Handpicked Podcast
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems’ (LCSFS) podcast Handpicked: Stories from the Field explores how sustainable food system research can change how we produce, get, eat and understand our food. Handpicked is hosted by Amanda Di Battista and Laine Young, PhD Candidate in Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, and produced by Charlie Spring, Postdoctoral Fellow with the LCSFS.
The Handpicked podcast was launched in 2019 and is now in its third season. In 2022, Handpicked's first season was recognized by Wilfrid Laurier University for its contribution to knowledge mobilization. Each episode includes show notes, educational materials such as discussion questions, a glossary of terms, and audio transcripts. You can subscribe to Handpicked wherever you get your podcasts or listen to full episodes using the links below.
Handpicked: Stories from the Field is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Additional information about this licensing and use paramaters are included at the bottom of this page.
Featuring: Naomi Robert
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we speak with Naomi Robert, a Research & Extension Associate at the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at Kwantlen Polytechnique University and a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University on her new project called “Beyond GDP: Lessons for Redefining Progress in Canadian Food System Policy”. Naomi discusses the problematic history of GDP as a measure of well-being in our country and how we can move towards measures that more accurately depict the well-being of Canadians.
Listen to Season Three, Episode Six | Discussion Questions | Glossary |Transcript
Contributors:
Guests
Support & Funding
Music Credits
Resources
Articles, Podcasts & Essays
- Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. Chelsea Green Publishing.
- Hickel, J. (2021). Less is more. Windmill Books.
References and Textbooks
- Daly, H. E., & Farley, J. C. (2011). Ecological economics : principles and applications (2nd ed.). Island Press.
- Daly, H. E., & Cobb. J.B. (1994). For the Common Good. (2nd ). Beacon Press
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Featuring Dr. Evelyn Nimmo
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we sit down with Dr. Evelyn Nimmo, a Research Associate with the LCSFS and the President of the Center for the Development and Education of Traditional Erva-mate Systems (CEDErva) in Paraná, Brazil. Dr. Nimmo shares the ongoing process of applying for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) designation for the traditional agroforestry practices of growing erva-mate in Brazil. She shares the community-focused process, and how this designation might positively affect the practice on the ground.
Listen to Season Three, Episode Five | Discussion Questions | Glossary |Transcript
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Guests
Support & Funding
Music Credits
Resources
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In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, Dr. Erin Nelson from the University of Guelph interviews some of her community partners. She speaks with Dr. Sarah Larsen, Research Director at the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, and two participants in its farmer-led research program, Heather Newman and Brent Preston. The episode covers ecological farming and farmer-led research and shares important examples of what this looks like in the (quite literally) field.
Listen to Season Three, Episode Four | Discussion Questions | Glossary |Transcript
Contributors
Guests
Support & Funding
Music Credits
Resources
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Hosted by: Dr. Marylynn Steckley
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we present an episode of the Indigenous Health and Food Systems Podcast called, “Environmental Dispossession, Land, and the Environment”. This podcast is hosted by Dr. Marylynn Steckley from Carleton University and is produced in collaboration with Dr. Sonia Wesche and Victoria Marchand from the University of Ottawa and Dr. Josh Steckley from the University of Toronto, Scarborough. The Indigenous Health and Food Systems Podcast aims to elevate the voices of Indigenous scholars in the areas of Indigenous health, food sovereignty, and the social determinants of health. This episode explores the complicated nature of Indigenous connections to land, and how that impacts Indigenous food systems. The guests in the episode explore ideas of environmental dispossession, traditional Indigenous food practices, and environmental stewardship.
Listen to Season Three, Episode Three | Discussion Questions | Glossary |Transcript
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Guests
Support & Funding
Music Credits
Resources
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Hosted by: Dr. Marylynn Steckley
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we present an episode of the Indigenous Health and Food Systems Podcast called, “What are Indigenous Foods?” This podcast is hosted by Dr. Marylynn Steckley from Carleton University and is produced in collaboration with Dr. Sonia Wesche and Victoria Marchand from the University of Ottawa and Dr. Josh Steckley from the University of Toronto, Scarborough. The Indigenous Health and Food Systems Podcast aims to elevate the voices of Indigenous scholars in the areas of Indigenous health, food sovereignty, and the social determinants of health. This particular episode focuses on what Indigenous food are, and how there are many complex answers to that question because of the impacts of colonization.
