Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that astronauts’ liquid wastes are recycled into drinking water in space? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Peter Annin, national water journalist, director of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation at Northland College, Ashland, WI, and author of Purified: How Recycled Sewage is Transforming Our Water. Annin reports on multiple successful national examples where human waste is filtered, treated and transformed into vital pure water.Related website:  https://www.purifiedbook.com/

Did you know that heavily subsidized biogas digesters pose a risk to rural communities and are not the climate-change solution they’re made out to be? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Chloe Waterman, M.S., Senior Program Manager for Climate Friendly Foods at Friends of the Earth. Waterman discusses the hazards of Biogas and key points from the Friends of the Earth report on the topic, titled: “Biogas or Bull***? The Deceptive Promise of Manure Biogas as a Methane Solution.”Related website:  Friends of the Earth:https://foe.org/resources/biogas-or-bull/ Big Oil and Big Ag Ponzi Scheme: Factor Farm Biogas (Food and Water Watch): https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2024/01/09/the-big-oil-and-big-ag-ponzi-scheme-factory-farm-biogas/ Food System Reform Act: https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-introduces-package-of-bills-to-reform-us-food-system 

Author Marianne Landzettel discusses sustainable meat production, highlighting regenerative farming benefits and climate impact. Contrasts in agriculture between EU and US are explored, emphasizing soil health importance. Nutritional differences in grass-fed vs. grain-fed beef are examined, along with humane slaughter practices in meat production.

Did you know that there is solid science behind concerns regarding the safety of genetically modified crops? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Timothy Wise, MS, author of Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food, and Senior Advisor at the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy. Wise discusses GM corn, and the impact of the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (formerly NAFTA) on Mexican food sovereignty.Related website:  https://www.iatp.org/about/staff/timothy-wise Mexico Defends GM Corn Restrictions with Science: An Analysis of Mexico’s response in the USMCA dispute: https://www.iatp.org/mexicos-science-based-defense-gm-corn-restrictions

Did you know that 80% of the avocadoes consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Alexander Sammon, politics writer for Slate, journalist and author of “Forbidden Fruit: The anti-avocado militias of Michoacan.”  Sammon describes the impact of U.S. trade policies on avocado imports, the environmental impacts of avocado production, and the violence related to avocado farming in Mexico.  Note: Cinco de Mayo is the second largest avocado consuming day in the U.S.Related website:  https://harpers.org/archive/2023/11/forbidden-fruit-avocado-militias-michoacan-mexico/

Author Austin Frerick discusses monopolies, exploitation, and corruption in the food industry. He highlights how anti-trust legislation protects democracy and reveals the impact of industry consolidation on small businesses and communities. The podcast also explores Walmart's 'plus one' strategy and its effects on food quality and labor costs.

Did you know that prenatal exposure to glyphosate has been associated with shorter gestational time in utero, decreased fetal growth and preterm birth?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Cynthia Curl, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Co-Director, Center for Excellence in Environmental Health & Safety, at Boise State University. Curl founded and directs the Agricultural Health Lab where her research focuses on the intersection between agriculture and human health. Curl discusses her recent research on pesticide exposure during pregnancy, and the impact of consuming organic vs. conventional diets. Related website:  https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP12768 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37493357/ Agriculture Health Lab: https://www.boisestate.edu/agriculturalhealth/

Did you know that climate change is an imminent threat to human health, yet most schools do not provide education about climate change and its health impacts? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Michelle Loosli, Senior Manager for Climate Education at the American Public Health Association’s Center for Climate, Health and Equity. Loosli discusses a new educational tool kit on climate and health for students in grades 9-12. She explains climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, and provides ways youth can take action towards climate repair, rather than despair. Note: April 1-8 is Worldwide Climate and Justice Education WeekRelated website:  www.apha.org/Climate-Change https://www.apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/topics/climate/Climate_and_Health_Youth_Education_Toolkit.pdf 

Did you know that fossil fuel subsidies contribute to the “cheap” cost of plastic? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Bev Thorpe, Co-Founder of Clean Production Action, a resource to advance a non-toxic economy. Thorpe describes the “triple planetary crisis,” and shares strategies to move away from harmful fossil-fuel based chemicals used widely in our food system.Related website:  Clean Production Action’s “Green Screen:” https://www.cleanproduction.org/programs/greenscreen  

Did you know that heavy metals are present in a wide variety of our foods? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Conrad Choiniere, Ph.D. Director, Office of Analytics and Outreach, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Choiniere discusses common heavy metals in our food supply, and specifically the recent investigation into lead-contaminated cinnamon applesauce. Choiniere chairs FDA's Toxic Elements Working Group, which prioritizes the Administration's efforts to reduce exposures to lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals from foods to the greatest extent feasible.Related website:  Closer to Zero: https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/closer-zero-reducing-childhood-exposure-contaminants-foods https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/investigation-elevated-lead-chromium-levels-cinnamon-applesauce-pouches-november-2023?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery