz model what generosity, empathy, and hard work look like and this episode is an inspiring glimpse into how businesses and restaurants can be a force for good in the world. If you’re looking for a beacon of hope in your podcast landscape, this episode is a great place to start.

Show Notes:

Cierra and Chaz regularly support the White Center Food Bank as well as the Roots Young Adult Center. If you'd like to learn more about either or lend your support, their websites are: https://www.whitecenterfoodbank.org/ and https://www.rootsinfo.org/
Cierra and Chaz are big fans of pear salad. They make theirs with spring mix, blue cheese, candied walnuts, and a champagne vinaigrette!
Imperfect recently organized a Food Waste Restaurant Week. Here is some of what we learned from our chefs!
Cierra and Chaz look up to Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglass, who has been composting for 30 years!
To use up old bread, Chaz recommends making a Panzanella salad.
Chaz is also in the process of perfecting bread pudding.
An excellent program that combines food recovery with job training for vulnerable populations is Food Shift in Alameda California.
Chaz and Cierra mentioned the work that Fare Start is doing to provide culinary job training.
To gain a deeper understanding of the American affordable housing crisis, Reilly recommends Adam Conover’s podcast, “Factually,” which has an eye-opening episode about the intersection of the housing crisis and homelessness.
To work with Conscious Eatery, shoot them an email at info@consciouseatery.org
To find a food bank near you, and learn more about hunger in America, check out feedingamerica.org.
Dill is an underrated herb according to Cierra. One of her favorite ways to use it is in a quick and easy tuna salad combining tuna, yellow mustard, and dill. She recommends serving it on top of quinoa or with arugula in a sandwich
Cierra and Chaz’s go-to karaoke song would be “Ironic” by Alaniss Morisette
Cierra is inspired by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Gins

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After having an unhealthy relationship with food in his teens, Joshua Weissman lost 100 pounds at age 16 and turned a corner in terms of his diet and lifestyle.

Today, he spends his days creating fun, quirky, and informative food content for his Youtube channel to share his passion for food with the world. In our chat, we explore Josh's unique culinary philosophy in depth. We discuss why it's so important to make food from scratch, restaurant cooking principles you can apply at home, and how to figure out the right knife to buy for you.

We also explore how to organize your kitchen better in a way that will make you cook more and enjoy doing it more, too. Josh shares why restaurants can waste so much food despite the fact that chefs pride themselves on reducing waste, and he gets into the waste-fighting benefits of fermenting vegetables at home.

This episode is packed full of practical wisdom for anyone looking to relate to food and cooking in a new way.

Show Notes

Don't miss out on Joshs informative Instagram Youtube Channel page.
We're also big fans of his Instagram.
Josh is a big fan of sous vide as a way to make meal prep even faster. He's a fan of the Anova Sous Vide system.
Josh shared that the essential cooking gear that's worth spending money on is a chef's knife, cutting board, small saucepot, and a sauté pan.
Josh is a huge fan of the knife store Bernal Cutlery in the Bay Area. They have very friendly customer service and ship, too!
Josh broke down the important distinction between honing and sharpening a knife. You can learn more about that here.
Josh is a big fan of beurre monte
Josh's go-to music to sing while cooking is Drake.
Josh and Reilly are both big fans of Gordon Ramsay and his informative culinary content.

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We all know that fast food is king all over the world, but have you ever wondered what exactly slow food is and why it matters?

In our busy and exhausted era, Giselle Kennedy Lord from Slow Food USA stops by the podcast to explain why today it's more important than ever to take the time to slow down and share a meal with other people. She shares why taking the time to cook and eat a proper meal has huge benefits for our physical and mental health and our planet's biodiversity.

We dig into the tangible benefits of food culture, why food has such a powerful place in our memories, and what exactly was Anthony Bourdain's biggest contribution to our understanding of the world.

Whether you're looking to create more time for shared meals and travel in your life or searching for powerful ways to bring your community together, this episode is packed with the insight and inspiration you need to relate to food in a new light.

