My Twitter handle is @foodobsessed6.  My obsession primarily relates to dining, but I also have a growing interest in food on a much broader level, including the evolution and future of food. Many of my questions, and yours, are about to be answered in a new six-hour miniseries called EAT: The Story of Food.  Produced by National Geographic Studios in association with Creative Differences, the special features interviews with nearly 70 chefs, authors, food experts and food scientists including José Andrés, Rachael Ray, Ruth Reichl, Padma Lakshmi, Michael Pollan, and more.

The special satisfies questions about the evolution of food over the course of humankind, from our ancestors throwing raw meat onto a fire for the first time, to teams of lab technicians perfecting the crunch of a potato chip. More important, it will show how this evolution of what we eat and how we eat it has actually defined human civilization and cultures around the globe.

I attended a kick-off event previewing clips from the series and a panel discussion moderated by producer Pamela Wells, and featuring chef  José Andrés, primatologist Richard Wrangham, historian Andrew Smith, and Anna Boiardi (granddaughter of Chef Boyardee).

Here are a few highlights from the sneak peek event:

Panel members discussed early food memories, including Anna Boiardi who came to the U.S. from Italy as a child.  She couldn’t get over peanut butter and jelly.  When her mother heard about the sandwich, she thought her daughter’s description couldn’t be right.

Chef José Andrés discussed his love/hate relationship with meat.  He loves how it tastes, particularly in the first five seconds, but acknowledges there are consequences to eating meat.  He is pursuing more vegetarian cuisine, and is said to be opening a vegetable-focused fast-casual restaurant on the campus of George Washington University.  He also spoke passionately about GMOs, and the necessity for companies and government to disclose the truth.   Andrés gave a shout out to Chef Tom Colicchio who has been active in promoting the rights of consumers to know what’s in their food.

Panelist Richard Wrangham wonders if food can eventually enable us to express our differences without violence…an intriguing thought.

EAT: The Story of Food premieres November 21-23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, National Geographic Channel (NGC) .