Repast The Resnick Center

Our guest at Repast this month is Austin Frerick, author, and expert on agricultural and antitrust policy, talking with us about his new book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry (March 2024). In Barons, Frerick depicts the structure of the American food system by telling the story of seven food industry tycoons, delving into the monopolization of the food system and the resulting corruption. Here, Austin, Michael, and Diana discuss the problems wit...

This month, Repast welcomes Sarah Lohman, culinary historian, author, and speaker, about her new book, Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods. In this book, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, a Food & Wine Best Book of 2023, and an Eater Best Food Book, Fall 2023, Lohman explores the history and present of certain ingredients from the Ark of Taste, a list put together by Slow Food of important regional foods. She is also the author of Eight Flavors: The Untold...

In this episode of Repast, Michael and Diana were delighted to talk with Xaq Frohlich, Professor of History at Auburn University and author of From Label to Table: Regulating Food in the Information Age, recently published by the University of California Press. From Label to Table is a fascinating dive into the historical development of the food label from a multi-faceted perspective. Michael, Diana, and Xaq discuss the historical development of the label, the use of information in regulation...

In this episode of Repast, Michael and Diana welcome Dr. Caree Cotwright, the Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity for the Food and Nutrition Service, USDA. In her role at USDA, Dr. Cotwright leads a whole-of-department approach at USDA to advance food and nutrition security, which is one of USDA Secretary Vilsacks five core priorities. Dr. Cotwright is on leave from her position as an associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the College of Fami...

Today on Repast, Michael and Diana talk with Wudan Yan, an award-winning narrative journalist covering science and society, about an article she published in July of this year about lead-tainted turmeric. In this article, Wudan looked at the Bangladesh supply chain for turmeric to discuss turmeric adulteration, the battle against this adulteration, and confronting food fraud more broadly. Michael, Diana, and Wudan discuss the article, Wudan’s process, and the complex problem of fo...

This month, Repast welcomes Adrian Miller. Known as the Soul Food Scholar, Adrian Miller is a culinary historian, James Beard award-winning food writer, former White House staffer, and a certified BBQ judge. He is also a recovering lawyer. Adrian, Diana, and Amber Ward, a 2L at Columbia Law School and the Resnick Center’s summer research assistant, discuss the history of Black cuisine, how the legacy of slavery and segregation has influenced the development of Black cuisine ...