Show Notes

Slow Food USA's Website
Slow Food's Instagram
Slow Food's Facebook
Slow Food's Twitter
Find a Slow Food chapter near you
For a deeper history of fast food in America, Giselle recommended reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser
Giselle firmly believes that food smells are deeply tied to our memories and scientific research supports this idea!
We both had fond memories of Anthony Bourdain's shows
His visit to Vietnam, in particular, included some poignant observations about the empathy-building benefits of travel alongside former president Barack Obama
Slow Food is working to preserve important ingredients and recipes through their Ark of Taste
Here is some more info on the fascinating traditional method of preserving persimmons in Japan, that Giselle mentioned, Hoshigaki
Giselle respects Lebanese cookbook author Barbara Masaad and recommends her cookbooks highly
She also specifically praised Masaad's philanthropic cookbook, "Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity"
Giselle dreams of one day performing Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar
Until that day, "Hypnotize" by Biggie Smalls is the song that will never fail to get her singing on the dance floor (fair warning that this song has explicit lyrics)
Slow Food is celebrating 30 Years of Slow Food. Here's where you can learn more: https://slowfoodusa.org/30-years/

Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity (Cooking with Barbara Abdeni Massaad)

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

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Most of us drink coffee regularly, but how often do you think about how and where it's grown? To help us understand the complicated intersection of business and agriculture that shapes the world of coffee, we invited Michael Sheridan of Intelligentsia coffee to the podcast.

As the sourcing director of Intelligentsia, Michael has visited many of the world's top growing regions and has a unique perspective into the challenges facing the people that grow the coffees many of us know and love. In our chat, we talk about why the coffee market is so volatile for growers yet rarely impacts the price that coffee drinkers pay. We also explore why the direct trade model creates exceptional quality coffee and how fixed coffee pricing can actually be a net positive for coffee growers and buyers alike. Michael explains why surplus is such a persistent problem in the coffee industry, and what a more equitable and sustainable approach to growing coffee can look like. Whether you're a coffee nerd or just an avid drinker looking to learn more about how it's grown, this episode has something informative for you!

Show Notes:

Intelligentsia coffee's website
Michael is a pioneer of the direct trade coffee model, which goes beyond Fair Trade to build up the livelihood of coffee workers year in and year out
Michael pointed out that, like all agricultural workers, coffee workers have to negotiate a ton of risk with every harvest. In particular, coffee growers have to contend with climate risk, exchange rate risk, market risk, and price risk.
As a perennial tree crop, it takes a while for coffee trees (technically shrubs) to start producing fruit. There is a four-year lag between when folks plant a coffee tree and when it starts bearing fruit. This lag is a large part of why the coffee market is so volatile and prone to surplus.
Michael is adamant that since it's so complex in terms of flavor, coffee is much more like wine than it is other agricultural products that are traded as commodities
Michael recommends brewing coffee at 205F. Less than 190 is too low and more than 205 can scald the coffee.
The Speciality Coffee Association puts together educational materials about coffee that Michael recommends
A Chemex can be the gold standard for brewing specialty coffee
For brewing coffee, Michael is a fan of using an Aero Press
The Borderlands project is seriously inspiring
Michael recently started reading more fiction and recommends "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Michael's go-to karaoke song would be "Roadhouse Blues" by The Doors
Michael admires Paul Farmer and his work at Partners in Health
Check out Intelligentsia's blog!

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to create and share awesome recipes for a living? As the Food Editor at Large at Bon Appetit, Carla Lalli Music is an expert at making the complicated world of cooking accessible and fun for the home audience.

In our chat, we cover advice for getting into food media as well as some of the common misconceptions about the industry. We also get into her recommendations for becoming a better cook, why confiting is the best cooking technique most people haven't heard of, and why you don't need to be afraid of not having every single ingredient that a recipe calls for.

Carla generously shares the pantry items you should always have around, which cooking gadgets are worth it and which ones are a waste of space and money. We close with Carla's top cookbook recommendations, just in time for your holiday shopping! Whether you're looking to improve your home cooking or are just curious to learn what it's like to write recipes for a living, this episode is packed full of advice that you can use in your life and in your kitchen.

