Did you know that sewage sludge or biosolids when applied to farmland can contaminate soil, water and food with PFAS? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with Bill Pluecker, Maine House of Representatives, farmer and Public Policy organizer for the Main Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. PFAS are a class of toxic chemicals known as “forever chemicals.” Representative Pluecker will explain the impact of PFAS contamination on Maine...
Jan 17, 2025•28 min•Ep. 810
Did you know that specific nutrients can help aid our immune system in preventing and treating the symptoms of cold, flu and Covid 19? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Jacob Mey, PhD, RD, Registered Dietitian and nutrition researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, as they delve into the best diet and nutrition approaches to support our immune system through the cold and flu season and beyond. For resources from the ...
Jan 10, 2025•28 min•Ep. 809
Did you know that neonicotinoids are among the most ecologically destructive pesticides we’ve seen since DDT? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Dan Raichel, J.D., Executive Director of the Pollinators and Pesticides Initiative at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Raichel discusses the widespread use of, and harm from, neonicotinoid use in agriculture, lawns and gardens, and New York state’s Birds and Bees Protection Act...
Jan 03, 2025•28 min•Ep. 808
Did you know that 1 in 3 Americans have pre-diabetes? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDCES, CPT, Registered Dietitian, certified diabetes educator and certified personal trainer. Palinski-Wade discusses the role of sleep, stress and key nutrients to control blood glucose and reduce belly fat. Related Websites: www.erinpalinski.com https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/communication-resources/1-in-3-americans.html...
Dec 27, 2024•28 min•Ep. 807
Did you know that dieting is one of the greatest contributors to weight gain ? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with Supatra Tovar, Ph.D., RD, clinical psychologist, Registered Dietitian and author of Deprogram Diet Culture: Rethink your relationship with food, heal your mind and live a diet-free life. Tovar explains how and why diets are doomed to fail and ways we can harness the power of our thoughts to help achieve a healthful weig...
Dec 19, 2024•28 min•Ep. 806
Did you know that GERD is one of the most common Gi disorders in the United States? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with John Pandolfino, MD, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Northwestern Medicine, and Director of the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Institute, Chicago, IL. Pandolfino discusses symptoms and treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), including drugs, diet, and the gut-brain connection. Rel...
Dec 13, 2024•28 min•Ep. 805
Did you know that organic farming is climate-smart agriculture? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her conversation with Abby Youngblood , Executive Director of the National Organic Coalition. Youngblood discusses the multiple benefits of organic food and farming, plus the potential challenges and policy advocacy opportunities related to the Farm Bill, and incoming Presidential administration. Related Websites: www.nationalorganiccoalition.org...
Dec 06, 2024•28 min•Ep. 804
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 immigra...
Nov 29, 2024•28 min•Ep. 803
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 an...
Nov 22, 2024•28 min•Ep. 802
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: ht...
Nov 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 801
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 regi...
Nov 08, 2024•28 min•Ep. 800
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 an...
Nov 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 799
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.co...
Oct 25, 2024•28 min•Ep. 798
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: ...
Oct 18, 2024•28 min•Ep. 797
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. (Par...
Oct 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 796
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...
Oct 04, 2024•28 min•Ep. 795
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 exp...
Sep 27, 2024•28 min•Ep. 794
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 ...
Sep 20, 2024•28 min•Ep. 793
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 herbi...
Sep 13, 2024•28 min•Ep. 792
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 RAF...
Sep 06, 2024•28 min•Ep. 791
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 Com...
Aug 29, 2024•28 min•Ep. 790
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 den...
Aug 23, 2024•28 min•Ep. 789
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...
Aug 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 788
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 w...
Aug 09, 2024•28 min•Ep. 787
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 gam...
Aug 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 786
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 ...
Jul 25, 2024•28 min•Ep. 785
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 cit...
Jul 19, 2024•28 min•Ep. 784
Did you know that the mundane advice dietitians give to “eat a variety of foods in moderation” is actually critical to both reaching nutritional adequacy and protecting us from contaminants in foods? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kellie Casavale, RD, PhD., Senior Science Nutrition Advisor at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Casavale discusses ways to protect vulnerab...
Jul 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 783
Did you know that our nation’s agricultural policies (the Farm Bill) largely subsidize crops that don’t support “food as medicine?” Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Christina Badaracco, MPH, Registered Dietitian, and co-author with Dan Imhoff of T he Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide. Badaracco discusses her entry into healthcare transformation through nutrition, “culinary medicine,” the value of teaching kitchens, and the importance of ...
Jul 04, 2024•28 min•Ep. 782
Did you know that 80 to 90 percent of all agriculture globally is based on annual grain crops? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Evan Craine, Ph.D., Research Associate at The Land Institute, who discusses the ecological benefits of perennial agriculture. Related website: www.landinstitute.org https://kernza.org/new-kernza-food-drink-products-proliferate/...
Jun 28, 2024•28 min•Ep. 781
