Deconstructing Dinner

Across the US and Canada, there is an exciting emergence of a unique type of food festival – a festival for garlic! When looking at a map of where garlic festivals are emerging, it’s clear that garlic knows no geographic boundaries – it’s a food that grows well in most climates across the continent. This popularity of garlic festivals appears to be communicating an important story – a story of our longing to connect and celebrate with one another around food, a story of people wanting to make more flavorful dinners, and a story of a food that has become an incredibly important crop for small-scale farmers.   Features: Ken Meter, Professor, Crossroads Resource Center (Minneapolis, MN) Liz Primeau, Author, In Pursuit of Garlic (Mississauga, ON) Bill Christopher, President, Christopher Ranch (Gilroy, CA) Bob Baloch, Farmer, The Fresh Veggies (Brampton, ON) Peter McClusky, Founder, Toronto Garlic Festival (Toronto, ON) JP Gural, Farmer, Samsara Fields (Waterford, ON) Ross Breen, Farmer, Stone Soup Farm (Harlowe,

Honey – one of the most natural foods. In the supermarket, honey is found labelled as coming from clover, buckwheat, alfalfa or maybe orange blossom. The label might just read ‘honey’ without any indication of its source of nectar. But is the nectar source even important to those of us wishing to become more conscientious eaters? As Deconstructing Dinner has discovered, there is a curiosity surrounding honey – a curiosity, which has rarely, if ever, been spoken…. until now! It turns out, in Canada, 80% of all the honey produced in the country is from the nectar of canola – yet, nowhere on the grocery store shelves do we ever see honey labelled as “canola honey”. And so the question becomes – just where is all that canola honey ending up?  Features  Vaughn Bryant, Professor, Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) Brian Campbell, Certified Master Beekeeper, Blessed Bee Farm (Richmond, BC) Jill Clark, Spokesperson, True Source Honey (Lancaster, PA)  

Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman sits down with Mark Kastel - the co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute - a populist farm policy research group based in Wisconsin. Mark and Jon discuss the changing face of organic food. Using eggs as an example - Mark explains how eaters can exercise a more discriminating awareness when purchasing 'organic' eggs.  Features:  Mark Kastel, Co-Founder, Cornucopia Institute (La Farge, WI)  

It's not uncommon for most of us eaters to view the system supplying us with food as being separate from us, but on this podcast, one of Canada's most recognized food policy analysts offers his perspectives which suggest otherwise. Instead, the food system has in many ways been designed to satisfy the demands that we make every day to eat the same food, year-round, regardless of season, geography or climate. It seems that we eaters, have become so accustomed to that fresh tomato slice on our sandwich, that glass of orange juice in the morning, or that salad of fresh greens, that these very demands have shaped the food system, and, subsequently, shaped the world we live in. But are these demands for a perpetual harvest necessary? Could we do just fine or even better by choosing a more seasonal approach to eating?...., and, if so, could this way of eating reconstruct the food system for the better? Features: Rod MacRae, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University (Toronto, ON)

On this all-new podcast, Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman examines some of the key differences between conventional and organically produced wheat.  Features: Stephen Jones, Director, Washington State University Research Station (Mount Vernon, WA) Kevin Christenson, Owner, Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill (Burlington, WA) Sam Lucy, Farmer, Bluebird Grain Farms (Winthrop, WA) Roy Lawrence, Farmer, Kootenay Grain CSA (Creston, BC) Scott Mangold, Baker, Breadfarm (Edison, WA)

This episode #193 marks the final broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner before we embark on a much-needed break. Producer & Host Jon Steinman speaks about the need to step away from producing new shows and what future might lie ahead. Jon also shares some reflections on the past 5 years of producing this weekly one-hour radio show and podcast, and offers suggestions to those involved in the responsible food movement - a movement which this show has helped track its evolution and certainly one that this show has in many ways been a part of. Also on the show - a brief update (regrettably brief!) on our September undercover investigation on a B.C. egg business who had been fraudulently marketing their product as being from their own farm when in fact the property on which the business operated was not a farm at all! It appears the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has vowed silence instead of transparency.

Since March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner has been tracking the evolution of the Kootenay Grain CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the interior of British Columbia. The project is Canada's first community supported agriculture project for grain and it's been quite a while since we've checked in with how it's evolved throughout it's third year. Also on this part 12 of the series, we learn about the many grain projects underway elsewhere in Canada and the United States, all of which have been inspired by this very Local Grain Revolution series! Specifically, we travel to Lopez Island, Washington, where one of those projects has completed its first successful year. In October 2010, Jon Steinman visited the Island to share the story of the Kootenay Grain CSA and learn about the Island's very own. Guests Roy Lawrence, farmer, R&S Lawrence Farm (Creston, BC) - Roy is a third-generation farmer. Prior to the CSA, Roy had farmed using conventional methods but the CSA became an opportunity for him to transition

