Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that 50 percent of all food produced in the United States is handled at some point by migrant farm workers? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Marita Canedo, coordinator of the Milk with Dignity Program for Migrant Justice, a Vermont-based advocacy organization with a mission to empower the immigrant farm worker community and organize for economic justice and human rights. Canedo will discuss the exploitation of immigrant dairy farm workers and routes to empowerment and justice – through solidarity, not charity. Related Websites: Silenced Voices: https://migrantjustice.net/videos Migrant Justice: https://migrantjustice.net/about Milk with Dignity: https://migrantjustice.net/milk-with-dignity-campaign

Did you know that nearly all non-organic, commercially grown corn and approximately half of soybeans, cotton and wheat seeds are treated with neonicotinoid pesticides? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Rebecca Raney, investigative journalist at U.S. Right to Know. Raney discusses her series of articles on neonicotinoids, a class of systemic neurotoxic insecticides tied to bee and other pollinator deaths (as well as harm to soil and human health), and how pesticide companies shape bee research agendas and manage public perceptions to deflect attention away from neonicotinoids as a driver of the current bee crisis. Related Websites: https://usrtk.org/category/bees-neonics/ Tracking the Pesticide Industry Propaganda Network: https://usrtk.org/pesticides/tracking-the-agrichemical-industry-propaganda-network/ Birds and Bees Protection Act: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-birds-and-bees-act-nation-leading-legislation-protect-new-yorkers-and

Did you know that gas stoves pose health hazards, especially to vulnerable populations? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Mark Vossler, M.D., cardiologist, and President-elect of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Vossler discusses the unhealthy air pollution from gas stoves, related health risks, including causing and exacerbating asthma, vulnerable populations, and ways to mitigate risks. Related Websites: Rewiring America: https://www.rewiringamerica.org/ Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet: https://psr.org/resources/gas-stove-pollution-fact-sheet/

Did you know that in September, the Appalachian region was surprisingly hit by Hurricane Helene which destroyed mountain communities and farms, disrupted their water infrastructure, and impact their tightly-knit, well-connected regional food system. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Molly Nicholie, Executive Director of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. Nicholi will discuss the impact of Hurricane Helene on the region’s food system, as well as recovery efforts. Related Websites: asapconnections.org

Did you know that community networking is key to taking steps toward mitigating climate change? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Marianne Krasny, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University and author of In This Together: Connecting with your Community to Combat the Climate Crisis. Krasny explains “network climate action” - the power of our social networks in making collective lifestyle changes and instituting policies for mitigating climate change. Related Websites: https://cals.cornell.edu/marianne-elizabeth-krasny webinar series: https://www.civicecology.org/prd

Did you know that agroecology offers a holistic approach to agriculture? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with Alexis E. Racelis, PhD, Professor of Agroecology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Racelis discusses the impact of climate change on agriculture in his unique geographical region in south Texas, and the potential benefits of agroecology and regionalized food systems. Related Websites: https://www.rgvagroecology.com/ “Planet Hunger: Inside the Global Food Crisis,” by Jeff Goodell: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ukraine-food-crisis-1367826/ TX sugar mill closure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMXbebDCnQw

Did you know there are probably millions of cases of foodborne illness every year in the U.S.? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with Don Schaffner, PhD, food microbiologist, Distinguished professor, and Extension Specialist at Rutgers University. Schaffner discusses Covid -19 and food’s unlikely route of Covid exposure, handwashing specifics (time and water temp.), and specific foods he avoids and why. (part 2 of 2) Related Websites: https://www.riskyornot.co/ - Eating expired baby carrots: https://www.riskyornot.co/episodes/625-eating-expired-baby-carrots http://foodsafetytalk.com/

Did you know that pregnant women should avoid deli lunch meats due to the risk of listeria-related foodborne illness? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Don Schaffner, PhD, food microbiologist, Distinguished Professor, and Extension Specialist at Rutgers University. Schaffner discusses his research on handwashing, characteristics of listeria and the recent Boar’s Head lunch meat recall, and food safety related to power outages. (Part 1 of 2) Related Websites: https://www.riskyornot.co/ Historical perspectives on handwashing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK144018/ Boar’s Head meat recall CDC updates: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s0828-listeria-outbreak-deli-meats.html

Did you know that there are efforts to weaken the organic label? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Max Goldberg, MBA, Founder and Editor of Organic Insider newsletter covering the organic industry, and administrator of the Organic Food Industry group on LinkedIn. Goldberg discusses gene editing, regenerative agriculture, and food labels consumers can trust. Related Websites: www.organicinsider.com

Did you know that organic farming is both regenerative and climate smart? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Thelma Velez, PhD, Research and Education Program Director at the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Velez explains USDA’s organic label, and how organic farming practices benefit planet and people. She shares challenges faced by organic farmers, confusion over the “regenerative” label, and describes OFRF’s new tool kit explaining how organic farming is truly “regenerative.” Related Websites: Organic Farming Research Foundation: www.ofrf.org Organic is Regenerative Toolkit: https://ofrf.org/organic-is-regenerative/ National Organic Research Agenda (2022): https://eorganic.org/node/35366

Did you know that food is the most important “school supply?” Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Stephen Ritz, award-winning science teacher and founder of the Green Bronx Machine. Ritz teaches in the poorest school district in the nation but has turned children’s lives around with food and love. He explains how food injustice is racial injustice, and that the cheap and convenient foods readily available in his students’ neighborhood are in reality, costly and deadly. He views children like seeds – full of potential. Ritz describes how his successful model of science education (growing food in the classroom) began and continues to thrive. Ritz, his students and the power of the Green Bronx Machine are featured in the documentary film, Generation Growth: https://generationgrowthfilm.com/ Related Websites: Americans Who Tell The Truth: https://americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/stephen-ritz/ https://greenbronxmachine.org/ Generation Growth: https://greenbronxmachine.org/generation-growth/

