The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global flows of fossil fuels and fertilizers. But what does a shipping route in the Middle East have to do with the price of food? How are farmers coping? And what does this disruption tell us about our food system’s dependence on fossil fuels and synthetic fertilizers?

Synthetic fertilizers tie food production to fossil fuels, leaving farmers exposed to price shocks and geopolitical disruption. In this episode, food systems experts unpack the risks of that dependence, the alternatives already taking shape, and how philanthropy can help build more resilient food systems.

Two years after the original Fuel To Fork podcast series, we return to the connections between food and fossil fuels to ask what has changed – and whether our food systems are any better prepared for the next shock.

Want to share your reflections on the episode? Send us an email or voice memo to podcast@tabledebates.org

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode107

Listen to Fuel to Fork

Listen to Feeding 1 in 6: China and the Future of Food

Guests

• Anna Lappé, Global Alliance for the Future of Food
• Jennifer Clapp, IPES-Food
• Lisa Tostado, Center for International Environmental Law
• Joanna Larson, Prairie Gates Farm

Episode produced and edited by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

What if the future of plant-based food isn't about faking meat, but inventing something entirely new? We go inside a student hackathon at Wageningen University (WUR) and follow the winning concept from whiteboard sketch to test kitchen to campus cafeteria. Along the way, food scientists and student organizers weigh in on the potential for the food industry to not always try to imitate meat.

This episode was produced in collaboration with Wageningen Alt Protein Project (WAPP).

Want to share your reflections on the episode? Send us an email or voice memo to podcast@tabledebates.org

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode106

Guest

• Melania Zanforlin, Co-chair WAPP
• Joaquin Fogel, Co-chair WAPP
• Dr. Laurice Pouvreau, Senior Protein Scientist at WUR
• Dr. Stacy Pyett, Program Manager at WUR
• Andy Bingham, Senior Food Application Scientist and Executive Chef at Kalsec Europe
• Dr. Raffaella Inchingolo, Lead Food Scientist at Kalsec Europe
• Dr. Guido Sala, Researcher in food physics and Molecular Gastronomy at WUR

Episode written, hosted, produced and edited by Melania Zanforlin. Produced and edited by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

After the 2018 African Swine Fever outbreak led to the culling of over a hundred million pigs, China moved toward larger, more biosecure, high-rise hog farms. Human geographer Ray Chan takes us inside these operations. He argues that biosecurity isn't only about preventing disease. He calls it a form of governance, deciding whose risk gets prioritized and how both people and animals are expected to behave.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode105

Want to share your reflections on the episode? Send us an email or voice memo to podcast@tabledebates.org

Guest

• Dr Ray Chan, Human Geographer at Royal Agricultural University

Episode written, hosted, produced and edited by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.