Exploring Ethnobiology is a new series Deconstructing Dinner has been airing since June. Through a scientific lens, ethnobiology examines the relationships between humans and their surrounding plants, animals and ecosystems. With seemingly more and more people becoming interested in developing closer relationships with our surroundings (our food, the earth), there's much we can all learn from ethnobiologists, and in particular, from the symbiotic human-earth relationships that so many peoples around the world have long maintained. Food sovereignty is also a subject that permeates much of what airs on Deconstructing Dinner, and similarly permeates much of the dialogue among ethnobiologists. At the 2010 International Congress of Ethnobiology held in Tofino, B.C., a group of ethnobiologists gathered to discuss food sovereignty with a focus on the immaterial or intangible components of food sovereignty. In the first half of the episode, we listen in on some of that discussion and in the second half, we listen to

TED has become an incredibly popular series of conferences featuring inspiring speakers from around the world. TED is a small non-profit devoted to what they call - "Ideas Worth Spreading." Starting out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment & Design, TED has since broadened its scope to include two annual conferences in California, a global conference in the UK and many on-line resources where more than 700 TEDTalks are now available. TED believes in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. With a number of the talks delivered at their annual conferences involving food, on this episode, we hear three of those talks including one delivered by well-known television personality Jamie Oliver who speaks passionately about teaching children about food. We hear architect and author Carolyn Steel speaking about the history of how cities fed themselves and we hear author/artist Christien Meindertsma speak about the astonishing

Deconstructing Dinner has long been exploring the many ways through which farmers, businesses, organizations and communities are accessing food using new and innovative models. On today's broadcast we hear more of those examples shared as part of the March 2010 panel - Produce to the People, hosted by the San Francisco based CUESA. The Produce to the People panel examined a few inspiring models for getting fresh, local food to residents in the San Francisco Bay area of California and featured Grayson James of Petaluma Bounty, Melanine Cheng of FarmsReach and Christine Cherdboonmuang of the Oakland Farms-to-Schools Network and Oakland FRESH School Produce Markets. Moderating the panel was Michael Dimock of Roots of Change. And closing out the broadcast - a new episode from Bucky Buckaw and his Backyard Chicken broadcast. Bucky discusses the pros and cons of eating raw eggs and provides suggestions on the safest source of those eggs to reduce exposure to the risks of salmonella. Voices Grayson James, executive

Packaged Foods Exposed V Deconstructing Dinner revisits with our popular series - Packaged Foods Exposed. Launched in 2006, the series examines the largest manufacturers of processed foods in the country and takes an often overlooked and critical perspective of these powerful companies. When Deconstructing Dinner last aired this series, we featured a two-part exposé of Unilever. With three years having now transpired since those episodes, it appears that the company is in much need of some more deconstructing! Needing particular attention are Unilever's questionable marketing strategies. Following our research that has gone into this episode, four complaints were filed with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Deconstructing Dinner now awaits their response. Unequal Harvest Deconstructing Dinner visits with the excellent theatrical performance, Unequal Harvest - a series of monologues written by Winnipeg's Geoff Hughes. Unequal Harvest examines some of the root causes of hunger and food injustice taking place

Exploring Ethnobiology III In May 2010, Deconstructing Dinner travelled to Vancouver Island where two international conferences on ethnobiology were being hosted. Ethnobiology examines the relationships between humans and their surrounding plants, animals and ecosystems. Today, more and more people are expressing an interest to develop closer relationships with the earth. This leaves much to be learned from the research of ethnobiologists, and in particular, from the symbiotic human-earth relationships that so many peoples around the world have long maintained. On this part III of the series, we listen to two presentations that share research into the relationships between indigenous peoples and marine life in what is now called British Columbia and Alaska. Investigating Eggs Update Also on the show - an update from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to our September 2 investigative report on alleged local food fraud. Guests/Voices Severn Cullis-Suzuki, masters in ethnobotany, School of Environmental Studies

An exclusive behind-the-scenes investigative report taking an in-depth look into alleged local food fraud. With the rapid rise in interest among North Americans to support locally produced food and with the premium people are willing to pay for that food, it leaves open an attractive opportunity for food-based businesses to take advantage of this new and growing lucrative market, either honestly or not. In May 2010, Deconstructing Dinner received a tip from a farmer in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia who alleged that a local business who sells eggs to 18 retailers and restaurants and who was marketing their product as being predominantly from their own farm, was not true. According to the tip, the "farm" was not a farm at all, and housed no chickens on the property! The business has also been marketing their product as originating from neighbouring farms in the Creston Valley, however, Deconstructing Dinner received yet another and very strong tip, this one in July 2010, alleging that that too mi

On this part 8 of our Conscientious Cooks series, we listen in on a really interesting panel discussion hosted in 2008 by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (or CUESA) located in San Francisco, California. The panel was themed around the concept of Climate Friendly Eating. Voices Gail Feenstra, food systems analyst, University of California Sustainable Agriculture & Research Program (Davis, CA) Helene York, director, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation (Palo Alto, CA) Laura Stec, chef/author, The Global Warming Diet (Portola Valley, CA) Bonnie Powell, co-founder, The Ethicurean (San Francisco, CA)

