Dietitian Melinda Hemmelgarn helps listeners “think beyond their plates,” connect the dots between food, health and agriculture, and find food truth.
Did you know that public market spaces, including farmers’ markets, are vital for regional economic resilience and public health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Kelly Verel, Co-Executive Director at Project for Public Spaces, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing public spaces to life through planning and design. Verel discusses the multiple benefits of public markets, market challenges and successful models. (Part 1 of 2)
Related Websites: https://uwm.edu/architecture/marketplaces-where-food-access-health-and-economic-impacts-grow/
Did you know that each year, more than 500,000 Americans visit the emergency room due to kidney stones; it’s estimated that approximately 1 in 10 people will develop a kidney stone in their lifetime? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Melanie Betz, MS, RD, “The Kidney Dietitian,” who will explain the reasons why the incidence of kidney stones is rising and discuss how to prevent and treat kidney stones through diet. She’ll also bust myths regarding traditional dietary approaches for preventing stone formation. She has written extensively on this topic: https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/six-easy-ways-to-prevent-kidney-stones
Related Websites: https://www.thekidneydietitian.org/category/blog/kidney-stones/
Did you know that the U. of MI offers a free webinar series titled: “Food Literacy for All”? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Amanda Edmonds, MS, sustainable food systems consultant and instructor at the University of Michigan. Edmonds explains the scope of food systems, defines food literacy, and describes the objectives the U. of Michigan’s free webinar series, which is open to all, with access to webinar recordings. The webinar series is a community-academic partnership featuring an evening lecture series where weekly guest speakers address challenges and opportunities of diverse food systems.
Related Websites: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/sustainablefoodsystems/foodliteracyforall/
Did you know that the Tyson meatpacking company reaps enormous profits on the backs of immigrant, prison, and in some cases even child labor? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with James Beard award winning writer, Alice Driver, PhD, author of Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America’s Largest Meatpacking Company. Driver describes the life-threatening and thankless work inside Tyson facilities in Arkansas and beyond. She discuses unsafe working conditions, common injuries, lack of COVID protection, and more.
Related Websites: https://www.alicedriver.com/
Theme music: Kevin MacLeod
Did you know that cost, convenience and taste almost always beat out health when it comes to making food choices? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine and Nutrition Scientist at Stanford University. Gardner, who served on the 2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, discusses the latest edition of our Dietary Guidelines, including the new confusing graphic of an upside-down pyramid. He explains the science behind protein requirements, and discusses dairy fat, seed oils, and how to make the best food choices to promote health while emphasizing the importance of enjoying delicious food.
Related Websites: https://med.stanford.edu/nutrition/news/press/2025_2030_Dietary_Guidelines
Did you know that The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026), the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, and the International Year of the Woman Farmer? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Seth Itzkan, environmental futurist and cofounder of Soil4Climate, an international nongovernmental organization advancing the science, policy and practice of soil restoration through regenerative grazing and agroforestry practices as a climate solution. Itzkan discusses the role ruminants play in agriculture, soil restoration and sustainability. For state policies on soil health, see: https://nerdsforearth.com/state-healthy-soils-policy/ ; and for the Friends of the Earth report on the misconceptions on No-Till Farming, see: https://foe.org/resources/rethinking-no-till/
Related Websites: www.soil4climate.org
Did you know that eating well doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, Registered Dietitian a.k.a. “The Veggie Queen.” Nussinow, an author, chef and culinary instructor, discusses ways to improve nutrition and lead a healthier, happier life. She provides specific information on mushrooms, fermented foods, fiber, gut and brain health. Note: for information on safe mushroom hunting, see the North American Mycological Association: https://namyco.org/
Related Websites: https://www.theveggiequeen.com/
Did you know that the new GLP-1 drugs may be helpful for overcoming certain eating disorders? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Mary Anne Cohen, LCSW, psychotherapist and Director of The New York Center for Eating Disorders. Cohen provides tips on overcoming emotional eating, and explains how GLP-1 drugs may help quiet “food noise.” She also addresses the role of social media in disordered eating and body image.
Related Websites: www.emotionaleating.org
Theme music: Kevin MacLeod
Did you know that weight loss is one of the most common resolutions for the New Year, but that restrictive dieting is a gateway to eating disorders? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Mary Anne Cohen, LCSW, psychotherapist and Director of The New York Center for Eating Disorders. Cohen, defines “emotional eating,” discusses why diets don’t work, and her latest book, Ozempic for Smarties: A Psychotherapist Tells the Straight Skinny.
Part 1 of 2
Related Websites: www.emotionaleating.org
Did you know that as consumers, we are all stakeholders in our food system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Mark Winne, MS, food policy expert, organizer and writer. The two will pick up their conversation from the week prior for a deeper dive into food justice and the importance of using our imagination to create a more just society, as told through stories from his latest book, The Road to a Hunger-Free America: Selected Writings of Mark Winne. (Part 2 of 2)
Related Websites: www.markwinne.com