Deconstructing Dinner

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this fourth episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at one of the largest consumer products companies in the world - Unilever.

With such a significant influence on agriculture, food and health here in Canada and abroad, this focus on the company will be spread out over a two-part series.

Part II

On Part II of the Unilever series we will explore the historical and current health impacts of margarine, and how Unilever has responded to such health concerns. Unilever has both historically and recently had a heavy influence on life in the oceans. Such an influence extended up until their most recent impact on the depletion of cod stocks in the Baltic Sea - stocks that are on the brink of collapse. Unilever also controls roughly 25% of the Canadian ice cream market, and this broadcast will look into some similar tactics the company has used in the world of margarine that are quietly being applied to many of the company's ice cream products. The question is raised - are Unilever's ice creams really ice cream? We will learn of a misleading web site the company maintains that seemingly violates Canadian laws, and we will learn of a controversial ingredient entering into Unilever's ice cream products around the world, an ingredient that replicates the DNA found in a fish, and one that is created through genetic modification!

Guests

Oliver Knowles - Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace (London, UK) - The over-exploitation and mismanagement of fisheries has already led to some spectacular fisheries collapses. The cod fishery off Newfoundland, Canada collapsed in 1992, leading to the loss of some 40,000 jobs in the industry. The cod stocks in the North Sea and Baltic Sea are now heading the same way and are close to complete collapse. Greenpeace has been at the forefront of addressing this serious concern.

Geoff Ross-Smith - Owner, Kootenay Kreamery (Nelson, BC) - Geoff began selling Unilever's Breyers ice cream at a stand in Ainsworth, BC until the quality of the product decline rapidly. Geoff chose to then launch a small independent ice cream company - now selling his products to 10 stores in the area.

Therese Beaulieu - Assistant Director, Communication and Policy, Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, ON) - A national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canada's 16,000 dairy farms. DFC strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. It works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and promote dairy products and their health benefits.

Joe Cummins - Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University of Western Ontario (London, ON) - Joe is one of the earliest critics of genetic engineering. He obtained BS Horticulture, Washington State University 1955 and PhD Cellular Biology, University of Wisconsin 1962. Taught genetics at Rutgers and the University of Washington, Seattle before joining the University of Western Ontario in 1972. Joe sits on the board of the UK-based Independent Science Panel and is involved with The Institute of Science in Society.

The Packaged Foods Exposed series takes a look at the largest food manufacturers in the world. What products fall under their banners; how has their influence shaped economic policy, society and culture; how have they affected the environments they operate in; and what relationships do they foster within the countries they are located?

This series places corporations in a critical light, hoping to provide a more balanced image to the advertising and PR campaigns launched by some of the most influential food corporations on the planet.

In this fourth episode of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, we take a look at one of the largest consumer products companies in the world - Unilever.

With such a significant influence on agriculture, food and health here in Canada and around the world, this focus on the company will be spread out over a two-part series.

Part I

On Part I of the Unilever series, we explore one product that the company maintains considerable control over in Canada - margarine, in particular their Becel, Imperial, Blue Bonnet and I Can't Believe it's not Butter brands.

Margarine may very well, by the end of the year, spark the first ever interprovincial retaliatory trade war since the Agreement on Internal Trade was first signed by the provinces in 1994. How could a tub of margarine be so powerful you may ask? The province of Quebec is the last place in the world that maintains a margarine colouration ban, that is a ban that prohibits margarine to be coloured yellow like butter. Such a ban infuriates a company like Unilever who now must produce two different products, one for Quebec and one for the rest of Canada.

But margarine isn't new to conflict in Canada and the United States. In fact the history of margarine is probably one of the most fascinating windows into the evolution of our food system over the past 100 years...

"The evolution of this problem is closely related to historical shifts from agriculture to industrial order" - Richard Ball / Robert Lilly

"[Margarine is] another sign of the artificiality of modern life." - Mark Twain

With such significant statements, margarine does indeed seem like a product worth deconstructing given how accepted margarine has become as part of the Canadian diet.

Also on the broadcast will be an update on our complaint filed with Advertising Standards Canada following the April 12, 2007 broadcast on Kraft Foods.