Having now devoted four episodes to covering the closure of Canada's prison farms, this Part 5 of our coverage might mark a disappointing chapter for Canadians who have been hoping for a halt to the closures. While all six of these rehabilitative and job-training programs have been progressively dismantled over the past year, the August 9 removal of the dairy herd at Kingston, Ontario's Frontenac Institution is being seen by many as a nail in the coffin. This episode hears from supporters of the prison farms and the steps that the Save Our Prison Farms campaign took since we last covered this issue back in June. We'll learn about the 500-person strong citizen blockade, which attempted to stop the removal of the dairy herd off the property, and we'll learn about what next steps campaign organizers believe are necessary to maintain momentum and possibly turn the campaign into an election issue. Doing so might take advantage of the support of the Liberal Party and the NDP who have both vowed to re-open the farms

Deconstructing Dinner has recently been reflecting on the model of agriculture itself as the primary source through which most people on earth access their food. From our exploration of ethnobiology to recent topics on permaculture, it's clear that there are other models available, which, for some people are a substitute for agriculture, and for others, complementary practices. But what within that dependence on agriculture are we all dependent upon? Multinational corporations? The chain grocery store? Perhaps the microwave!? Well behind those dependencies, which are precarious at best, is a more deeply rooted dependence... soil - a dependence of which its once-deep roots have demonstrated over time to have become progressively shallower as 'modern' agricultural practices deplete soil depth and nutrients. On this broadcast, Deconstructing Dinner features voices of researchers who have explored the evolution of agriculture and soil alongside civilization.   Voices David Montgomery, professor, Earth & Space

In May 2010, Deconstructing Dinner travelled to Vancouver Island where two international conferences on ethnobiology were being hosted. Ethnobiology examines the relationships between humans and their surrounding plants, animals and ecosystems. Today, more and more people are expressing an interest to develop closer relationships with the earth. This leaves much to be learned from the research of ethnobiologists, and in particular, from the symbiotic human-earth relationships that so many peoples around the world have long maintained. On this part II of the series, we listen to segments from a one-on-one interview with Nancy Turner of the University of Victoria. Nancy is one of the most well-known ethnobiologists in Canada and Deconstructing Dinner's Jon Steinman sat down with her in the community of Tofino to learn more about what ethnobiology is, why the field is an increasingly important one to pay attention to, and what we all might learn from the many indigenous peoples who ethnobiologists work with. Als

Much of the content of Deconstructing Dinner revolves primarily around the practice of agriculture; from examining the downsides and challenges of current agricultural systems to the opportunities and alternatives to those challenges. However, most of those alternatives that we examine are 'agri'cultural alternatives, and so from time to time it's important to step back and deconstruct that very focus... asking the question; "Are 'agri'cultural alternatives an adequate response if they're rooted within that same 'agri'cultural box"? On past episodes when this question has been raised, we've often arrived at the subject of permaculture - creating systems that mimic natural ecosystems while providing for human needs. One of the outspoken voices advocating for permacultural systems in North America is Toby Hemenway - the author of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home Scale Permaculture (Chelsea Green, 2009). On this episode we listen to a talk Toby delivered in February 2010 when he suggested that 'sustainable agricul

Fermenting Revolution (First aired July 19, 2007) For many people, it would be quite welcoming advice to learn that drinking beer could save the world from perhaps an unpredictable changing climate, from pollution, from corporate-driven political agendas, from declining levels of happiness, from increasing levels of stress, from gender inequality, from families and relationships falling apart and from communities that have lost their sense of community. That might be a lot to ask from a simple pint of beer but author Christopher O'Brien places those questions on the 'bar' so to speak in his book "Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World". The book was released in 2006 by British Columbia's New Society Publishers and Deconstructing Dinner spoke with Christopher in March 2007. Deconstructing Dinner in Our Schools II (First aired March 13, 2008) How do food and agricultural issues make their way into educational settings? On this episode of Deconstructing Dinner in Our Schools, we hear from 10

The second of a two-part feature on the City of Vancouver's multi-year process to approve backyard chickens. Because of the many similar debates underway within city councils across the country, this focus on Vancouver's efforts looks back over the past few years to track just how this process first began and how it evolved from there. Perhaps other hopeful or illegal backyard chickeners can glean some pointers from Vancouver's efforts. Among the many voices heard on this part II of our coverage is some of the opposition to the proposed bylaw change voiced to the city from local animal welfare organizations. Also on the show, two segments of the familiar Bucky Buckaw and his Backyard Chicken Broadcast. Bucky shares his thoughts on why he eats chicken and provides some useful suggestions for using eggshells at home. Voices Leanne McConnachie, director, farm animal programs Vancouver Humane Society (Vancouver, BC) Shawn Eckles, cheif animal protection officer British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruel