What Doesn't Kill You

Katy Keiffer is back from Australia and in the studio for another episode of What Doesn’t Kill You. She’s joined by writer Tom Philpott, the Food and Ag Correspondent for Mother Jones and the cofounder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. He was formerly a columnist and editor for the online environmental site Grist and his work on food politics has appeared in Newsweek, Gastronomica, and the Guardian. Katy and Tom discuss ag-news items like blue green algae in water supplies, neonicotinoid insecticides, Bt-corn and more. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “These are the first instances in the US of people being told they can’t drink their water because of blue green algae.” [07:00] –Tom Philpott on What Doesn’t Kill You

We’re losing our sturgeon supply and black market caviar is becoming a real thing. Tune in to a brand new episode of What Doesn’t Kill You as Katy Keiffer is chatting caviar with Michelle Nijhuis. Michelle writes about science and the environment for National Geographic and other publications. She is also a contributing writer for Smithsonian and a longtime contributing editor of High Country News, a magazine known for its in-depth coverage of environmental issues in the American West. Her most recent piece is called Caviar’s Last Stand, published simultaneously with FERN and Medium, about the loss of a species in the service of gluttony.. for money and for food. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “[Caviar is] small, it can be smuggled – it’s really in some ways the ideal black market item.” [05:00] “Caviar rose in popularity before it came rare. I think it was the allure of a foreign delicacy in Europe that came with that stature. Now that it’s gotten rare, that’s only added to its cache.” [24:00] –Michelle Nijhuis on What Doesn’t Kill You

When it comes to the United States seafood industry, there is perhaps no better thinker and writer than Paul Greenberg. He’s this week’s guest on What Doesn’t Kill You, as host Katy Keiffer picks his brain on all things seafood related. From the salt marshes in Louisiana to the triangular trade of codfish, Paul touches on all corners of the domestic seafood industry and discusses the seriousness of the problems we face as a nation. Why is most of our seafood imported when we have such a bountiful supply? What does the future hold for our fish? Find out on a aquatic episode of What Doesn’t Kill You. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “More than 85% of the seafood Americans eat is coming to us from abroad. Meanwhile, about 3 billion pounds of what we catch, which would be enough to satisfy the per capita demand in this country, is exported.” [03:00] “The United States controls more ocean than any country on earth, but how we came to control all that water was a political slight of hand.” [12:00] “Even after everything that’s been thrown against it, Louisiana is still the largest seafood producer in the continental United States.” [25:00] –Paul Greenberg on What Doesn’t Kill You

River restoration affects more than just the natural environment. On today’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You, learn about one of the most essential restoration projects in the country right now, The San Joaquin River Restoration Program, as host Katy Keiffer chats with Monty Schmitt, Senior Scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the San Joaquin River Restoration Project Manager, Water Program. The SJRRP is a direct result of a Settlement reached in September 2006 on an 18-year lawsuit to provide sufficient fish habitat in the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam near Fresno, California, by the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Friant Water Users Authority (FWUA). The Settlement received Federal court approval in October 2006. Federal legislation was passed in March 2009 authorizing Federal agencies to implement the Settlement. Learn more about the project, the river and all of the issues that surround it. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “Two thirds of all Californians get their water from the Bay Delta.” [09:00] “The San Joaquin River is arguably one of the most degraded large rivers in the country. It’s also one of the hardest working because of how much of the water is diverted for various purposes.” [24:00] “We have to do a much better job managing our limited resource and be prepared for droughts and have better adaptation methods.” [31:00] –Monty Schmitt on What Doesn’t Kill You

If you eat burgers, chances are you’ve enjoyed one from Burger Maker. Their client list includes Five Guys, Cheesecake Factor, Fuddruckers and many many more. Born out of the Meatpacking District in NYC, Burger Maker’s family ownership is in its 4th generation of Meat experience. Beginning with slaughtering and fabrication cattle in the early 30’s in the 125th Street Market, they have evolved today to a purely specialized hamburger company. On a “ground”-breaking episode of What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer chats with Executive Vice President of Burger Maker Jamie Schweid about all things beef related. From market demand to farming practices – get the inside scoop on the burger industry. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center. “The Australian beef supply is arguably as safe as the united states. It’s a very clean product. Almost all of the product there is grass-fed.” [15:00] “The custom blend movement is a small niche movement in the food world that gets a significant amount of publicity for the volume that’s being sold. A custom blend is a great product for a fine dining restaurant.” [17:00] “We have a record low inventory, sales are declining but more and more burger joints are opening. This is something down the road that could lead to a supply challenge.” [29:00] –Jamie Schweid on What Doesn’t Kill You

It’s a very fishy episode of What Doesn’t Kill You as Katy Keiffer’s talking fish with Rick Shepro, author of Degrees of Freshness: The Contemporary International Market for Hyperfresh Seafood. Get some serious insights into the sustainable seafood industry as Rick explores the world of fish in all it’s different forms – wild, farmed, domestic and imported. Learn about Ike Jime, cold chain technology and find out why freshness may be a misleading term when talking about fish. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center. “The seafood market has become more and more international, at the high and low ends of the market.” [02:00] “Fresh used to mean just out of the water. Nowadays people are more likely to talk about freshness in terms of the condition of the fish.” [09:00] “In terms of freshness, properly handled aquaculture products have a huge advantage over wild fish.” [25:00] –Rick Shepro on What Doesn’t Kill You

Get ready to go beyond the label as Katy Keiffer explores the world of olive oil on a new episode of What Doesn’t Kill You. How has California emerged as an olive region? How can you spot fraudulent olive oil? Guest Dan Flynn, Executive Director of UC Davis Olive Center, helps listeners answer these questions. Dan served as a consultant to the California State Legislature from 1985 to 2004 in a variety of policy areas and is the former owner and manager of an organic farm in the Sierra foothills. Dan received a B.A. in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a M.A in Political Science from Rutgers University. This program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants. “We’re trying to do for olives what UC Davis did for wine.” [01:00] “What we’ve found when we analyzed olive oil is that a lot of oil available to consumers here in the US is not meeting the standards of extra virgin. From our view point, there needs to be better methods to analyze quality and the existing standards need to be tightened up.” [09:00] “Olive oil is a fruit juice so freshness is important! One way to determine freshness is the harvest date. In our experience, if a producer cares enough to put a harvest date on the product they usually care about the oil.” [29:00] –Dan Flynn on What Doesn’t Kill You

This week on What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer chats with Patrick Martins about his book, The Carnivore’s Manifesto: Eating Well, Eating Responsibly, and Eating Meat. The book features fifty ways to be an enlightened carnivore, while taking better care of our planet and ourselves. We have evolved as meat eaters, proclaims Patrick Martins, and it’s futile to deny it. But, given the destructive forces of the fast-food industry and factory farming, we need to make smart, informed choices about the food we eat and where it comes from. In 50 short chapters, Martins cuts through organize zealotry and the misleading jargon of food labeling to outline realistic steps everyone can take to be part of the sustainable-food movement. “If there’s a truth out there – that truth applies to everybody whether you’re rich or poor, black or white. The elitism argument [in food] demeans poor people.” [13:00] “We need more farms producing more food for more Americans. That’s one of the goals of this book.” [16:00] –Patrick Martins on What Doesn’t Kill You

Nicholas Freudenberg is Distinguished Professor of Public Health at CUNY’s School of Public Health at Hunter College. He is also co-director of the New York City Food Policy Center at Hunter College. He has written or edited five books and more than 75 scientific articles on urban health policy, HIV prevention, community mobilization for health and the role of food policy in health. Recently, Nicholas wrote Lethal but Legal, a book outlining the ‘corporate consumption complex’. Tune into this week’s edition of What Doesn’t Kill You to hear Nicholas uncover the roots of corporate dominance, the problems with current tax laws, and externalization. Why should government be the only type of organization to monitor industry? How can a society overturn the ‘corporate consumption complex’ and expose the problems of globalization? Find out all of this and more on this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You! Thanks to our sponsor, S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. “Companies propose voluntary guidelines that are much looser than what public health professionals suggest, and then they don’t even follow those guidelines!” [14:35] “Today many regulatory agencies lack the resources, but only government- as an independent voice- can monitor these industries.” [16:00] — Nicholas Freudenberg on What Doesn’t Kill You

The stat sheet on hemp sounds almost too good to be true: its fibers are among the planet’s strongest, its seed oil the most nutritious, and its potential as an energy source vast and untapped. Its one downside? For nearly a century, it’s been illegal to grow industrial cannabis in the United States-even though Betsy Ross wove the nation’s first flag out of hemp fabric, Thomas Jefferson composed the Declaration of Independence on it, and colonists could pay their taxes with it. But as the prohibition on hemp’s psychoactive cousin winds down, one of humanity’s longest-utilized plants is about to be reincorporated into the American economy. Get ready for the newest billion-dollar industry. This week’s guest is Doug Fine, a man who knows his hemp. In his latest book, Hemp Bound:Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution, Doug embarks on a humorous yet rigorous journey to meet the men and women who are testing, researching, and pioneering hemp’s applications for the twenty-first century. Tune in to this episode of What Doesn’t Kill You as Doug goes from A-Z on hemp and makes a serious case for this serious crop. This program was brought to you by Consider Bardwell. “Hemp is any variety of the cannabis plant that has .3% or less of THC.” [02:00] “There are farmers making money growing hemp and americans know it know – that’s why it’s coming back.” [08:00] “I think we’re going to have a world leading [hemp] industry here very very soon.” [10:00] –Doug Fine on What Doesn’t Kill You