In sixty years China moved from catastrophic famine to feeding 1.4 billion people. This episode asks how that transformation happened - and what it set in motion.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode99

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Guests

• Michelle King, Prof in Chinese History at UNC
• Zhang Hongzhou, Prof in International Political Economy at RSIS
• Fengwei Ina Liu, Director of FOLU China

Episode written, hosted, produced and edited by Matthew Kessler. Sound mixing by Martin Palmqvist. Music by Blue dot sessions.

In sixty years, China has moved from catastrophic famine to now feeding one in six people on the planet. Following three foods - pork, rice, and fish - this series traces a transformation that has emptied the Chinese countryside, reshaped ecosystems from Brazil to the South China Sea, and produced the high-rise hog farm model that is being exported across the world. We examine the competing priorities driving this transformation, the distributed costs and benefits, and what it means for the rest of the world.

"Feeding 1 in 6: China and the future of food" arrives in this feed on 21 May 2026.

More info here

Soy looks different depending on where you sit. For Ryan Britt, who's farming soy, corn, wheat and cattle on over 2,000 hectares in North Central Missouri, it's the crop that reliably pays the bills. In 2025, Ryan found himself squarely in the middle of a global trade story he had very little control over. We talk about what he can control on the farm — cover cropping, no-till, rotations — and why he still advocates for farmers even when he'd rather be on a tractor.

Register for the Bolivia soy webinar here

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode97

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

After several hype years, plant-based and cultivated meat have faced growing skepticism. Lately, the media has written obituaries. And the market value is declining. Bruce Friedrich, founder and president of the Good Food Institute, offers a different view: the long view.

Friedrich joined clean energy reporter David Roberts on the Volts podcast to discuss his new book, Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity’s Favorite Food—and Our Future. It’s an honest conversation about a difficult topic, that's well worth listening to. Shared here on Feed with permission.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode96

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Subscribe to the Volts podcast

Read Bruce Friedrich's new book: Meat

Why can reasonable people look at the same evidence on meat—and still eat very differently? Matthew Kessler shares a personal essay reflecting on his time working on livestock farms, conversations with experts across all sides of the issue, and on his own on-and-off relationship with eating animals.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode95

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

Tangle Essay: What we disagree about when we talk about meat

TABLE Podcast: Meat: the four futures 

TABLE Report: Meat, Metrics and Mindsets 

What does “sustainable agriculture” actually mean, and why do scientists disagree about it? This episode explores how two influential scientific discourses - Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification - start from different values, ask different questions, and often talk past each other. Drawing on an interdisciplinary study at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, ecologist Riccardo Bommarco and ethicist Helena Rocklinsberg examine how those different approaches shape research, priorities, and solutions. The conversation turns to what might change when scientists begin to listen to each other across divides.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode94

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

Most industries have a clear roadmap for transformation. The power sector goes renewable. Cars go electric. But food and agriculture? The world’s most impactful—and most damaging—industry still has no shared path to transformation. Food sustainability consultant and retail expert Mike Barry argues that the future of food hinges on one counterintuitive idea: simplification. And he explains how AI, smarter data, and design can potentially speed up change.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode93

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

Instead of tell people what to eat, what if we changed what food costs? With Jörgen Larsson (researcher from Chalmers University), we explore a cost-neutral tax reform, one that makes healthier and climate-friendly food cheaper without raising the overall grocery bill. We break down how it works, why it matters, and how to frame it in ways that avoid predictable backlash.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode92

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

We invite you to a three course meal in 2050, where climate breakdown has reshaped what and how we eat. Each of the courses is designed to provoke questions about the future of food through taste, visuals, and a bit of discomfort. It’s a story about eating possible futures — and noticing which ones feel delicious, or unsettling. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of how the meal came together. Bon appétit.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode91

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Guests

• Annie Faye Cheng, Cook, butcher and writer
• Bryant Simon, History prof Temple University
• Lily Consuelo Saporta Tagiuri, Ecosystemic Designer and Eco-futurist

Episode hosted by Jack Thompson. Produced by Jack Thompson and Matthew Kessler. Edited and mixed by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

Hunger on our Doorstep is a two part podcast about food poverty in the UK. It explores the issues and potential solutions through the eyes of three food campaigners with firsthand experience of food poverty in urban communities, as well as others working to tackle the problem. The often bleak picture of poverty, inequality and exclusion painted in episode one contrasts with inspiring stories of the solutions being put into practice across the country in episode two. 

This podcast is produced by TABLE with the support and contribution of the Food Foundation, a charity focused on changing food policy and business practice to ensure everyone, across the UK nations, can afford and access a healthy and sustainable diet. 

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode90

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Guests

• Ryan McShane, Food campaigner
• Glory Omoaka, Food activist
• Dominic Watters, Estate2Plate founder
• Jonathan Pauling, former CEO of Alexandra Rose Charity
• Dr Effie Papargyropoulou, Researcher at Leeds University
• Ana María Narváez, Coordinator of 2025 The Broken Plate report

Host

• Richard Kipling, TABLE
• Ruth Mattock, TABLE

Episode edited and produced by Richard Kipling, Ruth Mattock and Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.