As much as I’m a reality tv junkie I’m equally addicted to public television – it offers some of the most interesting stories. TVO’s tagline is Never Stop Learning and today it launched The Food Chain which will feature a series of food documentaries to examine what we eat, where it comes from and how it lands on our plate.
First up is a 10-part show called Girl Eat World, with food creator Kamini who won MasterChef South Africa Season 2 and I was asked to preview this series. Of course I was immediately drawn to the episode in Lima to see what her take was on the culture of food in that city.
While I didn’t like that the opening of the episode made Lima seem seedy, unsafe and drug ridden as I never felt in danger there, I loved that she meets with local foodies to learn about the city and did such a great job sharing the diversity of Peruvian food and the cultural influences.
I love Peruvian ceviche, but there is so much more to Peru than just ceviche.
The series also made me think about my own travels and how the stories that have affected me the most over the past few years.
How Globalization Affects Developing Countries
One of the earliest moments of travel that I was able to see how economics and globalization were expressed through food was when I wrote about how the North American ideal of Christmas has spread to Ecuador, and they’re buying outrageously expensive turkeys because that’s what is defined in modern media as the pinnacle of a proper Christmas holiday.
Why We Need to Support Small Businesses
It wasn’t too long ago that I visited the last small abattoir on Prince Edward Island, I was so happy vegetarians were the most supportive of me going to see a slaughter first hand. I felt it was such an important story to share how small places like this are disappearing, and mass abattoirs with frightening kill rooms are taking over.
The Stories Behind Tourist Villages
I’m most proud of this video. I created it after speaking to young fishermen in a small fishing village in Ecuador that is becoming an emerging tourist destination. Some wanted to buy a boat but a boat costs thousands, they only made a couple hundred each month and there was no hope for a bank loan. It made me grateful that I was born into such privilege.
I love providing useful information on where to eat and traditional food you must try but watching this series inspired me to keep sharing more stories of people behind the food. It’s also why I’m happy to share this TVO series as more stories like this need to be told.
Don’t have cable? That’s okay neither do we!
You can watch the documentaries online at The Food Chain site, as well they have a series of articles to spark discussion. If you’re a food politics geek like me you can join in on the discussion on everything from exporting water to if grocery stores should be able to decide when they open and close.
The world is getting smaller it’s not only important to know where our food comes from locally but what happens when it’s exported in, or when we travel on holiday. I’ve bookmarked the site because as much as I love the mental vacation of reality tv, this is far better for me.
Disclosure: This post is in partnership with TVO, all opinions remain my own and frankly I’m so thankful that they reached out to me. I’m a fan of the series and I love streaming interesting documentaries.
Yes! We need more programs like this.