Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that carcinogens are allowed for use in food, despite legal prohibitions? For example, the same chemical used to strip paint is used to decaffeinate coffee. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, and author of “Disease by a Thousand Cuts: How a daily barrage of chemicals in our food makes us more likely to get sick over time.” Doa dives into the failure of the Toxic Substances Control Act and Delaney Clause in protecting U.S. citizens from hazardous chemicals, and the corporate capture at the FDA and EPA. (part 2 of 2)

Related Websites:   Analysis: 25 carcinogens allowed for use in U.S. food, despite legal prohibition: https://library.edf.org/AssetLink/02128n6uroe23n3t0006q1gal6c5676w.pdf

Did you know that our Environmental Protection Agency is changing science due to corporate capture? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, and author of “Disease by a Thousand Cuts: How a daily barrage of chemicals in our food makes us more likely to get sick over time.” Doa spent 30 years at the U.S. EPA and describes changes in the agency during the current Trump administration, including the dismantling of scientific programs. She also discusses the roles of the EPA and FDA re how chemicals are assessed for safety.
(part 1 of 2)

Related Websites:   EPA’s Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act: https://www.epa.gov/epcra

Did you know that there are many more species of fish living in our oceans than are available to consumers in the marketplace? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director for the North American Marine Alliance.  Dorry discusses the benefits of “calculated inefficiencies” in our food system, the importance of scale, and the impacts of climate change on seafood sustainability. (Part 2 of 2))
 
 Related Websites:   https://www.namanet.org/

Did you know that land farmers and fishermen and women face similar challenges resulting from corporate concentration in our food system? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director for the North American Marine Alliance. She’ll discuss “bluewashing,” and how to find truly sustainable seafood in the marketplace through localcatch.org and their sustainable seafood guide.
 
Related Websites:   https://www.namanet.org/

Did you know that pesticides can drift for miles from where they were applied on agricultural fields, lawns and golf courses? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Kim Erndt-Pitcher, MS, Director of Ecological Health at Prairie Rivers Network. Erndt-Pitcher discusses the widespread ecological damage from pesticide drift/ chemical trespass and reviews the Prairie Rivers Network’s recent reports and webinar titled: Pesticide Drift in Public Spaces. PRN’s research shows there are wide ecosystem impacts from chronic pesticide drift exposure on bird and insect populations, air quality and public health, reduced nutritional quality of fruit and nuts, and the economic and emotional toll of lost trees, crops and plants.

Related Websites:   https://prairierivers.org/

Did you know that Will Harris’ White Oak Pastures regenerative farm provides 170 jobs to people in his community? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Will Harris, fourth generation cattleman at White Oak Pastures, and worldwide leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Harris discusses “regenerative” vertical farming, a farm’s potential to be a rural economic engine (as opposed to data centers), trends in beef imports over time, corporate consolidation, and his meeting with President Trump.

Related Websites:   www.whiteoakpastures.com

Did you know that Slow Food is a global movement dedicated to promoting good, clean, and fair food for everyone? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Fred Plotkin, MS, author and expert on Italian food culture. Plotkin discusses his relationship with Carlo Petrini,  father of the Slow Food movement, Italian culinary history, food culture, and his philosophy on eating and living as a “pleasure activist.”
 
 Related Websites:   https://www.slowfood.com/

Did you know that as national environmental agencies and regulations are whittled away, states may hold the key to protect public health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Susan Kaplan, JD, Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, and author of A Healthy Union: How States Can Lead on Environmental Health. Kaplan provides case studies of bi-partisan action where communities and states took the lead on protecting public health through environmental policies. She discusses how “making the invisible visible” is key to raising awareness about toxic chemical use. She also discusses the history of public health and why environmental health is not a strong component of medical education. Her book sprung from an earlier article: https://theconversation.com/which-state-you-live-in-matters-for-how-well-environmental-laws-protect-your-health-200393

Related Websites:   Susan Kaplan's A Healthy Union: How States Can Lead on Environmental Health

Did you know that some local governments make it illegal to have vegetable gardens or greenhouses on residential properties? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Ari Bargil, senior attorney with the Institute for Justice where he leads the Zoning Justice Project, and spearheaded Florida’s and Illinois’ passage of the Right to Garden Act —a reform that makes it unlawful for local governments to ban residential vegetable gardens.

Related Websites:   https://ij.org/legislation/vegetable-garden-protection-act/

Did you know that Michigan is “ground zero” for the cyclospora outbreak affecting multiple states in the U.S.? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Amanda Maria Edmonds, MS, sustainable food systems consultant and faculty member in the University of Michigan’s Program in the Environment.  Edmonds discusses food system resilience in light of our industrial food system’s push for “efficiency” and resulting vulnerability. Edmonds invites us to join food system discussions as part of Food Literacy for All:  https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/sustainablefoodsystems/foodliteracyforall/

Related Websites:   https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/michiganders-case-investing-local-food-systems-amanda-maria-edmonds-cxlxc/