Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that just because a pesticide is registered with the EPA doesn’t mean it’s safe? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Alexis Temkin, Ph.D. toxicologist and lead author of the Environmental Working Group’s “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce,” including the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen.” Temkin describes the process of pesticide testing and regulation, and how the EWG’s guide was developed to help consumers enjoy a variety of fruits and vegetables while protecting their family’s health, as well as farm worker health and our environment. The Environmental Working Group, as well as Beyond Pesticides: www.beyondpesticides.org provides information on produce safety and the benefits of organic food and farming.Related website:  https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/about.php

Did you know that Abbott’s infant formula contamination resulted in the death of two children? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Bill Marler, personal injury lawyer and internationally recognized expert in foodborne illness litigation. Marler discusses the Abbott infant formula contamination fiasco, formula shortage, inadequate regulation and unintended consequences of industry consolidation. Marler’s Food Safety News has covered this issue extensively, as well as food recalls, foodborne illness outbreaks and investigations.Related website:  www.foodsafetynews.com 

Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that one third of all food in the U.S. goes uneaten and in 2018, about 81 percent, or 20.3 tons  of households' wasted food ended up in landfills or combustion facilities? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Rhonda Sherman, M.S, Extension  Specialist on composting, recycling and solid waste reduction at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. Affectionately known as “the worm queen,” Sherman explains that preventing food from going to waste is one of the easiest and most powerful actions we can take to save money and lower our climate change footprint by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and conserving natural resources. Related website:  https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/show_ep3_pdf/1649787791/22094/ 

Did you know that the American food supply is increasingly contaminated with the herbicide glyphosate? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Henry Rowlands, journalist and Founder/Director of Sustainable Pulse and the Detox Project. Rowland dives into his latest report: “Glyphosate Contamination: The Poison in Our Daily Bread,” which reveals the glyphosate levels found in commonly purchased grocery store foods, and explains why such foods as bread, oats, barley, beans, peas and lentils are contaminated. See the report here:  https://detoxproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Glyphosate_Contamination_Report_Final1.pdf  Related website:  www.detoxproject.org  

Did you know that almost four decades after the Clean Water Act’s deadline for all waters across the U.S. to be “fishable and swimmable,” 50 percent of assessed river and stream miles in the U.S. are so polluted they are classified as “impaired”? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Tom Pelton, Communications Director for the Environmental Integrity Project and lead author of EIP’s report, “The Clean Water Act at 50: Promises Half Kept at the Half Century Mark.” Learn if your elected officials vote in favor of environmental protection here: League of Conservation Voters: https://lcv.org/mission/ and listen to Pelton’s “Environment in Focus” interviews here: https://www.wypr.org/people/tom-pelton  Related website:  https://environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CWA-report-3.23.22-FINAL.pdf 

Did you know that many “plant-based” foods are highly processed and not necessarily good for our health or the planet? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Alan Lewis, Vice President for Government Affairs, Stakeholder Relations and Organic Compliance for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. Lewis discusses the impact of industrial agriculture on our environment and health, pulls back the curtain on plant-based, yet highly processed foods, and helps us understand often confusing food labels, including: “bioengineered,” “natural,” and “non-GMO.” Follow Lewis’ astute observations of the food system on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanplewis/Related website:  TED Talk: “Food Betrayal – Don’t swallow the lies:”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y81rCiw1LPY  

Did you know that herbicide drift challenges the wine industry, especially in states largely dominated by chemical intensive industrial agriculture?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mick McDowell, award-winning wine producer based in St. Paul, Nebraska. McDowell describes the land he loves, corn and livestock economics, and the challenges of growing grapes in a state dominated by crops that are routinely sprayed with a growing number of herbicides. Each year, McDowell explains, a significant percentage of his grapes are lost due to herbicide drift, with no significant means of compensation. Related website:  www.milettavistawinery.com 

Did you know that regenerative farming methods are not “new,” but have been practiced by indigenous farmers for centuries? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Liz Carlisle, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming. Carlisle discusses the powerful movement that’s happening in farming today, that reconnects farmers with their roots to fight climate change. Carlisle amplifies the voices of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American farmers who are reviving their ancestors’ methods of growing food—techniques long suppressed by the industrial food system. Listen to Dr. Carlisle’s Island Press webinar here: Island Press webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV7FFn3-IiA Related website:  https://www.lizcarlisle.com/ 

Did you know that images are powerful influencers on how we think about food, people and national policies? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Shana Klein, Ph.D., art historian, assistant professor of art history at Kent State U. and author of The Fruits of Empire: Art, Food, and the Politics of Race in the Age of American Expansion. Klein discusses the role of visual imagery in the acceptance and promotion of fruit, national expansion, and racism focusing on five key fruits: grapes, oranges, bananas, watermelon and pineapple. Sales of her book are generously contributed to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. To see more of Klein’s deconstructed images of food: @thefruitsofempire  Related website:  https://sites.bu.edu/gastronomyblog/2022/01/25/spring-2022-pepin-lecture-series-in-food-studies-gastronomy/  

Did you know that pesticide drift interferes with the ability of rural farmers to feed their communities? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Michael O’Donnell, mechanical engineer, Indiana farmer, and sustainable agriculture educator. O’Donnell discusses the myth of biofuels, and describes his experience living in the path of pesticide drift, resulting in crop damage, reduced quality of life, and the inability to feed his community farm fresh, nourishing food. To learn more about biofuels, see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35165202/ For research on herbicide drift, see: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337288375_Investigations_of_the_Sensitivity_of_Ornamental_Fruit_and_Nut_Plant_Species_to_Driftable_Rates_of_24-D_and_Dicamba Related website:  “Options for Dealing with a Pesticide Drift Incident:” https://edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=PPP-110