What Doesn't Kill You

Jane Black is a journalist who covers food politics, trends and sustainability issues. Her column, “Smarter Food”, appears monthly in the Washington Post and her work appears regularly in the New York Times, the Atlantic, and New York Magazine. This week on What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer chats with Jane about her recent article entitled “SNAP Judgment” in Slate Magazine (co-published by the Food and Environmental Reporting Network) that analyzes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Why do certain politicians historically vote against SNAP benefits based on their relationships with corporate food lobbyists? How are these political relationships changing? Are there ways to regulate the types of food or beverages that can be purchased with SNAP benefits, and will anti-hunger groups support these types of legislation? How do SNAP recipients feel about the idea of regulations on their benefits? Hear Katy and Jane talk about the lack of nutrition education, and the roots of the obesity epidemic in this country. Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery. Today’s music has been provided by Dead Stars. “Back when they first started fighting for food stamps, the food companies would help the anti-hunger organizations because at that time, people with low incomes were hungry as opposed to obese. It was a perfect partnership!” [3:25] — Jane Black on What Doesn’t Kill You See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patty Lovera is the Assistant Director of Food & Water Watch. She coordinates the food team. Patty has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Lehigh University and a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Michigan. Before joining Food & Water Watch, Patty was the deputy director of the energy and environment program at Public Citizen and a researcher at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. On this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You, host Katy Keiffer talks with Patty about the current motion that the Food & Water Watch have filed to intervene in a case filed by entities in the meat industry against the EPA to shut down the gathering of basic information about CAFO’s. Tune-in to find out how Patty and the Food & Water Watch is making an impact in our food systems and regulations today. To donate to protect your food and water, be sure to visit Food And Water Watch today. This program has been sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “Before you know how to regulate it, you have to know what you’re dealing with.” [17:35] — Patty Lovera on What Doesn’t Kill YouSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Arsenic in our food supply? This week on What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer checks in Dr. Urvashi Rangan regarding the prevalence of arsenic in food products like rice, apple juice, and poultry. Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D. leads and directs the Consumer Safety and Sustainability Group for Consumer Reports. She is responsible for managing risk analysis, policy assessments, label evaluations and consumer advice for tests, reports, and related advocacy work. Urvashi joined Consumers Union in 1999 and developed the ratings system, database, and Web site, Eco-labels.org for evaluating environmental and food labels. Dr. Rangan serves as a primary, national spokesperson for Consumer Reports in the areas of sustainable production/consumption practices, food safety, and product safety issues related to chemical and contaminant hazards. How are aresenicals introduced into the food supply? Find out ways to avoid arsenic by filtering drinking water, and selectively sourcing apple juice. Are cancer rates at all related to rice consumption due to arsenic levels? Find out all of this and more on this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You! Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery. Thanks to Dead Stars for today’s music. “Rice likes to take up arsenic in general because it is grown in anaerobic conditions.” [4:45] “We should all be really concerned about our exposure to heavy metals over time.” [10:40] — Dr. Urvashi Rangan on What Doesn’t Kill You See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hospital food has a pretty awful reputation, and the Physicians for Social Responsibility are working on new procurement opportunities that include small farmers and focus on anti-biotic free meat. Tune in to this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You as Katy Keiffer is joined by Robert Gould, a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility and Professor and Vice Chair of Radiology for Technology and Capital Projects at the University of California, San Francisco. Find out why it’s so difficult to change the culture of eating within hospitals, and why contract purchasing companies need to hear feedback from institutions regarding food. Do patients who eat better food have better health outcomes? Tune in to learn what the Physicians for Social Responsibility are doing for the environment outside of the agricultural scope. Hear about their projects that aim to curb chemical waste, and find out where Dr. Gould stands on subtherapeutic antibiotic applications. This program has been sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. Thanks to Idgy Dean for today’s break music. “In certain food deserts, Kaiser has set up farmers markets. It’s the only place in the area where you can get locally-grown, organic food.” [28:30]See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Margo Wootan is the director of nutrition policy at CSPI. Wootan received her B.S. in nutrition from Cornell University and her doctorate in nutrition from Harvard University’s School of Public Health. Wootan co-founded and coordinates the activities of the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) and the Food Marketing Workgroup. She has coordinated and led efforts to require calorie labeling at fast-food and other chain restaurants, require trans fat labeling on packaged foods, improve school foods, reduce junk-food marketing aimed at children, and expand the nutrition and physical activity program at CDC. Wootan has received numerous awards and is quoted regularly in the nation’s major media. This week on What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer is taking on school food with Margo. Tune into this episode to hear about Margo’s work with school