Fake Meat isn’t the Answer to the Climate Crisis, Says Alicia Kennedy

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From oat milk at coffee shops, to cashew cheese at Target, to McDonald’s McPlant burger, it’s becoming easier to consume fewer animal products. That’s a win for the environment, given a livestock sector that’s responsible for about 15 percent of global greenhouse emissions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. But simply offering substitutes to the American diet won’t be enough to stop climate change or the exploitation of food workers, land and animals, argues food and culture writer Alicia Kennedy’s new book “No Meat Required.” Kennedy joins us to share how the counter-cultural history of veganism, vegetarianism and plant-based eating can help us rethink American food norms and still uphold the cultures, flavors and joys of food. Guests: Alicia Kennedy, food and culture writer; author, "No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating" - Kennedy also has a popular food newsletter on Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
0:05.1	At SFO, you can shop, dine, and unwind before your flight.
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0:32.2	From KQED in San Francisco, this is Forum.
0:51.6	I'm Mina Kim.
0:53.2	For food writer Alicia Kennedy, the popularity and
0:56.1	availability of vegan and vegetarian food options and the greater awareness of their potential for
1:01.3	reducing meat consumption and helping the planet are all cause for celebration. But there are also
1:06.9	reasons to step back and take a hard look at where plant-based eating is going.
1:11.6	In the past, Kennedy writes, it was often counterculture folks who challenged a meat-centered
1:16.4	standard American diet.
1:18.2	But today, as tech companies and VC firms push plant-based burgers or fund lab-grown
1:23.3	meats, she wonders who is steering the future of food.
1:26.7	Kennedy's new book is No Meat
1:28.3	Required. She joins us after this news.
1:35.3	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kin. Veganism and vegetarianism in the U.S. have radical
	...

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