My Dear Kitchen In Helsinki

Today, my guest in the podcast is post-doctoral researcher Teea Kortetmäki from the University of Jyväskylä. Teea and I talk about the connection between food justice and climate change mitigation, both globally and in the local context of Finland. At the end of the episode, Teea asks you a question to think further, and we’ll be happy to receive your comments. Hope you like our discussion. (Sound editing by my dear friend Ufuk Evcimen. Licensed music by Luca Palumbo.)

Today, my guest in the podcast is entrepreneur Chia Näsman, founder of Raseborgs Fermenteri and maker of delicious fermented foods. In this episode, Chia introduced us to Raseborgs Fermenteri: its products, ingredients, production methods and more. We also tried to expand the word “fermentation” and what else it could represent besides food. Hope you like our discussion. (Sound editing by Ufuk Evcimen. Licensed music by Luca Palumbo.

My guest in the podcast today is researcher Galina Kallio, one of the founding members of Kaupunkilaisten Oma Pelto food collective. In the first half of the episode, Galina and I talked about Oma Pelto in detail; what it is, its history and working model, how it contributes to the local food system’s sustainability and its members. In the second half, we discussed the food collectives she studied during her PhD from different angles - from their strength in changing the mainstream food system to their food sovereignty contribution. At the end of the episode, Galina asked you all a question to think further about food. Hope you like our discussion. (Sound editing by Ufuk Evcimen. Licensed music by Luca Palumbo.)

My guest on the podcast today is designer and researcher Saara-Maria Kauppi, aka Sassu. Sassu and I studied at the same time in the Creative Sustainability Master Program at Aalto University. She worked on insect consumption and design for her master’s thesis. Afterwards, she continued to work on this topic for her PhD at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In the episode, we discussed the research on insect-rearing, eating and consumption in Western society, the current situation in the EU and Finland, businesses and design. Hope you enjoy our discussion. 

My guest on the podcast today is designer Sarang Ganoo, and he joins me from Pune, India. Sarang and I studied at the same time in the department of design at Aalto University. In the interview, we discussed how his life in Finland affected his views on sustainability and design, and his work afterwards in India. We also talked about his design projects related to food sustainability, particularly his home compost kit and the urban farm project. Hope you enjoy our discussion. 

My guest on the podcast today is researcher Daria Krivonos from the University of Helsinki. Daria and I talked about migrant farmworkers in the EU and Finland. This topic attracted a lot of attention last spring when borders were closed all around Europe due to covid-19 pandemic, and the farmers who depended on migrant workers were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to receive this workforce. The situation is directly related to food security and sovereignty in Europe, while it also tells a lot about labour and movement within the EU. In the episode, we discussed and analysed the working conditions of the migrant farmworkers, what covid-19 situation revealed and what this meant for food security. We also discussed what kind of interventions are needed. We hope that our discussion inspires you to know more about this topic.

My guest today, in this final episode of 2020, is Kirsi Chavda from Siemenpuu Foundation. Kirsi is responsible for the funding of “rural women and food sovereignty” theme in the organisation. We talked about challenges that rural women face in the global south, food sovereignty in general and in gendered context, and how global south and north are connected in their food system challenges. You can find out more about Siemenpuu Foundation on www.siemenpuu.org. Hope you enjoy our discussion, and I wish you all a peaceful end of the year. 

My guest on the podcast today is fellow food blogger Jella Bertell from Vaimomatskuu blog. Jella and I talked about how food bloggers (and food writers in general) can communicate sustainability in food system and the relationship between cultural sustainability and food. You can find Jella’s blog on www.vaimomatskuu.com and she is also on Instagram and on Facebook as “vaimomatskuu”.

My guest today is Ruby van der Wekken from Oma Maa, a food co-operative which uses environmentally and socially sustainable food production methods and is based on community-supported agriculture. Ruby works both at the farm and with the development of the co-op with a personal background on global justice movement, solidarity economy & commons. Ruby and I talked about Oma Maa’s practices and ideals, alternative food networks, problems of the global food system and how we can envision a just and democratic food future. You can check Oma Maa’s website at www.omamaa.fi. 

My guest on the podcast today is designer Heidi Uppa, who has been working with food for a long time and who is also conducting her doctoral research in Aalto University. Heidi and I talked about what critical food design means and how she uses design with and about food to create a positive change in the world. We also discussed some of her recent food design works in depth.