The Secret Ingredient

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September 30, 2017

Tomatoes: Coalition of Immokalee Workers (Ep. 29)

By: Rebecca McInroy

“The work we do is too important to the nation. We are the people who make it possible for every meal to exist. We feed the nation and we ask, have always asked, for the possibility to feed our own families in a dignified way without having to be in a vulnerable position all the time…Right now our community is in need and that is going to be the case for a while…but then the most important thing is not how to go back to normal necessarily, because normal for us it’s poor, it’s vulnerable, it’s all the things that make it really scary when hurricanes hit our area.” –Gerardo Reyes Chavez, Coalition of Immokalee Workers

When hurricane Irma hit the Florida coast in September of 2017, one place under siege was Immokalee, FL; the center of the region’s agriculture industry and home to many immigrant and migrant families, where almost 90% of the nation’s tomatoes are harvested during the winter months.

In this edition of The Secret IngredientRaj Patel and Tom Philpott talk with Gerardo Reyes Chavez and Julia Perkins from The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, about not only about what is needed now in the aftermath of this devastating hurricane, but also about why this population is so vulnerable, underserved, and exploited, and what they have done to transform the food industry through the Fair Food Program.

 

 

 

 


Episodes

September 27, 2019

TSI Live: The Green New Deal

The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel, author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott to talk about what the Green New Deal is, what it could mean for the future of agriculture, and what it will take to revive […]

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September 25, 2019

Trailer: Season 3–The Green New Deal

Season 3 of The Secret Ingredient will focus on The Green New Deal (GND). Listen this season as Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy discuss the future of agriculture, climate change, economic inequality and what it will take to create The Green New Deal in an effort to save the planet!

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April 26, 2019

Economic Man

The Secret Ingredient is “Economic Man.” Swedish economist Katrine Marçal, author of “Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?” guides the conversation on the role of gender in economics and food politics along with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy.

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March 4, 2019

Prison Labor on Farms

The Secret Ingredient is “Prison Labor on Farms.” You might not expect where prison-produced food may show up! Listen back as agriculture farmer and former inmate Jahi Ellis guides the conversation on food production in prison along with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy.

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November 2, 2018

Solidarity (Ep. 35)

The Secret Ingredient is “Solidarity.” Listen back as Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebeca McInroy talk with organizers Hodaliz Borrayes, Diana Sierra, and Andrea Schmid from The Pioneer Vally Workers Center, about their profound backgrounds and how they come together to educate, inform, and support immigrant workers.

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August 1, 2018

Communes (Ep. 34)

Dr. Joshua Eisenman author of Red China’s Green Revolution: Technological Innovation, Institutional Change, and Economic Development Under the Commune is our guest on this edition of The Secret Ingredient with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy. Join us as we explore the hidden history of communes in China.  

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July 20, 2018

Mushrooms (Ep. 33)

“We just assume our everyday normal consciousness is the one and the most accurate…there are unseen worlds, there are unseen forces, and you can look them in a religious sense, but you don’t have to.” –Michael Pollan On the latest Secret Ingredient Podcast Raj Patel and Tom Philpott talk with Michael Pollan about his new […]

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July 11, 2018

Eliminating Tipping in Austin?

Hosts Rebecca McInroy and Tom Philpott of The Secret Ingredient Podcast talk with restaurateurs Adam Orman from L’Oca d’Oro, Jodi Mozeika from Black Star, and Jam from Thai Fresh about why they’ve eliminated tipping at their restaurants, how they make it work for their businesses, and why it’s an important move in terms of social […]

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