Point of Origin

Hello Point of Origin fans, your host Stephen Satterfield here! I want to tell you about Whetstone Radio Collective, a brand new podcast venture from Whetstone Media now streaming. Whetstone Radio is like nothing else in the food podcast space and touches thematically on similar topics from Point of Origin—from politics, to culture, to global gastronomic histories, and of course, as always, centering on human empathy. With more in-depth conversations and more space to explore origins— and with unique cinematic and musical production—we think WRC is something really special and we have a strong feeling you’re going to think so too. We have some incredible shows for you. Climate Cuisine, from Taiwanese American journalist Clarissa Wei, takes a journalism-style look at the way the climate crisis is fundamentally shaping our relationship with food. Fruit Love Letters, from chef Jessamine Starr, is like a valentine to all your favorite fruits. This spring, writer Debra Freeman will invite you to a seat at The Table, an insightful show about Southern foodways. If you’ve been missing Point of Origin, I encourage you to check out some of the programming at Whetstone Radio Collective, search for the individual shows by title on your favorite podcast platform, and continue to discover the immense power food has on our collective/communal lives. Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/whetstone-radio/id6442689915 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Point of Origin friends this is our last episode of the season and a very special one to capstone the season. Today we’re talking about justice in food systems, its absence within those systems and the circumstances that lead to lacking. Now, maybe you've heard heard of the term “food desert” as a means of describing these circumstances, but food apartheid is more forceful, more succinct and frankly, more accurate language. To discuss the importance of language specificity when discussing food justice, we have just the right guest to speak on it, the same person who coined the term, Bronx resident and activist Karen Washington. We also chat with Mr. Bryant Terry, award-winning author, chef in residence of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, and long-time food justice activist. And finally we close with author, educator and anthropologist, Dr. Hanna Garth. We compare and contrast food systems in the US and Cuba, and the ways in which each system undermines their respective constituents, and how, ultimately, systemic racism endures in both. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to eat meat in 2020? What it means to consuming it, to abstain from it and how, as always on matters of so called morality are murky, and impossible to detangle from the influence of culture, society, and privilege. To lead the conversation we're joined with writer Alicia Kennedy, one of the clearest and most compelling voices in food media today on, among other things, veganism, and more broadly the politics of eating. We then travel to India where we’re Dr. Yamini Narayanan discusses the politicization of beef in India, and in particular, what happens when cow protection laws and diet regulations are coded as a means of marginalizing lower castes and Muslims. And finally, we go to the Dominican Republic with Ysanet Batista, activist and owner of Woke Foods who discusses her ongoing activism work through plant based recipes as a means of healing and restoration. Join us as we consider as we consider the associated environmental burdens, veganism, it's misconceptions, the politics of meat, and diet identity. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So often in “specialty” food and coffee, those are being marketed to and those on the ground who is a commentary on who gets to indulge and who must labor. Reclaiming stories of origin helps erode the idea that those who labor are helpless, and ideally, should push us to ask, why those with the history, knowledge and craft are relying on consumers — who rarely share any of these attributes — are the ones who ultimately uphold these systems. Who it's for becomes a question that is open for interrogation, as we learn more about, "where it's from." In this episode, we pay homage to coffee’s African origins and Black entrepreneurs and laborers across the supply chain, highlighting stories from Burundi to California. We begin with artist turned coffee entrepreneur Keba Konte of Red Bay coffee, a pioneering African American coffee roaster. Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian teaches us what makes Burundi an ideal coffee supplier and the unique challenges facing the women on the ground, and finally, we chat with Doug Hewitt of 1951 Coffee in Oakland, California, a nonprofit organization providing job training for refugees. Today on Point of Origin, it's Black Coffee. