Anne Portman on Food Sovereignty and Ecofeminism

Thought About Food Podcast

This episode we talk to my friend Anne Portman. Anne is working in an ecofeminist framework, and we discuss what that term means as well as what insights ecofeminism has about food sovereignty, our relationships with animals we might eat, and what it means to think of ourselves as things that can be eaten.

Show Notes

• Follow us on Twitter at @FoodThoughtPod, and you can drop us a line at ThoughtAboutFood on Gmail. Consider leaving us a review wherever you found us!
• Anne Portman was our guest today. Check out some of her informal writing on philosophy, parenthood, race, politics, and living in the urban American South on her blog.
• We primarily discussed Anne's paper "Food Sovereignty and Gender Justice" which you might be able to read here. If you don't have access to it, email the podcast and we might be able to help you. Many people have access to a lot of academic articles (through libraries etc.) they don't know they do.
• We also discussed the chapter she wrote for the book Food Justice in US and Global Contexts: Bringing Theory and Practice Together, which I edited with Zachary Piso.
• Here's the article by Val Plumwood on being almost eaten by a crocodile, and thinking of ourselves as prey.
• The intro and outro music is "Whiskey Before Breakfast" which is both a great traditional song and an example of prioritizing values in an emergency. It was performed and shared by The Dan River Ramblers under a Creative Commons license.
• Here's the cookie recipe Anne shared with us:
  "My family bakes and paints cookies every holiday season. Here is the recipe share by my Aunt Dee, who also has the most extensive cookie cutter collection.

  The Cookies:

  (From Cookie Craft by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer)

  3 cups all purpose flour

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1 cup unsalted butter, softened

  1 cup sugar

  1 large egg

  2 teaspoons vanilla (or 1 teaspoon vanilla + zest of 1 lemon)

  1. Whisk together flour and salt in medium bowl, set aside
  2. With mixer, cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla (and lemon zest) until well blended
  3. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing until thoroughly blended
  4. Turn dough out onto the work surface, divide into 2 or 3 equal portions, form each portion into a disk shape
  5. Magic step: roll out the dough between sheet of waxed paper. Do not chill first. Works best to use “cookie slats,” about ¼” thick slats of wood to keep the thickness even, but that is optional.
  6. Stack the rolled out sheets flat on a cookie sheet and chill in the refridgerator, 20-30 minutes
  7. To cut out the cookies, remove the top layer o waxed paper, cut out the cookies, transfer to cookie sheet using a flat spatula. (If too soft or sticky to move, chill again.
  8. Gather the scraps together, roll out between the waxed paper, chill, repeat
  9. Bake at 350 degree – watch carefully. They’re done with the edges are light golden. These cookies do not spread.
  10. Remove immediately from cookie sheet, cool on a cookie rack

  The Icing:

  1 lb bag confectioner’s sugar

  6 tablespoons water

  2 tablespoons lemon juice

  Beat with a mixer, a lot, until desired consistency

  For piping, put a small amount of icing into snack-size plastic bags. Add a small amount of food color and squeeze (carefully) to mix. To pipe, cut a very small hole in the corner of the bag.

  For spreading icing, put in small cups or bowls, mix in color. Use knifes or toothpicks to decorate.

  Use the icing before it gets too hard.

  Be creative, have fun, and eat your mistakes!"