Hi, this is Ramsey from Portland, Oregon. My husband and I are eating as much plant-based

foods as we can and we totally enjoy them. We do have an occasional hamburger. We're

in our 60s and we just want to live a healthy lifestyle. Hi, my name is Mikayla and I'm

calling from Scotland. I just decided to test out plant-based diets and I cannot square

the moral side of eating meat with the actual impact on the animals that are

sentient beings. They're aware of their surroundings. They experience happiness. I can participate

in that. Hi, I'm a vegetarian because it's better for the planet. It's safer for my

kitchen and yeah, I just feel so much healthier with all these veggies.

It's Notes from America. I'm Kai Wright. Welcome to the show. Alicia Kennedy has spent

much of her career reporting on the politics of food of what we eat and the consequences

those choices have for the planet and she's chronicled that research including the

often overlooked radical roots of plant-based eating in a new book. It's called No Meat Required,

the Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating. Our producer Rahima Nasa spoke

with Alicia about this history and the question of whether we can pursue a different future for our

climate by changing what we eat and I'm going to share her conversation with you this week.

We're not taking calls during this show but as always you can still talk to us about anything

you hear just go to Notes from America.org. Look for the record button and leave us a voice

mail right there. Just remember to include at least your first name and where you're calling from.

Okay, here's Rahima. For the last few years I wanted my values to match what I eat. It's just

I couldn't decide what I wanted to be. A flexitarian vegan, vegan curious plant-based. Does it

even matter? I first started thinking about these terms early in the pandemic. A global health

emergency and a supply chain crisis seemed like a good time to make some changes because it was

...