Unwasted: The Podcast Imperfect Foods

We’ve all had the experience of buying that apple, or avocado, and having it go bad before you can eat it. It’s so widespread that there are memes about it now. 

Have you ever wondered what exactly makes food go bad and what we can do to slow this process down? The folks at Apeel Sciences took this real conundrum of how to make our favorite foods last longer and answered it with a game changing new product. Apeel is an innovative, plant-based coating that goes on your favorite fruits & veggies to keep them fresh for longer, which means less wasted food, less stress about squandering money on avocados you never get to eat, and more delicious meals! 

To learn more about how this works and what it means for the future of food waste, we chatted with Jessica Vieira, head of sustainability at Apeel. We discussed all things ripeness and food waste and explored how Apeel is making it easier than ever to waste less food on the farm, at the store, and in your home. 


Episode Show Notes:
Learn more about Apeel on their website and Instagram.To see where you can buy produce with Apeel, head here! Jess outlined that the key factors that make fruit go bad are water loss and oxidation. This article from Wired does a great job explaining how Apeel works to keep produce fresh for longer. Jess shared that one of the first farmers to benefit from Apeel was growing finger limes, a fruit as quirky and fascinating as it sounds. Jess shared that food waste accounts for 8% of Greenhouse gas emissions globallyJess's go-to karaoke song is "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5To learn more about Jess and her background, connect with her on LinkedIn

When it comes to making farming truly sustainable in the long run, the elephant in the room is land ownership. Healthy soil matters, but so does who owns the soil. 

 Did you know that there were nearly 1 million Black farmers in 1920 and fewer than 45 thousand today? Overall Black landowners own only 0.8 percent of land in the US today. 

What accounts for this huge racial disparity in land ownership? We’ve brought in agricultural law expert and farmer advocate Jillian Hishaw to help teach all of us some important legal lessons that shape everything about who farms in the US. 


Episode Show Notes:
Learn more about Jillian by heading to her website. You can also get in touch with her by emailing info@jillianhishaw.comFollow Jillian on Instagram, Facebook, and TwitterYou can pre-order Jillian's book, "Systematic Land Theft" here. You can get Jillian's other book, "Don't Bet the Farm on Medicaid" here. For a full breakdown of who is farming in the United States, check out the most recent USDA Census.Jillian's go-to Karaoke song is "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" by Natalie Cole. 

Did you know that over 20 billion pounds of textiles are thrown away in the United States every year? 

Just like the food industry, the clothing industry creates a shocking and honestly overwhelming amount of waste. So what can we do about it? 

After getting frustrated with how much fabric he saw going to waste in the fashion industry, Daniel Silverstein quit his job and started his own company, Zero Waste Daniel, focused on turning fabric scraps into stylish new clothes. For every piece of clothing they make, they recover about a pound of fabric scraps from going to waste. 

He stopped by our podcast to teach us how he's working to make the fashion industry less wasteful. 
Episode Show Notes:
Learn more about Zero Waste Daniel and where you can buy their clothes on their website and be sure to follow them on Instagram. Daniel was the third podcast guest to recommend the documentary "The True Cost," which takes a necessary but sobering look at the dark side of the fashion industry. Daniel's go-to karaoke song is "No Scrubs" by TLC. 

Does environmentalism have a racism problem? Is veganism elitist? Why do so many young environmental activists suffer from burnout? 

These are some of the thorny but important issues that Isaias Hernandez fearlessly tackles everyday. He is an educator and speaker who’s passionate about environmental justice, veganism, and zero-waste.

Our conversation was thought-provoking and packed with insights about our food system, environmentalism, plant-based diets, and more! 
Episode Show Notes:
Learn more about Isaias and his work by heading to his website, connecting with him on LinkedIn, and checking out his Instagram (@queerbrownvegan). Isaias shared his love of vegan conchas, a traditional Mexican dessert. Isaias's go-to karaoke song is anything by Kali Uchi. 

Plant-based eating is here to stay.
Most of us have heard about the health benefits and the environmental benefits of going plant based thanks to documentaries like “The Game Changers” and “What the Health.” 

While eating plant-based sounds great on paper, a lot of us wonder how you can possibly replace the unique taste of dairy products like butter and cheese. So, is dairy really the final frontier for plant-based eating? Miyoko Schinner thinks it is. 
Miyoko is the founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, a company that makes incredibly delicious vegan, plant-based cheeses and butters. In this episode, she's sharing her journey as a plant-based entrepreneur, dishing out advice for how to eat more plants, and more! This is a conversation that vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores alike will get something out of. 
Episode Show Notes:
Learn more about Miyoko's Creamery on their website and Instagram. Check out Miyoko's books: "Artisanal Vegan Cheese," "The Homemade Vegan Pantry," and "The Vegan Meat Cookbook." If you're feeling plant-curious, Miyoko recommends trying the Veganuary challenge. We discussed the fact that 80% of antibiotics sold in the US are for animal agriculture. Miyoko recommends watching the Vegan 2020 documentary on Youtube. Miyoko also has a fun cooking show called "Miyoko's Home Comforts." Learn more about Miyoko's animal rescue, Rancho Compasion. 

Nothing makes you feel quite as warm, fuzzy, and cozy as eating some of  your comfort foods from childhood. What is it about these meals that is so magical? How can they bring us meaning and connection even across oceans and decades? 
Hawa Hassan has spent her life exploring the magical power of family memories and recipes. She turned this experience into a marvellous cookbook called “In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean.” 

In it, she shares the recipes of 8 African grandmothers and writes a moving and delicious love letter to African food that’s also a thought-provoking testament to the universal power of family recipes. We're chatting food, family, spices, and more with Hawa! 
Episode Show Notes:
Learn more about Hawa on her Instagram and be sure to check out her amazing cookbook.Our photo of Hawa comes from photographer Khadija M. Farah. Hawa also has an incredible line of hot sauces called Basbaass. Some of Hawa's go-to spices to have you your pantry to make Somali food are: cardamon, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. Hawa is also a big fan of Xawaash, a Yemeni spice blend that Hawa often calls the "Garam Masala of Somali cuisine." Learn how to make Hawa's Suugo Suqaar, a delicious Somali take on pasta sauce. Hawa's go-to karaoke song is "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" by Shania Twain.