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In many ways, no other food represents the center of culinary and communal life more than bread. It is likely the most consumed food in the world, but as it has been a staple food over the millenia, when we think of "bread", the images that come to mind are as diverse as the cultures of the world. Though it is a staple of just about every culture on earth, the contents of the bread we eat have become wildly disconnected to the grains of our ancestors. Today on Point of Origin we're looking at why that is, and how it came to be. In this episode we examine the whitewashing of wheat and the emergence of the whole grain revival. Our guests are a smattering of whole grain bakers, farmers and scholars from around the world. We begin in Oaxaca with Mixtecan bakery owner Martina Julieta Castellanos Lopez from Rincón de la Grana bakery, then we move to Nova Scotia Canada where food writer, author and amateur whole grain baker Simon Thibault breaks down the industrial grains along with some home baking tips. In Puglia Italy, multigenerational grain farmer Leonardo Petruccelli and writer Marissia Tiller discuss the transformation of his family farm from into a whole grain enterprise, and finally, in Washington DC, Jonathan Bethony, baker and co-owner of Seylou Bakery talks about his whole grain journey as a baker. Today on point of origin, we're going Beyond Wheat. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do we mean when we say anthropology? And specifically food anthropology? We're talking about a word we use often and a word embedded in Whetstone lexicon and ideology. But it's also a word we have never defined. While it is a generous term that at its core is about the relationship between human beings and the world, we recognize the problematic history of the genre, one historically comprised of white male academics who brought their biases with them into the field. To help us properly define the term food anthropology, we're joined by two women anthropologists, GinaRae LaCerva and Hanna Garth. Ecologist and anthropology GinaRae LaCerva is the author of Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food and her work is in an exploration of the modern-day implications of wild and foraged foods, including wild meat, and what it tells us about the current state of the world. Sociocultural and medical anthropologist Hanna Garth [http://www.hannagarth.com] work specializes in the anthropology of food, while addressing issues of inequality and structural violence in Latin American, the Caribbean, and the United States. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're familiar with those "Got Milk" commercials. You've seen the billboards a hundred times. Those milk mustaches seemed innocuous enough. What you may not have considered is how Americans have been coerced into believing milk is an essential part of our healthy diet. We discuss how milk is the perfect microcosm for the many maladies plaguing our corporate food system. Currently, in the US an estimated 2.7 million - 3.7 million gallons of US milk is dumped every day as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate why. Join us as we uncover the politics rife in the US food systems, the everlasting systemic problem of money shaping policy, and how the joint actions of industry and government lead to the creation and perpetuation of health disparities. Andrea Freeman, author of The Unbearable Whiteness of Milk: Food Oppression and the USDA helps us navigate this landscape. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hass avocado boom has driven significant change, both positive and negative, in the communities of those growing and harvesting the fruit. While the revenue created by this cash crop has led to improvement in living conditions for many, its popularity is threatening avocado's biodiversity and the business has become deeply entwined with political corruption and violent crime. We're learning about the history of the avocado farming in Morelos, Mexico, government intervention, and the farmers dedicated to the important work of preserving heirloom avocado varietals. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whetstone contributor Mónica R. Goya takes us to La Palma, part of the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands, to meet winemaker Victoria Torres Pecis. Pecis owns and runs the oldest winery on the island and is one of the few women winemakers in La Palma using a vinification process that relies on spontaneous fermentation and natural yeasts to produce “free” wine. Join us as we learn about colonial expansion and its effect on wine, and how Spain’s female winemakers are playing a critical role in revitalizing the industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Stephen Satterfield connects with Chef Binta, an ambassador for the ancient grain fonio and self described modern nomadic chef. Her Fulani roots, classical training from the Kenyan Culinary Institute and love for rural life and nature inspire her dishes and pop up “Dine on a Mat” events, resulting in a modern, and environmentally engaged experience. Chef Binta helps us answer: What is Fulani food? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most people have heard of ouzo from Greece, pastis from France or Italian sambuca but few know that they're all derived from the mother spirit, arak - the oldest spirit in the world. Nader Muaddi, a Philadelphia-born Palestinian, is working to change that while restoring arak to it's former glory. Join us as we launch season 3 of Point of Origin, in conversation with journalist Lyric Lewin as she travels to Muaddi's distillery and learn what makes this milky distillate unique. