This week on Food with Mark Bittman, I’m joined by two old friends of mine, John Ikerd and Mackenzie Feldman.
John is an icon in the food movement; he is a former USDA staffer who strongly believed in industrial agriculture and did a 180. You’ll hear his story, but he—as much as anyone—is responsible for the notion of thinking about food as a utility, that is, something everyone has the right to.
I met Mackenzie at the University of California at Berkeley; she’s been working on keeping campuses pesticide-free for a while now, and she and John do a podcast together called Agenda 23, and the idea behind it is food conversations between generations, because they are, as you will hear, different in age. (The name Agenda 23 comes from discussion about the 2023 Farm Bill, which is still in progress—it’s going to wind up being the 2025 Farm Bill.)
To quote John, “I’ve become too radical to be relevant when you start talking about the Farm Bill,” and he is delightfully radical, with a ton of experience, and the contrast between the two of them—and me—is really fun.
Follow Food with Mark Bittman on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Amazon Music
Comment