For Food's Sake

By Matteo De Vos

What's For Food's Sake about?

A podcast about the juicy nuances of the food movement. In-depth digestible conversations about solutions that make sense for people and planet.

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For Food's Sake episodes:

08.26.2021
FFS 049 - Where I stand on food today
To mark 50 episodes on the podcast, I share my own evolving thoughts on food. I reflect on the state of agriculture and on what sustainability might mean in the food movement today. My experience over the last half decade...
05.13.2021
FFS 048 - Meat and Shame: an appetite for change
Guilt and shame are deeply present in our relationship with food. How do we harness these emotions for good? When it comes to eating animals, can guilt and shame positively influence our behaviour or those of corporations to reduce our...
02.17.2021
FFS 047 - Soy: a destructive wonderbean
From its more humble origins to its modern-day status as a dominant yet destructive wonderbean, the story of soy concerns us all. Soy is much more than tofu or tempeh. It's a global commodity...
12.16.2020
FFS 046 - Will the EU CAPitulate?
The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has become Europe’s problem child. Vested interests behind one of the Union’s oldest policies threaten to derail Europe’s ambitious new climate, biodiversity and food strategies. ...
08.01.2020
FFS 045 - The Future of Protein
What is the future of protein, and of animal agriculture? Can we raise animals sustainably or should we move beyond meat? To feed a growing world population, we need protein. For many, protein means meat. As our reliance on animal...
03.08.2020
FFS 044 - The Ground Zero Ingredient
Everything begins with a seed. Seeds are both a story of loss and a story of hope in our food system. On the one hand, we are rapidly losing seed diversity, and with it, perhaps the single best weapon agriculture...
01.26.2020
FFS 043 - Bodies on the Line
2019 was the year of climate strikes. Animal rights activists, emboldened by a new wave of mass civil disobedience, are determined to end industrial animal agriculture. Millions of ordinary people took to the streets in 2019. They put their bodies...
12.16.2019
FFS 042 - Finding our Common Ground
To transcend infighting in the food movement, finding our common ground is as important as targeting our common enemy. The food movement is amazingly diverse. From personal health and animal rights to protecting worker’s rights and precious ecosystems, our why’s...
02.23.2019
FFS 041 - On the Frontlines of Food
The continued expansion of industrial-scale chemical-intensive agriculture around the world relies on one central powerful myth: only industrial agriculture can feed the world. Timothy A. Wise - author of Eating Tomorrow - joins us to discuss why, despite overwhelming evidence to...
01.19.2019
FFS 040 - Factory Farmed Superbugs
We are on the cusp of a post-antibiotic era. The golden age of miracle drugs may be coming to an end. To understand why, award-winning author Maryn McKenna joins us on the show to discuss the long intertwined history of...
12.18.2018
FFS 039 - The Invisible "ABCD" Giants and the Financialisation of Food
Four grain trading giants - collectively known as the ABCDs - dominate international grain trade in our global food system. Knowing who they are and what they do is vital to understand the whys and hows of our modern food...
11.23.2018
FFS 038 - The Fuel Empowering Kenyan Farmers
The global fertiliser market is a $200 billion industry. But who does it serve? Produced in large-scale, centralised facilities in developed countries, conventional fertilisers are neither cheap nor reliably accessible for rural smallholder farmers in emerging markets in Africa and...
11.02.2018
FFS 037 - The Dirty History of Soil
When we stop treating dirt like dirt, when we accept it’s neither ‘dirt cheap’ nor ‘dirt poor’, we will come to realise it is the most precious resource we have. Treat dirt, or soil, the way you want to be...
10.18.2018
FFS 036 - Chicken Nugget Capitalism
The end of Capitalism is nigh. Or we should certainly hope so. Raj Patel makes a convincing case for the urgent need to think beyond capitalism if we are to move towards a zero-carbon economy. “Let us recognise that the...
10.05.2018
FFS 035 - Monsanto on Trial
Monsanto has been found guilty in the world’s first-ever court case over claims its Roundup herbicide causes cancer. It faces thousands of similar lawsuits. Is this Monsanto’s (Bayer AG) tobacco moment? Veteran investigative journalist Carey Gillam walks us through, step-by-step, the Monsanto...
09.22.2018
FFS 034 - Wizards and Prophets
Are you a Wizard or a Prophet? Two largely forgotten 20th century thinkers – Norman Borlaug and William Vogt – continue to shape our competing visions of the future of our planet. ...
09.07.2018
FFS 033 - A Case for Eating Meat
