This episode considers carceral food systems and the roles food plays in expressing identity and liberty, as well as oppression and power. Alexia Moyer’s Amuse Bouche segment starts it off with a historical record of how WWII prisoners of war in Singapore dealt with hunger, privation, and the distribution of food labour. After that, Amanda Wilson discusses themes from the May 2025 themed section of Canadian Food Studies that she co-edited, “Exploring Carceral Food Systems” (Vol. 12, No. 1). And, closing things out, chef-activist-PhD student Joshna Maharaj responds to Kelsey Timler’s article, “Protest pizzas: Resisting carcerality with storytelling, community building, and an array of toppings”.

Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge, based in Montreal.

Amanda Wilson is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Innovation at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. Her research looks at food movements, alternative food networks, and carceral food systems, as well as “the politics of possibility.”

Joshna Maharaj is a chef, writer, and activist, and a current PhD student at Technological University Dublin. She is the author of the book, Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions.

Mentioned in this episode:

- The Taste of Longing by Suzanne Evans

- Take Back the Tray by Joshna Maharaj

Credits:

Host/Producer: David Szanto

Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt

Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer

Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay

Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix, BenKirb, and freesound_community on Pixabay

Image: Paterson Hodgson

#DigestingFoodStudies

Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.