Food for thought talks

A talk series about what we eat

Saturday 27 Jan (SOLD OUT), Saturday 2 March, Saturday 6 April, Saturday 27 April

2-4pm, with each one hour talk commencing at 2.30pm sharp

The Food Museum and EA Sustain present a special series of talks in conjunction with the ‘Meat the Future’ exhibition, discussing the sustainability of our food industry. Hear from acclaimed writers and innovators sharing their knowledge and expertise on food, farming and sustainability. The events will be moderated by Joanne Ooi, founder and director of EA Sustain Festival.

Tickets:

Standard £18, multibuy (including all 4 talks) £60, 10% discount for Food Museum members and under 25s

All the food talk making you hungry? Make sure to pay a visit to our in-house café Feast to enjoy a delicious locally-sourced lunch.

 

Talks

 

Food vs Farming: Do we have to choose? with John Pawsey and Jake Fiennes 

Saturday 27 January

In 1991, leading regenerative farmer John Pawsey converted Shimpling Park Farm, Suffolk, to organic production amid concerns about soil health and wildlife decline. Since then, John has managed to reverse wildlife decline, improve soil health and make his farm profitable.

Jake Fiennes is the Conservation Manager at Holkham Estate, Norfolk and author of Land Healer. His habitat restoration and agricultural work at Holkham have enabled wildlife to flourish – bringing back wetlands, hedgerows, birds and butterflies over 25,000 acres of land – without sacrificing crop yields.

The two of them will recount the experiments and strategies which allowed them to find the right balance between habitat restoration and agricultural productivity.

SOLD OUT.

 

Avocado Anxiety with Louise Gray

Saturday 2 March

Award-winning author Louise Gray (The Ethical Carnivore) joins us to discuss her newest book Avocado Anxiety (Times Environment Book of the Year 2023). In an effort to make sense of the complex food system, Louise tracked the stories of our most popular fruit and vegetables from farm to fruit bowl, in order to assess their impact on the planet.

As her book reveals, there are no clear-cut answers. But that doesn’t mean we should throw our hands up in despair. Rather, we need to learn what questions to pose, so we can engage in more nuanced and thoughtful cost-benefit calculations at the grocery store.

 

The Meat Paradox with Rob Percival

Saturday 6 April

Writer, campaigner and food policy expert Rob Percival joins us to discuss his critically acclaimed book, The Meat Paradox. The book seeks to answer the question, how can humans simultaneously love animals and love to eat them? In this talk, Rob will explain the evolutionary and cultural origins of the meat paradox, in order to determine how and when our relationship with meat became emotionally and ethically complicated.

Rob’s commentary on food and farming has featured in the national press and on prime time television, and his writing has been shortlisted for the Guardian’s International Development Journalism Prize and the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Food Sustainability Media Award. Rob also works for the Soil Association, an organisation championing organic food and regenerative farming. As the organisation’s Head of Food Policy, he leads campaigns in support of dietary change and food system transformation.

 

Edible Insects: Overcoming the Yuck Factor with Nick Rousseau and Perez Ochieng

Saturday 27 April

With the need to cut down on protein sources like meat and fish due to climate change and biodiversity loss, insect proteins are gaining greater acceptance as an alternative source of human food. What is the history of humans eating insects? How is this category of foodstuffs regulated in the UK? What are the insects that are suitable for human consumption and how are these prepared? How nutritious are insects? How carbon-intensive is insect farming and how does its carbon footprint stack up against conventional forms of protein?

These are just some of the questions that will be answered by Nick Rousseau, founder of the UK Edible Insect Association and top insect food distributor Perez Ochieng, during this fascinating talk.

 

About EA Sustain

EA Sustain is a festival about environment, culture and entrepreneurship that takes place at Firstsite, the contemporary art museum in Colchester, every year. The event presents top activists, artists and authors who are stimulating change in policy and society at large. The event’s strapline is, “Flourishing localism is key to decarbonisation,” explaining why, in addition to environmentalists, the festival features entrepreneurs who have built successful and influential businesses in East Anglia.

EA Sustain will be taking place on 13-14 January 2024.

Find out more at easustain.com.

 

Terms and conditions: Tickets are non-refundable. Discounts are only available on full price tickets.

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