What is nanotechnology? Find out with Heather Millar, an award-winning freelance magazine writer and author who has covered science, health, and technology for twenty years, contributing to magazines such as Sierra, Smithsonian, and The Atlantic. Tune in and learn how these microscopic particles could bring on the next industrial revolution. From solar panels to medicinal purposes to whitening agents in food – take a trip down the rabbithole in the world of nanoparticles and technology. Discover...
Jan 20, 2013•29 min•Ep. 53
Katy Keiffer’s guest on today’s Straight, No Chaser is Elizabeth Royte. Elizabeth is the author of Bottlemania: How Water Went On Sale and Why We Bought It ; Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash ; and The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest . Her writing on science and the environment has appeared in Harper’s, National Geographic, Outside, The New York Times Magazine, and other national publications. Elizabeth is on the show talking about the negative ef...
Jan 13, 2013•31 min•Ep. 52
Katy Keiffer rings in 2013 by talking about the upcoming season of Straight, No Chaser! Tune in to hear about recent studies on hydraulic fracturing, and how its methane byproducts make it no more environmentally sound than burning coal. Hear about nanotechnology in cosmetics and the food chain, and why the label of “generally regarded as safe” doesn’t actually mean that it’s safe. Katy talks about how she hopes to delve deeper into antibiotic use in food, and hear about her recent conversation ...
Jan 06, 2013•24 min•Ep. 51
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by guest co-host Dr. Marion Nestle! Dr. Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, which she chaired from 1988-2003. She is also Professor of Sociology at NYU and Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. Katy and Dr. Nestle are talking sugar with Cristin Couzens, a senior consultant at the University of Colorado Center for Health A...
Dec 16, 2012•37 min•Ep. 50
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking poultry and public health with Amanda Hitt, the Director of the Food Integrity Campaign for the Government Accountability Project. Amanda oversees FIC operations and is responsible for ensuring that FIC fulfills its mission of enhancing food integrity by facilitating truth telling. Founded in 1977, GAP is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. Located in Washington, DC, GAP is a nonpartisan, public intere...
Dec 09, 2012•32 min•Ep. 49
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is geeking out with Dr. Charles Benbrook. Dr. Benbrook is a research professor at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University. He is the program leader of “Measure to Manage: Farm and Food Diagnostics for Sustainability and Health.” His career has focused on developing science-based systems for evaluating the public health, environmental, and economic impacts of changes in agricultural systems, biotechnol...
Dec 02, 2012•35 min•Ep. 48
Today on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by Lily Kelly. Lily Kelly is the Interim Director for Global Green USA’s New York Office and the Coalition for Resource Recovery. Prior to joining Global Green USA, she contributed to various environmental and social stewardship projects with both for- and non-profit agencies, including the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Majora Carter Group, and The Earth Institute. Tune into this episode to le...
Nov 18, 2012•33 min•Ep. 47
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by Christy Robb, the Director of Food Services at St. John’s Bread & Life in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Today, Katy and Christy are discussing disaster relief after Hurricane Sandy. Tune into this episode to hear how St. John’s Bread & Life has been serving hot meals in affected areas such as Coney Island and The Rockaways since the storm hit the city. Hear about the differences in services provided by large organizations li...
Nov 11, 2012•31 min•Ep. 46
On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking with Dr. James Johnson. James R. Johnson, M.D. is Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Director of the Infectious Diseases T32 Training Program and Senior Associate Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program (both, University of Minnesota), and Director of the Minneapolis VA Molecular Epidemiology Unit. Dr. Johnson is a frequently invited speaker at national and international scientific meetings, ...
Oct 28, 2012•37 min•Ep. 45
On this episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking with Erik Cutter of AlegrÃa Farms and EnvironIngenuity . Tune into this episode to her Eric discuss the water retention benefits of certain drip hydroponic systems. Learn why Eric prefers hydroponics to organic row farming, and what the differences are between hydroponic and row crop seeds. At what point does vertical farming become as cost-efficient as vertical farming methods? Learn how hydroponics can be used as an educational t...
