This week on "Sunday Morning" (Nov. 23): The Food Issue

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The Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. "Sunday Morning" also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.)

COVER STORY: Powering our appetite for protein
Proteins, whether from whey, plants or animals, are essential for building muscle. Last year, approximately 71% of consumers identified protein as the nutrient they most frequently try to eat. That's an appetite corporate America is more than happy to feed – even though protein often doesn't taste very good. Lee Cowan looks at how companies like General Mills are developing protein-fueled products, and how Americans may be consuming more protein than they need.

For more info:

Nasonville Dairy, Marshfield, Wis.
General Mills
Joanne Slavin, professor of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

SCIENCE: Why we love comfort foods
Dr. Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist, says the sugar found in many comfort foods hits our brains in the same pleasure center as street drugs do. But that's not the only reason we find comfort in such treasured dishes. Susan Spencer talks with Suzanne Tomlinson, owner of Vermont-based Poorhouse Pies, where most anything is baked in a pie; and with registered dietician Stefani Sassos, head of the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition & Fitness Lab, who offers "plant-based options" for traditional favorites that are not high in fat and sugar, but still offer the same warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia.

For more info:

Poorhouse Pies, Underhill, Vt.
Dr. Uma Naidoo
"Calm Your Mind With Food: A Revolutionary Guide to Controlling Your Anxiety" by Uma Naidoo, MD (Little, Brown Spark), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
The Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition & Fitness Lab
Thanks to Bar Florine, New York City

FEEDING THE SOUL #1: Creating a lifeline for families in hard times
Murphy's Giving Market, a food pantry in Upper Darby, Pa., was started not by a nonprofit or government agency, but by one concerned citizen: Desireé Murphy Morrisey, who'd gone through tough times herself. Her pantry, founded during COVID, now helps 400 families. She talks with David Pogue about why she feels it is her social responsibility to help those experiencing tough times now.

For more info:

Murphy's Giving Market, Upper Darby, Pa.

WORLD: Korean Fried Chicken
Nancy Giles reports.

For more info:

NEWS: Extra! Extra! In Maine, a cafe helps subsidize a community newspaper
In Camden, Maine, at the Villager Cafe, customers can have their breakfast or lunch with a side of news, a weekly newspaper called The Midcoast Villager, which the cafe helps support. Both are owned by longtime Maine media mogul Reade Brower, who talks with Martha Teichner about dishing up sustainable journalism.

For more info:

Midcoast Villager
The Villager Cafe, Camden, Me.

POLITICS: What presidents ate - Steak for breakfast, and squirrel soup
Bennett Rea's social media series "Cookin' With Congress" demonstrates the arcane diets of our nation's presidents, first ladies, and other political figures. He discusses with Mo Rocca some of the unusual dishes enjoyed by our former chief executives, from Richard Nixon's ham mousse, to James Garfield's favorite: squirrel soup.

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CONDIMENTS: Sauerkraut, the tangy condiment that's a crowd-pleaser
Its origins stem from China, Korea and Germany, and today it's never far from a hot dog (or, if you're attending the annual Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville, Ohio, a pizza or donut). Jonathan Vigliotti talks with Sandor Ellix Katz about how fermentation produces sauerkraut, and checks out the process at Real Pickles, a Massachusetts co-op that also produces chile, turmeric and kimchi varieties.

For more info:

Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, Waynesville, Ohio
Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation
"The Art of Fermentation: With Practical Information on Fermenting Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Milk, Beans, Meats, and More" by Sandor Ellix Katz (Chelsea Green), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio Formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Real Pickles, Greenfield, Mass.

WORLD: Welcome to the world's oldest restaurant
Founded in 1725, Restaurante Botín, in Madrid, Spain, is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest restaurant in the world. But across town, the owners of Casa Pedro believe theirs may be even older; it's been in their family for at least 10 generations. Seth Doane visits two timeless establishments that each celebrate family, pride, tradition, and some very good food.

For more info:

FEEDING THE SOUL #2: A restaurant where you pay what you can
In order to make good food more accessible, food justice writer and advocate Mark Bittman and chef Mavis-Jay Sanders have launched a pilot program in New York City called Community Kitchen, which for a limited time is offering fine dining on a sliding scale. Customers pay what they can - $15, $45, or $125. It's a model they hope to open in a permanent version in Manhattan and beyond. David Pogue reports.