What role can livestock play in a sustainable food system? In Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Simon Fairlie lays out a convincing case as to why eating meat and dairy is part of a holistic and sensible agricultural...
07.10.2018
FFS 032 - The Last Acceptable Prejudice
The urban-rural divide is more pronounced than ever. The 'last acceptable prejudice' - that against rural people and places - is not only real, it is destructive. As in our politics, the debates around food and sustainability are...
06.26.2018
FFS 031 - Farmers Facing Brexit
In this episode, we talk to Patrick Holden about the hopes and fears of British farming after Brexit. Patrick is a pioneer of the modern sustainable food movement. He is the Founding Director and current Chief...
05.07.2018
FFS 030 - Meditating Farmers: building social capital
Shifting mindsets at the grassroots level lies at the heart of The Art of Living’s approach to sustainable agriculture. An epidemic of farmer suicides has claimed over 300,000 lives in India since 1995. By investing in social...
04.15.2018
FFS 029 - Carbon Neutral Restaurants
Restaurants around the world are taking action against Climate Change by going carbon neutral. A new generation of chefs – the modern-day ambassadors of the food movement – have a vision: radically transform the restaurant industry by...
03.09.2018
FFS 028 - Money Well Spent? Farm Subsidies in the EU
Farm subsidies are central to agricultural policy. But do farmers need them? In this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of the EU Common Agricultural Policy with Dr. Alan Matthews, Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy at...
02.16.2018
FFS 027 - A World Without Chocolate
Is chocolate going ‘extinct’? Are we heading towards a ‘world without chocolate’? In this episode, we explore what lies behind these recent media headlines that suggest chocolate may not survive climate change. To find answers, we deep dive into...
02.04.2018
FFS 026 - We Need To Talk About Monsanto
Over the past decade, Monsanto has become a pop cultural bogeyman. Surrounded by controversy, cover-ups, and conspiracies, the agricultural giant is for many the face of corporate evil. At the same time, the company continues to deliver commercial success. Reporting...
01.22.2018
FFS 025 - Breaking Bread with Paleo
This week, we talk with Natalie Pukasemvarangkoon about the Paleo diet. Natalie has experimented with pretty much every diet in the book. She’s been a carnivore, a pescatarian, a vegetarian, and a vegan for a solid 3 years. She’s tried...
12.26.2017
FFS 024 - The Soilution: saving soil, saving ourselves
In the Age of People, the plow was, and remains, one of the most destructive inventions. In his new book Growing A Revolution, award-winning author David R. Montgomery calls on farmers to ditch the plow, bring back cover crops, and...
12.01.2017
FFS 023 - COP23: Is meat finally on the table?
As the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) comes to a close in Bonn, Switzerland, where do we stand on our climate commitments? What issues are on the table, and which have been swept under the rug? How are we...
11.16.2017
FFS 022 - The Bird is the Word
This year for Thanksgiving, Americans will consume 46 million turkeys. Factory farming has never been more 'efficient'. This same year, the US has consumed 9 billion chickens. Worldwide, we managed to eat 50 billion. How does this system function? What...
10.31.2017
FFS 021 - My Beef with Veganism
In this episode, I talk about my beef with Veganism. I explain why, after a 30-day vegan challenge, I remain a sceptical vegetarian. I talk about: How Vegan-endorsed health hypes and food fads create their own ethical dilemmas which...
10.22.2017
FFS 020 - Optimising the Food Economy with Blockchain
Like the combustion engine, the telephone, and the Internet before it, blockchain has the potential to transform how human society functions. What would such a transformation look like in the food industry? In this episode, we talk with Blockchain theorist...
09.22.2017
FFS 019 - World Sustainable Food Capital
Since 2015, more than 150 cities around the globe have come together to rethink the way we feed our cities. As signatories to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, they share a commitment to developing sustainable food systems that are...
08.31.2017
FFS 018 - Talking Sustainability with Rob Greenfield
Rob Greenfield is an adventurist and environmental activist that has made it his life’s purpose to lead by example in living a truly sustainable lifestyle. Rob has completely transformed the way he lives over the last half decade. He continuously...
06.25.2017
FFS 017 - When Farming Goes Vertical
As cities and populations grow, and the space to feed them shrinks, one proposed solution is to farm upwards rather than outwards, indoors instead of outdoors, in urban spaces as opposed to rural ones. Vertical farming is no longer science...
06.04.2017
