Deconstructing Dinner
Encyclopedia
Deconstructing Dinner is a syndicated public affairs show
which discusses food
and sustainable food systems. The show is produced and recorded in the studios of CJLY-FM
Kootenay Co-op Radio in Nelson
, British Columbia
. As of Oct. 2009 the program is aired on 37 campus radio
stations and community radio
stations across Canada
, as well as on a handful of international broadcasters
. Deconstructing Dinner is also podcast
ed internationally, and is available on the program's website.
Deconstructing Dinner explores the impacts our food choices have on ourselves, our communities and our planet and how understanding the importance of these choices can create a sense of personal and community self-determination
. The program is produced and hosted by Jon Steinman.
Steinman posits on the show's website that the relative convenience with which most of us can now access food "leaves very little time to reflect on the history behind the food we purchase and the impact these purchases have on ourselves, communities, and the well-being of this planet."
Deconstructing Dinner has featured a number of high-profile guests and voices since its launch in January 2006, including Percy Schmeiser
, Michael Ableman, Frances Moore Lappe
, Palagummi Sainath, Fred Eaglesmith
, Eric Schlosser
, Maude Barlow
, Michael Pollan
, Wendell Berry
, Carl Honore
, Shiv Chopra
, John Robbins
, Vandana Shiva
, Canadian Members of Parliament Alex Atamanenko
, Rob Merrifield
, Wayne Easter
and more, and the authors of the book The 100-Mile Diet, Alisa Smith, and James (J.B.) MacKinnon.
Deconstructing Dinner has been nominated for the 2011 'Jack Webster Award for Community Reporting' for the episode "Local Food Fraud? An Investigation".
) project for grain. The coverage of the project on Deconstructing Dinner has sent ripples throughout North America and has inspired like-minded projects and extensive media coverage as documented on the series page.
On May 7, 2008, Darrick Hahn and Sinsa Grgic began a project to raise awareness about the show, and the food issues it presents. Hahn was "inspired by Steinman and his passion for the issues of the land." The two will start a cross-Canada journey on recumbent bicycle
s on July 20, 2008 with a toe-dip in the Atlantic Ocean, handing out pamphlets & information about food issues on their route.
Public affairs (broadcasting)
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time...
which discusses food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
and sustainable food systems. The show is produced and recorded in the studios of CJLY-FM
CJLY-FM
CJLY-FM, known on-air as Kootenay Co-op Radio, is a Canadian community radio station, which broadcasts at 93.5 FM in Nelson, British Columbia...
Kootenay Co-op Radio in Nelson
Nelson, British Columbia
Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. As of Oct. 2009 the program is aired on 37 campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
stations and community radio
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
stations across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, as well as on a handful of international broadcasters
International broadcasting
International broadcasting is broadcasting that is deliberately aimed at a foreign, rather than a domestic, audience. It usually is broadcast by means of longwave, mediumwave, or shortwave radio, but in recent years has also used direct satellite broadcasting and the Internet as means of reaching...
. Deconstructing Dinner is also podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
ed internationally, and is available on the program's website.
Deconstructing Dinner explores the impacts our food choices have on ourselves, our communities and our planet and how understanding the importance of these choices can create a sense of personal and community self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
. The program is produced and hosted by Jon Steinman.
Steinman posits on the show's website that the relative convenience with which most of us can now access food "leaves very little time to reflect on the history behind the food we purchase and the impact these purchases have on ourselves, communities, and the well-being of this planet."
Deconstructing Dinner has featured a number of high-profile guests and voices since its launch in January 2006, including Percy Schmeiser
Percy Schmeiser
Percy Schmeiser is a farmer from Bruno, Saskatchewan, Canada. He specializes in breeding and growing canola. He became an international symbol and spokesperson for independent farmers' rights and the regulation of transgenic crops during his protracted legal battle with agrichemical company...
, Michael Ableman, Frances Moore Lappe
Frances Moore Lappé
Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 18 books including the three-million copy Diet for a Small Planet. She is the co-founder of three national organizations that explore the roots of hunger, poverty and environmental crises, as well as solutions now emerging worldwide through what she calls...
