Ep30: Giuliana Furci on "Without fungi we wouldn't have food"

Episode summary

This is not a typical conversation for Feed. We're still talking about food systems, and we're still talking about power, but we're focusing on the more-than-human world, specifically, mushrooms. Giuliana Furci, founder and executive director of the Fungi Foundation, joins us to talk about how fungi are as diverse as the animal and plant kingdom; what role fungi play in sustainable food systems; the contradicting lessons that you can learn from fungi; and what power do fungi have over humans and food systems?

[ Transcript available ]

About Giuliana Furci

Giuliana Furci is founder and Executive Director of the Fungi Foundation. Giuliana has been the biggest promoter of the study and protection of the Fungi Kingdom in Chile in the last decades. She is a pioneer of the study of non-lichenized mushrooms in Chile, starting her career in 1999 as a self-taught amateur. She has given lectures, courses, and seminars across 4 continents.

Among her many publications are the books Field Guides Fungi of Chile, volumes 1 and 2. She is co-author of many publications including State of the Worlds Plants and Fungi by Royal Botanic Garden Kew, “Biodiversity of Chile, Heritage and Challenges” by the Ministry of the Environment of Chile, and contributed a chapter to the book Fantastic Fungi by Louie Schwartzberg & Paul Stamets.

About Fungi Foundation

The Fungi Foundation is a global organization that explores Fungi to increase knowledge of their diversity, promote innovative solutions to contingent problems, educate about their existence and applications, as well as recommending public policy for their conservation.

You can view their videos on their YouTube channel including their short documentary Let Things Rot (2021) and Fungal Elders / Hongos Ancestrales (2022).