Meat + Three

Coming clean. Opening up. Seeing right through. Today, we’re talking all things transparent in the food world. From restaurateurs shaking things up with radical financial disclosure, to an enchanting clear dessert, our stories today explore the many meanings of transparency. What can we learn when we’ve got nothing to hide?

Further Reading and Listening:

You can learn more about Irene Li’s latest venture, Prepshift, which aims to improve transparency around restaurant hiring, training, and regulatory compliance here! You can also find more information there about bringing open book management to restaurants. And there’s always Mei Mei Dumplings.

Listen to What Doesn’t Kill You episode 194: What Is Really In That Packaging? Mike Schade Reviews the State of Food Packaging and How It Affects Our Health and the Environment.

Find out how your favorite retailers rank on the toxic chemical Report Card on the Safer Chemicals Happy Families Website.

To learn more about raindrop cakes and their history here or here …or here or here!

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Have you ever walked down a street in New York City and been in awe of the diversity of flavors, tastes, and smells you have encountered? Have you then been compelled to explore the roots of the feasts and the people that cook them? This week on Meat and Three, we celebrate the lives and feats of the immigrants who have and continue to enrich the culinary landscape of the concrete jungle. We look at the legacy of immigrants from the Arabic-speaking world, eat some Filipino fast food with a side of nostalgia, and meet the makers behind Mexican food trucks in The Bronx. Plus, we take a hard look at the access issues that affect some of our city’s newest residents.

Further Reading:

You can learn more about Dr. Matthew J. Stiffler’s work on Arab and Muslim American studies here.

Read A Mexican State of Mind: New York City and the New Borderlands of Culture by Dr. Melissa Castillo-Planas.

See how Jollibee and Filipino-ness are intertwined through this brief history of the brand

Get involved with Mixteca here, and learn more about the New York Immigration Coaliton’s efforts to expand the Excluded Workers Fund here.

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Delve into the wider worlds of seed preservation, Indigenous seed rights, and farmer-managed seed systems. Whether you’re a professional farmer, avid gardener or your relationship with seeds simply involves snacking on them - we’ll introduce you to chefs, activists, and plant scientists who are changing the ways seeds are saved and shared. We’ll pay a visit to urban farms, seed banks, and kitchens to shed light on the cultural, environmental, culinary significance of these small but mighty pods, that carry with them millennia of history as well as hope for the future.

Further Reading:

Learn more about the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa and their work on resilient seed systems here.

Visit the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology’s website and the Seed and Knowledge Initiative’s page to read about their efforts to protect small farmers in southern Africa.

Learn more about chef Sean Sherman and the Sioux chef here, Dream of Wild Health here and the Seed Savers Exchange here. Support Owamni and donate to NATIFS here.

Check out the amazing variety of arid-adapted seeds at Native Seeds/SEARCH. Or adopt a crop!

Learn more about the work that Kirsten Kirby-Shoote does at I-Collective here.

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Frankfurter, wiener, glizzy, hot dog - whatever you call it - the food is a global staple and has become an American icon. It’s time to celebrate National Hot Dog Month on Meat and Three! While the tubed food is pervasive throughout the rest of the world, it is a multi-billion dollar industry in America. Whether hot dogs are kosher or vegan, hailing from Coney Island or Chicago, we’ll take a look at their history and how they are made and consumed today. Travel back all the way to the stone age, get an education from Hot Dog University, and even take a trip to a hot dog factory floor!

Further Reading:

Bruce Kraig is an emeritus professor of history at Roosevelt University in Chicago and the author of two books on hot dog history: Hot Dog: A Global History, and Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America.

Read Frederick Kaufman’s book, A Short History of the American Stomach and his wonderful articles: The Secret Ingredient about kosher food and Fat of the Land about hot dogs.

John Carruthers is a journalist, cook, and hot dog connoisseur. You can read his books Eat Street and ManBQue.

Grab a bite at Grilled on Suydam street in Bushwick, or grab a booth at Abe’s Pagoda for your next night out.

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What can a nascent fruit tree tell us about camaraderie? How can increasing investments alert us to the challenges of capitalism? Meat and Three explores what HRN’s shows are saying about growth. We’ll nurture curiosity in the garden, weigh the pros and cons of the fake meat industry, and consider the role of restaurants in gentrifying neighborhoods.

Further Reading and Listening:

Learn more about starting your garden journey on Feast Yr Ears episode 202: Garden Now!

Enjoy our episode about peaches on our podcast for kids: Time for Lunch episode 7: Peaches!

Dive deeper into ideas about combating gentrification through intentional hospitality on Tech Bites episode 250: Put the Giving Into Thanksgiving With the Neighborhood’s Table.

Find The Neighborhood’s Table Community Survey Results here.

