Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that religious beliefs have influenced our eating habits throughout history? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Christina Ward, food historian, Vice President and Editor at Feral House, and author of Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat – An American History. Ward discusses historical food traditions and unique practices from traditional religions to cults and utopian societies, as well as commonalities, and the power of eating together to foster understanding, peace and community.  Related website:  https://www.christinaward.net/books 

Did you know that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in the inability of Mexican corn farmers to earn a living? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dana Geffner, co-founder and former executive director of Fair World Project, the leading fair trade advocacy organization in the U.S. Geffner explains how “free trade” agreements benefit corporate profits at the expense of people and environment, using NAFTA as a prime example. She defines “fair trade,” and provides advice when navigating fair trade product labels in the consumer marketplace.  Related website:  www.fairworldproject.org https://corpaccountabilitylab.org/ 

Did you know that chefs are uniquely positioned to drive food system change for good? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Katherine Miller, advocate and author of At The Table: The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy (Island Press, 2023). Miller was the founding executive director of the Chef Action Network, a  chef advocacy group, and the vice president of impact at the James Beard Foundation where she developed the Chef’s Boot camp for Policy and Change, where chefs learn how to effectively use their skills for advocacy. She discusses the National Restaurant Association’s political force, the key role immigrant labor plays in our food system, and the powerful potential chefs have to advocate for food system reform. Related website:  https://table81.com/ 

Did you know that we have more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet and then some?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Michael Fakhri, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Fakhri is a  professor at the University of Oregon,  School of Law where he teaches courses on human rights, food law, development, and commercial law. He is also the director of the Food Resiliency Project in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center.  Fakhri discusses the political roots of hunger and famine, the multiple benefits of agroecology, the ethics of patenting of seeds, violence in the food system, and the relationship between the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the pesticide industry.  Related website:  https://law.uoregon.edu/directory/faculty-staff/all/mfakhri Violence in the food system: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/flyer-violenceFoodSystems-PRINT.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1U128rbc6v2p27a-B6BAgGrEbtLev7IgRiQEaVhJmyjP0gqmwnEDgMnvgSeeds report: https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/03/seeds-central-peoples-food-systems-cultures-and-human-rights 

Did you know that the Feb. 3rd, 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine OH resulted in chemically-contaminated air and water that continues to harm public health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andrew Whelton, Ph.D., Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. Whelton discusses his work researching environmental disasters.  He discusses his recent investigations in East Palestine, OH, and surrounding communities which were contaminated by the purposeful burning of vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. He also discusses his work in Maui, where he investigated environmental conditions following the tragic fire in Lahaina.   Related website:  www.PlumbingSafety.org Cancer Free Economy Network: https://www.cancerfreeeconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Train-Derailment-Health-Resource.pdf CERCLA: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-cercla-overview 

Did you know that on February 3rd, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster released toxic chemicals into the air and water in East Palestine, Ohio and surrounding areas? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Nick Keppler, journalist reporting for the Washington Post and Environmental Health News. Keppler describes his on-the-ground coverage of the disaster, and how the community is attempting to cope with the release of toxic chemicals into their air and water, and the ongoing threats to public health.   Related website:  Health Resource Guide: https://www.cancerfreeeconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Train-Derailment-Health-Resource.pdf Senate Hearings: https://veterans.pasenategop.com/veterans-032023/ Public Hearing on Norfolk Southern train derailment: https://veterans.pasenategop.com/vets-022323/ Environmental Health: https://www.ehn.org/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-pollution-2662867187.html 

Brad Reubendale, CEO of So All May Eat, and the SAME Café, discusses creating community through healthy food access, the participatory model of the Cafés, trauma-informed environments, expanding into libraries, and their commitment to sustainability and mutual aid.

Did you know that climate change is water change? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Erica Gies, author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge. Gies, an independent journalist and National Geographic Explorer, writes extensively about water, climate change and biology. She discusses how development, climate change, and our illusion of control impact our relationship with water. She defines “slow water;” explains how and why the water we see today is not in its natural state; and supports changing how we relate to water. Related website:  https://slowwater.world/ 

Did you know that children’s health is dependent upon their environmental conditions? Join Melinda Hemmelgarn, Registered Dietitian and Food Sleuth Radio host for her interview with Nse Witherspoon, MPH, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network and co-leader of the science and health arm of the Cancer Free Economy Network. Witherspoon describes the Eco-Friendly childcare initiative that protects children in daycare settings, and explains why and how protecting children from pesticides and other toxins is critical to their lifelong health and well-being. Note: October is Child Health Month; and, October 12th is Children’s Environmental Health Day. Related website:  Children’s Environmental Health Network: https://cehn.org/ Cancer Free Economy Network: https://www.cancerfreeeconomy.org/ 

Did you know that agriculture is not sustainable without fair wages? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Elizabeth Henderson, award-winning farmer, writer, activist, and agrarian leader best known for her decades of support of and contributions to organic and sustainable agriculture. She is a founding member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) and has been a pioneer of the CSA model in the United States. She is committed to resisting the many injustices of a cheap food system through the power of cooperation. She’s the author of Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture;  and a core leader of the Agricultural Justice Project. Related website:  Agricultural Justice Project and certification: https://www.agriculturaljusticeproject.org/en/ Elizabeth Henderson papers at U. of MA – Amherst: http://findingaids.library.umass.edu/ead/mums746 Real Organic Project interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA26cX2i9lg