The Big Food Edition

17 May 2018 #562

Cover Story: The Big Food Edition

In this edition of The Big Issue we answer the BIG food questions: Was bread really invented in Australia? When did bananas come to Queensland? Can I recreate Australia's favourite chocolate biscuit? (The answer is yes!)

Food writer Jan O’Connell looks at the ways our history has shaped what we eat as a nation, and we discover Australia’s culinary traditions are much more than meat pies and lamingtons.

Some of Australia’s most-loved foodies, Maggie Beer, Matt Preston, Stephanie Alexander and Matt Moran share their favourite recipes and the stories behind them, reminding us that food not only feeds our hunger, it can also feed the soul.

Plus, contributing editor Anastasia Safioleas looks at some food-based social enterprises helping to make a difference.

Also in this issue

• Courtney Barnett talks music, misogyny and channeling optimism in her second album.
• An interview with Dr Anita Heiss about her new anthology Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, which is selling out around the country.
• A look at love and activism in the AIDS crisis of the 80s in new film BMP, which puts the personal into the politics, finding joy in tragedy.
• In our ‘Living Homeless’ series, Ayub shares his story about growing up in foster care, becoming homeless after ‘aging out’ at 18, and why he’s fighting to change the system for the next generation of children.