Jeff Jones, 4th generation family farmer and president of Friends of Responsible Agriculture, describes his fight against the expansion of a 10,000 hog CAFO, and the effects on his rural community.
Did you know that industrial agri-business rhetoric hides the truth about the environmental and social impacts on rural citizens living near concentrated animal feeding operations? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with 4th-generation family farmer Jeff Jones from rural Callaway County (MO) who has been embroiled in a fight to prevent a concentrated hog operation housing 10,000 sows from expanding next to his farm and home. (See local press coverage: https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/government-eases-up-on-cafos-as-residents-fight-their-expansion/article_22a3786c-9c10-11e8-978c-cf45e8085be8.html ; http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2018/jun/29/ground-broken-future-callaway-farrowing-site/732520/ ) Rarely do we hear the voices of rural citizens who struggle to fight expansion of corporate livestock operations. Jones describes his family farmer values, and the impact of industrial farms on rural communities – from air and water pollution, to the destruction of friendly neighbor relationships. Despite forming a citizens’ network - Friends of Responsible Agriculture- to fight encroaching CAFOs, political support for industry has allowed them to expand, with grave consequences. Related website: https://sraproject.org/
Barbara Storper, dietitian, describes her use of live theater to teach children healthy eating habits.
Did you know that “live theater” is a fun and effective way to teach children healthy habits? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Barbara Storper, Registered dietitian, Founder and Executive Director of FoodPlay Productions, a nutrition education organization that brings the power of live theater to turn kids on to healthy habits. FOODPLAY’s live theater shows have reached more than five million children across the country with evaluations showing dramatic improvements in children’s eating and physical activity habits. Storper is the recipient of numerous awards including an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Youth and Family TV Special.” Related website: http://foodplay.com
Linda Booker, producer of the documentary film, “Straws,” helps us rethink single-use plastics.
Did you know that at least 520 million plastic straws are disposed of each day in the U.S.? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Linda Booker, film maker, director and producer of “Straws,” one of the featured documentaries in the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, and identified as one of the leading documentaries to help us rethink single-use plastics. Booker documents the enormous quantity of plastic waste in our environment - how it harms wildlife and people, and the heroic individuals working to reduce plastic use, save animals and protect human health. Related website: www.strawsfilm.com
Matt Willey, artist, explains why and how he is painting 50,000 bees on murals across the world.
Did you know that 50,000 bees are necessary for a healthy, thriving hive? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Matt Willey, artist, who is painting 50,000 bees on murals across the world in order to raise awareness of the plight and the importance of bees in our food system. Willey describes the course of his project and his process. He explains: “Through the simple act of painting a symbolic healthy hive of 50,000, one bee at a time, we intend to inspire an unstoppable movement of necessary change toward balance between humans and the natural world.” Related website: www.thegoodofthehive.com
Brenda Davis, dietitian and author of “The Kick Diabetes Cookbook” describes how high fiber plant foods can help reverse type 2 diabetes.
Did you know that eating a high fiber diet is key to reversing Type 2 diabetes? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Brenda Davis, R.D., author of “The Kick Diabetes Cookbook: An action plan and recipes for defeating diabetes.” Davis describes the critical role plant fibers play in nourishing the microbiome and protecting health, including reversing Type 2 Diabetes. She explains the “grain hierarchy” and the benefits of whole intact grains vs. processed, refined carbohydrates. Related website: www.brendadavisrd.com
Patty Lovera, Assistant Director of Food & Water Watch, defines and discuss biotechnology applications in food and agriculture and the new “bioengineered” food labels.
Did you know that genetically modified foods will be required to bear labels identifying them as “bioengineered” by January 1, 2022? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Patty Lovera, M.S., Assistant Director of Food & Water Watch, a non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Lovera defines and discuss biotechnology applications in food and agriculture, explore press coverage (and bias), and USDA’s new GMO food labels that use the term “bioengineered” rather than "GMO." Related website: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org
Gary Paul Nabhan, Ph.D., the “father” of the local food and heirloom seed saving movements discusses his new book, “Food from the Radical Center: Healing Our Land and Communities.