Show Notes

Carla's Instagram is a must-follow.
Carla's excellent cookbook is called "Where Cooking Begins."
Carla's top pantry recommendations were onions, garlic, lemons, limes, eggs, yogurt, buttermilk, 1-2 types of vinegar, rice, noodles, nuts, parmesan cheese, anchovies, tuna, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, chocolate, and vanilla extract.
Carla advised us that quarter sheet pans are some of the most useful, versatile, and compact kitchen hardware you can buy (or give as a gift!).
Carla is a big fan of carbon steel saute pans.
Carla thinks everyone should own a slotted fish spatula.
Reilly is a huge fan of sikil pak, a Yucatan pumpkin seed sauce.
Carla's top cookbook recommendations were:
- Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison.
- Autentico: Cooking Italian, the Authentic Way by Ronaldo Baramendi.
- Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World: A Cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey.
- Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkins.
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.
- The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Flemming
Carla's go-to karaoke song is "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses.

The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern

Autentico: Cooking Italian, the Authentic Way

Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World: A Cookbook

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Have you ever felt like food waste was such a big and mind-boggling problem that you desperately wanted some perspective on how things ended up this way?

If so, you need to meet Jonathan Bloom. To understand the extent of food waste in the United States as well as what causes it, he dove headfirst into our food system, spending time working on a farm, at a restaurant, in a catering company, and stocking shelves at a supermarket.

The result was his groundbreaking book "American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It)." In our chat, we discuss why grocery shopping more often is a powerful way to prevent waste, why the timing of recess in schools matters more than we realize, and we dissect Jonathan's hot take that composting might not be the environmental victory that many of us assume it is.

Whether you're looking to learn more about food waste or are fed up with stats about waste and just want some practical ways to take it on in your life, this episode is packed with timeless wisdom and actionable lessons for you!

Episode Show Notes:

Jonathan's website: http://www.wastedfood.com/
Jonathan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wastedfood/?hl=en
Jonathan first learned how much food was going to waste in our food system while volunteering at DC Central Kitchen: https://dccentralkitchen.org/
How shopping more often instead of shopping in bulk can help reduce waste: https://slate.com/business/2015/06/bulk-shopping-creates-food-waste-shop-more-often-instead.html
Project Drawdown's research on food waste: https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/food/reduced-food-waste
The study that found that moving around the timing of recess at schools can reduce food waste by 20-30%: https://edu.wyoming.gov/downloads/nutrition/plate-waste-and-recess-schedule.pdf
The EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy
Reilly learned a lot about the nuances of composting at scale from the awesome folks at Dirt Hugger: https://www.dirthugger.com/
The St Andrews Society for gleaning: https://endhunger.org/
Jonathan's go-to comfort food is cheesy risotto with root veggies: https://www.freshcityfarms.com/recipes/the-anything-goes-root-vegetable-risotto
Our blog post about how to avoid wasting protein: https://blog.imperfectfoods.com/blog-1/2019/10/29/4-tips-for-wasting-less-protein
Jonathan's go-to karaoke song is "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ
One of Jonathan's favorite authors is Calvin Trillin: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/calvin-trillin

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How we store our food is one of the single biggest ways all of us can create or prevent waste, but how often do you think about the materials that you use to store your favorite foods?

Through the story of Abeego, the game-changing all-natural food wrap that she invented in 2008, Toni Desrosiers shares insights for aspiring environmental entrepreneurs as well as why the world is falling out of love with plastics, why sliced bread is a terrible idea, and why a block of cheese is a living organism.

You won't store your food the same way after listening to this episode!

Episode Show Notes:

Toni admires Skipper Otto Fishing and the work they're doing to promote sustainable seafood - https://skipperotto.com/
Toni is a big fan of gardening and recommended that all of us check out "Grow Food Not Lawns" - http://www.foodnotlawns.com/
"Start With Why" Is a Book that Toni recommends to everyone interested in business - https://simonsinek.com/product/start-with-why/
Toni has begun to drink a lot of apple and parsley green smoothies, so here's an easy recipe for making one - https://nutritioninthekitch.com/green-apple-pear-parsley-cleansing-smoothie/
Toni's favorite song to listen to in the kitchen with her 6-year-old is "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM

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Dana Gunders is quite literally "the woman who helped start the zero-waste movement," according to Consumer Reports. In this fact-filled conversation, learn how what started out as a report on plastics in farming led her to learn that 40% of our food supply was going to waste.

