Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that “food touches everything?” Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Laura Titzer, community food organizer based in Seattle, WA, and author of “No Table Too Small: Engaging in the Art and Attitude of Social Change.” Titzer discusses her work history, defines food “activist,” and describes barriers to, and solutions for food justice.Related website:  http://thefoodcoup.com/no-table-too-small-the-book/

Did you know that labor union contracts help protect slaughterhouse workers’ health and safety? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dennis Olson, Senior Research Associate and Policy Analyst for the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union. Olson describes how labor unions in poultry slaughterhouses help uphold safer line speeds. He also describes the Center for Good Food Purchasing (https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/) which uses collective buying power to drive market shifts towards fair labor practices, local economies, environmental sustainability, sound nutrition and animal welfare. Finally, Olson discusses the demise of Country of Origin Labeling and the loopholes of the “Product of USA” label. If you support fair meat labeling, a comment period on Product of USA labels is open until August 17, 2018. Learn more through the Organization for  Competitive Markets ( https://competitivemarkets.com) and American Grassfed Association (https://www.americangrassfed.org/news/ ); comment here: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FSIS-2018-0024Related website:  www.ufcw.org

Did you know that water is our most important nutrient, and industrial agricultural production methods threaten water quality, public health, and quality of life in rural communities? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with William Stowe, CEO and General Manager of the Des Moines Water Works. Stowe sits on the board of directors of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, which comprises the largest drinking water utilities in North America. He describes the environmental and economic impacts of industrial agriculture on rural communities, with citizens forced to pay to clean up polluted water which threatens their health and prohibits recreational water use.  Stowe exposes the “feed the world” meme, explaining how conventional Midwestern agriculture (corn, soy) feeds gas tanks, and hogs that go to China – at the expense of the local environment and all who live downstream. He provides listeners with tips for strengthening local control, and knowing and protecting our watersheds.Related website:  http://www.dmww.com

Did you know that as of May 2018, menus at fast food and chain restaurants, as well as ready-to-eat foods in supermarkets will have to provide calorie and nutrition information to customers?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Margo Wootan, Ph.D., Director of Nutrition Policy at the Washington, D.C. – based Center for Science in the Public Interest, and key in creating new menu labeling laws.  Wootan explains that with one third of our calories from meals eaten away from home, the food choices we make in restaurants and supermarkets can have a lifelong impact on our health and well-being. A 2018 review of nearly 30 studies found that menu labeling helps people cut approximately 50 calories per meal – significant because our national obesity epidemic is explained by about 200 calories extra per day.  A typical entree at a restaurant can easily contain over 1,000 calories.Related website:  https://cspinet.org/resource/nutrition-labeling-restaurants-supermarkets-other-food-service-establishments

Did you know that organic farming methods could help mitigate climate change, reduce pollution and improve the nutritional quality of our diets?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jessica Shade, Ph.D., Director of Science Programs at the Organic Center. Shade explores the science that supports the benefits of organic food and farming, including soil health, carbon sequestration, a reduction in nitrogen pollution, and greater resiliency in the face of climate challenges.Related website:  www.organic-center.org

Did you know that approximately 12% of the U.S. population is food insecure, and that many rely on charity to survive?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andy Fisher, community food security advocate, and author of “Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups.” Fisher explores the charity model and the “big business” of hunger relief in the United States. He offers visionary, alternative models for sustainable solutions to food insecurity which  minimize food waste, and promote job creation and public health.Related website:  https://www.bighunger.org/

Did you know that the development of obesity is dependent upon more than simple caloric balance? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Bruce Blumberg, Ph.D., Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology at the University of California-Irvine, and author of “The Obesogen Effect: Why We Eat Less and Exercise More but Still Struggle to Lose Weight.” Blumberg explains how modern chemicals can influence how our bodies metabolize calories, and describes how we can reduce our exposure to those chemicals most likely to disrupt our endocrine system.  Dr. Blumberg spoke about “obesogens” at the 36th annual Beyond Pesticide Forum in Irvine, CA, April 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6iMz_etAOA&index=11&list=PLHS5IfcgFy5f9bQpdlh6131kcu0IADlaWRelated website:  https://theobesogeneffect.com/

Did you know that healthful foodsheds are key to democracy and a sustainable future? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Philip Ackerman-Leist, M.S., organic farmer, professor of sustainable agriculture and food systems at Green Mountain College (VT), and author of “A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement.” Ackerman-Leist shares the David-and-Goliath story of Mals, Italy, the tiny town whose residents put their children’s health and future first, and by a referendum vote, banned the use of pesticides. Ackerman-Leist helps us understand how and why protecting and rebuilding our foodsheds is key to a sustainable future, and how no food and agriculture policy change is too difficult if community  members join together with a positive vision and cooperative actions.Related website:  www.topplinggoliath.org

Did you know that we depend on hundreds of thousands of Latino farm workers who perform skilled and strenuous labor under harsh conditions in the state of California? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Gabriel Thompson,  award-winning investigative journalist, and author of Chasing the Harvest: Migrant Workers in California Agriculture, an oral history collection of California farm workers (Verso, 2017). The book is published in conjunction with the non-profit, Voice of Witness, http://voiceofwitness.org/oral-history-book-series/chasing-the-harvest/.With immigration and farm bill policy on our radar, Thompson pulls back the curtain on farm labor, including largely hidden injustices.  Thompson work has won the Studs Terkel Media Award and the Sidney Award for socially conscious journalism.Related website:   https://gabrielthompson.org/

Did you know that an increasing number of hospitals nationwide are investing in on-site farms,  farmers’ markets, and “good” food prescription projects?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sue Erhardt, Executive Director of the Allegheny Mountain Institute. AMI is an educational non-profit organization with the mission to cultivate healthy communities through food and farming education. Inspired by Cesar Chavez, Erhardt describes her work to improve the food system, and AMI’s unique fellowship program which prepares individuals to become farmers, teachers and ambassadors for health-promoting food systems. Recognizing food as medicine, and access to “good” food as critical to reversing costly chronic disease, AMI’s new partnership with Augusta Health, a non-profit regional hospital, promises to boost patient, employee, and community health by increasing access to nutrient-dense, fresh, healthful food. Tune in to learn about this remarkable Institute and synergistic partnership between farms, hospitals and communities. This good food news story provides a national model for positive food system change.Related website:   https://www.alleghenymountaininstitute.org/