Did you know that food can reconnect us to our cultural roots and heritage, and create stronger communities? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Gary Paul Nabhan, Ph.D., Kellogg Endowed Chair at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center. Nabhan is an agricultural Ecologist, ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and recipient of a MacArthur Genius Award. He is considered the “father” of the local food and heirloom seed saving movements. He will discuss his new book, “Food from the Radical Center: Healing Our Land and Communities,” and share his thoughts on how food is at the healing center of strong communities. Nabhan describes the economic disparity at the U.S. - Mexican border, the importance of healing food, and his philosophy about how restoring our environment can restore cohesiveness in our communities. Nabhan was involved in the first Earth Day in 1970.
Northeast Arkansas Beekeeper, Richard Coy, describes how the use of the herbicide Dicamba is killing the plants his bees need to survive.
Did you know that the herbicide Dicamba, used on genetically modified soybeans, is killing the plants bees depend on for survival? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Richard Coy, beekeeper with Coy’s Honey Farm, Inc., the largest beekeeping operation in Arkansas. Coy explains how and why he is being forced to leave Arkansas and move his hives to southern Mississippi and near the Canadian border to escape Dicamba drift. Coy emphasizes that beekeeping (and organic farming) are not compatible with “modern” farming that is dependent upon chemicals. Related website: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jan/05/honey-seller-faults-dicamba-in-closing-/
Formerly incarcerated Anthony Travis describes his life changing experience participating in Catherine Sneed’s Horticulture Project at the San Francisco County Jail.
Did you know that the San Francisco County Jail’s Horticulture Project reduced recidivism rates by 75%? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Anthony Travis, formerly incarcerated in the S.F County Jail, where he participated in the Horticulture Project, a training program for inmates widely recognized as a milestone in prisoner rehabilitation founded by Catherine Sneed. Travis credits Sneed and gardening to turning his life around. Travis describes his childhood, why he turned to selling drugs, and the prison food environment. Today, Travis is fully employed by the city of San Francisco’s Public Utilities department. The United States Department of Agriculture hailed Sneed’s work as “one of the most innovative and successful community-based crime prevention programs in the country.” It has since lost funding. Related website: https://www.gardenproject.org/about_us
Shelly McGuire, Ph.D., discusses the “human milk microbiome,” – and the miraculous relationship between a lactating mother and her baby.
Did you know that human breastmilk is a complex living nourishment? And that breastfeeding offers protection from contraception? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Shelly McGuire, Ph.D. professor of nutrition at the U. of Idaho - Moscow. McGuire discusses her research into the “milk microbiome,” the role of microorganisms in breastmilk in protecting infant health, and the miraculous relationship between a lactating mother and her baby. McGuire explores how a lactating mother’s diet might impact her milk microbiome, and other factors affecting lactation and milk composition. McGuire reviews the presentation she gave at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics meeting in Washington DC in October, 2018, titled: Feeding and Seeding: Human Milk’s Composition Impact on the Infant MicrobiomeRelated Related website: https://www.uidaho.edu/cals/family-and-consumer-sciences/our-people/shelley-mcguire
Tod Cooperman, M.D., President of Consumerlab.com discusses the safety and effectiveness of popular supplements: CBD oil, bone broth, and apple cider vinegar.
Did you know that consuming CBD oil with food containing fat, or shortly after eating a meal improves absorption? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Tod Cooperman, M.D., president and founder of consumerlab.com, an independent evaluator of dietary supplements. Cooperman describes the differences between hemp oil and CBD oil, cannabidiol and cannabinoids, and discusses the difference in doses found in CBD oil prescribed as a drug to treat epilepsy, and that which is sold as a supplement. He explains how bile is necessary to absorb CBD, and discusses the safety and effectiveness of popular supplements including CBD oil, bone broth and apple cider vinegar. Related website: www.consumerlab.com
Jay Feldman Executive Director and co-founder of Beyond Pesticides, discusses the merits of organic food and farming, harms from pesticide use, and the 2019 Pesticide Forum in NYC.
Did you know organic farming methods not only protect our environment, and public health, but that of farm workers and their families as well? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jay Feldman, Executive Director and co-founder of Beyond Pesticides, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC that works nationally to reduce toxic chemicals in our environment. Feldman discusses consumer perception about the organic label, the National Organic Standards Board’s role in upholding the integrity of the organic label, GMO crop-related herbicide use, and the upcoming 37th National Pesticide Forum in NYC April 5-6, 2019. Related website: www.beyondpesticides.org
Teresa Martin, Registered Dietitian, talks about her top ten tips for gut health. (Part 2 of 2).
