Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that water is our most important nutrient, and it is often contaminated with a variety of common contaminants? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Aly Cohen, board certified rheumatologist, integrative medicine, and environmental health expert. Cohen discusses the importance of water quality, common contaminants, filters, national regulation and health. (Part 2 of 2)  Related website:  https://www.alycohenmd.com/welcome.html 

Did you know that environmental chemical exposures impact our immune system, inflammatory response, and risk for COVID-19? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Aly Cohen, board certified rheumatologist, integrative medicine, and environmental health expert. Cohen discusses key points from the book she co-authored, Non-Toxic: Guide to Living Healthy in a Chemical World, and her TEDx talk titled: "How to Protect Your Kids from Toxic Chemicals".  (Part 1 of 2)  Related website:  https://thesmarthuman.com/ https://www.alycohenmd.com/environmental-health.html

Did you know that food is a driver of economic and community development? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Craig Willingham, MPH, Deputy Director of the City University of NY Urban Food Policy Institute. Willingham discusses food insecurity, food access, food justice, policy, and the multiple community benefits of urban gardens in NY City during and beyond COVID-19.  He also discusses “food metrics.”  Related website:  https://www.cunyurbanfoodpolicy.org/

Did you know that wild plants offer a variety of nutritional, medicinal and ecosystem benefits? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dina Falconi, clinical herbalist, wildcrafter, and author of Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook. Falconi describes her personal journey into the joys of foraging, and benefits of appreciating nature’s therapeutic and beautiful plants.  Related website:  www.foragingandfeasting.com

Did you know that women were the core of the Black Panther Party? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Judy Juanita, MFA, novelist, poet, playwright and former Black Panther member. Juanita describes the Panthers’ work, including the free breakfast program for poor children, the historical struggles of Black people in the U.S., and the role of food in social justice.  Related website:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuxGFNnXSbU&list=PLOyuQaVrp4qqys-SpZYfxSMD9I

Did you know that the foundation of food safety in America is primarily focused on pathogen and microbiological contaminants? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jackie Bowen, M.S., MPH, Executive Director of the Clean Label Project, a national non-profit with the mission to bring truth and transparency to food and consumer product labeling.  Bowen discusses common contaminants, in foods, including heavy metals, processing and packaging chemicals.  Related website:  www.cleanlabelproject.organd www.puremarket.com

Did you know that good nutrition is key to a strong immune system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Lisa McDowell, M.S., R.D., Registered Dietitian and Director of Nutrition at St Joseph Mercy Health System, based in Ann Arbor, MI where she started a 25-acre organic farm to ensure fresh produce for patients and employees. In 2011, McDowell began working with the Detroit Red Wings professional ice hockey team, and is now their official team dietitian. McDowell tells her story of being infected with Covid-19, and provides nutritional tips for preventing and surviving the illness.  Related website:  https://soundcloud.com/officialredwings/the-red-and-white-authority-episode-145-lisa-mcdowell-red-wings-team-dietitian

Did you know that litigation can help drive legislation? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kim E. Richman, Founding Partner at Richman Law Group which specializes in consumer protection and civil rights litigation with the goal of protecting public health and our environment. The Richman Law Group investigates corporations that may be engaging in deceptive marketing; they verify the accuracy of  claims, and hold companies accountable if such claims turn out to be false or deceptive. For example, Richman discusses legal actions taken against food manufacturers who label their products as "natural" but contain GMOs, herbicide residues, and more. A summary of his firm’s work on food labeling and transparency can be found here: https://richmanlawgroup.com/what-we-do-3/consumer-protection/food-labeling-and-transparency/#generalmillsnaturevalley.  Related website:  https://richmanlawgroup.com/

Did you know that the Smithfield pork processing plant in Milan, Missouri processes 10,500 hogs per day? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Axel Fuentes, Executive Director, Rural Community Workers Alliance, and labor organizer. Fuentes shares real life experiences of Smithfield meat processing plant workers including: line speed, repetitive injuries and lack of bathroom breaks. Now, workers face dire risk from COVID-19 infection because of unsafe working conditions.  Related website:  http://foodchainworkers.org/portfolio/rural-community-workers-alliance/

Did you know that Article 14 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights declares that  ​ “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution”?Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Karen Ehrens, Registered Dietitian based in Bismarck, North Dakota. Ehrens discusses her recent trip to the U.S./Mexican border where she witnessed the living conditions of sheltered immigrants and farm workers, and shares the stories of vulnerable populations, including mothers fleeing violence with their children. Ehrens shares her diary notes here: www.openingborders.com/february-2020.html  Related website:  https://www.bread.org/sites/default/files/downloads/briefing-paper-undocumented-immigrants-face-higher-poverty-rates-june-2017.pdf