
Food Sleuth Radio
Dietitian Melinda Hemmelgarn helps listeners “think beyond their plates,” connect the dots between food, health and agriculture, and find food truth.
Latest episodes

Feb 12, 2021 • 28min
Holly DeLong, MS, RDN discusses food and mood.
Did you know that what and when we eat can affect our mood? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Holly DeLong, MS, RDN. DeLong discusses how food affects mood, sleep, immunity and stress with specific dietary recommendations. Related website: www.yourfoodandmood.com

Feb 5, 2021 • 28min
Mark McBrine, organic farmer and Food Service Manager at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, Maine.
Did you know that with few exceptions, the food served in prison does not support mental and physical health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mark McBrine, organic farmer and Food Service Manager at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, Maine. McBrine describes his unique transformational food and farming operation at a state prison that provides healing food for the incarcerated, reduces behavioral problems, and saves taxpayer dollars. In addition, his extensive farm and scratch-cooking program gives job training skills to inmates, better preparing them for work in their communities. Related website: https://www.farmtoinstitution.org/blog/feeding-incarcerated-people-pandemic-how-one-maine-prison-adapting

Jan 29, 2021 • 28min
Alison Alkon, Ph.D., professor of sociology at the University of the Pacific, discusses her TED talk titled: “Food as Radical Empathy.”
Did you know that food is more than sustenance? It defines who we are, Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Alison Alkon, Ph.D., professor of sociology at the University of the Pacific (https://liberalarts.pacific.edu/campus-directory/alkon-alison), who discusses her TED talk titled: “Food as Radical Empathy.” Alkon defines food justice, and introduces her newly published book, A Recipe for Gentrification: Food, Power, and Resistance in the City (co-edited with Yuki Kato and Joshua Sbicca). Related website: https://www.ted.com/talks/alison_alkon_food_as_racial_empathy

Jan 22, 2021 • 28min
Leslie Soble, M.A., Impact Justice Food in Prison Project reviews “Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison”
Did you know that food is an integral part of the human experience, yet that which is served in prison most often fails to contribute to the rehabilitation of those who are incarcerated? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Leslie Soble, M.A., Impact Justice research fellow for the Food in Prison Project and lead author of the report, “Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison.” Soble reviews and discusses the first of its kind comprehensive review of food served in state prisons. In the 6-part report, Soble reveals that some food served in prison is labeled “not for human consumption,” and describes unique and model facilities where food is part of rehabilitation. A webinar featuring Soble and a former inmate can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY39ejRc2zQ Related website: https://impactjustice.org/impact/food-in-prison/#report

Jan 15, 2021 • 28min
Rob Faux, Ph.D., organic farmer and Pesticide Action Network’s Communications Associate for Iowa discusses herbicide damage to his crops.
Did you know that the herbicide, dicamba, threatens organic farmers’ economic viability as well as consumer access to local fresh organic fruits and vegetables? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Rob Faux, Ph.D., organic farmer and Pesticide Action Network’s Communications Associate for Iowa. Faux owns and operates the Genuine Faux Farm near Tripoli, Iowa, where he produces a wide variety of health-promoting produce for his community. There's just one problem: drift from the herbicide dicamba, used on GMO soy and corn, threatens his ability to farm, and his community’s access to health promoting food. Follow Faux’s farm updates here: https://genfaux.blogspot.com/ Related website: https://www.panna.org/blog/im-living-dicamba-nightmare

Jan 8, 2021 • 28min
Lani Eckart-Dodd, Native Hawaiian farmer, educator, and water rights advocate from Maui discusses the impact of colonization on cultural foodways.
Did you know that Native Hawaiians lost much of their connection to cultural foodways due to colonization? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview withLani Eckart-Dodd, Native Hawaiian farmer, educator, and water rights advocate from Maui. Eckart-Dodd defines “Aloha Aina,” and discusses native foods, and the impact of sugar plantations and Christian missionaries on indigenous culture, environment and food sovereignty. Related website: https://www.huionawaieha.org/nawaiehainformation

Jan 1, 2021 • 28min
Jean La Mantia, R.D., Registered Dietitian, discusses eating to reduce inflammation.
Did you know that chronic inflammation is a risk for a host of diseases? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jean La Mantia, Registered Dietitian, author, speaker & cancer survivor, based in Toronto, Canada. La Mantia discusses the risks of chronic inflammation, and describes the benefits of both an anti-inflammatory diet and intermittent fasting. Her webinar on the topic can be viewed here: https://healthcare.orgain.com/webinar/course/view/id/anti-inflammatory-diet Related website: https://jeanlamantia.com/

Dec 25, 2020 • 28min
Autumn Ness, Director of Hawai'i Organic Land Management
Did you know that Hawaii imports the majority of its food, leaving its citizens vulnerable to food shortages during disasters? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Autumn Ness, Director of Hawai'i Organic Land Management a Program of Beyond Pesticides based in Maui. Ness discusses her efforts to regulate widespread pesticide spraying, and implement a local food hub (see: https://mauihub.org/)in the wake of pandemic food system disruption. The food hub supports local organic farmers, strengthens the local economy and feeds people well. Related website: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/hawaii

Dec 18, 2020 • 28min
Brian Ronholm, Director of Food Policy for Consumer Reports compares the credible “One Health,” to the misleading “One Health Certified” food label.
Did you know that “One Health” is a valid, interdisciplinary approach to public health that connects human, animal, and environmental health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Brian Ronholm, Director of Food Policy for Consumer Reports, and former Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA. Ronholm compares the credible “One Health,” (www.cdc.gov/onehealth/who-we-are/one-health-office-fact-sheet.html) to the misleading “One Health Certified” food label. Related website: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2020/07/consumer-reports-one-health-certified-label-is-meaningless-misleading/#

Dec 11, 2020 • 28min
Jennifer Smilowitz, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Human Studies Research Program for the Foods for Health Institute at UC Davis discusses multiple benefits of breastfeeding, protection against Covid, and importance of lactation consultants.
Did you know that breast milk is a complex system that is both responsive and dynamic? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jennifer Smilowitz, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Human Studies Research Program for the Foods for Health Institute at UC Davis, and Director of Scientific and Strategic Development for the International Milk Genomics Consortium. Smilowitz discusses highlights from the Annual International Symposium on Milk Science and Health,including research showing that Covid-19 antibodies (but not virus) are passed through breastmilk. She also discusses common breastfeeding problems, and the need for both paid parental leave and affordable, easy access to well-trained lactation consultants to help support optimal infant health. (Part 2 of 2). For part 1, see: https://beta.prx.org/stories/349235 Related website: https://milkgenomics.org/17th-annual-international-symposium-on-milk-genomics-and-human-health/