Did you know that the foods we eat influence the diversity of microbes living in our gut? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Teresa Martin, Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. Martin provides her top ten tips for gut health. Part two of two.
Teresa Martin, Registered Dietitian, describes the role of the gut microbiota and how we can eat to promote a healthy gut.
Did you know that the microbes (microbiota) living in our gut influence our mental and physical health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Teresa Martin, Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. Martin describes how to best nourish and protect beneficial gut bacteria. Part one of two. Related website: https://commonfund.nih.gov/hmp">https://commonfund.nih.gov/hmp
Dietitian Judy Simon describes how diet and lifestyle influence fertility.
Did you know that diet and lifestyle can affect male sperm count and motility, and female fertility? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Seattle-WA based dietitian, Judy Simon, MS, RDN. Simon is recognized as a national expert in nutrition counseling for reproductive health and fertility. In this second part interview, Simon discusses marijuana’s effects on sperm, the importance of diet quality, specific nutrient needs and more. (This interview is Part 2 of 2) Related website: http://www.pcosnutrition.com/foodforfertility/
Registered Dietitian and fertility and reproductive nutrition expert, Judy Simon, reviews tips for men and women to improve fertility.
Did you know that diet, weight, exercise, stress and even marijuana can all impact fertility? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Judy Simon MS, RDN, expert in fertility and reproductive nutrition for women and men at the Food for Fertility Program at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. Simon shares key tips for maximizing fertility. We’ll talk about vitamin D, soy, plastics, pesticides, coffee, wine, marijuana and more. (This interview is Part 1 of 2) Related website: https://seattlefertility.com/news-media-events/research-studies/food-for-fertility/
Jeannine Guttman, journalist, describes her investigation into racism and abuse of undocumented immigrant labor in Vermont’s iconic dairy industry.
Did you know that the American agricultural system could not exist in its present lucrative form if not for migrant farmworkers? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jeannine Guttman, M.S., veteran newspaper journalist and sustainable food systems advocate. Guttman discusses the role and value of the press, as well as her investigation into the embedded racism and reliance on undocumented immigrant labor in Vermont’s iconic dairy industry. Drawing from her report: “Empty cartons, broken dairies: the unsustainability of Vermont’s iconic milk industry and its hidden reliance on undocumented abused labor,” Guttman helps us understand the effects of NAFTA, and how we depend on, yet mistreat laborers from across the border. Guttman is an opinion writer for the Vermont Standard, and is a recent graduate of Green Mountain College in Poutney, VT. Related website: www.migrantjustice.net
Iris Figueroa, staff attorney for Farmworker Justice, describes immigrant farm labor statistics and health challenges.
Did you know that U.S. citizens largely depend on immigrant labor to harvest and process our food? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Iris Figueroa, staff attorney for Farmworker Justice, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal farmworkers to improve their living and working conditions. Figueroa discusses farm labor statistics, working conditions, immigration policies, health and safety, and access to justice. Also mentioned: the CHAMACOS study’s evaluation of health risks to farmworker children: https://cerch.berkeley.edu/research-programs/chamacos-study and particular risk from the pesticide, chlorpyrifos. Related website: www.farmworkerjustice.org
Registered dietitian, Rebecca Scritchfield, discusses “Body Kindness” and the pitfalls of dieting.
Did you know that most diets are doomed to fail? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Rebecca Scritchfield, Registered Dietitian, certified exercise physiologist, and author of “Body Kindness: Transform your health from the inside out – and never say diet again.” Scritchfield discusses the pain of weight stigma, and the pitfalls of our diet culture. She provides suggestions and strategies on how to make peace with food and accept our natural diversity of body sizes. Related website: www.RebeccaScritchfield.com
Dietitian Karen Collins reviews diet research to reduce cancer risk.
Did you know that alcohol increases circulating levels of estrogen which can increase the risk of some cancers? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Karen Collins, registered dietitian and nutrition advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research. Collins reviews the latest dietary research and recommendations for reducing cancer risk. Tune in for the latest advice on fiber, red meat, soy, sugar, and more. Related website: http://www.aicr.org/cancer-research/dietandcancerreport/