Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that children’s literature can teach important lessons about our shared environment and the food system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Katherine Pryor, award-winning children’s book author and “good” food advocate discusses her latest title: Spring is for Strawberries, which helps children understand the value of seasonal eating.Related website:  https://katherinepryor.com/ 

Did you know that the misuse of antibiotics can disrupt our gut microbiome, and contribute to a range of diseases? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Steven Lawrence, award-winning film maker and co-producer of the documentary, The Invisible Extinction. Lawrence discusses his personal experience with the side effects of antibiotics, and the making of a film that takes audiences on a global journey to understand the far-reaching impacts of our gut microbiome on health and disease, as well as the creation of a microbial preservation vault.Related website:  https://www.theinvisibleextinction.com/ 

Did you know that essentially all humans have PFAS compounds  in their systems? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Steven Lasee, Ph.D., environmental toxicologist, and analytical chemist, who describes how and where PFAS enter our environment, and us. Lasee’s research discovered that some pesticides contain PFAS as part of their hidden “inert” ingredients.Related website:  www.laseeconsulting.com 

Did you know that climate change affects both mental and physical health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Susan Clayton, Ph.D., social psychologist, Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology at The College of Wooster (Ohio), and lead author of the chapter on “Health, Wellbeing, and the Changing Structure of Communities,” in the U.N.’s  Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) . Clayton discusses “eco-anxiety,” psychological impacts, resilience, communication and hope in the face of climate change.Related website:  https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/ https://ecoamerica.org/ 

Did you know that disruptions in the infant microbiome can lead to lifelong illness? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Maria Gloria Dominguez Bello, PH.D., Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, and of Anthropology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Dominguez Bello discusses her microbiome research that focuses on birth, and breastfeeding, and the impact of practices that reduce microbial transmission or disrupt the microbiota, as well as strategies for restoration. Her research was featured in the documentary film, The invisible Extinction. She also spearheaded the creation of an international microbiota vault to safeguard microbes that may help cure chronic illnesses in the future.Related website:  https://www.microbiotavault.org/ https://www.theinvisibleextinction.com/ 

Did you know that the overuse of antibiotics can disrupt our microbiome, and contribute to diseases such as asthma, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and more? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Martin Blaser, M.D., Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University, author of Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, and featured in the documentary film, Invisible Extinction. Blaser discusses the relationship between the human microbiome, health and disease, and the cumulative effects of exposure to antibiotics.Related website:  https://www.theinvisibleextinction.com/ 

Did you know that most synthetic pesticides are petroleum-based? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Margaret Reeves, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at the Pesticide Action Center of North America. Reeves discusses the Pesticide Action Network’s new report: “Pesticides and Climate Change: A vicious cycle.” She describes how pesticides contribute to climate change and explains the smoke and mirrors behind some “climate smart” terms and practices. Related website:  Report “Pesticides and Climate Change: A vicious cycle:” https://www.panna.org/resources/pesticides-and-climate-change-vicious-cycle-report and webinars: https://www.panna.org/resources/webinar-recording-pesticides-and-climate-change

Did you know that the herbicides, dicamba and 2,4-D, increasing sprayed on genetically engineered commodity crops (soy, cotton, corn) can drift from agricultural applications, as well as lawn chemical use, and harm our trees, native plants, home gardens, and greater ecosystem? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Robbie Doerhoff, Forest Entomologist with MO Dept. of Conservation, for a discussion about how two specific herbicides are wreaking havoc on our environment, and therefore our health.  The See the Xerces Society’s report, “Drifting Towards Disaster,” for more information: https://www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/20-021.pdfRelated website:  Dicamba/2,4-D & Trees: Old Herbicides Causing New Problems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdxeoX2QobY

Did you know that climate change effects our natural environment and food system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with David Abazs, organic farmer, and Executive Director of the Northeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership at the U. of MN. Abazs defines “agrophenology” and explains how climate change impacts our landscape and food system. He provides examples of the importance of learning to carefully observe naturally occurring events in our ecosystem. He also describes the Forest Assisted Migration Project: https://extension.umn.edu/rsdp-happenings/climate-smart-trees-take-root-northeast-minnesota.Related website:  Round River Farm:https://www.round-river.com/

Did you know that knowing our watershed, and understanding water and nitrogen cycles is key to sustainable food and farming methods? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jeanne Heuser, award winning citizen activist, and former Technical Information Specialist with the US. Geological Survey. From hospice, Heuser reflects on her life’s work to protect watersheds, our food system, and encourage local engagement. Her regional work in the state of MO, with the Moniteau County Neighbors Alliance can serve as a national model. See: : www.MCNAmissouri.orgRelated website:  https://www.usgs.gov/