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food is, and always has been, political. If that wasn’t clear before, the events of 2020 have revealed this truth in spectacular fashion. So this season, we’re diving deeper, learning about the nomadic roots of the Fulani people and the cultural significance of the mat, we travel to Palestine to taste the milky distillate, arak. And then to La Palma in the Canary Islands to drink local wine froma woman winemaker, while considering the industry’s male dominance. We’re questioning the morality of eating meat, the politics of language and why we don’t say food dessert, but rather, food apartheid.This season we’re bringing you into the policies thatinfluence and shape our food system. And along the way drinking coffee with you while discussing its African origins. From the makers of Whetstone media, it's PoO S3. on September 23! I’m inviting you to travel with me, your host Stephen Satterfield, for another tour of the world of food worldwide. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recent media attention surrounding native indigenous foodways has brought to light what a decolonized diet means. This is in part thanks to individuals like Sean Sherman, the Sioux Chef, places like the Ohlone Cafe in Berkeley, Ca, Andi Murphy the host of Toasted Sister podcast and Brit Reed who works at Tulalip clinic. Through their work, and the work of many other indigenous people, they are revitalizing and bringing attention to the precolonial foods of their local indigenous tribes. On this episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine we explore how can we truly honor indigenous foodways, without it becoming the new, then forgotten trend? And why land and gathering are essential to indigenous foodways. Learn more about this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over last 20 years, there is perhaps no name more important in the world of contemporary dining culture than Chef René Redzepi and his restaurant, Noma. After two decades, many of the same people who helped create the phenomenon are asking: Does the movement need to live to continue or die? On this episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine, we speak with Jeff Gordinier, author of "HUNGRY: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that the coconut is one of the only seafaring, self-propagating crops? Or that most of the world’s olive oils are produced in Spain, but end up blended, imported then exported, far from their country of origin? How about the fact that organized crime infiltrated the Italian food system for decades? Climate, locality and even human welfare by way of Fairtrade have all seeped into the consciousness of many well informed and capable shoppers. But, when it comes to the complexities of the commodification of our food, what facts do we consider when we grocery shop? We explore on this episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Diasporic foodways looks at the ways identity and food evolve in new home countries. Join Whetstone Magazine’s Point of Origin podcast as we speak with Asleigh Shanti, Aarohi Narai, and the team from Third Culture Bakery on the power of diasporic foodways. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just days before her second restaurant was set to open, we spoke to Bay Area-based chef and restaurateur Reem Assil. We discussed her feelings on the precipice of opening, but also, about the industry at large. Her answers about the state of the restaurant industry would prove painfully ominous. What they revealed are some of the pitfalls of the industry prior to its COVID-19-related collapse and underscores some of the challenges it now faces in rebuilding. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In part 2 of our series on natural wine we delve deeper into the what makes the term natural wine controversial, why the qualifier alludes us and if natural wine is trend or here to stay. In part episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine, we’re joined by New York based sommelier Amanda Smeltz, who currently works as a wine director at both ESTELA and Cafe Altro Paradiso, who breaks down the cultural significance of natural wine. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natural wine is farmed organically biodynamically, using permaculture, and made without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. Neither fining nor filtration are used. The result is a wine that’s truly “alive”, full of naturally occurring microbiology. In this two part episode of Point of Origin from Whetstone Magazine, we’re joined by the owners and wine makers from Donkey & Goat winery in Berkeley, California and The Other Right in the Adelaide Hills of Australia. Join us as we explore how to taste the differences between traditional wine and natural wine. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guided by the stories of Sonja Swanson, Seoyung Chung of Bburi Kitchen and Ji Hye Kim of Ms Kim restaurant, this episode explores ancient Korean recipes and how they are taking on modern adaptations. Swanson came to Korea to learn about her cultural heritage, and a one-year stay became a seven-year journey. Together, Swanson and Seoyung are using food to tell a story about the culinary history of Korea, through adaptations of ancient recipes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.