What You're Eating

Vanilla and Chocolate — the two most beloved flavors in the world — have been linked since the beginning. But both have complicated stories: long and hidden supply chains, an extraction of wealth from communities in the Global South, and all of the environmental and social problems that come from a system that leaves smallholder farmers in poverty. How can we reconcile our love of these essential flavors with their often problematic production? Can we hold large companies accountable? And is it possible to produce vanilla and chocolate in a different and better way?

Why does the oyster — amorphous, slimy, hidden in a shell that’s craggier and stranger than that of a scallop or a clam — capture so many food-lovers’ hearts? What exactly is an oyster? Why are most of the oysters we eat farmed? And why, unlike other farmed seafood, are they considered such a benefit to their environment? In this episode, we head to the farm — the oyster farm — and talk to various experts to understand more about this beloved and very sustainable bivalve.

For the conscious consumer, buying local products is a way to shorten that distance between us and what we eat or drink, and maybe even learn more about how it was produced by talking to the people who made it. But what about something like coffee, which doesn’t grow anywhere near those of us living in the continental United States? Do you know where your coffee comes from? And if you do know what country it comes from, maybe from the bag or canister you bought your beans in, do you know how it was grown? Or who grew it? Or how it transforms from a berry on a branch to the brown roasted “beans” you grind for your cup of Joe?

In this episode we head to Maine to learn more about the "forever chemicals" PFAS and how they have ended up in well water, on farms, in food, and ultimately in people’s bodies.

As grocery prices soar, it’s worth asking where those profits go and who they benefit. In today’s episode we look at two models of consumer cooperatives, options for buying your food that rely on a less extractive model, where profit stays in the community: co-op grocers and community supported agriculture.

In this episode we look at food packaging, with a focus on plastic, since there’s so much of it, and it’s the one with the most problems. We dig deep into plastic production and its connection to climate change, and talk to experts about how food packaging is problematic not just for the environment, but also for our health.