Isa is a talented cook, popular for posting inventive recipes on her online repository "Slim Pickins." Markus, a friend, wants her to apply for the new Chef position. But there's only one problem...  Isa is an Outsider. How will Haven react to her application?

Tensions escalate between Haven's security force and the Outsiders as attempts to breach Haven's walls become more and more frequent. How far will Haven go to protect their way of life? Can Lianne make a difference in her new role as Lieutenant?

Back in Haven, Lianne is offered an opportunity for a promotion from her position as a guard, after finding out that two teenagers from the Outside (Alanna and James) faced swift and final punishment after attempting to break into the Project the night before. When she raises her concerns about the decision with Allison, she finds out not everything is as it seems. What would you do in Lianne's situation?

Sophea is settling in at her job with the Real Meals company... even though she hasn't actually tried one yet. In the city, Sophea is the Outsider, because of her different mannerisms and the things she eats. Similar to northern Canada, it's difficult to access food in the city. The climate prevents year round produce farming, and fresh food must be shipped long distances to get there, leading to prices most can't afford. Real Meals evolved from this desperate need for nutritious, affordable, accessible food, and many in the city count on them for survival.

But just what is a "Real Meal" anyway?

Sophea grew up in Haven, but has always felt like she belongs somewhere else. After moving to the big city, she gets herself a job at Real Meals, an up-and-coming company working to combat food insecurity with quality food to meet people's needs and budget. But with her preference for fresh home-cooked meals over the pre-prepared and microwaveable Real Meals, Sophea finds she doesn't quite fit in.

Marlene Schulz is Haven's Councillor of Defense, and the reason the community was able to survive the tumultuous period of civil unrest after the famine hit. Cameron Hallen is the brilliant scientist responsible for the success of the vertical agriculture system that continues to feed its citizens. They are the two remaining founders of their community, but they hold conflicting views for its future. 

Dr. Hallen is the creator of Haven's Vertical Agriculture Tubing (V.A.T.) system. With its iconic green towers and ability to produce fresh food in a controlled indoor environment, the V.A.T. system has become an integral part of Haven's identity. In this episode of The Haven Project, join Dr. Hallen as they reflect on the decisions that led them to this point (with the help of guard Elli).

After their group attempts a dangerous mission to steal food from the city's market, Alanna and James narrowly escape being captured by police. Unable to return to the city, they report back to headquarters for their next orders. What are the next steps for this group in their quest for fresh food?

This episode takes a look at what life is like in a city not too far from Haven. Without the means to produce enough fresh food, residents of the city pay a premium for the fruits and vegetables imported from other parts of the world. Most people are living off of the more affordable processed food brand Real Meals. Desperate, two teens join a rebel group planning to steal food from the heavily guarded market where Haven is making a drop off.


BACKGROUND
According to the 2020 PROOF report, drawing on data from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey conducted in 2017 and 2018, 12.7% of all Canadian households had experienced food insecurity in the previous 12 months. In comparison, the following proportions of northern populations experienced food insecurity during the same time period:

• 57.0% of households in Nunavut;
• 21.6% of households in the Northwest Territories; and
• 16.9% of households in the Yukon.

This is partially due to higher food costs in these locations. High food prices in Canada's north are caused by a number of reasons, including higher costs of transportation, unreliability of food availability, and low puchasing power due to smaller populations and fewer grocery stores. A family in northern Canada would pay around double what a family in southern Canada would for the same amount and type of food!

Learn more:
Tarasuk V, Mitchell A. (2020). Household food insecurity in Canada, 2017-18. Toronto: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF). Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/

Veeraraghavan, G., Martin, D., Burnett, K., Jamal, A., Skinner, K., Ramsay, M., Williams, P., et. al. (2016). Paying for Nutrition: A Report on Food Costing in the North. Ottawa: Food Secure Canada. Retrieved from https://foodsecurecanada.org/

• Infographic summary

The community of Haven exists in a world where climate change has severely affected the world's capacity to produce food, leading to skyrocketing food prices and widespread food insecurity. The citizens of Haven are part of a minority that enjoy plentiful food, partly thanks to the possibility of farming in the now-temperate north, and partly due to proprietary technological advancements that they keep under wraps. How did Haven come to exist, how long can they thrive in this bleak world, and how will they deal with the threat of Outsiders?

In the first episode of The Haven Project, we join the community as they commemorate the recent passing of one of their founders, Chef Jacob Ascott, and take a closer look at the tensions that surround the issue of securing a safe supply of food for their community.


BACKGROUND
The fictional world in this podcast series may seem extreme, but it's based on real trends from our own world. Climate change is shifting growing conditions for globally important crops into higher latitudes and altitudes. Developing new climate-driven agricultural frontiers, however, could have serious environmental consequences, threatening biodiversity, water quality, and carbon storage.

Learn more:
Hannah, L., Roehrdanz, P.R., Krishna Bahadur, K.C., Fraser, E.D.G., Donatti, C.I., Saenz, L., Wright, T.M., et al. (2020). The environmental consequences of climate-driven agricultural frontiers. PLoS ONE, 15 (2), art. no. e0228305.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228305