FFS 016 - The Most Important Room in the World
In this week’s special episode, I had the honour of speaking with Dr. Cary Fowler, the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Cary has been working to preserve crop diversity for over four decades, he is the former Executive...
05.26.2017
FFS 015 - From A to Veganism
From 10-dollar plant-based smoothies in trendy Californian cafés to Vegan helmets in the Israeli Defense Force, Veganism is as diverse as it is topical. What is Veganism really all about, where has it come from and where is it heading?...
04.29.2017
FFS 014 - Blue is the new Green
Feeding future generations simply won’t work without addressing the food we get from our oceans. Oceans serve as our main source of animal protein, with over 2.6 billion people depending on it every day. How we’ll be able to continue...
04.22.2017
FFS 013 - How Plants Domesticated Humans
Have the crops of today bent us to their will? Is corn king? Does our agricultural system still make sense, and can it in its current form cater to the needs of future generations? Are we smarter than a potato?...
04.14.2017
FFS 012 - Cultured Meat: Looking Beyond the Hype with New Harvest
A.k.a. Lab-grown meat or in vitro meat, there is a lot of hype surrounding cultured meat today. I talk with Erin Kim, Communications Director at New Harvest, about the future prospects of cultured meat. New Harvest is a non-profit research...
04.05.2017
FFS 011 - Transforming Agriculture to Feed the Future
Humans have been producing food using the same paradigm for 10,000 years. But the burden of a growing population and the impacts of an industrial approach to farming threaten the entire enterprise. The Land Institute is working on a solution....
03.20.2017
FFS 010 - Combating Food Waste with Merit360
This week, I discuss my thoughts on tackling food waste together with Merit 360. Merit 360 is a year-long World merit program bringing 360 young individuals together to develop a set of action plans to help tackle the United Nations...
03.07.2017
FFS 009 - Stop Generalising GMOs
Are ‘GMOs’ good or bad? Are they safe to eat? Are they symbolic of what is wrong with our food system? According to plant geneticist Pamela Ronald, such generalisations make little scientific sense and do nothing to advance discussions on...
02.21.2017
FFS 008 - Edible Insects: the diet of tomorrow?
This week, we discuss the exciting world of edible insects with Robert Nathan Allen (RNA) from Little Herds. Little Herds is an educational non-profit based in Austin, Texas teaching and spreading awareness about edible insects as a resource efficient, economically...
02.13.2017
FFS 007 - Why Bees Matter
This week, I talk with Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Maryland in the United States, and project director for the Bee Informed Partnership. A former acting Chief Apiarist in Pennsylvania, Dr. vanEngelsdorp is widely known for...
02.08.2017
FFS 006 - The Sustainable Food Entrepreneur
This week I talk with Iemke Postma. A young entrepreneur in food sustainability, Iemke has set up organisations and businesses in permaculture and mushroom cultivation. He is currently Operations and Project Manager at Florim, a business growing plants, fruits and...
01.31.2017
FFS 005 - Learn By Doing: A 100-mile diet in Paris
This week – as part of the new Learn by Doing initiative– I took on J.B. Mackinnon's 100-mile diet challenge. James Mackinnon was last week’s guest on the For Food’s Sake podcast, Episode 4: The 100-Mile Diet. In this episode, I...
01.23.2017
FFS 004 - The 100-Mile Diet
This week, I talk to Canadian best-selling author James Mackinnon about eating local and the local food movement. James has won more than a dozen national and international writing awards in categories ranging from essays, to science writing, to travelogue....
01.17.2017
FFS 003 - The #OurField Cereal Co-op Movement
#Ourfield: Forty people on a one-year journey of co-farming a field of heritage grains, with a British farmer called John. Future Farm Lab's latest collaboration in creating #OurField has got everyone excited. #OurField is about reconnecting with farmers, living the farmers journey, and...
01.09.2017
FFS 002 - The Carbon Food Tax
Taxing food with high carbon emissions seems like a rational, reasonable, and feasible step that governments should take. It seems like the logical thing to do. Raise the price, lower the demand. Tax food, reduce climate change. Or does it? I talk with...
12.25.2016
FFS 001 - The Climatarian Diet
I chat with Mark Pershin - CEO of Less Meat Less Heat - about how a Climatarian diet can reduce your carbon footprint and combat climate change.
12.24.2016
FFS 000 - Why A Food Podcast
So why am I launching a podcast about food and sustainability? Glad you asked. I think we need more down-to-earth, genuine dialogues about the food on our plates. In this introduction, I outline why I'm curious and keen to learn more about the food...

