S2E69: Mark Bittman on the political economy of junk food

60% of the calories in our food supply are alleged to be ultra-processed junk. So, when did we lose our way? When did we go from growing food to feed our communities to growing food for profit? And how do we find our way back to a just food system—and society? Mark Bittman is a former New York Times columnist and bestselling author of 30-plus books, including the well-known How to Cook Everything series. His new release is called Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Mark joins Ross and Radkhika to explain how the food system shaped our history and vice versa, describing how the Enclosure Movement may have turned food into a profit-making political tool and created the health crisis we’re facing. He weighs in on why educating kids about good food is the first step in creating a just food system and advocates for subsidies to support getting good food to more people. Listen in for Mark’s perspective on investing federal dollars in regenerative agriculture and learn how he thinks about making the phrase ‘land reform’ common in our political discourse. Connect with Nori Purchase Nori Carbon Removals Join Nori’s book club on Patreon Nori’s website Nori on Twitter Sign up for Nori’s weekly Newsletter, The Nori Wrap Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom Resources Mark’s Website Subscribe to The Bittman Project Newsletter Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal by Mark Bittman How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman Jared Diamond Land Enclosure Books by James C. Scott Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser Supersize Me Books by Will Durant Books by Marion Nestle Renewable Fuel Standard Program Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms Full Belly Farm The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan