A better food system starts with one thing: vision. Food Lab Talk gives global food system changemakers a platform to articulate their vision for the future of food.
The series features interviews with inspiring individuals who are working on the frontlines of many of our most pressing food issues: reducing food loss and waste, enhancing food system transparency, facilitating shifts toward more balanced plant-forward diets, enabling informed individual choices for sustainable lifestyles, and accelerating the transition to a circular food economy.
Join Google’s Michiel Bakker to meet the leaders taking bold action and answering what each of us can do to create a better food system for us all.
A food systems policy expert and social impact entrepreneur, Deb Eschmeyer has dedicated her career to the betterment of society. From co-founding the national nonprofit Food Corps, to serving as Executive Director of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative, and driving change in the food industry, her efforts have permanently influenced the way we think about food and health. In this episode, Deb shares her journey as a changemaker emphasizing agility and persistence, finding your “zone of genius”, and balancing perspectives and patience to achieve long-term change.
Deb Eschmeyer: “Don't take no for an answer and just keep pushing and speaking up and showing up. And it’s sometimes really uncomfortable. There's so many people who don't like public speaking. There's so many people who are brilliant and just have fabulous ideas… Speak up, show up, and develop lines of empathy. To be a better change maker is to understand all the different avenues of change it takes to get things done.”
00:00 Intro to Deb
01:44 From farmhouse to the White House: be relentless, speak up, show up
06:30 How empathy and a diverse set of experiences can help you find your “zone of genius”
09:21 Why school nutrition reform can spark system-wide change
13:03 Focusing on the long view and the direction of travel
15:35 Embracing collective responsibility to drive meaningful systems change
18:20 Complexity and the impending food crisis
21:01 Why trust, accountability, and collaboration are key to impactful change
25:10 Deb’s advice: embrace uncomfortable spaces, focus on your strengths, and keep pushing forward
28:25 Takeaways for changemakers
Links
FoodCorps (https://foodcorps.org/)
Let's Move! Initiative (https://letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/)
AmeriCorps (https://americorps.gov/)
ASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems (https://globalfutures.asu.edu/food/)
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/3307)
Keep in Touch
Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com (https://www.foodlabtalk.com/)
Follow Food Lab talk on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@FoodLabTalk) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/food-lab-talk/)
*The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.
25 Apr 2024
32. Olivia Thomas, Boston Medical Center and Rewire Health
Olivia Thomas is a registered dietitian, entrepreneur, and the co-founder of “Rewire Health”, a culinary medicine platform that simplifies healthy home cooking and expands access to teaching kitchens. In this episode, Olivia shares her experiences building a culinary medicine startup, including how active listening and a multidisciplinary approach can lead to impact-focused solutions.
Olivia Thomas: “We need to be focusing on how resources, especially within food as medicine, can be used to reinvest into disinvested communities... I have been redefining how I work on projects based on the impacts. What foods am I marketing? Who is it benefiting? How is the data being used? And the idea of sovereignty is important and making sure that it aligns with the communities we're focusing on and working with.”
00:00 Intro to Olivia
01:09 From childhood cooking to culinary medicine
02:13 How food-based interventions help manage chronic disease
04:50 Overview of Rewire Health from pitch to startup
07:58 Cultivating a culinary medicine platform
09:49 Enabling personally relevant food choices
11:22 Investing in local communities to impact the whole food system
12:30 Embracing change and using technology to stay ahead
14:24 Why navigating complex systems requires a multidimensional approach
17:00 The role of collaboration and community building
18:14 Using culturally affirming recipes to empower choice
20:51 Accelerating behavior change with personalization, practice, and insight
23:37 Shifting perspectives on the role of food’s impact on health
25:44 Creating sustainable habits
28:15 Redefining problem-solving
29:23 How active listening builds trust and drives impact
30:13 Looking towards the future of culinary medicine
32:23 Takeaways for changemakers
Links
Rewire Health (https://www.rewire-health.com/)
Pursuit App (https://www.pursuit-app.com/)
Boston Medical Center’s Teaching Kitchen (https://www.bmc.org/nourishing-our-community/teaching-kitchen)
The Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (https://teachingkitchens.org/)
Corbin Hill Food Project (https://corbinhillfoodproject.wpcomstaging.com/)
Boston Medical Center: Eat to Treat (https://www.bmc.org/nourishing-our-community/teaching-kitchen/program-information/eat-treat)
Keep in Touch
Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com (https://www.foodlabtalk.com/)
Follow Food Lab talk on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@FoodLabTalk) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/food-lab-talk/)
*The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.
18 Apr 2024
31. Jack Bobo, University of Nottingham Food Systems Institute
Jack Bobo is the Director of the University of Nottingham’s Food Systems Institute which brings together transdisciplinary researchers to address some of the most pressing food systems challenges. He is also the author of the 2021 book “Why smart people make bad food choices.” In this episode, Jack shares how breaking down silos can foster collaboration, why reframing your thinking can help navigate tradeoffs, and how small shifts in language can impact people’s perceptions.
Jack Bobo: “I believe less in right and wrong and good and bad, and more in thinking in terms of choices and consequences. And if you can help to lay out the consequences of actions, I think in many ways you can lead people to knowledge instead of sort of beating them up with science. Researchers and academics love to tell people what to do and they like to tell them the answer. I think it's much better to be able to help people to understand the consequences of different choices. And then you may end up getting a different outcome, but at least they understand the consequences of it and it's an informed decision.”
00:00 Intro to Jack
01:14 Overview of the University of Nottingham’s Food Systems Institute
03:44 Taking a systems approach to lead global change
05:18 Why consensus is important for problem solving
06:45 Addressing the “language barrier” in food systems solutions
08:38 How shifting from “should” to “could” focuses on opportunities and solutions
11:40 Leading people to knowledge by framing the consequences of choices
13:56 Building trust by understanding confirmation bias and the misleading nature of our brains
17:38 The paradox of improved nutrition research and rising obesity rates
20:00 How to overcome the invisible influences on food choices
23:14 Changing the food system by focusing on social norms
25:51 The importance of word choice for effective change making
27:59 Why networking and storytelling are life skills
29:39 Balancing the continuum of local vs. global sustainability
31:37 Takeaways for changemakers
Links
University of Nottingham Food Systems Institute (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/science/schools-centres-and-institutes/food-systems-institute/index.aspx)
The Nature Conservancy (https://www.nature.org/en-us/)
Book: Why smart people make bad food choices (https://books.google.com/books/about/Why_Smart_People_Make_Bad_Food_Choices.html?id=JBMuEAAAQBAJ)
TEDx: Why We Fear the Food We Eat (https://youtu.be/thiOicCQRWY)
Futurity Food (https://futurityfood.com/)
Keep in Touch
Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com (https://www.foodlabtalk.com/)
Follow Food Lab talk on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@FoodLabTalk) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/food-lab-talk/)
*The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.5 / 5
8 ratings
Contact Food Lab Talk
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Food Lab Talk?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