What's For Food's Sake about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

For Food's Sake episodes:

FFS 049 - Where I stand on food today

FFS 048 - Meat and Shame: an appetite for change

FFS 047 - Soy: a destructive wonderbean

FFS 046 - Will the EU CAPitulate?

FFS 045 - The Future of Protein

FFS 044 - The Ground Zero Ingredient

FFS 043 - Bodies on the Line

FFS 042 - Finding our Common Ground

FFS 041 - On the Frontlines of Food

FFS 040 - Factory Farmed Superbugs

FFS 039 - The Invisible "ABCD" Giants and the Financialisation of Food

FFS 038 - The Fuel Empowering Kenyan Farmers

FFS 037 - The Dirty History of Soil

FFS 036 - Chicken Nugget Capitalism

FFS 035 - Monsanto on Trial

FFS 034 - Wizards and Prophets

FFS 033 - A Case for Eating Meat

FFS 032 - The Last Acceptable Prejudice

FFS 031 - Farmers Facing Brexit

FFS 030 - Meditating Farmers: building social capital

FFS 029 - Carbon Neutral Restaurants

FFS 028 - Money Well Spent? Farm Subsidies in the EU

FFS 027 - A World Without Chocolate

FFS 026 - We Need To Talk About Monsanto

FFS 025 - Breaking Bread with Paleo

FFS 024 - The Soilution: saving soil, saving ourselves

FFS 023 - COP23: Is meat finally on the table?

FFS 022 - The Bird is the Word

FFS 021 - My Beef with Veganism

FFS 020 - Optimising the Food Economy with Blockchain

FFS 019 - World Sustainable Food Capital

FFS 018 - Talking Sustainability with Rob Greenfield

FFS 017 - When Farming Goes Vertical

FFS 016 - The Most Important Room in the World

FFS 015 - From A to Veganism

FFS 014 - Blue is the new Green

FFS 013 - How Plants Domesticated Humans

FFS 012 - Cultured Meat: Looking Beyond the Hype with New Harvest

FFS 011 - Transforming Agriculture to Feed the Future

FFS 010 - Combating Food Waste with Merit360

FFS 009 - Stop Generalising GMOs

FFS 008 - Edible Insects: the diet of tomorrow?

FFS 007 - Why Bees Matter

FFS 006 - The Sustainable Food Entrepreneur

FFS 005 - Learn By Doing: A 100-mile diet in Paris

FFS 004 - The 100-Mile Diet

FFS 003 - The #OurField Cereal Co-op Movement

FFS 002 - The Carbon Food Tax

FFS 001 - The Climatarian Diet

FFS 000 - Why A Food Podcast