Oct 21, 2012•31 min•Ep. 44
Today on Straight, No Chaser Katy Keiffer is on the phone with Dr. Richard Raymond. In 2005 after a long career in family medicine, Dr. Raymond was appointed Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the next 3 years, Dr. Raymond was responsible for overseeing the policies and programs of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). In semi-retirement now, he writes several blogs on food safety, has consulted with law firms on foodborne illness cases, is a cons...
Oct 14, 2012•34 min•Ep. 43
Libbie Summers returns to Straight, No Chaser! Libbie is an accomplished writer, culinary producer and stylist for television and print media. She is the author of The Whole Hog Cookbook and a forthcoming baking book called Sweet and Vicious . Tune in to hear Libbie talk with Katy Keiffer about the decline of good food in France, and why Southern cuisine has become so fashionable. Learn more about Libbie’s work as a food stylist, and how her styling work informs her everyday life. Libbie and Kat...
Oct 07, 2012•35 min•Ep. 42
Jean Halloran rejoins Katy Keiffer on this week’s installment of Straight, No Chaser. Jean has worked on food safety and sustainability issues at in the Yonkers Office of Consumers Union for the last 25 years, and also works with consumer organizations globally. She helped develop international standards for safety assessment of genetically engineered food at the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Once again, Katy and Jean are talking about antibiotic usage in meat production. Recently, Consumers Un...
Sep 30, 2012•31 min•Ep. 41
Food borne illness is the theme on this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser as host Katy Keiffer welcomes Doug Powell to the program. Doug is a food scientist and creator of an online repository of food-safety related information called barfblog.com, a forum for information about current food safety issues where he has written more than 5,000 entries since 2006. He is a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Listen in...
Sep 23, 2012•33 min•Ep. 40
Katy Keiffer continues her investigation of the cattle industry on this week’s Straight, No Chaser with Dr. Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is a leading expert in animal handling and psychology, a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, and a best selling author. She is also well-known for her design of livestock handling facilities. Recently, Dr. Grandin worked on a film documenting and touring the inside of a beef packing facility. Tune into this episode to learn why it is import...
Sep 16, 2012•31 min•Ep. 39
Katy Keiffer is back with more Straight, No Chaser! In the beginning of the episode, Katy outlines some of the topics and guests for the upcoming season. So don’t miss a single episode; tune in for Straight, No Chaser every Sunday at 1pm! Katy’s guest on this week’s episode is Andrew F. Smith, professor of Food Studies at the New School. Andy’s newest book is called American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food. Learn about the reasons for the culinary evolution of the tuna. Once a “tra...
Sep 09, 2012•32 min•Ep. 38
This marks the end of Straight, No Chaser’s first season! Congratulations to our host, Katy Keiffer! Each week, Katy offers insight into the world of food politics and policy, focusing on topics like the cattle industry, The Farm Bill, and urban agriculture. Tune into this episode to hear some highlights from shows thus far, and to learn what Katy has up her sleeve for upcoming episodes. This program has been brought to you by White Oak Pastures.com . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...
Jul 29, 2012•34 min•Ep. 37
This week on Straight, No Chaser host Katy Keiffer takes on the crisis of hunger with guest Anthony Butler, Executive Director of St. John’s Bread and Life . Learn about how the federal cuts of the Reagan years left many people in a state of food insecurity that still lingers today and how the current Farm Bill is working its way through the Senate and could leave millions of people hungry with looming cuts to the SNAP program. Tune in to find out how, despite these challenges, Anthony and St. J...
Jul 22, 2012•32 min•Ep. 36
On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking cattle and beef with Lynne Curry, author of Pure Beef: An Essential Guide to Artisan Meat with Recipes for Every Cut. Hear Katy and Lynne trace beef from pasture to package, and how all of the processes involved with producing beef alter the way it tastes. Learn about the differences between grass-fed and grain-fed beef in terms of taste, texture, and look. Lynne explains the differences between the commodity cattle industry ...
Jul 15, 2012•31 min•Ep. 35
On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by Jean Halloran. Jean has worked on food safety and sustainability issues at in the Yonkers Office of Consumers Union for the last 25 years. She also works with consumer organizations globally and helped develop international standards for safety assessment of genetically engineered food at the Codex Alimentarius Commission. How do different strains of bacteria become resistant to antibiotics? And what does resi...
