Real Food Reads

Alicia Kennedy's No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating, delves into the subcultures and politics that have defined vegan and vegetarian cuisine in the United States—from tempeh production to vegan punk cafes. In this episode, Alicia talks to Anna Lappé about the feminist origins of her own veganism, how she eats in Puerto Rico, and how the cultural signifiers of meat and plant-based eating have shifted over time. SHOW NOTES: 3:18 | Alicia’s love of okra ​​4:28 | What Alicia hopes people will take away from her book about veganism and vegetarian politics 6:00 | Meat eating in the US culture wars 7:06 | The abundance of meat tied to United States as US as an “exceptional nation”; political tolerance for injustices like child labor in the meat industry; meat eating linked to ideas like masculine virility 8:40 | Link between vegetarianism and the feminist movement 10:10 | Lagusta’s Luscious’ vegan “Furious Vulva” chocolate 11:55 | Alicia on corporate fake meat alter