The Latitude

In the food world, conversations around GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) have been polarized and vitriolic for decades. Fights over the very early genetically modified corn and soy that were resistant to glyphosate, the herbicide in RoundUp, set the tone for an argument that we’re still having a quarter-century later.

Yet human beings have modified almost all of our crops and livestock for years. That’s the whole point of breeding programs. But people feel differently about it when scientists tinker with the genome. 

In this episode, Mike and Tamar dig in on whether GMOs are the scourge of the earth or humanity’s salvation. Tamar looks at the nutrition and environmental health facts of GMOs and whether they’re actually bad for us. And Mike weighs in on advances in genetic engineering, “Frankenfoods,” and the sea of misinformation surrounding GMOs.

Resources:

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

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The vast majority of habitable land on our planet is either agriculture or forests. So when cropland and grazing land expands, forests shrink. This is a problem because forests soak up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide we emit. 

Mike and Tamar talk a lot on the show about ways to make more food with less land. Why? Because doing that helps stop the deforestation that’s transferring carbon from trees to the atmosphere. In the current climate emergency, reducing emissions isn’t enough. We need negative emissions, and trees are the best technology we’ve got. 

But fixing the world’s deforestation problems, and its food and climate problems, is more complicated than just planting more trees. In this episode, Mike and Tamar answer a listener question about the negative carbon footprint of fruit and nut trees. Then they dig in on everything from agroforestry and using forests as carbon offsets to burning trees for energy and national and international forest policy.

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media. 

VERGE 22, taking place Oct 25-27 in San Jose, CA, will convene more than 4,000 leaders working together to address the climate crisis across six strategic areas: clean energy, sustainable transportation, carbon removal, regenerative food systems, net-zero buildings and the startup ecosystem. Register today and use the code V22PSMEDIA for 10% off of the pass type of your choice: https://bit.ly/3f2f2FQ

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Last month, The Washington Post ran a story about college campuses offering therapy for climate change anxiety. The American Psychological Association found that nearly half of younger Americans say eco-anxiety affects their daily lives. And, globally, a study in The Lancet found that 59% percent of people aged 16-25 are very worried about climate change.

In this episode, Mike and Tamar respond to a question from a Bay Area pediatrician caring for teenagers with climate change anxiety and depression. Specifically, she asks how worried kids should be about climate change and if there’s any way to shift their emotions around it. 

With the effects of climate change all around us – massive flooding in Pakistan, unprecedented drought in China, catastrophic ice melting in Greenland, raging forest fires in California – it’s easy to get caught up in apocalyptic speculation and hysterical warnings. But Tamar and Mike say some of the facts can be reassuring and even empowering for young people. 

Resources:

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media. 

VERGE 22, taking place Oct 25-27 in San Jose, CA, will convene more than 4,000 leaders working together to address the climate crisis across six strategic areas: clean energy, sustainable transportation, carbon removal, regenerative food systems, net-zero buildings and the startup ecosystem. Register today and use the code V22PSMEDIA for 10% off of the pass type of your choice: https://bit.ly/3f2f2FQ

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.

Climate change is a touchy topic in farm country. But one third of greenhouse gas emissions come from food and agriculture, so it’s crucial that the industry becomes part of the climate change solution. 

For years almost all the action on climate change centered on energy – solar and wind and electric vehicles taking on coal and gas and oil. But now Washington is suddenly buzzing about “climate-smart agriculture,” and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is in the middle of the action. He just announced $3 billion in grants for “climate-smart commodities.” The Inflation Reduction Act is sending the USDA $20 billion for climate-smart projects. It’s incredible how quickly the food and climate issue has moved to the center of the plate.

This week, Mike and Tamar welcome Secretary Vilsack as their first Climavores guest. They dig in on everything from regulating farmers to regenerative agriculture to subsidies as a bridge to market solutions. And of course Mike pushes the Secretary on his favorite topic – biofuels. 

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media. 

VERGE 22, taking place Oct 25-27 in San Jose, CA, will convene more than 4,000 leaders working together to address the climate crisis across six strategic areas: clean energy, sustainable transportation, carbon removal, regenerative food systems, net-zero buildings and the startup ecosystem. Register today and use the code V22PSMEDIA for 10% off of the pass type of your choice: https://bit.ly/3f2f2FQ

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.

