Julia Gibson on Philosophy and Farms

Thought About Food Podcast

We spoke with Julia Gibson about being a philosopher living on a multi-generational farm co-owned by their extended family since 1795. As you might imagine, a lot of issues come up in a situation like that! We talk about how decisions are made for the farm, their current attempts to get a conservation easement to protect the farm into the future as the surrounding countryside gets developed, issues of justice involved with owning a farm on land that was originally stolen from indigenous people, and (in a connection to the last two episodes) her work as a vegan living on a farm with livestock and hunting, to think through animal rights, animal welfare, and how to talk about these things with her family. It's a great conversation; check it out!

Show Notes:

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• We have a YouTube channel! It features more conversations about the meaning of food in our lives, and includes some great recipes to boot. Check it out here and subscribe! The first video we've uploaded was made by a former student in Ian's Philosophy of Food class, talking about carne asada and the meaning that food has for him.
• Julia Gibson is a philosopher who works at Antioch University New England while living on their family farm.
• Julia has a blog about "Life on Ryder Farm" that's well worth reading!
• Julia shared a recipe for vegan Buffalo Tofu Pizza. As she says, "I was trying to find a recipe using food on the farm, but my relationship to food on the farm is that I'm so happy to have fresh food that I just eat it. I wanted to share something I'm working on. The first time I made this it looked like a transporter accident. It was delicious! But hideous. I really love buffalo sauce, and I love that vegan buffalo sauce is just as easy as regular buffalo sauce.
  Recipe for Buffalo Tofu Pizza Pizza dough: homemade or store bought. Recipes abound online. I recommend using one that calls for half 00 flour and weighing it out.
  White Sauce: -1 cup raw cashews -3/4 cup vegetable broth -2 tbsp olive oil -1 tbsp lemon juice -1/4 nutritional yeast (or more to taste) -3 cloves garlic (or more to taste) -1/2 cup chopped white onion -dash dried rosemary -dash black pepper 1. Soak cashews overnight. 2. Drain cashews and blend in food processor with broth, oil garlic, lemon juice, onion, nutritional yeast, and herbs. Buffalo sauce: It’s just original Frank’s RedHot and melted earth balance. Roughly 1:1, with a smidge more hot sauce than butter. Between 6-8 tbsp should do. You can always make more. Tofu: -16oz firm or extra firm tofu -1/4 apple cider vinegar -2 tbsp tamari -1 tbsp toasted sesame oil -2 tsp garlic powder -1 tsp liquid smoke -dash black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 350 2. Cut tofu into 6-8 slices and arrange in single layer in a 8x8 glass baking dish. 3. Combine other ingredients. 4. Pour over tofu.(Flip once to get both sides.) 5. Bake 30 minutes and flip. Bake 30 more minutes or until desired texture is achieved. 6. Cube slices and toss with Buffalo sauce. Ranch (makes more than you need): -1.5 cups Vegenaise or other vegan mayo -1/4-1/2 cup plain, unsweetened nondairy milk (I prefer WestSoy) -1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar -3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced -dash dried parsley -dash dried dill -dash onion powder -pinch paprika -pinch black pepper -salt to taste Assembly: 1. Preheat oven (and pizza stone if you have one) to 475. 2. Roll out pizza dough. 3. Top with white sauce and cheese (I use daiya mozzarella). 4. Scatter tofu on top. Drizzle with half of the remaining sauce. 5. Bake for 8-12 minutes until crust is golden brown. 6. Drizzle with more Buffalo sauce, ranch sauce, and chopped fresh dill. "
• The intro and outro music is "Whiskey Before Breakfast" which is both a great traditional song and a nice way to start a day of rambling around a farm. It was performed and shared by The Dan River Ramblers under a Creative Commons license.