Guests

Sean McPhee - President, Vegetable Oil Industry of Canada (VOIC) (Toronto, ON) - An industry group representing 75,000 oilseed growers across Canada, oilseed processors and suppliers of fats and oils to the food industry, and makers of oilseed-based food products, such as margarine, cooking oil, salad dressing, mayonnaise and dessert toppings. Members include the Canadian Canola Growers Association, the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, Archer Daniel Midland Agri-Industries Ltd., Bunge Canada, Canbra Foods, Cargill Limited, AarhusKarlshamn US and Canada, Loders Croklaan, Unilever Canada and Rich Products Corporation.

Therese Beaulieu - Assistant Director, Communication and Policy, Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, ON) - A national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canada's 16,000 dairy farms. DFC strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. It works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and promote dairy products and their health benefits.

Audio Clips

"Housewives Save With Margarine" - CBC News Roundup (1948) - Broadcast on December 14, 1948 shortly following the legalization of margarine in Canada. Host: Bill Reid. Reporters: Warren Baldwin, Dave Price. Interviewer: Bill Beatty. Guest: Erle Kitchen.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a group acting as an energy policy advisor to 26 member countries. This is the most important body at the forefront of researching global energy supplies and predicting and suggesting how resources should be allocated. In July 2007, the IEA, for the first time ever, changed their tune from what had long been an ongoing state of optimism in terms of global supplies of oil. In a publication titled "Medium-Term Oil Market Report", the IEA addresses the possibility of Peak Oil, a state in which the global supplies reach their peak and then proceed to decline. Peak Oil has long been denied by major oil producers, so needless to say, such a report can be seen as monumental.

In light of this report, we are going to revisit with a voice last heard here on the program in October of 2006, and that is Julian Darley of the Sebastapol, California-based Post Carbon Institute. Julian recently visited Nelson following an invitation by The West Kootenay Eco Society. Julian spoke to an audience on the current global supplies of oil, and he shared a number of very innovative projects the Post Carbon Institute is working on including what he refers to as a Local Energy Garden. Deconstructing Dinner was on hand to record his presentation.

Launching the broadcast we explore segments from two films dating from 1950 and 1960 respectively. These films were created to educate the public on the benefits of oil and how this non-renewable resource became the foundation for agriculture and food - a food system we now embrace today.

Speakers

Julian Darley, President, Post Carbon Institute (Sebastapol, CA) - Julian Darley is founder and director of Post Carbon Institute and Global Public Media. He is the author of High Noon for Natural Gas: the New Energy Crisis (2004). Julian has an MSc in Environment and Social Research from University of Surrey in the UK, an MA in Journalism and Communications from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in Music & Russian. Julian recently moved from Vancouver, BC and now lives in Sebastopol, California, USA.

Audio

"Twenty-Four Hours of Progress" (1950), Oil Industry Information Committee (USA) - How the oil industry is central to the American Economy

"Miracles From Agriculture" (1960), U.S. Department of Agriculture - Presents the supermarkets of 1960 as the showplaces of agriculture; discusses methods of improvement in the growing, handling, processing, and shipping of food products.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

Organic Daycare With many parents having difficulty even finding spaces for their children in local daycares or preschools, there are a number of parents out there who are also finding it difficult to seek out services that adhere to their values of healthy eating and their desire to see their children receive an education on food.

One of the major barriers preventing more mindful food choices is habit. There is certainly no denying that the older we get, the harder it is to break out of our routines, many of which, are becoming quite clearly unsustainable and detrimental to our planet and ourselves. Exposing children to more environmentally and socially responsible food at an early age is perhaps one of the most effective tools to promote positive change.

On this broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner we take a look at three innovative programs currently in operation across the country. One is a model for operating organic daycares by linking up with local farms. Another is daycare that incorporates organic gardening and food preparation. And yet another is a company serving up organic meals to daycares and schools throughout the city of Toronto.

These three speakers were recorded in Toronto at the April 2007 Growing Up Organic Conference hosted by Canadian Organic Growers.

Conscientious Cooks IV Our Conscientious Cooks series exposes restaurants and chefs who are going above and beyond the more traditional methods of sourcing their food. The focus for this segment will be Vancouver's Pair Bistro, a small restaurant showcasing regional cuisine by utilizing regional ingredients. Host Jon Steinman sat down with owner Todd Hodgins and chef Shaughn Halls during a recent visit to the city.

