Currently, around one in five people across the globe are under lockdowns. While countries are putting all efforts to win the battle against COVID-19, the only way we can help to alleviate this crisis is to continue staying in self-isolation.
A prospect of another weekend at home without meeting friends or visiting your family might be frustrating, but we are here to help you to fight your weekend blues. Here are our top picks of books, movies and podcasts for your slow weekend at home.
BOOKS
From animals into gods: a brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
About 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens was still an insignificant animal minding its own business in a corner of Africa. Our ancestors shared the planet with at least five other human species, and their role in the ecosystem was no greater than that of gorillas, fireflies, or jellyfish. Then, about 70,000 years ago, a mysterious change took place in the mind of Homo sapiens, transforming it into the master of the entire planet and the terror of the ecosystem. How did Homo sapiens conquer Earth?
Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney Mintz
Sidney Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare luxury to a necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. The book discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar’s origins as a “slave” crop grown in Europe’s tropical colonies with is use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, the author discusses how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times.
MOVIES
Artifishal, documentary, available on Youtube
Artifishal is a film about people, rivers, and the fight for the future of wild fish and the environment that supports them. It explores wild salmon’s slide toward extinction, threats posed by fish hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature.
Cooked, TV show series available on Netflix
Acclaimed food writer Michael Pollan explores how cooking transforms food and shapes the world. COOKED is an enlightening look at the evolution of what food means to us through the history of food preparation and its universal ability to connect us. Highlighting our primal human need to cook, the series urges a return to the kitchen to reclaim our lost traditions and to forge a deeper, more meaningful connection to the ingredients and cooking techniques that we use to nourish ourselves.
PODCASTS
The Secret Ingredient, produced by NPR
In each episode, the Secret Ingredient podcast choses one food to investigate. Hosts Raj, Tom and Rebecca talk with the people whose life’s work has been to understand the complex systems of production, distribution, marketing and impact these foods have on our lives. Every time the show searches for answers to the most complex and intriguing questions such as: “Why does milk have its own food group?” “Who suffers when I buy organic bananas?” and “How could better food transform our prison system?”
Farmerama
Farmerama is a monthly podcast sharing the voices of smaller-scale farmers in the UK and beyond. A podcast gives producers a voice and shares ideas in a fun and informative way – so that farmers could learn from other farmers. Farmerama is committed to positive ecological futures for the planet and believes that the farmers and growers of the world will determine this. This podcast is about the food we eat but also our health, flooding, animals, carbon storage, biodiversity and more.
OTHERS
Video Parties organized by the University of Gastronomic Sciences
From Mondays to Fridays the University of Gastronomic Sciences – UNISG organizes video parties on their Facebook page. A community of alumni from all different areas of expertise share their knowledge and experiences in dedicated 25-40-minute live talks.
This week, UNISG alumni discussed how to feed our community in a time of crisis, how to apply new business models for the benefit of a better food system, and how the craft beer industry will look like after the pandemic is over.
Start your weekend early and attend Friday’s party at 5 pm online by clicking here or scroll down UNISG Facebook page and look for recorded videos.
Have a nice, relaxing and slow weekend.