Food Bubble
By Fresh Air Media
Food BubbleJul 18, 2019
What Makes A Good Whisky? (S1E18)
When it comes to spirits production in North America, there isn't anyone bigger than Windsor, Ontario's Hiram Walker. They make and bottle brands like JP Wisers, Malibu Rum, Polar Ice Vodka, McGuiness liquers & more. For their Master Blender Dr. Don Livermore, it was the career he dreamed of at first, but you can easily tell just how passionate he has become on whisky. What makes a good product? How do you know what consumers want 10 years from now? And how does Canada make an impact globally? It's all questions we get answers to.
In the episode:
Dr. Don Livermore: https://www.instagram.com/cdnwhiskydoc/
Food Waste & Actually Doing Something About It S1E17
Food waste is becoming a clear concern for millions of Canadians. Stories of bushels of apples being thrown out because they didn't look right or sour cream that was discarded because it was getting close to its best before date are all getting more attention as something that needs to change. But few have been doing more than Lori Nikkel at Second Harvest. Her team has worked hard to match food that might otherwise be thrown out, with people that need it. And now they are rolling out a new tool to help people match that need even more effectively all over Canada. Imagine a breakfast program finding apples from an orchard or community centre discovering cookies that need to be used up from a retailer. We talk how big of an issue it is and what we can all do about it in this episode.
Of course you need to check in on https://www.FoodRescue.ca/ as well as Lori Nikkel at: https://SecondHarvest.ca/
What's the Deal With Meat & The Environment? S1E16
The conversation around eating meat and the impact on the environment isn't going anywhere. Whether that be plant-based food companies touting their product as the saviour of climate change, or meat-based farmers and food companies touting their sustainability efforts as the way forward, it can be hard to find the middle ground. That's why we thought we better call a doctor. Dr. Jude Capper is a Livestock Sustainability Consultant based on the UK who looks at all kinds of data to piece together a clearer picture on what impact livestock farming has on the environment, both good & bad. In this episode we cover all kinds of questions like what is the real impact, does it matter where the milk or meat comes from, and can more be done to make raising food sustainable?
In this episode:
Dr. Jude Capper: https://twitter.com/Bovidiva / https://bovidiva.com
Leave us an audio note about what you think: https://anchor.fm/foodbubble/message
Top of the Food Chain - Michael Barrett, Gay Lea Foods (S1E15)
Michael Barrett may have wanted to stand in front of a classroom, but instead he is standing in front of Canada's dairy industry. The President & CEO of Gay Lea Foods Co-operative has had the job for 5 years, leading the company through the biggest partnerships, investments and purchases the company has ever seen. From a household name in Ontario, to adding in goat milk, members in another province and stretching into Alberta, Barrett is betting that a coast to coast company will fare far better than a small, regional player.
We talk leadership & education, how to compete against much bigger players, and why a dairy company would enter the non-dairy category with coconut.
You can find Barrett on Twitter: https://twitter.com/59Studebaker
You can record & submit your ideas and feedback to: https://anchor.fm/foodbubble/message
S1E14 - Selling The Part of Beef That Isn't Very Popular -- Yet
When it comes to beef, burgers and steaks are usually top of mind in North America. Maybe a pot roast or prime rib dinner. But that is far from all that a beef animal produces. There's lots of less popular cuts like tendons and belly, that have usually been sold internationally - but are now growing more popular here at home. Why is cow stomach and bone marrow demand growing? We find out from:
Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence's Duane Ellard & Mathieu Pare https://canadabeef.ca/centre-of-excellence/
S1E13 - Robots That Run The Farm
When we think about robots, most may think about their Roomba or something along the line of a car factory. But robots are also finding their way onto farms. In this episode, we find out how robots have been milking cows in Canada for over 20 years, and how another Canadian company hopes their robot revolutionizes how grain is grown.
In this epsiode:
Tony Brazda, Lely Canada: https://www.lely.com/ca/en/
Norbert Beaujot, DOT: https://seedotrun.com/
Leah Olson, DOT: https://twitter.com/olsonleah
A video on how dairy robots operate on a farm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_GLQADA0G4&t=
A video on how DOT operates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUZjldryZ8
S1E12 - "Do The Work & Let the Success Speak For Itself"
If you look at what Google thinks a farmer is, you'll find plaid and men.
If you look at the statistics of an actual farm, you'll find that over a quarter of today's farmers are women.
Are there any unique challenges being a woman in agriculture? Is there anything more than proving yourself with hard work and determination?
We find out from:
Sandi Brock (https://www.youtube.com/sandibrock)
Amanda den Haan
S1E11 - Why Travel Around the World To Help Another Farmer?
Things that many of us take for granted here in Canada are real-life struggles for millions in other parts of the world. Having enough food to eat, having a place to sell a product, having a safe place to sleep or wondering about the safety of your next meal. There are many projects that Canadians undertake globally to help those in need, but we wanted to focus on three of them that were helping farmers and helping feed & build up communities with some great success.
In this episode,
Stewart Skinner: https://twitter.com/modernfarmer
Donations for his project can be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/mwaita-coop-poultry-project
Tim Lambert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-lambert-82610550/?originalSubdomain=ca
Donations for their project can be made at: https://www.heartforafrica.ca/project-canaan-egg-project/
Deb Stark: https://twitter.com/debstark1
S1E10 - Are People Really Judging Us On What We Eat?
