In the food world, conversations around GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) have been polarized and vitriolic for decades. Fights over the very early genetically modified corn and soy that were resistant to glyphosate, the herbicide in RoundUp, set the tone for an argument that we’re still having a quarter-century later. Yet human beings have modified almost all of our crops and livestock for years. That’s the whole point of breeding programs. But people feel differently about it when scientis...
Oct 26, 2022•53 min
The vast majority of habitable land on our planet is either agriculture or forests. So when cropland and grazing land expands, forests shrink. This is a problem because forests soak up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide we emit. Mike and Tamar talk a lot on the show about ways to make more food with less land. Why? Because doing that helps stop the deforestation that’s transferring carbon from trees to the atmosphere. In the current climate emergency, reducing emissions isn’t enough. We need ...
Oct 18, 2022•52 min
Last month, The Washington Post ran a story about college campuses offering therapy for climate change anxiety. The American Psychological Association found that nearly half of younger Americans say eco-anxiety affects their daily lives. And, globally, a study in The Lancet found that 59% percent of people aged 16-25 are very worried about climate change. In this episode, Mike and Tamar respond to a question from a Bay Area pediatrician caring for teenagers with climate change anxiety and depres...
Oct 11, 2022•48 min
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. Climate change is a touchy topic in farm country. But one third of greenhouse gas emissions come from food and agriculture, so it’s crucial that the industry becomes part of the climate change solution. For years almost all the action on climate change centered on energy – solar and wind and electric vehicles taking on coal and gas...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. Draw a Venn diagram of people who care about the climate impact of their food and people who are suspicious of processed food, and you’ll see an awful lot of overlap. People love to hate on processed foods. But historically, food processing actually freed women from the literal daily grind of putting food on the table. And from a c...
Sep 27, 2022•49 min
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. When a lot of people think of soy, they think of allergens, overly processed food, and man boobs. There’s even a current full-court press in some corners of the nutrition community to blame seed oils like soybean oil for disease and obesity. And that’s not even taking into account environmental concerns around deforestation in the ...
Sep 13, 2022•47 min
Every episode of Climavores starts with a listener voicemail. In past episodes, Mike and Tamar have answered your questions about vertical farms (are they a climate-friendly alternative to traditional agriculture?), plant-based milks (are they actually better for the climate than dairy?), and beef (is it really that terrible for the planet? Spoiler: yes). But our Climavores listener hotline is overflowing. So this week, Mike and Tamar are dedicating an entire episode to answering as many of your...
Sep 07, 2022•53 min
Earlier this month, Cracker Barrel announced the addition of plant-based sausage to its breakfast menu. It was a move largely applauded by vegans, vegetarians and environmentalists alike; but plenty of meat eaters had a different take. ”YOU CAN TAKE MY PORK SAUSAGE WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!! read one Facebook comment. It’s not surprising to see food so intrinsically linked to our identities. We’ve become an increasingly polarized nation, both politically and socially. Across the ...
Aug 30, 2022•45 min
Last week, Barack Obama called President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act a “BFD” on Twitter. With about $370 billion worth of climate funding, it’s an especially BFD for the planet. The IRA marks the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, promising lower energy costs, increased energy security, targeted decarbonization efforts across all sectors of the economy, investments in disadvantaged communities, and support for rural communities. But how will it impact food and ...
Aug 24, 2022•52 min
Prioritizing efficiency in the U.S. chicken industry has made chicken cheap. And that’s led, in part, to Americans eating way more chicken and significantly less beef than they did a half-century ago. From a climate change perspective, it’s a major win. From an animal welfare perspective… not so much. In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at animal welfare in the beef, pork and chicken industries through a climate lens. They ask whether raising animals more humanely means accepting higher greenho...
Aug 16, 2022•46 min
Plant-based milks make up 16% of U.S. milk sales. From soy, oat and almond milk to hemp, macadamia and quinoa milk, more and more consumers are pivoting away from animal milk. And that’s a good thing for the planet. Turns out, animal milk requires massive amounts of land (12 times more land per gallon than oat milk and 18 times more than almond milk). And all those dairy cows emit massive amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, too. But some argue that growing water intensive crops lik...
Aug 09, 2022•38 min
The current conflict in Ukraine combined with a massive drought in the horn of Africa are wreaking havoc on global food markets. Food supplies are shrinking; food prices are spiking, and the World Food Programme is warning of a “hunger hurricane” that could put a record 345 million people at acute risk of starvation. In this episode, Tamar and Mike talk about how in a warming world, we’re going to see more of these breadbasket collapses. They also ask whether people’s eating habits might change ...
Aug 02, 2022•46 min
We’re currently working on some fresh content based on listener questions. We’ll have new episodes next week! This week, we're running an episode from a podcast called Hot Farm . It's from our friends at the Food & Environment Reporting Network. The podcast is about what farmers are doing – or could be doing – to take on the climate emergency. In this episode, you’ll hear from farmers who are skeptical about climate change. But you’ll also hear about how they are joining the fight against gl...
Jul 28, 2022•34 min
Farmland covers almost 40% of the earth's land surface. When we think about all that farmland, most of us imagine endless fields of grain or corn. But vertical farms flip that idea on its head, literally. Instead of growing out, vertical farms stack plants in multiple layers indoors where they grow impressive yields under the steady glow of LED lighting. Vertical farms are an attempt to sidestep many of the problems associated with traditional farming – bad weather, pesticides, fertilizer runoff...
Jul 19, 2022•33 min
Demand for plant-based meat products surged in 2019 as companies developed better-tasting products, negotiated better shelf positioning, and tapped into shifting consumer preferences. But demand flatlined in 2021, raising questions about whether plant-based products can put a dent in meat consumption. Environmentalists have criticized companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for lack of transparency on land and water use. And nutrition experts dislike how processed they are. But the reali...
Jul 12, 2022•43 min
Few foods are as tied up in American identity as beef. Think rugged cowboys driving cattle across the open range, or all the good feelings that come with summer grilling season. We love our beef. But meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gasses from food production. And beef production alone makes up a quarter of that. The pro-beef camp often argues that it’s not the cow that’s the problem for the climate. It’s how the cow is raised. But as Mike and Tamar explain, a lot of it is the cow...
Jun 28, 2022•37 min
The eat local movement is huge. Bumper stickers in liberal towns across the U.S. tell us to “Eat local” or ask “Who’s your farmer?” But eating local food may be wildly overrated when it comes to climate change. When we look at how foods are produced, transportation accounts for less than 10% of carbon emissions . So should we abandon farmers’ markets for big grocery store chains? In this episode, Mike and Tamar break down the real carbon footprint of local food and ask whether the value of suppo...
Jun 21, 2022•32 min
Searing heat waves, massive forest fires, rising sea levels – the effects of climate change are all around us. But the role our food system plays in fueling the problem? That’s less clear to most of us. We know our food doesn't magically appear on grocery store shelves. Somebody's growing it. But that process of feeding the planet generates a third of all greenhouse gasses . And agriculture alone emits a quarter of all greenhouse gasses. Pesticides, fertilizers, burping and farting cows, cutting...
Jun 21, 2022•28 min
Every day, we make a zillion decisions about food. We’re bombarded with marketing and media -- and nobody seems to agree about what to eat, where to get it, and how to prepare it. Climate change is making all of this even harder. We all know food is a big deal for the planet. But it’s not always obvious what we should eat if we want to make things better. Tamar Haspel and Mike Grunwald are here to help. Tamar and Mike aren't going to make you feel bad about your lunch. Instead, they're cutting t...
May 10, 2022•4 min
