Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that over 600 U.S. prisons include agricultural activities of some kind? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Joshua Sbicca, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Prison Agriculture Lab at Colorado State University. He is also co-author with Ashante Reese of “Food and carcerality: From confinement to abolition.” (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358186429_Food_and_carcerality_From_confinement_to_abolition) Sbicca explains that plantation labor has never really gone away, and dives into the forms of unseen agriculture as it exists today in the “criminal punishment” system, and discusses who stands to profit from the agri-carceral industrial complex. He also describes his unique and collaborative Prison Agriculture Lab project which includes maps, stories and more.Related website:   https://prisonagriculture.com/ 

Did you know that the United Nations has declared plastic pollution a global crisis?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sarah King, M.S., Head of Greenpeace Canada's Oceans and Plastics campaign. King exposes the fossil fuel industry’s dependence on plastic for profit, its connection to our global climate crisis, and the myth of plastic recycling. She also discusses the potential impact of Canada’s commitment to ban single-use plastics (See: https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/press-release/52311/global-plastics-treaty-mandate-pivotal-step-to-end-plastic-pollution/ ) and how we can grow the reuse – refill, zero-waste movement.Related website:   https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-plastic-pollution-resolution 

Did you know that early home economists were advocates for justice and revolutionary scientists? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Danielle Dreilinger, award winning journalist and author of The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live (W. W. Norton). Dreilinger discusses the origins of home economics, the broad scope of the profession, its name changes, and why this area of study and work remains critically important in benefiting society today.Related website:   https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324004493 

Did you know that harvested rainwater can be used in arid regions of the world to support food-bearing shade trees, abundant gardens, and a thriving landscape that provides wildlife habitat, beauty, medicinal plants, and more?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Brad Lancaster, rainwater harvester, permaculturist, regenerative design consultant and award-winning author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond. Lancaster describes how he captures rain and grey water, and thereby transformed his community, reduced temperatures, and improved health.Related website:   https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/ 

Did you know that our food and agricultural practices can have either a beneficial or detrimental impact on the global climate crisis? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kari Hamerschlag, Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth’s Food and Agriculture Program and the Climate-Friendly Food Program. Hamerschlag discusses findings from the “Farming for the Future” Report which explains the connections between food, agriculture and climate change, and agroecological solutions. (See: https://1bps6437gg8c169i0y1drtgz-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/legacy/FOE_Farming_for_the_Future_Final.pdf ). She also describes the multiple benefits of climate-friendly schools meals, including cost-savings to school districts.  (Part 2 of 2)Related website:  “Shrinking the Carbon and Water Foot Print of School Food: A Recipe for Combating Climate Change:” https://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/webiva_fs_2/FOE_FoodPrintExecSumm_7.pdf 

Did you know that The UN Secretary-General has called the climate crisis a “code red” warning for humanity, yet multinational development banks (MDBs) continue to pump public money into climate-unfriendly industrial animal agriculture? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kari Hamerschlag, Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth’s Food and Agriculture Program and the Climate-Friendly Food Program. Hamerschlag discusses her research on multinational development banks, and their role in funding industrial livestock operations (CAFOs), thereby ignoring warnings from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. Both the IPCC and the U.N. advise transforming and scaling back greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from CAFOs in order to build resiliency and reach Paris climate goals. (Part 1)Related website:  https://foodtank.com/news/2022/06/public-banks-are-breaking-their-climate-pledges/ 

Did you know that mental health is influenced by what and how we eat? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with David Wiss, Ph.D., Registered Dietitian, and founder of Nutrition in Recovery and Wise Mind Nutrition. Wiss discusses his career path and practice.  He developed Wise Mind Nutrition to provide information on adverse childhood experiences, disordered eating, food addiction, depression, trauma-informed care, resilience in recovery, and more. As Wiss explains, whole, fiber-rich foods help nourish gut bacteria, which influence both physical and mental health.Related website:  https://wisemindnutrition.com/ 

Did you know that media literacy is essential for a healthy democracy and planet? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Faith Rogow, Ph.D., media literacy educator, founder of Insighters Education, and author of Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates. Rogow is an expert in helping us navigate media images and messages, tease out mis- and dis-information, and understand media’s power to influence how we think and feel. In an uncertain world, Rogow helps us respond with imagination rather than fear.Related website:  https://insighterseducation.com/

Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency, our government agency that reviews and licenses pesticides relies almost exclusively on manufacturers’ safety data, which is rife with self-interest? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with John P. Wargo, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Health and Politics at Yale University’s School of the Environment and author of the award winning book, Our Children’s Toxic Legacy: How Science and Law Fail to Protect us from Pesticides. Wargo discusses his latest report, “Pesticide Risks: From Our Farms to Our Homes,” (Environment & Human Health, Inc.), and asks: “Why in the world would you want to expose your family to a mixture of chemicals?” Wargo describes how we’ve been sold a lawn “narrative,” but that common lawn chemicals put our water supply and health at risk.Related website:  https://www.ehhi.org/Pesticide_Risks_web_new.pdf 

Did you know that there’s a 51-acre planned development in northeast Austin, TX,  that provides affordable, permanent housing, an organic garden, microenterprise opportunities, and a supportive community for people coming out of chronic homelessness? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Alan Graham, founder, President and CEO of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, and “lead visionary” behind MLF’s Community First! Village. Graham discusses his perspective on the cause of homelessness, and the solutions, starting with food and family.  Community First! Village offers a national model for preventing homelessness with dignity.Related website:  https://mlf.org/