It's probably happened to you too. Thinking of what to have at a restaurant, wondering if you'd better have one thing over another because of what the other person might think of you. The same can be said for what you might get at the grocery store or put in your child's lunch. So we wanted to dig into whether that judgement was real or more our imagination. While trying to find it, we found a much bigger conversation. One that involves culture and morality, about guilt and grief, and about something that millions fight with every day.
In this episode:
Casey Berglund: https://www.worthyandwell.com/
Lisa Melo: https://lisamelo.com/
S1E9 - Is Eating Insects the Next Food Trend?
I haven't found anyone that stocks their pantry with it yet, but cricket powder is now for sale at grocers as part of a growing trend to eat insects. Ants, grasshoppers or crickets, whole or ground, it's seen as a new way to get protein. We find out from an organizer of the event BugFeast as well as the CEO of a cricket farm just where this business is going and how long before we all think insects are a great afternoon snack.
In this episode:
Andalyne Tosslemire, Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory (https://www.cambridgebutterfly.com/)
Jarrod Goldin, Entomo Farms (http://entomofarms.com/)
S1E8 - What Happens When We Are Afraid of Foods?
We've all been there. Unsure of a food item or ingredient, wondering if it is something we should eat or should feed our kids. But where does that fear comes from. For Julie Gunlock, it came out of protecting her newborn son. It also meant worrying everything from window cleaners to vaccinations. But she learned how to fear less once she started to see the real story. What was that real story? And what are other people worried about from Crystal Mackay.
Julie Gunlock: https://www.iwf.org/about/julie-gunlock
Crystal Mackay: https://twitter.com/CrystalMackay32
S1E7 - Why Would A Farm Hire Foreign Workers?
S1E6 - Why Is Organic Milk More Expensive?
If you ever compare the price between regular milk & organic milk, you are likely to find a pretty significant difference on the price tags. Why is that? Is the farmer making a pile of money? What about the processor or retailer, is the profit margin they are making that much bigger? We go through the food chain to figure it out with:
Julaine Truer - https://bcdairy.ca/dairyfarmers/articles/meet-bc-dairy-farmer-julaine-treur
Art Hill - https://experts.uoguelph.ca/arthur-hill
Kevin Grier - https://www.kevingrier.com/
S1E5 - What Is Corn Syrup & High Fructose Corn Syrup?
Did you see the ad on the SuperBowl for Bud Light proclaiming no corn syrup? Have you ever seen a menu that says they don't use high fructose corn syrup? They are popular villains in today's food system. But, what are the differences and what does are body think about them?
We find out how the syrups are made from Dr. John White at John White Consulting & from Dr. Ruth MacDonald at Iowa State https://www.hs.iastate.edu/directory/profile.php?u=ruthmacd
S1E4 - Does Our Sense of Taste Change Over Time?
When it comes to taste, we all have our favourites. Some prefer the savoury to the sweet, while others love the salty. Some seem to pull out these incredible notes from a wine while others struggle for a description other than good. Even with our kids, some will like anything while others will fight against everything. Why is that?
How our taste buds work along with our sense of smell is a fascinating discussion, but so is the idea you can get your kids to like more things if you are willing to keep pushing new foods. And you yourself can become better at describing those tastes and flavours. It's all in this episode with our guests:
Bob Holmes: http://bobholmes.org/blog/
Elie Chamoun: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326709679_The_Relationship_between_Single_Nucleotide_Polymorphisms_in_Taste_Receptor_Genes_Taste_Function_and_Dietary_Intake_in_Preschool-Aged_Children_and_Adults_in_the_Guelph_Family_Health_Study
S1E3 - Why Is Deciding Dinner So Hard?
132 hours is what the average person spends deciding what to eat. Each and every year. Whether that be standing at the fridge looking around for what you've got, or scrolling through your phone deciding where to go - eating can be full of tough decisions.
But is it tough because of all the choice we have? Is the pressure over what we should eat getting to be too much? Is it just not sure what you want to have? We tackle all of those with Mike & Dara.
For more about Mike, you can find him here:
https://twitter.com/mikevonmassow
For more about Dara & the How To Eat team:
http://howtoeat.ca/
S1E2 - How Do You Make Food Sustainable?
You see it on TV, hear it on the radio and find it all over the grocery store. The word SUSTAINABLE when it comes to food is growing in popularity. The problem, is that is means different things to different people. So what does it mean to people in the food system? Does it mean environmental protection to a farmer or does it mean more than that to an environmental group? We track down the answer from 5 people, including:
- Mark, a chicken & turkey farmer in Alberta
- Ron & Trish from Co-op branded grocery stores & farm retail outlets (https://www.fcl.crs/)
- Kristine & Paul from Ducks Unlimited (https://www.ducks.ca/)
You can always ask questions by following Andrew on social media. Search FreshAirFarmer on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
S1E1 - Building A Wine Business
For our pilot episode, we head to Nova Scotia to try to answer the question, 'How do you build up a wine industry?' After all, Nova Scotia is getting more and more accolades for their wine, when it wasn't very long ago that they were not known as any kind of wine growing region, so what has changed?
In this episode we visit with:
https://grandprewines.com/
http://alab.acadiau.ca/home.html
http://www.perennia.ca/
Comments & questions are always welcome through Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @FreshAirFarmer