Dana is a true expert on food waste who knows the data like the back of her hand. In this candid chat she shares the honest and sometimes shocking truth behind why 75% of Americans believe they waste less food than the average American, why restaurant portion sizes are such a problem, and how on earth farms end up wasting food when their livelihood depends on selling as much of what they grow as they can.

She also shares some insight on why expiration dates are so misunderstood and why old food isn't actually what ends up makes us sick. Our chat with Dana is also packed with practical waste-fighting tips like how the surprising benefits of a meal plan that includes a few lazy nights, the waste-fighting benefit of "stir-Fridays," and how your freezer is the magic pause button for perishable food. If you're looking for an episode that will leave you feeling informed and inspired to take action, this is it!

Show Notes:

Dana's website
Dana's Instagram
Dana's groundbreaking report on food waste in America
75% of Americans believe that they waste less food than the average American
The UN study that found that 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste, or the equivalent of 37 million cars
The Santa Clara study on farm-level food waste that Dana mentioned
Dana's waste-free kitchen handbook
Imperfect's use spinach first post
Dana's go-to karaoke song is "I like to move it"
Dana's feeling inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg lately. If you haven't seen Greta's speech about climate change to the United Nations, it's a must-watch!

Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money By Wasting Less Food (Zero Waste Home, Zero Waste Book, Sustainable Living Book)

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Kathryn Kellogg is synonymous with going zero waste. She's written a book about it, has an incredible following on her Instagram account, and doesn't just talk the talk. She is a living example of how we all can live waste-free — yet still be a functioning part of modern society.

Kathryn joined us to talk about the common misconceptions about going waste-free and how you can inspire others in your life to live a little less wastefully.

Can't miss moments from the show

Why you need to know more about the products in your life beyond simple labels like BPA-free.
Learn why going waste-free doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming.
How can you be zero waste without alienating everyone in your life? Kathryn lets us in on her secrets.
Hear some of the ways Kathryn reduces food waste in her home.
Learn why Kathryn is actually glad that recycling in the US is at a breaking point

Links to things we talked about

Goingzerowaste.com
Youtube series on recycling
101 Ways to Go Zero Waste
Paul Hawken- Drawdown
IG
The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act
Wasted: The Story of Food Waste

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Doug Rauch was instrumental in turning Trader Joe's into what it is today — a grocery shopping experience people love and flock toward.

Under Doug's leadership, Trader Joe's redefined what it means to go food shopping. He hopes to have the same impact on hunger.

Daily Table is Doug's latest venture — a nonprofit aimed at removing the stigma of food shelters so that those in need can get healthy food, without feeling like they're getting a handout.

Doug talked with Reilly about the history of organic foods, the secret sauce for how Trader Joe's became so successful, and why he's committed his life toward ending hunger in America.

Can't miss moments from the show

Doug shares his tips on how grocery stores can reduce waste
He also shares how we, as consumers, play our part in encouraging grocery store waste
We learn the inspiration behind Daily Table (hint: it came from a billboard message)
Doug shares his secret to happiness

Link to things mentioned in the show

Daily Table

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25 million people across the country live in food deserts — or what LA activist Olympia Auset calls food apartheid. People in these areas have easy access to junk food, liquor stores, and fast-food chains. But as Auset puts it if, "you want an organic avocado or tomato you'll be hard pressed to find it.”

Auset is changing that with SuprMarkt, a pop-up grocery store that makes healthy food choices an affordable, realistic option for underrepresented communities.

Auset talks to us about her personal journey — how becoming vegan helped her see just how few healthy food options her community had.

Key moments from the show

In South LA only 60 grocery stores serve over a million people, while in the highly gentrified west side there are about 50 stores for half that population.
Food deserts aren’t only food deserts. There are design deserts, entrepreneurship deserts, and so on.
Auset tells us why she feels food apartheid is a more fitting term than food desert.
Auset started SuprMarkt with less than $100 and little to no experience. Find out the one key thing she did have that drove her to succeed.
Living in South Central Los Angeles makes you 2 to 3 times more susceptible to a preventable disease, like heart disease and diabetes. All because of the lack of healthy food options.
Find out what food Auset calls God’s soda can

Links mentioned in the show

SuprMarkt: https://suprmarkt.la
Keep Slauson Fresh campaign: https://suprmarkt.la/ksf
SuprFest: suprfest.com
Food Inc. documentary - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/
Forks Over Knives - https://www.forksoverknives.com
What the Health - https://www.whatthehealthfilm.com

We have more on Olympia on our website. Got input, comments, questions, or advice? Email us at feedback@unwastedpodcast.com.

