What would it look like to step outside of the ingredients we’re used to baking with, and to hone in on some officially-labeled underutilized crops? This episode dives into just that with writer and entrepreneur Shreema Mehta (@climatecookery). She has a Masters in Public Policy and Conservation Biology, a background in journalism and PR, and launched a tamarind hot sauce company in 2020 after reading a report on underutilized crops from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Listen in for what it means for something to be labeled an underutilized crop, the realities of starting a small food business, linking environmental science to pop culture and food history, crop databases, universal basic income, foraging in New York City, and so much more.
Links:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO - Underutilized Crops Report
NUS Community - Neglected Underutilized Species List
Shreema’s Newsletter - Climate Cookery
Stanford Basic Income Lab - Universal Basic Income explainer
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act - outcome
Grist - Foraging New York City’s wild, edible margins with Journei Bimwala
Foraging classes with Journei Bimwala
Falling Fruit - crowdsourced foraging map
The Collaborative Urban Resilience Banquet
Instagram: @regenerativebaking and @dresslerparsons