For more info:

STAGE: Broadway baby - Lea Michele back where it all began
Lea Michele made her Broadway debut in "Les Miserables" at the age of eight. The "Glee" star who recently returned to Broadway in the revival of "Funny Girl" is now starring in "Chess: The Musical." She talks with Tracy Smith about stepping into the shoes of her idol Barbra Streisand, and about the challenges she faced giving birth to her second child.

To hear Lea Michele perform "Someone Else's Story," from "Chess: The Musical," click on the video player below:

Lea Michele Sings "Someone Else's Story" | CHESS on Broadway by CHESS on Broadway on YouTube

For more info:

"Chess: The Musical," at the Imperial Theatre, New York City | Ticket info
leamichele.com
Lea Michele on Instagram
Thanks to Joe Allen Restaurant, New York City

ARTS: The beauty of charcuterie
Culinary content creators have turned charcuterie into a visual art form. For Marissa Mullen, founder of "That Cheese Plate," designing a resplendent cheese board or array of sliced meats is a passion project. Faith Salie talks with Mullen about building a board that is more than mere party food; and with chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud about the history of traditional French charcuterie.

For more info:

Marissa Mullen (thatcheeseplate) on Instagram
thatcheeseplate.com
"I'll Bring the Apps: Bites, Bowls, Boards & Beverages" by Marissa Mullen (Union Square & Co.), in Hardcover and eBook formats, available March 3, 2026 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud

U.S.: Tofu
Luke Burbank reports.

For more info:

Ota Tofu, Portland, Ore.
Ikoi-no-kai (Community Lunch Program), Portland, Ore.
Astera, Portland, Ore.

FEEDING THE SOUL #3: Teaching the food truck business
A retired Air Force brigadier general sought a new mission: to create the first certified mobile food-truck apprentice program in America. David Pogue talks with John Michel about Currency of Caring, which helps teach entrepreneurs (many of whom had been going through hard times) the food-truck business; and with Demetrius Gower, whose Big Meechie's Kitchen & Food Truck, in Granite City, Ill., has proven an award-winning success.

For more info:

kate-nelson-spaghetti-chicken-casserole-recipe-marker.jpg

IN MEMORIAM: Beloved recipes etched in stone
When archivist Rosie Grant launched a TikTok channel, GhostlyArchive, as a testament to gravestones, she discovered a niche form of memorial: cemetery markers that bear beloved recipes of the dearly departed. She talks with Conor Knighton about her cookbook collection of headstone recipes that are "To Die For."

For more info:

"To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes" by Rosie Grant (Harvest), in Hardcover and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
GhostlyArchive in TikTok

NATURE: TBD

WEB EXCLUSIVES:

"Wicked": Stories, interviews and behind-the-scenes looks at the movie and Broadway musical by CBS Sunday Morning on YouTube

MARATHON: Cynthia Erivo, John Chu and more from the "Wicked" movie and musical (YouTube Video)
Follow "CBS Sunday Morning" down the yellow brick road to Oz with these stories about the "Wicked" movie and Broadway show.

The making of the musical hit
Director Jon M. Chu on the road to Oz
How Cynthia Erivo defies gravity
Composer Stephen Schwartz extended interview
Cynthia Erivo extended interview

Marathon: Comfort food by CBS Sunday Morning on YouTube

MARATHON: Comfort food (YouTube Video)
"Sunday Morning" serves up just what we need: a sizable helping of stories about comfort foods:

The appeal of mac & cheese
Chef and food writer Samin Nosrat discusses comfort foods in discomfiting times
The magic of pancakes
New twists on the tradition of Campbell's Soup
A restaurant devoted to meatballs
Wynton Marsalis makes a pit stop in Lockhart, Texas, a Mecca for BBQ lovers
The humble tater tot … just add caviar
Tortellini, a traditional Italian comfort food
A Southern institution: The Waffle House
Bobby Flay on the need for comfort food
Spam, that oft-maligned canned meat, is treasured in Hawaii
Noah Verrier's paintings of comfort food

Winning hearts and minds over vaccines 09:50

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Winning hearts & minds over vaccines (Video)
The World Health Organization listed vaccine hesitancy -- when parents delay or withhold vaccines for their children -- as one of the Top 10 health risks for 2019. Dr. Jon LaPook reports on health experts using science as an antidote to misinformation about vaccines. (Originally aired May 12, 2019.)

The Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.

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