What is a sustainable food system? How do social determinants of health such as education, housing, and employment impact food insecurity? Could cooking and eating the traditional food of our ancestors move us toward better health? Washington Post Food and Dining Editor Joe Yonan sat down with Chef Bryant Terry to discuss these questions during Aspen Ideas: Health 2021. Terry and Yonan also discussed how these issues are addressed in Terry’s forthcoming book, Black Food, which is largely inspired by the programming he coordinates in his role as Chef-in-Residence at San Francisco’s Museum of the Africa Diaspora.
About the Speakers:
Bryant Terry is a chef, educator, author, and activist for a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. He is editor in chief of 4 Color Books, co-principal and innovation director of his family’s creative studio Zenmi, and chef in residence at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora. Terry authored five books, including Vegetable Kingdom, Afro-Vegan, Vegan-Soul Kitchen, and the forthcoming Black Food. He speaks at conferences, community events, and colleges and founded an initiative in New York City to empower youth to work toward a more sustainable food system. Terry’s honors include the 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award and being named one of Fast Company’s 9 People Who Are Changing the Future of Food.
Joe Yonan is the food and dining editor of The Washington Post, where he writes the Weeknight Vegetarian column and supervises all food coverage in the features department. He previously wrote the Cooking for One Column. Yonan is the author of Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, edited America the Great Cookbook, and has written two other cookbooks: Eat Your Vegetables and Serve Yourself. Prior to joining the Post, he was a food writer and travel section editor at the Boston Globe. He has twice earned the James Beard Foundation’s award for Best Newspaper Food Section, in 2009 and 2010.
