Eating to Extinction: A Conversation with Food Journalist Dan Saladino

Behind everything we eat there are people, places, and stories. When we lose diversity in our food, we threaten, also, the culture and history of the land and people who produce it. As the world becomes increasingly homogenous, preserving these things—keeping hold of diversity—matters. The presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme explores the foods around the world that are threatened with extinction, examining what this means for humanity and the future of the planet. The Hay Festival Winter Weekend hosts Dan Saladino, author of Eating to Extinction, for a conversation with Kate Humble, farmer, writer, activist, entrepreneur and one of the UK’s best-known TV presenters.

Dan Saladino is a renowned food journalist who has worked at the BBC for 25 years. For more than a decade he has traveled the world recording stories of foods at risk of extinction—from cheeses made in the foothills of a remote Balkan mountain range to unique varieties of rice grown in southern China. His work has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, the Guild of Food Writers, and the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards.