Catalyst with Shayle Kann - Introducing Climavores: a new show about food and climate

Episode Date: June 13, 2022

We're presenting a trailer for a new show from Post Script Media, called Climavores. Climavores is a show for eaters who don’t want to cook the planet. Each week, journalists Tamar Haspel and Mike Grunwald explore the complicated, confusing, and surprising relationship between food and the environment.  Episodes drop on June 21. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Hey, it's executive editor Stephen Lacey. I'm dropping into the feed between episodes to tell you about a new show we're launching this month. I think you're going to like it. It's called Climovores. It's the perfect addition to your climate media diet and your literal diet. Climovores features two extraordinary journalists who are navigating the complex world of food choices and what those choices mean for environmental impact. As a catalyst listener, you care about and you probably know a lot about the energy system.

Climovores is a show that will help you understand how the energy system, intersects with the food and agriculture system. I'm going to play a trailer for climavores right now, and if you like it, go search for climavores, wherever you're listening to this podcast, and hit subscribe. Thanks. We hear all the time that people want to eat right for themselves, for the planet, but they're not sure how to do it.

Hey, it's Maher. Hey, Mike. I'm not here playing my garden right now, and my boyfriend's trying to tell me that growing my own food does nothing for climate change. It doesn't. It does. He's wrong, right?

Thanks. Hey, Tamar and Mike. So I just gotten like a disagreement with a friend who thinks that like being vegan is the way to go for the climate. But I've been kind of reading up on the topic. And doesn't it take a lot of resources just to grow all those vegetables and soy? So wouldn't there be tradeoffs there? Thanks. I hope to get this one answered.

Oh my God, people are going to think I'm crazy. Mike, Tamar, just thought I'll leave a quick message. I'm in the B-file here. I'm looking at this organic grass-fed beast and then this nondescript factory farm meat. And I know it's not supposed to be eating meat if I want to do something about climate change, but I've heard that the grass-fed beef is way better for the planet.

So I want to know, am I actually doing something if I get the better meat? Let me know. Thanks. Man, people sound super confused, Tamara. And who can blame them? All right. Let's unconfuse them. Every day we make about a zillion disfewan. about food. We're bombarded with marketing and media,

and nobody seems to agree about what to eat, where to get it, how to prepare it. That's right, and climate change makes it all 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. And it's not intuitive either. Sometimes it's the opposite of what you'd think. Yeah, if you think you're saving the Earth by eating organic beef or buying artisanal cheese at the farmer's market,

well, you might need to listen to a food. our show. If you think lentils are good, though, we're going to be friends. Should warn you all, Tamar has this thing about lentils. I'm Tamar Haspel. And I'm Michael Grunwald, and this is Climovores, a show about eating on a changing planet. I've been covering food longer than I care to remember. I write about the geeky parks, agriculture, and nutrition in my Washington Post column. I also spend an awful lot of time gardening, foraging, and fishing, and I wrote a whole book about the good things that happen when you get dirty in service of dinner.

And I get very dirty on my oyster farm. Well, I don't forage, and I definitely don't farm oysters. I'm a reporter. I can barely order takeout. But I'm also a climate dork. I've got solar panels and electric car, and I'm now working on a new book about how to feed the world without frying the world because climate change is the biggest story of our lifetime,

and our food is going to be a huge part of it. A new report from the United Nations, says climate change is exploiting the world's land at an unprecedented rate. Carbon-absorbing trees are cut down for farmland, and a water crisis deepens that leaves many concerns about sustainability globally and locally. Just this week, a water supplier to 6 million Southern Californians declared an emergency, the drought impacting parched farmlands, and American dinner tables. We're not your nanny, and we're not here to tell you what you should eat. Oh, I'll speak yourself tomorrow. Okay, Mike might, but we're not going to make you feel bad about your lunch.

We're here to explore how the food we eat affects the climate we share. And we want your questions about organic food, local food, meat, fake meat, anything you can throw at us. So call us. We're at 508-377-349 or drop us an email at Climaphores at post-scriptaio.com. You can also find the email and phone number in the show notes. And ask your hard questions. We love a challenge. Climovores launches June 21st. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows. And stock up on lentils. Always with the lentils.