Listen to the full episode of Tech Bites episode 248: The Age of Unprecedented Investment in Food Tech with Rachel Konrad to hear more on investment in food tech.

You can read more of Alicia Kennedy’s writing on her blog, “From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy.”

HRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we’re asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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Exclusivity and inclusion can greatly influence our relationships with food, and even create fanatic communities around certain food brands. But we’ve been wondering, what’s the line between what’s trendy and cult-y? We take a hard look at that question and how it plays out in our consumption today. Plus we discover some surprising connections between familiar food brands and fringe religious groups and far-fetched beliefs about health, wellness, and nutrition.

Further Reading and Listening:

Interested in learning more about the Rancho Gordo Bean Club? Check out their website.

Carlnita Greene, Tina Sikka and Leighann Chaffee all contributed chapters to Food Cults: How Fads, Dogma, and Doctrine Influence Diets (2016), a book edited by Dr. Kima Cargill, a professor of psychology at University of Washington whose research focuses on nutrition and overeating.

Learn more about the psychology of eating from Chaffee’s most recent book, co-authored with Stephanie p. da Silva and released in January 2022.

And, read more from Dr. Greene in her book on gluttony and gourmands, or in this volume that she edited on foodscapes.

Learn more about Benjamin Lorr’s work investigating the modern day supermarket in his book, The Secret Life of Groceries and in this article.

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For the past two years, the news has been stark and at times, downright terrifying. War, disease, supply shortages – but these matters do not exist in a vacuum. These global concerns have trickle-down effects on industries across the board, including the food world. From food recalls to fast food worker strikes to global shortages, we look to shows across our network to uncover the history, legislation, and key issues behind headline news and how it relates to what we eat.

Further Reading and Listening:

Learn more about the founding of the FDA on A Taste of the Past episode 346: Poison Squad: Founding of the FDA and about the FDA’s present short-comings on What Doesn’t Kill You: episode: 364: Explosive Report on How the FDA is Failing Our Food System.

You can read Deborah Blum’s book Poison Squad here or watch the film about it here.

Dig deeper into the history of, and current controversies surrounding OSHA on What Doesn’t Kill You Episode 316: Where is OSHA in meatpacking?

Listen to the full episode of What Doesn’t Kill You episode 347: Poultry Farmer Blows the Whistle on Perdue and find out more about Rudy Howell’s story and how you can support the Food Integrity Campaign at https://foodwhistleblower.org/

Find out more on Why the War in Ukraine Will Affect Food Supplies Globally on episode 363 of What Doesn’t Kill You

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We’ll introduce you to incredible organizations combatting hunger and homelessness in the LGBTQ+ community and take stock of queer culinary spaces that are safe, joyful, and liberating. Join us for an episode all about Pride as we dig into the rich intersection between food, drink, and the LGBTQ community.

Further Reading:

Learn more about the work that the Brave Space Alliance does here.

To learn more about the Los Angeles LGBT Center Culinary Program and find out how you might enroll in it, visit this website, visit the Liberation Coffee House and their Anita May Rosenstein campus or contact them here.

For more on Ginger’s check out their instagram page. For more information on the work being done by the Lesbian Bar Project to document and support lesbian bars across the country, click here.

HAGS will be opening on July 20th! Keep an eye on their website to get your reservation and follow their restaurant’s journey on Instagram.

Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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Laugh out loud as we explore the world of comedy through food. We discuss what makes food fights funny, jump on the imposter cakes bandwagon, and devour some truly absurd meals before sitting down at the dinner table for hilarious punchlines.

Further Reading and Listening:

Hear more jokes on Time For Lunch.

Dr. Robert King is a film historian and professor of media at Columbia University. To learn more about his work, go here.

The Netflix series, Is It Cake? will blow your mind. Here is also the kettle imposter cake that HRN’s intern Kiara Thomas was so shocked by. Giselle also mentions the #everythingiscake on TikTok, go down that rabbit hole - you won’t be disappointed.

Dennis Lee is a staff writer at the take out. Check out his writing here. And explore his blog “Food is Stupid” here.

To listen to the full episode featuring Katie Workman on My Family Recipe, go here.

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Celebrate and honor Juneteenth on this episode of Meat and Three! We’ll discuss the culture, food, and history of this important holiday that recognizes the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Learn about soul food with a creative twist, discover the food history behind the holiday, and be inspired by a chef giving back to his community.

Further Reading:

Pre-order Nicole’s new book, Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations. Listen to Nicole’s interview on our own HRN’s A Taste of the Past this June! Check out the June 2011 and 2013 Hot Grease episodes you heard.

Start your soul food journey with Adrian Miller by checking out his James Beard Award winning book Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time.

Learn more about Smoky Johns and Brent Reaves on the restaurant’s website and Instagram.

Follow Chef Chris Williams's work in Houston on Lucille’s and Lucille’s 1913’s websites.

Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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