Like what you heard? We'd love for you to share it with friends, and, of course, give us a review!

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Jessica Koslow is the chef behind Sqirl, a widely popular LA-based breakfast and lunch spot that seems to always have a line out the door.

As if Sqirl wasn't enough, Koslow is also opening a brand-new restaurant, Onda, has written a book on New California Cooking, and is about to release a new book on jam making. It's incredible to think that this highly acclaimed chef didn't go to culinary school. In fact, pursuing a career in food didn't hit her until her college years, when she found herself on a cranberry farm.

Jessica shares her cranberry epiphany with us, as well as useful tips on how folks can cook more sustainably at home (here's one tip: turn aging cucumbers into ice cubes!).

Can’t-miss moments from the show

Jessica shares a tip on how to get into Sqirl, even with the long line
She demystifies pickling and preserving (it's not that scary!) Plus, here's a link on how to pickle produce
Jessica shares ideas on how to use stems, aging fruit, and avocado pits in different recipes
She explains why most chefs are really boring cooks at home
She shares awesome tips on how to keep leftovers interesting

Links to the things we mentioned in the show

Sqirl
Jessica on IG
Onda
Gravenstein Apple
Magnus Nilsson
Jessica's go-to karaoke song: "And I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls

We have more on Jessica on our website, including the video version of this episode.

Got input, comments, questions, or advice? Email us at feedback@unwastedpodcast.com.

Like what you heard? We'd love for you to share it with friends, and, of course, give us a review!

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Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking

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Dan Kurzrock didn’t set out to change the world — he just wanted to drink free beer. But a college hobby of selling bread made from the spent grains of his homemade brewing hobby turned into a life’s mission: to improve the value of food.

Dan is the CEO of Regrained. Regrained rescues the nutritious grain created every time beer is brewed, and upcycles it into Supergrain+ flour, which is the foundation of a line of food products they sell online and across the nation.

Dan joined us to talk beer, upcycling, running a business, and why sometimes you have to make small compromises for the greater good of your mission.

Can’t miss moments from the show

You’ll never guess how many pounds of spent grain the brewing industry generates yearly. Hint: It’s in the billions
Learn why choosing a clever name, like Supergrain, makes all the difference when upcycling food.
Dan talks about why he made the conscious effort of slow-growth for Regrained, rather than jumping in with two feet from the start.
Dan talks about the lessons he learned when trying to use compostable packaging vs. plastic.

Links to things we talked about

Learn more about Regrained at regrained.com
Regrained’s article on their struggle between compostable and plastic packaging
Reilly shared that he admires Food Writer Michael Ruhlman a ton.
Dan’s go-to karaoke songs are Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show
Dan counts Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, as someone he looks up to

We have more on Dan on our website, including the video version of this episode.

Got input, comments, questions, or advice? Email us at feedback@unwastedpodcast.com.

Like what you heard? We'd love for you to share it with friends, and, of course, give us a review!

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It’s not easy admitting that a lifelong passion isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. That’s exactly what happened to Chef Allen Campbell — who years ago, discovered that playing the role of chef came at a cost to his physical and mental health.

The result? Campbell switched gears, becoming a consultant and, recently, the personal wellness chef for New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen.

He coauthored his first book with Brady, The TB12 Nutrition Manual, and recently wrote The Game of Eating Smart, a collaboration with MLB and 21 top MLB players.

Campbell joined us from his home in Boston to talk about sleeping in sun porches, the dangers of sugar, and the role chefs play in helping all of us eat healthier and more sustainable.

Can’t miss moments from the show

Following a 3-day cleanse Allen became keenly aware of the food he was putting into his body — and there was no turning back.
Allen lived on a friend’s sun porch for 9 months as he transitioned from line cook to personal chef.
Allen breaks down how he develops personalized menus for his clients.
Find out the nutrient-dense foods he reaches for when making healthy meals.
Someone who wants to go fully vegan should definitely have ____ In their diet (Campbell lets us know).
He shares his tips on how to get your kids to eat their veggies. Hint: “You can’t just steam broccoli and put it on a plate.”
What’s harder to cook well? Meat or veggies? Reilly and Chef Allen offer their take.
Chef Allen — who isn’t shy about his opinions on sugar — shares what he thinks can be done to reduce our addiction to refined sugar. Hint: “You have to look at it like smoking.”
Do chefs have a role to play in helping all of us eat healthier and more sustainably? Chef Allen thinks so — and he explains why.

