Shane Epting on Philosophy of the City and Food Sovereignty

Thought About Food Podcast

This episode we talk to Shane Epting about Food Sovereignty, Participatory Budgeting, Time Banks and other interesting proposals in Philosophy of the City.

Show Notes:

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• Shane Epting is an Assistant Professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology.
• The article of Shane's we were primarily discussing was Participatory Budgeting and Vertical Agriculture: A Thought Experiment in Food System Reform. As always, if you think you don't have access to the article but want to check it out, send an email to the podcast and we'll see if we can help you find it. People often have access to more scholarly articles than they think they do.
• The example of a promising model of a vertical farm Shane referenced was Sky Greens.
• Shane mentioned "Food Sovereignty in the City: Challenging Historical Barriers to Food Justice" by Samantha Noll, a chapter in the book Food Justice in US and Global Contexts: Bringing Theory and Practice Together, which I edited with Zachary Piso.
• We discussed participatory budgeting as a "technology for democracy." Interestingly the person who introduced both of us to that movement is the philosopher Michael Menser.
• We also discussed time banking as a way to build community while also addressing immediate needs in people's lives, and Shane recommended the work of Mary Carmen Marcos as a good place to see someone doing academic scholarship as well as activism on the topic.
• Ian mentioned a documentary on Havana specifically and Cuba in general working to achieve food sovereignty. It's called The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, and is often available online if you google it.
• Here's Shane's "Healthy, go-to snack for late nights: Spectacular Peanut Butter and Banana Toast

  Ingredients: 1 ripe banana, 2 large slices of whole-wheat bread, 2 tablespoons plant-based butter, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1/2 tablespoon of honey

  Garnish (optional): 1 tablespoon of powered sugar, 1 orange slice

  Instructions: Toast the bread in a toaster or toasting device. Spread butter on the back of each slice, then place the buttered side down on the plate. Spread peanut butter over the top of each bread slice using a butter knife or similar device, covering its surface evenly. Take the peeled banana and place it in the palm of your hand or on a clean surface area such as a cutting board. Smash said banana with your other hand or on the clean surface until it is flattened. Use a rolling pin or another smashing device if necessary. Smashed banana should be about .5 inch (127 mm) thick. Place the smashed banana on top of the peanut butter, fanning out the pieces from the center to the crust. Take the honey and drizzle it in a back-and-forth motion until it is evenly distributed across the bread. Serve open-faced with a fork and knife.

  To garnish: place powdered sugar in a circular pile on the edge of the plate, slightly larger than the orange slice. Place the orange slice on top of the powdered sugar."

• The intro and outro music is "Whiskey Before Breakfast" which is both a great traditional song and the perfect aperitif to Shane's peanut butter toast in the morning. It was performed and shared by The Dan River Ramblers under a Creative Commons license.