93: How Do Canadians Plan for Better Food Systems? with Dr. Tammara Soma

Here at AnthroDish, a lot of the focus in my conversations with people is around the eating behaviours of communities, or what food preparations say about individuals… but we don’t often get to think about what their food waste behaviours say about them. So what influences how people waste foods? Why do we have so many memes about that half empty and wilted bin of wilted spinach at the back of our fridges?

My guest this week, Dr. Tammara Soma, looks at food waste patterns and behaviours in Indonesia and in Canada. She is the director and co-founder of the Food Systems Lab, and is Assistant Professor at the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University where she conducts research on issues pertaining to food system planning, community-based research, waste management and the circular economy. Her dissertation investigated the factors that influence urban household food consumption and food wasting practices in Indonesia, and the ways in which food systems consideration can improve urban planning decision-making.

Today, we’ll be exploring what influences people’s food waste, and how food systems planning methods can be used to better contribute to our food planning and security in Canada.

Learn More from Dr. Soma!