food, and how recent legislation is changing snacking in schools. Find out why vending machines were introduced into schools in the 70s in order to bolster underfunded school programs. How do schools eliminate the stigma associated with buying school lunch? Find out all of this and more on this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You! Thanks to our sponsor, White Oak Pastures. Today’s music has been provided by Dead Stars. “School lunches teach kids how to eat healthy, and prepare them to eat healthily their whole lives.” [5:35] “Kids have a more refined palate than in the past, and they want to try new food items.” [22:40] — Margo Wootan on What Doesn’t Kill You See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer is talking with Thomas Fox about sustainable building practices. Thomas Fox writes on far-ranging interests, among them sustainability and resilience. An attorney and research editor at Reader’s Digest, Fox is the author of Green Town USA and Urban Farming: Sustainable City Living in Your Backyard, in Your Community, and in the World. His work has been published in The Washington Post, Wine Enthusiast, and elsewhere. Hear how a devastating tornado caused Greensburg, Kansas to “go green” in their rebuilding efforts post-storm. How did the storm help Greenburg’s citizens reconnect with their homesteading roots? What environmentally-friendly technologies did Greensburg implement in the build? Find out how weather resilience in Greensburg has increased after the rebuilding process, and learn how climate change is affecting tornado activity in the Midwest. Today’s program has been brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery. Thanks to Dead Stars for today’s music. “People in the Midwest aren’t prepared for these kind of wind events. But then again, us on the East Coast are not prepared for floods!” [17:00] “Producing a pound of cement produces about a pound of carbon dioxide.” [21:10] — Thomas Fox on What Doesn’t Kill You See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katy Keiffer is discussing the sale of Smithfield to Shuanghui International Holdings on this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You with meat industry insider Raoul Baxter. What makes this deal any different than, say, the sale of Swift to JBS, a Brazilian company? What implications will this sale have on American pork prices and production? Raoul gives some very important insight and gives listeners his honest perspective on the situation, noting that at the end of the day The American meat industry is, and will remain, the most inspected and safe industry in the world. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “Over time you will see the amount of pork needed in America go up – and what Smithfield can’t supply it will spill over to other packers. I think it’s a positive for prices.” [14:00] “Nobody said a word when JBS, a Brazilian company, bought Swift.” [14:30] “The American meat industry is the most inspected industry in the world!” [17:00] — Raoul Baxter on What Doesn’t Kill You See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer is joined by Paul Willis, Manager of Niman Ranch Pork Company, former Peace Corps volunteer, father, grandfather, husband, community advocate, sustainability expert, owner and operator of Willis Free Ranch Pig Farm, Global Animal Partnership Board member, and Step-rated farmer 5-step pork farmer. Paul and Katy discuss everything from the history of Niman ranch to the recent proposed sale of Smithfield to Shuanghui International. If you’re at all interested in pork production, tune in for an informative and fun episode of What Doesn’t Kill You. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch. Music provided courtesy of The California Honeydrops. “We really have a different product, and we have people that are willing to pay for it because it tastes better and they don’t want to eat animals that have lived under stresseful conditions and force fed things to be kept alive.” [20:00] — Paul Willis, Manager of Niman Ranch Pork Company on What Doesn’t Kill YouSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on What Doesn’t Kill You, Dr. Scott Hurd, Associate Professor and Director of the Food Risk Modeling and Policy Laboratory at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames, Iowa, talks with us over the phone about antibiotics in our food system today. He also served as Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety at the USDA in 2008, and in this position he directed all federal meat and poultry inspection. Learn where Dr. Hurd stands in the antibiotic debate, and our current state in terms of developing new drugs, getting new antibiotics to our farmers, and creating a better animal and livestock industry within our communities. Dr. Hurd also goes in depth with current legislation for passing new antibiotics within Congress, and provides a solution for solving the animal infectious diseases problem. Tune in to see how the current state of antibiotics is changing rapidly within our food system today, and how finding a way to present this issue to the media and consumers is such a key component in solving the problem. Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery. Today’s break music has been provided by takstar. “Bottom line, what they’re left with on the farm right now are ancient antibiotics. They need us to help them.” [15:20] — Dr. Scott Hurd on What Doesn’t Kill YouSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emily Meredith is back for this week’s episode of What Doesn’t Kill You! Emily is the communications director for the Animal Agriculture Alliance. Established in 1987, the Animal Agriculture Alliance includes individuals, companies, and organizations who are interested in helping consumers better understand the role animal agriculture plays in providing a safe, abundant food supply to a hungry world. Emily is also the blogger for MeatingPlace.com’s “Activist Watch” blog. Tune in to hear Katy Keiffer talk about Emily’s job in the meat industry as ‘damage control’, and how she wades through the treacherous waters of meat PR. Tune in to hear more about animal welfare, insider video leaks, and curbing animal abuse. Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery. “A lot of people have been doing this for generations, and they want to uphold their family tradtitions and ethics.” [29:05] — Emily Meredith on What Doesn’t Kill YouSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.