Exploring the Frostbitten Food System with Nicola Twilley
Nicola Twilley is a well-known contributor to the New Yorker and cohost of the podcast Gastropod, which delves into food through a scientific and historical lens. In her latest book, Twilley takes readers on a behind-the-scenes journey into the cold chain, revealing that our food system is suffering from frostbite as a result of its prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. According to Twilley, we have sacrificed diversity and deliciousness in the pursuit of convenience.
“Our food system is frostbitten: it has been injured by its exposure to cold.”
Refrigeration, which is often seen as a technological marvel, has inadvertently contributed to many of the drawbacks in our current food system. Twilley argues that refrigeration has led to a shift towards large-scale monoculture, a decline in the nutritional quality of produce, and detrimental effects on our climate. In fact, refrigerant management has been identified as the top solution for combating climate change by Project Drawdown, a leading climate solutions nonprofit.
Twilley challenges us to reconsider the true costs of refrigeration on the environment, nutrition, and sociocultural aspects of our food system. She poses the question, “Could we do things better?”
Having previously researched enclosed spaces for her book, Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine, co-written with Geoff Manaugh, Twilley draws parallels between refrigerated food and quarantine.
Both refrigeration and quarantine involve manipulating space and time to control nature. Refrigeration acts as a time machine for food, extending shelf life and facilitating global transport, while quarantine ensures disease prevention through spatial and temporal confinement.
COURTESY OF NICOLA TWILLEY
Refrigeration as a spatial issue is an intriguing perspective.
Twilley sheds light on the artificial winter we have created for our food, an invisible cryosphere that dictates our food storage and transport.
Twilley reflects on the shift in focus from “farm to table” that emerged around 15 years ago and was championed by figures like Michael Pollan and Alice Waters. While the spotlight was often on the farm, Twilley’s curiosity was piqued by the journey that food takes from the farm to the table. Her book aims to reveal the unseen spaces where our food resides post-harvest.