Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that our daily food and beverage choices have a collective impact on global sustainability?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jennifer Jay, Ph.D., professor of environmental engineering in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.   Jay does the math, calculating the global environmental impacts and costs of the food on our plates.   Jay discusses the costs of industrial food production, from greenhouse gas emissions, to loss of biodiversity, and antibiotic resistance. She describes how we can all help meet Paris Climate Accord targets and reduce our personal carbon footprints with a few simple changes in our dietary habits.Related website:  https://meals4planet.org/

Did you know that mindfulness is a powerful tool for creating healthful lifestyle changes?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andrea Lieberstein,  Registered Dietitian,  and author of “Well Nourished: Mindful Practices to Heal Your Relationship with Food, Feed Your Whole Self, and End Overeating.”  Lieberstein defines mindful eating, and explains how to fill common voids in our lives without food.  Better than dieting, Lieberstein advises that we nourish ourselves with compassion, and feed eight core needs without food.Related website:  http://yourwellnourishedlife.com/

Did you know that nature provides a wide range of valuable and efficient services to society, including flood water management, pollination and air and water cleaning? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Steven Apfelbaum, Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, and Founder and Chairman of Applied Ecological Services. Apfelbaum defines ecology and describes how nature’s ecological services benefit society and restore our environment. Apfelbaum also discusses ways climate change can be reversed by changing current practices of agriculture and land management to emulate nature, restore biodiversity, and sequester carbon through regenerative farming, forestry, and grazing practices.Apfelbaum is co-author of Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land (Island Press), which was written to help landowners and land stewards develop and implement land-restoration programs. He is also the author of the award-winning book, Nature’s Second Chance (Beacon Press), which was named one of the “top 10 books for understanding what we can do about climate change.”  Apfelbaum also appears in “Unbroken Ground” (film/Patagonia), which connects food, agriculture and climate change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ezkp7Cteys

Did you know that use of the herbicide dicamba on genetically modified (GMO) soy and cotton crops threatens health-promoting fruit, vegetable and tree crops? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Steve Smith, Director of Agriculture for Red Gold Tomatoes, and Chairman of the Save our Crops Coalition. Smith describes the risks of using Dicamba, why farmers think they have to use it, and the tragedies of crop and tree loss, as well as divided rural communities.  In 2018, EPA extended the registration for two years for over-the-top use (i.e. use on growing plants) of dicamba to control weeds in fields of cotton and soybean plants genetically engineered to resist dicamba.  However, tax-payer funded state departments of agriculture cannot keep up with calls reporting herbicide drift damage. And farmers struggle to receive compensation from crop loss.Related website: https://hygeia-analytics.com/2018/11/02/steve-smith-on-epas-decision-to-extend-extendimax-et-al/

Did you know that soil quality is at the heart of abundant, nutrient-dense food? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kris Nichols, Ph.D., soil microbiologist.  She describes soil health, discusses the state of our soils, and explains her work to regenerate soils for healthy crops, people and planet.  Her work connects the dots between regenerative agricultural practices to public health, resilient communities and strong global economies.Dr. Kris Nichols is a Soil Microbiologist with over 25 years of research experience specifically studying mycorrhizal fungi.  She was formerly Chief Scientist at the Rodale Institute, a Research (Soil) Microbiologist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in North Dakota and a Biological Laboratory Technician with ARS in Beltsville, MD.  She is the founder and principal scientist of KRIS Systems Education & Consultation and a sub-contractor with Soil Health Consulting, Inc.  She focuses   on biological methods for agricultural production tools and practices to reduce pests, soil erosion, fossil fuel use, and greenhouse gas emissions.Related website: http://kris-systems.com/

Did you know that prisoners face dehumanizing conditions, including poor food quality and quantity? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mataka Askari, a Missouri citizen who was incarcerated for 23 years for a non-violent drug offense. Askari  describes his food and life experiences during his years of incarceration.Related website: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/07/07/what-s-in-a-prison-meal

Did you know that “cheap” food carries a high cost? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Annelise Orleck, Ph.D., professor of history at Dartmouth college and author of “We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now: The Global Uprising Against Poverty Wages.” Dr. Orleck pulls back the curtain on exploitive and otherwise invisible labor conditions in food, agriculture, restaurant and retail industries, and shares empowering stories of organized workers who strive for dignity and respect.Related website: http://www.beacon.org/We-Are-All-Fast-Food-Workers-Now-P1334.aspx

Did you know that food-borne illness can result in much more than a simple “tummy ache” – leading to chronic illness and even death? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her discussion with Deirdre Schlunegger, Chief Executive Officer of Stop Food-borne Illness, a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from food-borne pathogens. Schlunegger explains how Stop Food-borne Illness helps promote sound food safety policy, best practices, public awareness, and provides assistance to those impacted by food-borne illness.Related website:  http://www.stopfoodborneillness.org/

Did you know that an alternative to our current exploitive industrial food system is possible? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine  Alliance, and Executive Director of  the National Family Farm Coalition. Dorry shares highlights from her “America the Bountiful” national tour where she witnessed the interdependence between eaters and farming and fishing communities. She discusses common challenges facing all food producers, plus solutions and reasons for hope in rebuilding truly sustainable regional food systems, based in justice and equity.Related website:  http://www.namanet.org/america-the-bountiful

Did you know that more than 10,000 chemicals are allowed to be added to our food, but not all are tested for safety?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sheela Sathyanarayana, M.D., MPH,  associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, and co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new policy statement on “Food Additives and Child Health.” Dr. Sathyanarayana discusses the regulatory system that provides loopholes for manufacturers, as well as the impact of direct (colors, flavors) and indirect (through manufacturing and packaging) food additives on children’s health and behavior. She also provides tips for protecting children from harmful additives.Related website:  http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2018/07/19/peds.2018-1408.full.pdf