Listen to Season Three, Episode Two | Discussion Questions | Glossary |Transcript
Contributors
Sound Design & Editing: Laine Young & Narayan Subramoniam
Guests
Support & Funding
Music Credits
Resources
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Featuring Alison Blay-Palmer
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, your hosts speak with Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer about the UNESCO Chair on Food, Biodiversity, and Sustainability. Dr. Blay-Palmer tells us about the priorities of the Chair (sustainable food production, Indigenous and traditional foodways, & transitions to just food systems) and some of the projects supported through the network. We also speak with some attendees of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 meetings in December 2022 about agroecology, biodiversity, and their hopes for the future with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Listen to Season Three, Episode One | Discussion Questions | Glossary |Transcript
Co-Producers & Hosts: Laine Young & Amanda Di Battista
Guests
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Keenan Reimer-Watts
Resources
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Featuring Jamie-Lynne Varney
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we talked to Jamie-Lynne Varney, a master's student in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University (SFU) who prepared the recent report, “Right to Food Framework for Tackling Food Waste and Achieving a Just Circular Economy of Food in Vancouver, B.C.” This report was a collaboration between the Food Systems Lab at SFU and the Vancouver Economic Commission. The process brought together community experts from across the food system to uncover ways to make these food systems more sustainable by reframing food waste using a Right to Food approach. Using “Theory of Change” methodology, Jamie-Lynne and her colleagues identified existing challenges and opportunities in the food system and suggested possible interventions for creating pathways to a more just and circular food system in Vancouver.
Listen to Season Two, Episode Four | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Sound Design & Editing: Adedotun Babajide
Guest
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Keenan Reimer-Watts
Adedotun Babajide
Resources
Right to Food Framework for Tackling Food Waste and Achieving a Just Circular Economy of Food in Vancouver, B.C. Report and Video
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Whose Land
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Food Systems Lab at SFU
Photo credit: Neala MacLeod Farley
Featuring Mandy Bayha in conversation with Andrew Spring
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, Mandy Bayha, Director for Culture, Language, and Spirituality for the Délįnę Got'įnę Government, talks with Dr. Andrew Spring about the importance of traditional knowledge and language for community wellbeing and resilience Délįnę, NWT. Beginning with a conversation about community resilience in the face of major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic Mandy traces connections between colonialism, traditional economies, and food security and explains how Elder knowledge and youth engagement inform all the work taking place in the community.
Listen to Season Two, Episode Three | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript Forthcoming
Contributors
Guest-Producer & Host: Mandy Bayha & Andrew Spring
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Sound Design, Research & Editing: Adedotun Babajide
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Voicing Change: Co-creating Knowledge and Capacity for Sustainable Food Systems (SSHRC Funded)
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Sound Credits
Neala MacLeod Farley
Resources
Délįnę Got’įnę Government
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments-LSPIRG
Whose Land
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, 2021
Featuring Harrison Runtz in conversation with Kelly Bronson, Irena Knezevic, and Carly Livingstone
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, guest producer Harrison Runtz talks with food systems experts Kelly Bronson, Irena Knezevic, and Carly Livingstone about how new digital technologies are changing the ways we grow and get food. They look at how big agri-businesses like John Deere create visions of a technological future of food, examine what Amazon’s entry into online food retailing has meant for small-scale and local food retailers, and argue for a more critical understanding about the impact of technological innovations on food systems. Together, they ask vital questions about who benefits and who doesn’t from new food technologies.
Listen to Season Two, Episode Two | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx) | Infographic
Contributors
Guest-Producer & Host: Harrison Runtz
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Sound Design, Research & Editing: Adedotun Babajide
Guests
Kelly Bronson
Carly Livingstone
Irena Knezevic
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Carleton Food and Media Hub
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Infographic Credits
Music Credits
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Whose Land
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Farm Forward with John Deere
Farm Hack
AgBox
Look twice at the digital agricultural revolution (Bronson and Knezevic)
From Online Cart to Plate: What Amazon's Retail Domination Means for the Future of Food (Livingstone and Knezevic)
Looking through a responsible innovation lens at uneven engagements with digital farming (Bronson)
Family Farms: Size and Distribution (FAO, p. 2-3)
Good Crop/Bad Crop: Seed Politics and the Future of Food in Canada (Kuyuk)
Amazon uses data from third-party sellers to develop its own products (Palmer via CNBC)
Home built no-till seed drill (Sunny Slope Orchard via Farm Hack)
See also the resources linked to the S1E6 episode of Handpicked, "We are all shepherds of the data": Food, tech and data sovereignty
Featuring Alexandra Rodriguez and Laine Young
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, Laine Young speaks with Alexandra Rodriguez about Agricultura Urbana Participativa AGRUPAR, an urban agriculture project that aims to address food insecurity and improve people’s lives by creating more a sustainable food system in Quito, Ecuador. Using an intersectional lens, Laine and Alexandra’s conversation looks at the positive community-wide impacts of women’s involvement in participatory urban agriculture projects and considers how women’s lived experience is governed by race, class, gender, sexuality, ability and other factors. Alexandra shares her experience working on the project as well as examples of how AGRUPAR is finding local solutions to the unique challenges facing Quito’s food system.
