It is not surprising that food—something so universal yet so individual and culturally specific—would have a place in foreign policy. In this episode, SIS professor Johanna Mendelson Forman joins Big World to discuss culinary diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy, and conflict cuisine.

Professor Mendelson Forman shares how governments use food as a tool for soft power (1:38) and explains the difference between culinary diplomacy and gastrodiplomacy (4:46). She also discusses the connection between food and war—what she calls conflict cuisine (6:40).

Why is conflict cuisine a unique part of DC’s culinary scene (10:46)? How does Professor Mendelson Forman use food and visits to local restaurants to teach students about war and peace, diplomacy, and conflict resolution (12:43)? She answers these questions and explains what has changed in DC’s conflict cuisines over the last five years (15:03).

Finally, Professor Mendelson Forman examines the possible impact of COVID-19 on family or chef-owned global cuisine restaurants (17:05) and discusses the important role social gastronomy, or the use of food to do good, is playing during the coronavirus pandemic (18:48).

During our “Take Five” segment, Professor Mendelson Forman tells us the five ways she’d like to see people use food as a tool for activism and social change (9:39).