Hey folks, welcome to the latest episode of the You Can’t Eat Money podcast, we’re excited to have you at our table.

Joining us this week is Mark J. Easter, an ecologist with decades of experiences who wrote a really amazing book published by Patagonia that just hit book shelves called “The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos”. Mark is no lightweight, he has authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific papers and reports related to the carbon cycle and the carbon footprint of agriculture, forests and other land uses and in 2018 was named a fellow at the Colorado State University School of Global Environmental Sustainability.

What surprised me most about Mark’s book is that I think a scientist has written one of the most deeply human books about the intersection of our food system and climate change. It is full of verified and peer reviewed research, but doesn’t miss the people at the center of this story. And I think we’ve brought that humanity into this episode.

Mark and I talk about the privilege we have to be able to think about and explore food the way we do. We also discuss the cultural aspect of how what we eat is being hit by climate change. The family traditions and recipes that have been passed down through generations that we can’t easily give up, even as we find out that ingredients have a known negative impact on our climate or for some ingredients might not be able to be grown at the same levels as in the past or in the same regions due to changes in climate. As Mark points out, nobody wants to be made to feel guilty about their food choices, especially those dishes are close to the heart.

But all is not lost. Mark shares the promise for eaters and producers of regenerative agriculture practices and gives us a great summary of what a climate-friendly food system looks like and how it will take all of us to make change happen.

Huge thanks to Mark for joining us. I actually read his book twice and found it both enjoyable and informative, so I recommend you visit your local book shop or bookshop.org and pick up a copy today.

Without further delay, here is the latest episode of the You Can’t Eat Money podcast with Mark J. Easter, author of “The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos”

Links

Buy “The Blue Plate”

Praise for “The Blue Plate”

This episode is one that has been in the works for a few months and I am stoked to finally share it. Back in June, Patagonia launched its campaign to end bottom trawling in our oceans with a series of incredible films about people and businesses taking action to guard our seas.

Patagonia held an event in London to premiere these films and that's where I discovered Câr-y-Môr and one of its founders Francois Beyers. At the end the Q and A, Francois made a powerful speech about his passion for the oceans and the solution he is working on with Câr-y-Môr.

At that moment, I knew I had to get him on the podcast. Câr-y-Môr is a community owned and operated regenerative ocean farming operation on the coast of Wales that is rediscovering the traditional Welsh connection with seaweed while also using it to restore ocean ecosystems.

The name Câr-y-Môr translates to For the Love of the Sea, which is also the title of the film Patagonia created about it. Câr-y-Môr is an incredible business powered by an incredible community.

I am very thankful to Francois for taking the time to chat and to the Patagonia team who created space for people to find about about the business and connect around a shared passion for the oceans, as well as delicious and nutritious seaweed and other ocean products.

Links

'For the Love of the Sea' Patagonia film about Câr-y-Môr

Câr-y-Môr Website and Shop

Patagonia Campaign to End Bottom Trawling

For more about the relationship between people and planet through the medium of food, visit youcanteatmoney or follow us on Instagram @youcanteatmoneypod. And as always, if you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. It really helps more people find the podcast and hopefully grow our group of environmentally conscious eaters.

#youcanteatmoney #food #sustainability #foodie

Chef Dan Hunter is the chef owner of Brae in Australia, which is coming up on its 10 year anniversary in December later this year.

Many of you might have come across Dan and Brae in Zac Efron's Netflix show Down to Earth. If you haven't, Brae is a restaurant with guest rooms located on a 23 acre organic farm about 90 minutes from Melbourne in an area where dinosaurs once roamed as Dan put it. In those 10 years, Brae has appeared on the World's 50 Best list along with earning Three Hats, which means that it is one of the very best restaurants in Australia and the world.

In the episode we touch on Dan's journey to opening Brae including swearing off living in a country town like the very one Brae is located in when he was 18 to being inspired by the farm and restaurant relationship during his time working in Spain. What I think is most striking is Dan's genuine connection to his ingredients.

He has a real land ethic that I am sure folks like Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry would approve of. The way he speaks of his connection to the land and appreciation of what it produces is incredibly inspiring.

We end with a a great tip on how you can cultivate this connection for yourself even if you don't live on a farm or run a restaurant.

This is a really special episode and I feel incredibly thankful to Dan for his transparency and knowledge.

Brae, A View to the Future (Short Film)

Brae Sustainability Statement and Land Acknowledgement

Dan's Book 'Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant'

For more about the relationship between people and planet through the medium of food, visit youcanteatmoney or follow us on Instagram @youcanteatmoneypod. And as always, if you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. It really helps more people find the podcast and hopefully grow our group of environmentally conscious eaters.

#youcanteatmoney #food #sustainability #foodie