Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that trade associations exert political power on behalf of multiple corporations and help funnel hundreds of millions each year into our political system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Lucy Martinez Sullivan, M.B.A., Executive Director of Feed the Truth, a new nonprofit organization which seeks to advance truth, trust and transparency in the food system. Sullivan describes highlights from Feed the Truth’s new report, "Draining the Big Food Swamp" https://feedthetruth.org/drain-the-big-food-swamp/, which looks at the size and correlating political clout of Big Food (and Agriculture). Sullivan explains how “Big Food” influences federal policy, sponsors University research, and controls the narrative on food and agriculture. Related website:   www.feedthetruth.org

Did you know that food insecurity is a chronic societal problem, made worse during the Covid pandemic? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Katie Martin PhD, Executive Director of the Foodshare Institute for Hunger Research & Solutions, and author of Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger (Island Press). Martin shares stories of those who face hunger, explains the difference between food banks and pantries, and speaks to the root causes of hunger, and solutions. As Martin explains, it will take more than food to solve food insecurity: https://www.ittakesmorethanfood.org/ Related website:   https://www.katiesmartin.com/ 

Did you know that fertility has dropped more than 50% over the past 50 years worldwide? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., environmental and reproductive epidemiologist and professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Swan discusses her new book, Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race. Note: April 18-24th is National Infertility Awareness week. https://infertilityawareness.org/ Related website:   https://www.shannaswan.com/ 

Did you know that herbicides account for the highest usage of pesticides in the home and garden sector with over 90 million pounds applied on lawns and gardens per year? This “cosmetic” use of chemicals presents significant environmental and health dangers, especially for children and pets. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Charles “Chip” Osborne, Jr., Horticulturalist, President of Osborne Organics, LLC, and Founder of the Organic Landscape Association. Osborne will discuss how beautiful, healthy grass and gardens can be grown without the use of harmful chemicals and synthetic fertilizers. Osborne is a Board member of Beyond Pesticides. www.beyondpesticides.org Related website:   https://osborneorganics.com/ 

Did you know that tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood and that Maine was the first state to eliminate soft drinks from schools? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jonathan Shenkin, DDS, pediatric dentist based in Augusta, Maine, former Vice President of the American Dental Association, and Clinical Associate Professor of Health Policy, Health Services Research and Pediatric Dentistry at Boston University. Shenkin discusses the impact of Covid-related lifestyle changes on oral health, how sugar causes tooth decay, and the historical role the sugar industry has played in manipulating messaging and policies related to sugar consumption. To learn more about sugar industry impact on National Institute of Dental Research, see: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001798 Related website:   https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/nutrition/food-tips 

Did you know that art has always been a driving force for activism?   Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Chris Jordan, award winning photographer and artist whose work helps us see the impact of consumer culture and our unconscious behaviors. Jordan’s work is a call to action to repair our broken relationship with planet Earth. He is best known for his images of the decaying carcasses of albatross chicks on Midway Island, showing the plastic fragments that filled the birds’ stomachs before they died. His iconic images helped catalyze the growing public awareness of the problem of plastic pollution. Jordan’s film describing the birds’ story is available for free: albatrossthefilm.com.  Read about his images showing consumer culture here: https://orionmagazine.org/article/intolerable-beauty/ 

Did you know that cannabis is comprised of over one hundred different cannabinoids which have a myriad of health benefits? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Janice Newell Bissex MS, RD, Registered Dietitian, Holistic Cannabis Practitioner, and author of the Simple Guide to CBD: Fact, Fiction, and a Path Forward. Bissex discusses the history, biochemical components and medical benefits of cannabis, plus how to choose products in a dizzying unregulated marketplace. For policy updates, see: https://norml.org/ Related website:   www.jannabiswellness.com/ 

Did you know that farming in community creates a social contract between people, and can help lift depression and loneliness? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Molly Rockamann, founding director of Earth Dance Certified Organic Farm School based in Ferguson Missouri. Rockamann discusses her global farming experiences, food sovereignty, agriculture as community catalyst, and the healing nature of agriculture. Rockamann was a featured panelist at the University of MO’s 12th Annual Agroforestry Symposium. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOh8LRAf21gW2dt3uPf_UA Related website:   https://earthdancefarms.org/ 

Did you know that a growing number of students across the country are working to eliminate synthetic herbicide use on their campuses?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mackenzie Feldman, Founder and Executive Director of Herbicide-Free Campus, and Food Research Fellow for Data for Progress where she writes food and agriculture policy for the Green New Deal.  At just 24 years old, Feldman is a strong young leader, and both an inspiration and catalyst for a safer, more sustainable world.  Feldman describes how she began her work to ban harmful herbicides, and her related efforts to promote regenerative agriculture and jobs through the Green New Deal.  Learn more here:  https://inthesetimes.com/.../soil-loss-climate-green-new... and here: https://www.filesforprogress.org/memos/regenerative-farming-and-the-green-new-deal.pdf Related website:   https://www.herbicidefreecampus.org/our-mission 

Did you know that grasslands are essential for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, and ranchers are critical in preserving America’s grassland ecosystem? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Marshall Johnson, Vice-President of the Conservation Ranching Initiative at National Audubon Society. Johnson discusses details of the Conservation Ranching Program, and the connection between grasslands, herds and birds. He discusses how replacing grasslands with row crops has significantly reduced biodiversity, bird populations, and ecosystem services.  Re-establishing grassland grazing and honoring indigenous agricultural practices can help us mitigate climate change and restore our ecosystem. You can hear Johnson present at the Rodale-hosted panel here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfrOSyYm26s&t=2497s. Related website:   www.audubon.org/birdfriendly