In our travels we have been privileged to meet many wonderful people who are changing their world and the worlds of others in profound and effective ways. Marina Chang from University College London is one of them. Marina and her co-editor Lukas have created a different type of recipe book – the Food Junctions Cookbook – that identifies the intersections between food, politics, the environment, and health.

As the forward notes:

‘In every country in the world and in every society, the sharing of food is a vital element of community life, whether it be in celebratory feasting, performing religious rituals, sharing the most meager of repasts, talking about food, making it together, using leftovers in gastronomically exciting ways or using them to fertilise our gardens or whatever. Food is central to our lives, essential to our wellbeing, and above all a provider of happiness and joy. Yet while we all know a great deal about food (and we all know what we like and what we don’t like!), there is much about food that we do not know and much to learn, especially in an intercultural context’.

The Food Junctions Cookbook is a recipe book with a twist – each recipe comes with a story, or an insight. It encourages us to think about the ethics of food, food waste and the ways food is created and used. It explores the idea of food for thought as well as food for your body.

Some 70 contributors share their ‘living recipes’ for things to cook, things to think about and most importantly things to do. Some of the living recipes include: how to taste wine, open up a catering co-op, deal with food waste, prevent childhood obesity, make delicious dishes from wild plants and grow food in the city. And it has some great recipes too!

Download the cookbook from our publications page – there might be some new insights about the thoughts we consume everyday, along with our food. Enjoy.