Links to things we talked about:

Allen Campbell's website
Allen Campbell on IG
The Game of Eating Smart
The Camu Camu fruit
10 health benefits to blue-green algae

We have more on Chef Allen Campbell on our website, including the video version of this episode.

Got input, comments, questions, or advice? Email us at feedback@unwastedpodcast.com.

Like what you heard? We'd love for you to share it with friends, and, of course, give us a review!

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Growing up, Joel Gamoran was petrified of speaking in public. And he can't stand writing. How, then, did he become National Chef for Sur La Table, the gregarious host of A+E's hit series “Scraps", and author of the Cooking Scrappy Cookbook?

Joel joined us by phone to share his story, as well as cooking tips and tricks everyone can try at home to make their cooking more delicious, more sustainable, and less of a chore.

Can't-miss moments from the show:

Joel and his TV crew were robbed while filming on location ... at Imperfect!
Learn how Katie Couric became a fan — and then catalyst for his show and book.
What's one guest from his show Joel will always remember? You'll hear the story of Eduardo Garcia, aka the Bionic Chef. Garcia lost four ribs, several torso muscles, 10 inches of his left forearm, and his left hand after a freak hiking accident.
Joel is obsessed with corn cobs. You will be, too, after you learn what you can do with them.
There are two things every home cook is afraid of. Add these to your kitchen routine, and your cooking will be forever changed. What are home cooks afraid of? Joel lets us know.

Links to the things we mentioned in the show:

Learn more about Joel, his cookbook, and his show on his site
Joel's recipe for brining chicken with pickle juice
Reilly's high school graduation speech
Joel's recipe for polenta made with corn milk from the Today show
Joel shares ways to use spent coffee, mushroom stems, and corn cobs

Oh and by the way, Reilly is imperfect too, and forgot to ask Joel what his favorite karaoke song was. But we found out: A Whole New World from Aladdin.

We have more about Joel on our website.

Got input, comments, questions, or advice? Email us at feedback@unwastedpodcast.com.

Like what you heard? We'd love for you to share it with friends, and, of course, give us a review!

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Davida Lederle, aka The Healthy Maven, has a widely popular blog and podcast. Tens of thousands of people turn to her for tips and ideas on all things health and beauty — including recipes, hair tips.

It's incredible to think that when she first launched her blog, she was too afraid to tell anyone about it for 3 months!

Davida joined us to talk about her journey toward becoming the Healthy Maven, and shares specific tips she lives by to be happy, healthy, and less wasteful. Hint: It's okay to be imperfect.

Can't-miss moments from the show:

Moving from Canada to the U.S. can really open one's eyes up to the world of healthcare — and nature
Marie Kondo isn't for everyone
The only expert on you is you
Being called an influencer isn't' all it's cracked up to be
In some cases, kale can be wasteful — who knew?!

Links to the things we mentioned in the show:

The Healthy Maven podcast episode with our very own Reilly Brock
Stonyfield Yogurt
NPR article on why herbs go to waste
How to get the most out of your herbs
Davida's go-to karaoke song: Hall & Oates, Make My Dreams

We have more on Davida on our website, including the video version of this episode.

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We know it's easy to get overwhelmed by how wasteful we are in modern America. Maybe what's missing is some hope, some inspiration, and a helpful way to get started on the path to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Hi, I'm Reilly Brock and this is Unwasted — a podcast all about inspiring everyone to live less wasteful, more meaningful lives. Each week, we hear the powerful stories of people on a mission to end our addiction to waste.

Every week we’ll have a fun conversation full of food-for-thought, fun facts, and actionable tips, tricks, and recipes that you can try at home.

Because while we all may not see eye to eye on everything, the one thing we can agree on, is that we only have one life, one planet. and it would be a shame to waste any of it.

So join us, every week, on Unwasted with Imperfect.

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