FSR May 2022

ANDREW ZIMMERN

“YOU CAN’T TALK ABOUT FOOD AND NOT TALK ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS OR IMMIGRATION OR HEALTHCARE OR CRIMINAL JUSTICE— IT JUST DOESN’T WORK. IT AFFECTS EVERYTHING.”

MSNBC

about civics and political issues through a different lens. If you see a story about immigration in a two-minute package on the nightly news where somebody behind a desk talks to a reporter at the border, that’s one way of telling that story,” he says. “What if we were to do an hour-long docuseries where one of those hours—and in fact, we devoted two to immigration—could highlight the issues of immigration through food, something that everybody touches everyday? Could we be more successful?” In addition to immigration, the show unpacked addiction, climate change, vot ing rights, and healthcare in its five-epi sode run on MSNBC. “What’s Eating America” had the mis fortune of premiering one month before the pandemic began. The show’s Sun day night slot was quickly filled with COVID-related stories. In the wake of a tumultuous two years, plus a leader ship change at the network, Zimmern’s series remains in limbo. “‘What’s Eating America’ is perhaps the work I’ve done that I’m proudest of,” he says. “I think personally that people

don’t want all news, all the time; you’ve got to give them a night that’s a break. I still think cable networks should look at Sunday night as a night to do those types of docuseries, and I hope we get to make more of them for MSNBC or for someone else.” Beyond his television work, Zim mern is also immersing himself in a cause he’s championed for years: reduc ing food waste. In addition to offering home cooks tips for cutting down on their kitchen waste, the chef’s body of work has also highlighted how many cul tures around the world maximize every ingredient they have. Last December, Zimmern was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. World Food Programme, a role that exer cises his ability to understand the inter connected nature of food systems, cul ture, and politics. In this new capacity, he’ll be taking a trip to Zambia in the spring to raise awareness around hunger. “I’ve been doing a lot on the waste and hunger issues for the last 10 years, but hopefully we’ll be able to amplify that because it’s very important,” he says.

“You can’t talk about hunger without waste and waste without hunger. They go hand in hand.” Given the daily demands of restau rant life, few on-the-ground owners and operators have the bandwidth to toil away on loaded topics, like the inter play between employee wages, food costs, menu prices, and profitability. That’s why it’s good to have someone like Zimmern whose culinary background gives him a certain sympatico but whose unconven tional career grants him the latitude to dive into the big problems. And dive in he does. Because at the end of the day, food might just be what saves us all. “If you make the shift in food— because it’s so big and so large—you will make a subsequent shift in other areas. You will find room in other areas. You will find time in other areas to improve lives. That’s why I think food touches everything,” he says. “You can’t talk about food and not talk about the cli mate crisis or immigration or healthcare or criminal justice—it just doesn’t work. It affects everything.”

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FSRMAGAZINE.COM

MAY 2022