Digesting Food Studies

Carceral Food Systems

This episode considers carceral food systems and the roles food plays in expressing identity and liberty, as well as oppression and power. Alexia Moyer’s Amuse Bouche segment starts it off with a historical record of how WWII prisoners of war in Singapore dealt with hunger, privation, and the distribution of food labour. After that, Amanda Wilson discusses themes from the May 2025 themed section of Canadian Food Studies that she co-edited, “Exploring Carceral Food Systems [https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/issue/view/39]” (Vol. 12, No. 1). And, closing things out, chef-activist-PhD student Joshna Maharaj responds to Kelsey Timler’s article, “Protest pizzas: Resisting carcerality with storytelling, community building, and an array of toppings [https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v12i1.696]”. Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge [https://www.redline-lignerouge.ca/], based in Montreal. Amanda Wilson is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Innovation at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. Her research looks at food movements, alternative food networks, and carceral food systems, as well as “the politics of possibility.” Joshna Maharaj is a chef, writer, and activist, and a current PhD student at Technological University Dublin. She is the author of the book, Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions. Mentioned in this episode: - The Taste of Longing [https://btlbooks.com/book/taste-of-longing] by Suzanne Evans - Take Back the Tray [-%09https:/ecwpress.com/products/take-back-the-tray] by Joshna Maharaj Credits: Host/Producer: David Szanto [https://www.iceboxstudio.com/IS/] Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer Music: Alex Guz [https://pixabay.com/users/alexguz-37772443/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=333356] and Evgeny Bardyuzha [https://pixabay.com/users/evgeny_bardyuzha-25235210/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=364091] on Pixabay Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix, BenKirb, and freesound_community on Pixabay Image: Paterson Hodgson #DigestingFoodStudies Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.

Kids' Lit and Food Insecurity

In this episode, we look at the ways in which literature for kids addresses food insecurity, hunger, and poverty, including the lasting impact of such representations. Alexia Moyer’s Amuse Bouche segment considers a passage from a classic Canadian novel in which shame and poverty, unfortunately, go together on the dinner plate. In a more positive vein, Dian Day talks about her new kids’ book about food insecurity, as well as her qualitative analysis published in Volume 11, Number 1 of Canadian Food Studies, “Food insecurity in books for children [https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v11i1.654]” (March 2024). Wrapping things up, Ruby Harrington considers Dian’s article within a broad perspective on familial and infant food insecurity. Guests: Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge [https://www.redline-lignerouge.ca/], based in Montreal. Dian Day is a writer and poet who recently completed her PhD in Cultural Studies at Queens University. With illustrator Amanda White, she is the author of the kids’ book, Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge [https://secondstorypress.ca/products/shy-cat-and-the-stuff-the-bus-challenge]. Ruby Harrington works for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and was previously a master student with the Fed Family Lab at Acadia University. Mentioned in this episode: - The Tin Flute [https://archive.org/details/tinflute0000royg/page/n1/mode/2up] / Bonneur d’occasion [https://www.editionsboreal.qc.ca/catalogue/livres/bonheur-occasion-3235.html] by Gabrielle Roy - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives [https://www.policyalternatives.ca/] - Fed Family Lab [https://fedfamilylab.acadiau.ca/home.html] Credits: Host/Producer: David Szanto [https://www.iceboxstudio.com/IS/] Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay Additional music: VoiceBosch [https://pixabay.com/users/voicebosch-30143949/] on Pixabay Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix and BenKirb on Pixabay Image: Amanda White/Second Story Press #DigestingFoodStudies Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.

Reading Menus as History

This episode considers the menu as documentation of cultural history and as representation of restaurant offerings. From our guests’ points of view, menus tell official stories of options and choice making, while also keeping certain things off the record. Alexia Moyer starts things off with a menu planning cookbook from 1967, followed up by a conversation with Koby Song-Nichols about his article, “Can historians order off the menu? [https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v11i2.682]”, from Vol. 11, No. 2 of Canadian Food Studies, published in August 2024. Finally, Anson Hunt shares his thoughts on how menus play their role in the ‘conversations’ that take place in and around restaurants. Guests: Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge [https://www.redline-lignerouge.ca/], based in Montreal. Koby Song-Nichols is a historian and food studies scholar based in Toronto whose research follows the ways Chinese Canadians and Chinese Americans have used food within intercultural and intergenerational relationships and communities. Anson Hunt is a PhD student at Carleton University whose research revolves around alternative food systems and the potential roles of chefs and restaurants in the production and reception of food information. Mentioned in this episode: * Northern Cookbook [https://heartofgoldbooks.ca/products/northern-cookbook] edited by Eleanor A. Ellis * For a selected list of menu collections, see the appendix in Koby Song-Nichols’ article, “Can Historians Order off the Menu? [https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v11i2.682]” Credits: Host/Producer: David Szanto [https://www.iceboxstudio.com/IS/] Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay Additional music: Noru [https://pixabay.com/users/harumachimusic-13470593/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=144414] on Pixabay Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix and BenKirb on Pixabay Image: Merethe Liljedahl [https://pixabay.com/users/merre57-16925639/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5507525] on Pixabay #DigestingFoodStudies Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.

Social Economy of Food

This episode explores how the economies of food systems might be re-thought and reoriented towards creating integrated value exchanges beyond just the financial kind. Sharing, gifting, and informal economies have been around forever, and they might be seeing a new resurgence that offers promise for the long-term. Alexia Moyer starts things off with gifts from Sandro Botticelli and Catherine Parr Traill, followed up by a conversation with Irena Knezevic, one of the guest editors of the themed issue of Canadian Food Studies, “The social and informal economy of food [https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v6i3]” (Vol. 6, No. 3), published in November 2019. Finally, Christophe Dubois shares his thoughts on social gastronomy and Mary Anne Martin’s use of feminist theory to explore urban agriculture. Guests: Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge [https://www.redline-lignerouge.ca/], based in Montreal. Irena Knezevic is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University. She studies communication, culture, and health, including such themes as food labelling, health communications and advertising, and health equity. Christophe Dubois is a recent graduate of the master’s program in social work at l’Université du Québec à Montréal. A former restaurant cook, he currently devotes his time to the practice of social gastronomy, helping young people develop skills and work experience in food. Mentioned in this episode: - La Gastronomie sociale [https://telequebec.tv/contenu/la-gastronomie-sociale], documentary series - “Venus and the Three Graces Presenting Gifts to a Young Woman [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_and_the_Three_Graces_Presenting_Gifts_to_a_Young_Woman]” by Sandro Boticelli - The Female Emigrant’s Guide [https://www.mqup.ca/Books/C/Catharine-Parr-Traill-s-The-Female-Emigrant-s-Guide] by Catherine Parr Traill Credits: Host/Producer: David Szanto [https://www.iceboxstudio.com/IS/] Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix and BenKirb and freesound_community on Pixabay Photo: anonymous #DigestingFoodStudies Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.

On the Nanaimo Bar Trail

Certain foods are named for the places they come from, but many foods acquire place-based names for quite different reasons. This episode peels back the layers of that oh-so-Canadian treat, the Nanaimo Bar. Lenore Newman fills us in on his history and heritage, while also commenting on the quasi-luxury that the dessert represented in past, and maybe still does. Sandwiching this exploration, Alexia Moyer tells us about the iconic French pastry, the Paris-Brest, and Julia Mitchell responds to Lenore’s article, “Notes from the Nanaimo Bar Trail [https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v1i1.11].” Guests: Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge [https://www.redline-lignerouge.ca/], based in Montreal. Lenore Newman is a professor in the department of Planning, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley, as well as Director of its Food and Agriculture Institute. Julia Mitchell is a master student in arts and communication at Carleton University, exploring the use of French terminology on English-language menus. Mentioned in this episode: - Speaking in Cod Tongues [https://uofrpress.ca/Books/S/Speaking-in-Cod-Tongues] by Lenore Newman - La Poutine [https://pum.umontreal.ca/catalogue/la_poutine] by Geneviève Sicotte - Paris-Brest [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Brest] (pastry) - “But is it Authentic? [https://archives.gac.edu/digital/collection/ir/id/1257/]” by Lisa Heldke Credits: Host/Producer: David Szanto [https://www.iceboxstudio.com/IS/] Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix and BenKirb and freesound_community on Pixabay Photo: Joy [https://flickr.com/people/33993074@N00] (CC-BY 2.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en], no changes made) #DigestingFoodStudies Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.