Guests / Speakers

Nadine Bachand, Project Coordinator, Ecological Agriculture Program, Equiterre (Montreal, QC) - For over ten years, a profound concern for the protection of the environment has brought Nadine to work with various environmental organizations. She is particularly dedicated to working on issues related to the current food system. In the context of her Master's research in Environmental Sciences, Nadine focused on the use of pesticides in urban contexts. Nadine has been with Equiterre since March 2003 and is has been working to develop relationships between local organic farms and social institutions, including their Organic Daycare program.

Linda Bonnefoy, Alligator Pie Preschool (Whitehorse, YK) - Linda has a background in mental health counseling and curriculum development. She created and runs a mentorship program at Alligator Pie Preschool in the Yukon based on hands-on organic gardening. With the help of experts and farmers from the community and territory, children learn how vegetables are grown and the real value of food.

Kim Crosby, Office Manager, Real Food for Real Kids (Toronto, ON) - David Farnell and his wife, Lulu Cohen-Farnell, started Real Food For Real Kids hoping their son would have access to healthy food in day care. They founded a catering company that is now distributing organic all-natural meals to over 2,000 children in 46 day cares and two schools.

Todd Hodgins, Owner, Pair Bistro (Vancouver, BC) - Calling their offerings "Food with Terroire", Pair Bistro focuses on regional and seasonal foods. They call themselves "ethical food production, community and sustainability". Owners Janis and Todd Hodgins alongside Chef Shaughn Halls source the majority of their ingredients from the Granville Island Public Market and from farmers who show up at the restaurant's back door. Pair Bistro represents a model through which more environmentally and socially responsible food can find its way into Canadian restaurants.also lending their voice... Shaughn Halls, Chef

This broadcast will address the question of responsibility: Should it be you and I who feel personally responsible for finding it very difficult to eat a socially and environmentally responsible diet, or, on the other hand, should those who have created our dominant food system be responsible themselves - that is a food system which is incredibly taxing on the planet, on communities around the world and on our health.

In November 2006, Princeton University hosted the conference "Food, Ethics and the Environment", made up of some of the most well-known names in the world of food activism. A number of the speakers were critical of the dominant food system, and author Eric Schlosser raised the topic of personal versus corporate responsibility to address the damage this food system has had and continues to have on our health and the planet.

On the following day of the conference, an executive from McDonald's Corporation presented his company's approach to corporate responsibility, and this broadcast will further explore the issues raised by these two speakers.

Guests

Eric Schlosser, Author, "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" (California) - Schlosser started his career as a journalist with the The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, Massachusetts. He quickly gained recognition for his investigative journalism at the magazine earning two awards within two years of joining; he won the National Magazine Award for reporting for this two part series "Reefer Madness" and "Marijuana and the Law", and he won the Sidney Hillman Foundation award for his article, "In the Strawberry Fields". Aside from the Atlantic Monthly, Schlosser's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The Nation and The New Yorker

Bob Langert, Vice-President Corporate Social Responsibility, McDonald's Corporation (Oak Brook, IL) - On January 19, Langert, posted the first entry on the company blog "Open for Discussion." Langert wrote, "The purpose of this blog" is "to open our doors to corporate social responsibility (CSR) at McDonald's - to share what we're doing and learn what you think." His second post highlights McDonald's long-standing "partnership with Conservation International."

We're hammered, we're slammed, we're out of control. Happiness is on the decline in some of the most affluent countries in the world and North Americans are troubled by the destructiveness of a lifestyle devoted to money and status. Yet no-one seems to have a clue how to exit from the Fast Lane....

Published in 2006 by British Columbia's New Society Publishers, Slow is Beautiful analyzes the subtle consumer, political and corporate forces stamping the joy from our existence and provides a vision of a more fulfilling life through the rediscovery of caring community, unhurried leisure, and life affirming joie de vivre.