, Palagummi Sainath, Fred Eaglesmith
Fred Eaglesmith
Frederick John Elgersma , known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter, one of nine children raised by a farming family in rural Southern Ontario. As a teenager Eaglesmith hopped a freight train out to Western Canada, and began writing songs and...
, Eric Schlosser
Eric Schlosser
Eric Schlosser is an American journalist and author known for investigative journalism, such as in his books Fast Food Nation, Reefer Madness and Chew On This.- Personal History :...
, Maude Barlow
Maude Barlow
Maude Victoria Barlow is a Canadian author and activist. She is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, a citizens’ advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada. She is also the co-founder of the , which works internationally for the human right to water...
, Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. A 2006 New York Times book review describes him as a "liberal foodie intellectual."...
, Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry is an American man of letters, academic, cultural and economic critic, and farmer. He is a prolific author of novels, short stories, poems, and essays...
, Carl Honore
Carl Honoré
Carl Honoré is a Canadian journalist who wrote the internationally best-selling book In Praise of Slowness: How A Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed about the Slow Movement....
, Shiv Chopra
Shiv Chopra
Shiv Chopra is a Canadian microbiologist and human rights activist, who was involved in one of the first major whistleblowing incidents in the Canadian public service...
, John Robbins
John Robbins
John Robbins is an American author, who popularized the links among nutrition, environmentalism, and animal rights. He is the author of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize-nominated Diet for a New America, an exposé on connections between diet, physical health, animal cruelty, and environmentalism.Robbins is...
, Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva , is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D...
, Canadian Members of Parliament Alex Atamanenko
Alex Atamanenko
Alex T. Atamanenko MP is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons in 2006, winning the riding of British Columbia Southern Interior for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 federal election...
, Rob Merrifield
Rob Merrifield
Robert "Rob" Merrifield, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Yellowhead, and was the Minister of State for Transport from October 2008 to May 2011....
, Wayne Easter
Wayne Easter
Arnold Wayne Easter, PC, MP is a Canadian politician.-Before politics:Born in North Wiltshire, Prince Edward Island the son of A. Leith Easter and Hope MacLeod, he was educated at the Charlottetown Rural High School and the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. In 1970, he married Helen Arleighn...
and more, and the authors of the book The 100-Mile Diet, Alisa Smith, and James (J.B.) MacKinnon.
Deconstructing Dinner has been nominated for the 2011 'Jack Webster Award for Community Reporting' for the episode "Local Food Fraud? An Investigation".
Related projects
In March 2008, Deconstructing Dinner launched The Local Grain Revolution series that has been documenting the evolution of Canada's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSACSA
-Agriculture, Farming, and Food:* Community Supported Agriculture* Community Shared Agriculture-Politics, Administration and Military:* Confederate States of America* Canadian Securities Administrators* Canadian Space Agency* Canadian Standards Association...
) project for grain. The coverage of the project on Deconstructing Dinner has sent ripples throughout North America and has inspired like-minded projects and extensive media coverage as documented on the series page.
On May 7, 2008, Darrick Hahn and Sinsa Grgic began a project to raise awareness about the show, and the food issues it presents. Hahn was "inspired by Steinman and his passion for the issues of the land." The two will start a cross-Canada journey on recumbent bicycle
Recumbent bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons; the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks...
s on July 20, 2008 with a toe-dip in the Atlantic Ocean, handing out pamphlets & information about food issues on their route.
See also
- Environmental effects of meat productionEnvironmental effects of meat productionThe environmental impact of meat production includes pollution and the use of resources such as fossil fuels, water, and land. According to a 2006 report by the Livestock, Environment And Development Initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation...
- The Omnivore's DilemmaThe Omnivore's DilemmaThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a nonfiction book by Michael Pollan published in 2006. In the book, Pollan asks the seemingly straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. As omnivores – the most unselective eaters – we humans are faced with a...
(book) - Land InstituteLand InstituteThe Land Institute is a non-profit research, education, and policy organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture based in Salina, Kansas, United States....