What's your food's journey, what are the myths and activism that are taking place in the industry? We talked with international investigative journalist and documentarian, Nelufar Hedayat that explored these areas within her new show, Food Exposed on FUSION. This season she tackles issues alongside an array of celeb guests that include Nicole Richie, Moby, Jordana Brewster and more. ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us about how you got into journalism and the various shows/positions you took that eventually led you to your current show? NELUFAR HEDAYAT: I should really attach my CV, which would be boring so let me give you the abridged highlights version. I started out in journalism when I was 20, so ten years ago now. I was fascinated by how the War in Afghanistan was being presented. I was watching a lot of Afghan coverage and it was so different to what I was seeing in the Western News. This got me going and I made a tester tape with my friend Reva and submitted it to BBC Three under the extremely brave commissioner at the time, Danny Cohen. He decided to allow me to make a one-hour documentary about what life was like for young Afghan girls my age so off we went. That was basically the start. The doc did very well for BBC Three and was winning awards, so I was asked what more do I want to make. Boom/flash! Here I am today with Food Exposed. A series I have been dreaming to make for 5 years at least. AM: What is 'Food Exposed' and what is the purpose behind this show? NH: A: It’s a doc series that investigated the hidden, darker side of food production. I traveled the world to go to where the issue was and speak to people first hand allowing the story to dictate where we went in order to present what we found. A lot of it was
quite shocking even to me! From Palm Oil and Pork to water and the dairy industry we tackle all the issues we saw as being on the brink of changing the outcome for people and the planet. AM: You have a number of celebrities that are in each episode. What was the process like in creating the theme of each show and attaching the topics/celebs to each one? NH: This one’s easy. We really tried to find people who can amplify the issue and really be a beacon for people to discuss the topics we covered for Food Exposed. Nicole really cares about making sure she has a zero waste household and campaigns for the issue too. Jordana, a Yale graduate, was passionate about understanding GMOs and Moby has been an advocate for animal rights for thirty years. It wasn’t that we had to find spaces for them—they fit very effortlessly into the discussions we are trying to have. AM: There seems to be an interesting mix of food, activism as well as pop culture within this show, what topics would you like to tackle that you have yet to do in this season? NH: Oh my goodness so so many. I want to understand where the future of our food productions lie. How will we feed the earth with the planetary space we have. It would be great to look into insect proteins, sustainable farms and clean meat too. So so many—you’re making me think about season two already... AM: What celebs would you like to see in upcoming episodes? NH: I think the issues and subjects drive the celeb interviews but I’d love to chat to Miley Cyrus and Chris Hemsworth about plant based eating, Mayim Bailik about the world's class based food production and I'd shoot for Leonardo DiCaprio or Vice President Al Gore about the environmental impact of food production. I can think of so many more, but what's interesting here is that these guys are using
