A Collective Fostering Conversations On The Future Of Food In India

If it wasn’t for the apple, Newton would not have had his Eureka moment and discovered the law of gravity. Food can start conversations and change the way we experience the world around us. For centuries now, there have been discussions on what we eat, how we eat and who eats what on the basis of where they are from, both quite literally and on the basis of social standing. There have also been numerous controversies centred on food, whether they are as silly as whether pineapple has a place on the pizza or one more political like the consumption of beef.

People have centred revolutions on their plates and there have been endless moments where entire communities have come together because of food. There has also been both joy and sorrow because of food or the lack thereof. Food is everywhere and it is political. In the modern world though, more often than not while we do discuss what we eat, we don’t really know where our food comes from and what are the challenges that confront the future of food.

Enter the ‘Edible Issues’ collective. Founded by Anusha Murthy and Elizabeth Yorke, it focuses on and fosters conversations surrounding the future of food. Murthy and Yorke first met back in 2018 at the Food Innovation Program, organised by the Future Food Institute, Italy. United there by their common interest in food innovation, they started to wonder how the program fits into the Indian context. Could the discourse around food innovation be removed from a Eurocentric gaze?

Thus began their newsletter ‘Edible Issues’ that curated news around food, agriculture, policies and food-tech as well as recipes. From there, it has evolved into a collective that is fostering thought and conversation on Indian food systems. Their work was also recently recognised when they earned a spot in the ‘50 Next: Class of 2022’ list, the selection for which is based on research conducted by the 50 Next Group and the Basque Culinary Center to celebrate young innovators in the field of gastronomy. Murthy and Yorke were also part of the ‘Empowering Educators’ category.

You can check them out here.

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