Draw a Venn diagram of people who care about the climate impact of their food and people who are suspicious of processed food, and you’ll see an awful lot of overlap. People love to hate on processed foods. 

But historically, food processing actually freed women from the literal daily grind of putting food on the table. And from a climate impact standpoint, more processed foods actually contribute to less food waste. So what gives? 

This week, Mike and Tamar dig into the pros and cons of processed foods. From Impossible Burgers to Doritos, almost everything we eat is processed. But there’s a difference between processed and ultra-processed and the impacts each has on our health and our planet. 

Resources:



Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism.

When a lot of people think of soy, they think of allergens, overly processed food, and man boobs. There’s even a current full-court press in some corners of the nutrition community to blame seed oils like soybean oil for disease and obesity. And that’s not even taking into account environmental concerns around deforestation in the Amazon and heavy pesticide and herbicide use in soy monocultures. 

The U.S. grows 90 million acres of soybeans annually, second only to Brazil in global soybean production. And almost all of that U.S. soy is genetically modified, another red flag for environmentalists. 

But Mike and Tamar say soy has gotten a bad rap. And it’s time to set the record straight. 

This week, they dig into the nutritional and environmental benefits of soy and ask how soy became a proxy for the evils of industrial agriculture.

Resources:

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every episode of Climavores starts with a listener voicemail. In past episodes, Mike and Tamar have answered your questions about vertical farms (are they a climate-friendly alternative to traditional agriculture?), plant-based milks (are they actually better for the climate than dairy?), and beef (is it really that terrible for the planet? Spoiler: yes).

But our Climavores listener hotline is overflowing. So this week, Mike and Tamar are dedicating an entire episode to answering as many of your questions as possible. They tackle everything from soy’s bad reputation (did someone say “man boobs”?) to factory-farmed fish, bug protein and the topic Tamar loves to hate: regenerative agriculture. 

It’s the mailbag episode! And it won’t be the last, so keep your questions about food and climate change coming. 

To leave a message for Mike and Tamar, call the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, Cracker Barrel announced the addition of plant-based sausage to its breakfast menu. It was a move largely applauded by vegans, vegetarians and environmentalists alike; but plenty of meat eaters had a different take. ”YOU CAN TAKE MY PORK SAUSAGE WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!! read one Facebook comment. 

It’s not surprising to see food so intrinsically linked to our identities. We’ve become an increasingly polarized nation, both politically and socially. Across the U.S. there are now counties where Democrats make up 3% of the population and counties where they make up 95%. Mike describes it as two different Americas – one of bike paths, composting, and NPR; another of pickup trucks, megachurches, and Fox News. 

In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at how we make decisions, and whether it’s possible for us to change our minds or behaviors around an emotional issue like food. They dig into confirmation bias, echo chambers, and our increasing tendency to complain about everything. And Tamar asks listeners to think about the last time they changed their minds about something truly meaningful.

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, Barack Obama called President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act a “BFD” on Twitter. With about $370 billion worth of climate funding, it’s an especially BFD for the planet. 

The IRA marks the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, promising lower energy costs, increased energy security, targeted decarbonization efforts across all sectors of the economy, investments in disadvantaged communities, and support for rural communities. But how will it impact food and agriculture in particular? 

In this episode, Mike and Tamar dig into the bill’s fine print and highlight some of the “Climavores provisions” they’re excited about. They also check whether Congress followed their four-point plan to promote eating less beef, tackle food waste, ditch biofuels, and safeguard yields. (Spoiler alert: they mostly didn’t). But both agree, there’s still lots to like in this bill. 

Resources:

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prioritizing efficiency in the U.S. chicken industry has made chicken cheap. And that’s led, in part, to Americans eating way more chicken and significantly less beef than they did a half-century ago. From a climate change perspective, it’s a major win. From an animal welfare perspective… not so much.  

In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at animal welfare in the beef, pork and chicken industries through a climate lens. They ask whether raising animals more humanely means accepting higher greenhouse gas emissions, or whether there’s a middle ground. And Mike responds to a reader’s critique of his recent Canary Media article “What’s the most climate-friendly way to eat? It’s tricky.” Plus, are organically raised animals treated better than industrially raised? 

And Mike asks the question: What do we owe the animals we eat? 

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media. 

Resources:

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