Listen to Season Two, Episode One | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Sound Design & Editing: Laine Young & Amanda Di Battista
Research Assistants: Adedotun Babajide
Guests
Alexandra Rodriguez
Erick Fay
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Whose Land
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
FAO City Region Food System Program: Quito, Ecuador
RUAF Global Partnership
Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
Intersectionality Matters Podcast
Growing Food in the City: Urban Agriculture in Quito, Ecuador, Through a Feminist Lens, paper by Laine Young
Technology is changing all aspects of the food system, including how smaller-scale farmers and food producers connect with different markets. In this episode of Handpicked, Dr. Theresa Schumilas describes her work as the Director of Open Food Network Canada, an open source software platform designed to help producers and eaters build better and more sustainable food systems. You’ll hear about how justice and fairness can inform an activist approach to coding and how non-proprietary software is contributing to food sovereignty in Canada and beyond. Using Open Food Network as an example, Dr. Shumilas explains how software platforms are helping smaller scale producers reimagine their operations by centring community, open source legal protections, and peer-to-peer learning.
Listen to Episode Six | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda DiBattista & Laine Young
Sound Design & Editing: Adedotun Babajide & Laine Young
Research Assistants: Chiamaka Okafor-Justin & Jake Bernstein
Guests
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Whose Land
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Open Food Network Canada
The Open Food Network Global Project
Open Food Network Global Discussion Community
Building Back Better: Infrastructure investments for a greener, more resilient and sustainable country
Racial Justice and Food Systems Resources
Justice in June
Black Women on Black Food Sovereignty Panel, presented by FoodShare Toronto
“When you’re Black, you’re at greater risk of everything that sucks”: FoodShare’s Paul Taylor on the links between race and food insecurity
Seed Change Words From Our Chair: We cannot talk about food without talking about racism
Black Food Insecurity in Canada, Melana Roberts
International agreements like the Sustainable Development Goals, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, and the New Urban Agenda can be imagined as shared blueprints for change. However, agreements negotiated between international actors can be difficult to implement at local and regional scales. In this episode of Handpicked, we talk to food systems actors and researchers working to connect international agreements with municipal and regional policy development. In our conversation with Alison Blay-Palmer, Patricia Ballamingie, Barbara Emanuel, and Theresa Schumilas we examine how international agreements are important tools for decisionmakers concerned with food, consider how storytelling is an important part of meaningful food advocacy and policy development, and look at how the City of Toronto’s has used the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact to inform policy and program development across the city.
Listen to Episode Five | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda DiBattista & Laine Young
Sound Design & Editing: Adedotun Babajide & Laine Young
Research Assistants: Chiamaka Okafor-Justin & Jake Bernstein
Guests
Alison Blay-Palmer
Patricia Ballamingie
Barbara Emanuel
Theresa Schumilas
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Resources
Levers for Food system Change Panel Discussion
The Sustainable Development Goals
The New Urban Agenda
The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
Toronto Food Strategy
Toronto Food Strategy 2018 Report
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field,co-producer Dr. Andrew Spring takes us through Part 2 of his conversation with Chief Lloyd Chicot and Melaine Simba of the Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation. Focusing on five key themes—youth, community gardening, community mapping, land stewardship and waste management—they explore how participatory action research driven by communities can have tangible and lasting impacts on everyday life and help facilitate the transfer of traditional knowledges to the next generation. They also reflect on how research has helped shape and support climate change adaptation strategies in Kakisa, NWT and the importance of building lasting relationships as part of this work.