Host Jon Steinman was recently in Seattle, Washington, where author Cecile Andrews calls home. Jon sat down with Cecile at her home in the Phinney neighbourhood of the city. Food, as Cecile Andrews suggests, is a metaphor for life, in that our relationship to food is also suggestive of our relationship to living and how we connect with the world around us, whether it be plants, animals, people…. or ourselves. Cecile's book is similar to the way Deconstructing Dinner educates listeners about food, in that Slow is Beautiful deconstructs our consumer driven society in order to understand how we perceive happiness, what factors influence this perception, and how it affects our ability to feel alive.

Guests

Cecile Andrews, Author, "Slow is Beautiful, New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie de Vivre" (Seattle, WA) - Is the author of The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life (HarperCollins 97). A former community college administrator, Cecile has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University and affiliated scholar at Seattle University. She is founder of the Phinney Ecovillage in Seattle. Her work has been featured in the PBS video "Escape from Affluenza" and the TBS video "Consumed by Consumption", CBSNews "Eye on America", New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, and various PBS and NPR programs. Cecile received her doctorate in Education at Stanford University and gives workshops and presentations; she has written a column for the Seattle Times; and she has co-hosted a local NPR program.

Fermenting RevolutionHow many people out there would love to hear that drinking beer could save the world. One might ask, to save the world from what, and author Christopher O'Brien would suggest from climate change, from pollution, from corporate control of our lives, from declining levels of happiness, from increasing levels of stress, from gender inequality, and from communities that have lost their sense of community. Fermenting Revolution" is the title of the book released just last year by British Columbia's New Society Publishers. As we often critically examine individual foods or agricultural commodities here on Deconstructing Dinner, beer is of course no different from any other food. It's principle ingredients consist of water, barley (or another grain), hops and yeast, all of which are extracted and produced in ways that can either respect or disrespect the earth. We learn of beer and its role in leading a revolution in small breweries around the world.

Soil Matters CSA I One of the greatest threats facing farmers today and hence facing our own food supply is the financial rewards found in the field of farming, rewards that are seemingly more often then not, in the negative digits. Many argue that food and agriculture should be removed from global trade regimes. One of the reasons for such an idea comes from a belief that farmers themselves should not have to bear the financial risks associated with such a volatile industry, and all people should equally share such risks as food is a need and not a desire. One alternative to the dominant food system is the model of Community Supported Agriculture, whereby a set number of people within a city or town become a member of a farm, and in doing so pay the farmers at the beginning of the season when farmers need the money most. Members who join are then guaranteed what is most often a weekly box of fresh produce. As many farmers know all too well how easily an entire crop can be lost due to weather, pests or unforeseen circumstances, members of a CSA share this risk with the farmer and on the other side can also share in the abundance. Just outside of Nelson, British Columbia, two intrepid farmers who only began farming a few years ago, have launched a CSA this year. Host Jon Steinman chose to become a member and document the process of creating a CSA and the potential for such a model to reconnect people with their food and provide farmers with a more secure source of income.

This marks the first of a periodic series that will document the creation and evolution of a CSA.

Guests

Christopher O'Brien - Author, Fermenting Revolution (Washintgon D.C.) - When not writing books, Author Christopher O'Brien works at the Center for a New American Dream as Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network. There he helps institutions of all kinds, identify and purchase products that are more socially and environmentally responsible. Chris is also part-owner of the Seven Bridges Co-operative - which is an exclusive supplier of organic-only beer making supplies.

Craig Smith and Laura Sacks - Farmers, Soil Matters (Castlegar, BC) - Located between Nelson and Castlegar, British Columbia, Soil Matters is a certified organic farm. They maintain 7-8000 sq. feet of greenhouse space, and a few outdoor plots which between all of this space allows for growing between early spring and late fall. This year Soil Matters launched a Community Supported Agriculture program that currently maintains 17 member shares.