Did you know that Midwestern industrial agriculture influences our national food system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Audrey Tran Lam, MPH, Environmental Health Program Director at the Center for Energy & Environmental Education, at the University of Northern IA. Tran Lam explains how increasing crop rotations and biodiversity could significantly reduce our dependence on expensive and harmful nitrogen fertilizers and herbicides. And, she describes the effects of climate change on agriculture, the connection between Midwestern agriculture and national food consumption, our environment and public health. Related Websites: https://ceee.uni.edu/environmental-health-program Farming for Public Health: https://farmingforpublichealth.org/ Industrial Farming and Public Health conference: https://sites.google.com/view/aaephconference/home

Did you know that indigenous food systems are based on cooperation? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with A-dae Romera- Briones (Cochiti/Kiowa), native Agricultural Food Systems Leader and Director of Programs for the First Nations Development Institute. She discusses the nature and history of indigenous foodways, food sovereignty, and the importance of how we tell the story of agriculture. She is a featured keynote speaker at the RAFI-USA conference (Sept. 30-October 1st 2024; see: https://www.rafiusa.org/programs/cttt/2024-cttt-events/ ) Related Websites: https://www.firstnations.org/ Fighting for the Tastebuds of Our Children: https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/760

Did you know that a good share of dairy farms and food processors employ migrant laborers? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Jim Goodman, M.S., retired third-generation dairy farmer, president of the National Family Farm Coalition, and farm activist. Goodman advocates for a farmer-controlled, consumer-oriented food system. He is a frequent contributor of thought-provoking articles on farming, food, politics, trade and labor for Common Dreams. Goodman discusses the corporate-friendly policies that fueled the economic decline in rural America, and pulls back the curtain on Project 2025. Related Websites: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/10/30/how-decades-corporate-friendly-farm-policies-wrecked-rural-america-and-paved-way Everyone Owes a Debt to Laborers: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/we-owe-debt-to-labor Project 2025: https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/06/the-gops-stalinesque-plan-2025-to-shape-the-future-of-u-s-food-and-agriculture/print/

Did you know that farm soil is increasingly becoming a reservoir for plastic? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Grey Moran, award-winning journalist and staff writer at Civil Eats, where their writing focuses on climate change, the food system, public health, and environmental justice. Moran discusses “plasticulture” and the increasing use of plastic in agriculture, and how the Fair Food Alliance is working around FL law which denies farmworkers heat protection. Related Websites: Coalition of Immokalee workers and the Fair Food Program: https://ciw-online.org/ Civil Eats: https://civileats.com/author/gmoran/ How Fossil Fuel-derived pesticides and plastics harm health, biodiversity and the climate: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7239621/

Did you know that trial attorneys work to protect farmers against harms they experience from the use of agricultural chemicals? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Daniel Hinkle, J.D., lawyer, lobbyist and Senior State Affairs Counsel at the American Association for Justice. Hinkle describes the role of trial attorneys in helping farmers receive compensation from harm related to pesticide use, and the agrochemical industry’s attempts to reduce their liability by influencing pesticide labeling. Related Websites: American Association for Justice: https://www.justice.org/ Failure to Warn legislation: https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2024/02/state-legislation-popping-up-to-limit-liability-of-pesticide-manufacturers/ Icahn School of Medicine Glyphosate fact sheet: https://icahn.mssm.edu/files/ISMMS/Assets/Departments/Environmental%20Medicine%20and%20Public%20Health/CEHC/FactSheet-Glyphosate.pdf IARC review of glyphosate: https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/

Did you know that the sugar alcohol xylitol has been linked to increased risk of blood clots? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her interview with Tod Cooperman, M.D., President and Founder of ConsumerLab.com, the leading national independent reviewer of food products and dietary supplements. Cooperman reviews his recent reports on the potential harms from sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners, and potential benefits of olive and fish oils, plus what to look for when purchasing products.. Related Websites: www.consumerlab.com

Did you know that food and beverage companies spend nearly $2 billion dollars each year marketing food to kids and the vast majority of these foods are unhealthy? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with Katie Marx, policy associate with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Marx discusses food industry tactics for marketing ultra-processed foods and beverages to children, including the use of influencers in mobile apps and games. Related Websites: https://www.cspinet.org/advocacy/nutrition/food-marketing-kids Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/junk-food-ads-are-everywhere-online-and-kids-are-watching/2023/10/17/943efe83-941f-45e9-bf8d-a53296b6de89_video.html

Did you know that climate change is fueling the spread of bird flu? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD., epidemiologist, data scientist and science communicator who serves as a scientific consultant to the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jetelina publishes the popular “Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” newsletter, and will discuss bird flu, raw milk risks and myths, the challenges of science communication, promoting public health and preventing pandemics. Related website: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/

Did you know that plastic is made from fossil fuel, and has deleterious effects on planet and people? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Lisa Kaas Boyle, JD, environmental attorney, cofounder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, and executive producer of the documentary film, Overload: America’s Toxic Love Story. Boyle describes the injustice of fossil fuel and plastic pollution, the myth of plastic recycling, and the importance of citizen action and public policies. Related website: www.lisakaasboyle.com More Drinking Fountains, Fewer Plastic Bottles: https://law.tulane.edu/news/law-alumna-more-drinking-fountains-fewer-plastic-bottles