How does food make a president?

The Food Chain

• Episode: How does food make a president?
• Website: The Food Chain
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p028z2z0.rss
• Duration: 00:29:10
• Published: 2020-10-15 01:01

Presidential campaigns are all about connecting with voters, and Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both been using food to do it.

Emily Thomas hears how they’ve targeted food brands, food media and even food influencers to help bolster their image, promote their policies, and reach new audiences.

But the deep cultural connections that come with food can make it a risky policy - eating the wrong thing or in the wrong way on the campaign trail can have a devastating impact.

And, entertaining though all of this might be, does it detract from the serious food issues that affect the lives of every American, and the fact that actual food policies are rarely discussed?

Contributors:

Emily Contois, assistant professor of media studies at the University of Tulsa Jeremy Jacobowitz, @brunchboys Jayson Lusk, distinguished professor and head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University

(Picture: Fries being dropped into a ballot box. Credit: Getty Images/Katie Horwich/BBC)