Listen to Episode Four | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Co-Producer: Andrew Spring
Sound Design & Editing: Adedotun Babajide
Research Assistants: Chiamaka Okafor-Justin & Jake Bernstein
Guests
Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation
Kakisa Photo Blog
Andrew Spring
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Global Water Futures
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Sound Credits
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged (FLEdGE)
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, co-producer Dr. Andrew Spring sits down with Chief Lloyd Chicot and Melaine Simba of the Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation from the community of Kakisa in the Northwest Territories. Reflecting on their long partnership of collaboration, they talk about how climate change is impacting food systems in Canada's North and how their small community is finding ways to adapt to the changing landscapes. You'll hear about community-driven participatory action research and initiatives ongoing in Kakisa, the unique ways that food security issues impact northern Indigenous communities, the importance of the land, and how the community members are monitoring and adapting to the changes being observed.
Listen to episode three | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda DiBattista & Laine Young
Co-Producer: Andrew Spring
Sound Design & Editing: Adedotun Babajide
Research Assistants: Chiamaka Okafor-Justin & Jake Bernstein
Guests
Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation
Kakisa Photo Blog
Andrew Spring
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
CIGI
Music Credits
Sound Credits
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged (FLEdGE)
In this episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we sit down with Dr. Nevin Cohen, an Associate Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health and the Research Director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute in New York City, to explore how to measure food system change. Because of the complexity of our food systems, there are hundreds of metrics that can be used to measure sustainability and food system health. Dr. Cohen explains how food system researchers are rethinking the kinds of metrics they use in order to make important food policy decisions. Dr. Cohen highlights how hidden food metrics, or "Food Metrics 3.0," can provide us with more nuanced understandings of what is happening in our food systems so that we can work together to make those systems more sustainable.
Listen to episode two | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Research Assistant: Jake Bernstein
Guests
Click the links to learn more about their work
Dr. Nevin Cohen
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
Music Credits
Keenan Reimer-Watts
Lee Rosevere
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged (FLEdGE)
Food Metrics Panel Discussion with Nevin Cohen
CUNY Food Policy Institute Home Page
SNAP Benefits Website
Canada’s Food Policy
References
Cohen, Nevin, et al. “‘B-side’ Food Metrics.” CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, 2019.
Household food insecurity is a serious public health problem that affects 1 in 8 Canadian households. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/
CANADIANS VISITED FOOD BANKS 1.1 MILLION TIMES IN MARCH 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://hungercount.foodbankscanada.ca/overallfindings/
In the very first episode of Handpicked: Stories from the Field, we will introduce you to our podcast and give you a taste of what you can expect from the upcoming season. We sit down with Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer and ask her some tough questions about food systems and the work of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (LCSFS). We explore the concept of “sustainable food systems” in depth so that listeners have the context they need to better understand the work that will be highlighted throughout the Handpicked series. In this episode, we also speak with LCSFS Advisory Board members and students about they how define sustainable food systems and what that means for the research and community engagement work they do. We hope this episode leaves you with a better understanding of the work being done by the LCSFS to make our food system more sustainable and whets your appetite for more stories from the field.
Listen to episode one | Discussion Questions | Glossary | Transcript (.docx)
Contributors
Co-Producers & Hosts: Amanda Di Battista & Laine Young
Episode editing & Research: Laine Young
Research Assistant: Jake Bernstein
Voiceovers: Takhmina Shokirova
Guests
Click the links to learn more about their work
Alison Blay-Palmer
Andrea Collins
Patricia Ballamingie
Irena Knezvic
Alex Latta
Theresa Schumilas
Andrew Spring
Kaitlin Kok
Maggie Mills
Carla Johnston
Support & Funding
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Balsillie School for International Affairs
Music Credits
Resources
Moving Beyond Acknowledgments- LSPIRG
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged (FLEdGE)
URBAL
Our Common Future Report
Food & Agriculture Cluster
Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
City Region Food Systems Project
References
Brundtland, G. H., Khalid, M., Agnelli, S., Al-Athel, S., & Chidzero, B. (1987). Our common future. New York. Retrieved from http://netzwerk-n.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0_Brundtland_Report-1987-Our_Common_Future.pdf
IPCC (2019). Climate change and land: An IPCC Special report on climate change, desertification, land degredation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems (Draft). Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/
La Via Campesina & GRAIN (2014). Food sovereignty: 5 steps to cool the planet and feed its people. Retrieved from https://viacampesina.org/en/food-sovereignty-5-steps-to-cool-the-planet-and-feed-its-people/
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