Feed: a food systems podcast

What does “sustainable agriculture” actually mean, and why do scientists disagree about it? This episode explores how two influential scientific discourses - Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification - start from different values, ask different questions, and often talk past each other. Drawing on an interdisciplinary study at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, ecologist Riccardo Bommarco and ethicist Helena Rocklinsberg examine how those different approaches shape research, priorities, and solutions. The conversation turns to what might change when scientists begin to listen to each other across divides.

For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode94
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Episode edited and hosted by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

Most industries have a clear roadmap for transformation. The power sector goes renewable. Cars go electric. But food and agriculture? The world’s most impactful—and most damaging—industry still has no shared path to transformation. Food sustainability consultant and retail expert Mike Barry argues that the future of food hinges on one counterintuitive idea: simplification. And he explains how AI, smarter data, and design can potentially speed up change.
For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode93
Want to share your reflections on the episode? Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]
Episode edited and hosted by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

Instead of tell people what to eat, what if we changed what food costs? With Jörgen Larsson (researcher from Chalmers University), we explore a cost-neutral tax reform, one that makes healthier and climate-friendly food cheaper without raising the overall grocery bill. We break down how it works, why it matters, and how to frame it in ways that avoid predictable backlash.
For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode92
Want to share your reflections on the episode? Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]

Episode edited and hosted by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

We invite you to a three course meal in 2050, where climate breakdown has reshaped what and how we eat. Each of the courses is designed to provoke questions about the future of food through taste, visuals, and a bit of discomfort. It’s a story about eating possible futures — and noticing which ones feel delicious, or unsettling. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of how the meal came together. Bon appétit.
For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode91
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Guests
Annie Faye Cheng, Cook, butcher and writer
Bryant Simon, History prof Temple University
Lily Consuelo Saporta Tagiuri, Ecosystemic Designer and Eco-futurist
Episode hosted by Jack Thompson. Produced by Jack Thompson and Matthew Kessler. Edited and mixed by Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.

Hunger on our Doorstep is a two part podcast about food poverty in the UK. It explores the issues and potential solutions through the eyes of three food campaigners with firsthand experience of food poverty in urban communities, as well as others working to tackle the problem. The often bleak picture of poverty, inequality and exclusion painted in episode one contrasts with inspiring stories of the solutions being put into practice across the country in episode two. 
This podcast is produced by TABLE with the support and contribution of the Food Foundation, a charity focused on changing food policy and business practice to ensure everyone, across the UK nations, can afford and access a healthy and sustainable diet. 
For more info, transcript and resources, visit: https://tabledebates.org/podcast/
episode90
Want to share your reflections on the episode? Send us an email or voice memo to [email protected]

Guests
Ryan McShane, Food campaigner
Glory Omoaka, Food activist
Dominic Watters, Estate2Plate founder
Jonathan Pauling, former CEO of Alexandra Rose Charity
Dr Effie Papargyropoulou, Researcher at Leeds University
Ana María Narváez, Coordinator of 2025 The Broken Plate report
Host
Richard Kipling, TABLE
Ruth Mattock, TABLE
Episode edited and produced by Richard Kipling, Ruth Mattock and Matthew Kessler. Music by Blue dot sessions.