From its inception in January 2006, Deconstructing Dinner has been accompanied by the recognizable theme music created by Nelson-area resident Adham Shaikh. Titled "Infusion", this piece is found on Adham's 2004 release "Fusion". In 2006, Fusion was nominated for a Juno award in the World Music category. On this broadcast, Producer Jon Steinman teamed up with Adham Shaikh to create a production that highlights all shows aired between January and May 2007. Upon compiling segments that capture the essence of these broadcasts, Jon passed the work off to Adham who then mastered a soundtrack of predominantly unreleased material. Adham Shaikh is a composer, producer and sound designer currently living near Nelson, BC. He has been producing music for the past 18 years and has released 4 solo albums, 2 collaborative full-length albums and numerous individual compositions over the course of his career. As a performer, Adham has played across Canada and internationally at festivals, film events and clubs - both solo and together with a wide variety of accompanying world musicians. Operating from his Sonicturtle Music Studio, he is currently at work on a number of multimedia projects while actively recording and composing his next albums. Acting as the Narrator for this broadcast is Kootenay Co-op Radio's K.Linda Kivi, co-host of the weekly program "The EcoCentric".

Conscientious Cooks is a periodic series that explores the foodservice industry and those who are making unique efforts to create more sustainable interactions between the field and the table.

On part three of this series, we visit with a unique concept that allows for a deconstructing of restaurants themselves. Whether it be cafes, diners, or five star restaurants, all are based on a very similar model that is rarely, if ever, examined critically. Maria Solakofski's Guerrilla Gourmet consists of upwards to 10 complete strangers coming together within her home, where she prepares 3-course meals or brunches and provides an educational experience that could certainly not be received at any other restaurant. Her passion for providing this is clear upon observing the source of her ingredients - her backyard garden and local farmers and producers she knows personally.

The intimate and human interactions integral to the Guerrilla Gourmet experience, helps suggest that the traditional restaurant experience does little to capture relationships with food and our surroundings. As one of her guests so succinctly put it, "the Guerrilla Gourmet helps disengage minds conditioned by patterns of passive consumption"

The first half of the broadcast takes listeners on a tour of Toronto's Dufferin Grove Farmers' Market - an organic-only market having operated year-round for close to 5 years. Solakofski sources most of her ingredients from Toronto-area markets, and host Jon Steinman visited with Maria both at the market and in her home to learn more about her unique approach to "eating out". Guerrilla Gourmet is 'slow food' at its best!

Guests

Maria Solakofski - Guerrilla Gourmet (Toronto, ON) - In addition to her role as a Shiatsu therapist, Maria has her hands in many food awareness projects in the urban metropolis of Toronto. As part of the Real Food for Real Kids program, Maria leads children on tours of Toronto-area farmers' markets, educating them on the origins of their food. Maria is also very involved in the Kensington Market community of the city where she hosts Guerrilla Gourmet - the feature of this broadcast.

The impact of trade agreements on food systems and agriculture is probably brought up on almost every broadcast of Deconstructing Dinner, but never have we tackled this topic head on. On this broadcast we look into how trade agreements affect the fruits on our trees, the animals in our fields and the food on our plates. We will focus on two agreements and a "partnership" that have either had devastating effects on our food, and/or will have further impacts in the near and distant future.

A short segment will also be featured covering the recently tabled Bill C-448, calling for a ban on Terminator Seed Technology.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) For years, we have been told that globalization and free trade are inevitable, and that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would bring jobs and prosperity to Canadians. But in the aftermath of the softwood lumber decision, even former supporters of free trade are arguing that NAFTA isn't working for Canada. Critics suggest it undermines democracy, strips Canada of control over our energy resources, threatens to put water up for sale, and endangers health care and other public services.

Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) In March 2005, Paul Martin, George W. Bush and Vicente Fox met in Waco, Texas to ratify the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The SPP takes NAFTA's goal of continental economic integration much further by including security and foreign policy issues, and by speeding up the process of regulatory harmonization integral to the first Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Despite a lack of public awareness or input, all three North American governments are moving quickly toward a continental resource pact, North American security perimeter, and common agricultural and other polices related to our health and environment.

Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) On April 1, 2007, a new free trade pact (TILMA) came into effect between Alberta and B.C. Critics say it will have a devastating effect on local democracy, public health and the environment. While currently confined to Western Canada, provincial governments in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes have all shown an interest in signing on. TILMA was signed by the premiers of Alberta and B.C., without public consultation or legislative debate, in April 2006. The agreement allows corporations and individuals to sue provincial governments for any provincial or municipal government measure they feel "restricts or impairs" their investment (i.e. their profits). Under TILMA, critics suggest that even measures designed to protect the environment and public health are vulnerable to attack from corporate lawsuits.

Guests