Jul 08, 2012•32 min•Ep. 34
What could be more ‘local’ than buying produce that was grown at your supermarket? On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is talking with Paul Lightfoot, CEO of BrightFarms. BrightFarms designs and builds greenhouses that use hydroponics to grow produce such as tomatoes and leafy greens at supermarket retail locations. Because there is a lack local food to fill the demand, Paul is taking a large-scale approach to create a system to provide healthy, local food at a reasonable...
Jul 01, 2012•33 min•Ep. 33
On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, we’re talking about the 2012 Farm Bill. Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by Benjamin Solotaire of the Brooklyn Food Coalition and the NYC Food and Farm Bill Working Group, and Caitlin Salemi of the Urban Rural Alliance Building Committee, and also the NYC Food and Farm Bill Working Group. Tune in to hear discussions concerning cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and what it means in terms of food security for low-income familie...
Jun 24, 2012•32 min•Ep. 32
Welcome to another episode of Straight, No Chaser! On this week’s installment, Katy Keiffer is talking with Raoul Baxter of R.J.B. World Wide, and formerly of Smithfield Foods Company. Today’s theme is the commercial meat industry; topics range from health regulation to growth promotion. Tune in to hear Katy and Raoul discuss the need for transparency in the beef industry, the phenomenon of ‘stress meat’, and the pink slime controversy. The discussion also touches on antibiotics in commercial ca...
Jun 17, 2012•34 min•Ep. 31
On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is on the phone with Tim Fitzgerald. Tim currently directs EDF’s sustainable seafood program, and specializes in the intersection of environmental sustainability and public health. He is also a senior member of EDF’s National Policy team, advocating for more sustainable federal fisheries management policies. Tim serves on the conservation board of Ecofish LLC and is an advisor to SeaWeb’s KidSafe Seafood campaign and the Atlantic States...
Jun 10, 2012•35 min•Ep. 30
On this week’s episode of Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined in the studio by Peter Kaminsky, food writer and author of Culinary Intelligence. Peter defines “culinary intelligence” and discusses his weight loss process by eliminating “white foods”: sugar, flour, potatoes, etc. Tune in to hear Katy and Peter discuss the cost effectiveness of eating seasonally, the importance of eating home-cooked meals, and why portion sizes in restaurants are causing the country’s waistbands to expand. ...
Jun 03, 2012•34 min•Ep. 29
This week on Straight, No Chaser Katy Keiffer has an in-depth conversation about vertical farming with Dr. Dickson Despommier, the author of The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century. A professor emeritus at Columbia University, Dr. Despommier spent thirty-eight years as a professor of microbiology and public health. Hear some radical ideas including underground farming without daylight and plasma arc gasification. From wind power in Holland to seed banks in Japan, hear about some...
May 20, 2012•35 min•Ep. 28
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer chats with Michele Simon, a public health lawyer who has been researching and writing about the food industry and food politics since 1996. She specializes in legal strategies to counter corporate tactics that harm the public’s health. She is the author of Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back. She is also president of Eat Drink Politics, an industry watchdog consulting firm. Tune in as Katy and Miche...
May 13, 2012•31 min•Ep. 27
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined by J.M. Hirsch, Food Editor for the Associated Press. Get an insiders view on how food media has grown over the last decade and how Americans are starting to care more about their food and where it comes from. Hear J.M.’s thoughts on culinary education, food stamps and the sustainable food movement. How can we get people back in the kitchen and away from processed foods? Tune in and find out! This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch . “I...
May 02, 2012•28 min•Ep. 26
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer talks urban agriculture with Jennifer Cockrall-King, author of “Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution”, a tour of urban agricultural centers in Canada, the US, Cuba and Europe. Tune in as they discuss the viability of growing food in cities and highlight some particular cities that are helping to make agriculture sustainable again in an urban setting. Learn how beekeeping and urban chickens were once commonplace and how th...
Apr 29, 2012•34 min•Ep. 25
This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined by Michael Hurwitz, Executive Director of Greenmarket NYC and Stacy Miller, Executive Director of The Farmers Market Coalition. Together they discuss the current state of farmers markets and how the recent growth of these markets has impacted urban life. Find out more about how immigrant populations are being considered at farmers markets and cultural gaps are being bridged through communities. Learn about everything involved in getting fo...
Apr 22, 2012•31 min•Ep. 24
