Canary In A Cornfield

In this special episode of Canary in a Cornfield, I take a pause from our normal programming to reflect on two years of food systems, agriculture, and public health work at the Harkin Institute. I mentino some formative academic and professional stops in the U.S., Canada, and the UK, including work connected to Oxford’s Future of Food and LEAP programs, and my discovery that global research highli...

This episode of Canary in a Cornfield focuses on an important methodological advancement in animal welfare science and it’s relevance for understanding the lives of animals in severely impoverished environments such as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), aka factory farms. I interview Dr. Cynthia Schuck, co-founder of the Welfare Footprint Institute, and we discuss how the Welfare Foot...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam talks with Iowa water quality advocate Tim Wagner about nitrate pollution, public health, and the University of Iowa IIHR nitrate monitoring network. Wagner, raised on a north-central Iowa farm and formerly an agricultural specialist with the Izaak Walton League, connects his advocacy to conservation policy work and to losing his sister to a rare...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam talks with Sonja Trom Eayrs, author of Dodge County Incorporated, a book about the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations in southern Minnesota and the corporate structure behind them. Sonja describes how a pyramid scheme of multinational meatpackers, integrators, and contract growers replaced independent farming, driving geographic clust...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, Adam speaks with Rachel Atcheson of Food Policy Pathways about her path from nonprofits to New York City government, including roles in the de Blasio and Adams’ administrations, and finally to founding an innovative new program for food systems leaders. Rachel describes how health experiences—including Mayor Adams’s experience reversing type 2 diabetes and...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam speaks with Emma Newton of the State Innovation Exchange (SIX) about efforts to stop state “pesticide immunity” bills that would shield chemical companies like Bayer from liability for harms linked to products such as Roundup, with broader implications for tens of thousands of agricultural chemicals. Newton explains SIX’s people-centered, co-gove...

This episode of Canary in a Cornfield focuses on the benefits of citizen water monitoring, featuring Heather Wilson of the Isaac Walton League’s Save Our Streams program and Cole Dickerson of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP). Wilson explains the League’s conservation mission, how Nitrate Watch equips volunteers with free nitrate test strips and a public Clean Water Hub database,...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam speaks with Angela Huffman, co-founder of the farmer-led watchdog group Farm Action, about how consolidation and weak antitrust enforcement have reshaped U.S. agriculture and squeezed farmers, workers, and consumers. Huffman responds to a widely covered letter from former USDA officials and commodity leaders warning of agricultural collapse, agre...

Don’t forget to register for the Harkin on Wellness Symposium on March 11 ! My guest for this episode is Kari Hamerschlag, Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth’s Agricultural Program. I’ve followed her work for a while, which includes both great work in the US and also work dealing with international institutions. What caught my eye most recently is an op-ed that Kari wrote for the Hill where s...

 In this episode, Adam speaks with one of the most influential voices in public health and food policy today. Professor Marion Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Science, and Public Health, emerita, at New York University, a department she not only chaired for 15 years, but essentially pioneered when she founded one of the nation’s first academic food studies programs. We...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, Adam interviews Matthew Dominguez from Compassion In World Farming (CIWF). They discuss CIWF’s work in the United States and abroad, and talk about an important recent report about food waste that illustrates how industrial farming significantly contributes to inefficiencies and environmental degradation. Matthew explains that factory farming, despite bein...

Denmark actually has quite a bit in common with Iowa; the country has a population of roughly 6 million people, but raises almost 30 million pigs per year. Iowa raises about 25 millions hogs/year and has a human population of about 3.2 million people. But one thing Denmark doesn’t have in common with Iowa is that their government take nitrates in drinking water very, very seriously! In this episod...

In the latest episode of Canary in a Cornfield, Adam interviews Professor and author Neil Hamilton from Drake University. They discuss Professor Hamilton's impactful career, which includes founding the Drake Agricultural Law Center and the Iowa Nature Summit, as well as chairing the Governor’s Food Policy Council from 2000 to 2007, and delve into Hamilton's trilogy of environmental books:...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam speaks with Dr. Walter Willett, a leading expert in epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They discuss the first and second EAT Lancet reports, which examine the possibility of feeding the growing world population while staying within planetary boundaries. Among the topics discussed: The current administrati...

In one of my favorite episodes so far, we speak with Michael Schmidt, the General Counsel of the Iowa Environmental Council , the largest environmental coalition in the state. Michael reflects on his time working in Minnesota and Iowa to give context to how the laws that regulate water quality impact our quality of life. He discusses the Clean Water Act, as well as competing constitutional amendme...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, hosted by the Harkin Institute , Adam speaks with Bob Martin, a longtime advocate for agricultural reform. Martin, who served nearly two decades at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, discusses his role as the executive director of the Pew Commission’s landmark report ‘Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America.’ The con...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam Shriver discusses the promises and pitfalls of biogas digesters with Patty Lovera from the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. The conversation explores the alleged environmental benefits of biogas digesters, their economic dependencies on public subsidies, and the long-term impacts on communities living near concentrated animal feedin...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, we focus on a new book titled "We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy," featuring the work of conservationist and public servant Paul Johnson. Host Adam Shriver interviews Annika Johnson, Paul’s daughter, and Kurt Meine, the book's editor and a senior fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation. The discussion...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, guests Anna Pesek of Over the Moon Farm and Kara Shannon of the ASPCA discuss recent legislative efforts to overturn state laws protecting animal welfare. The conversation focuses on California's Proposition 12, which mandates better living conditions for farm animals, and the industry's attempts to counter it through the Save Our Bacon Act. Anna s...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam Shriver sits down with Megan Hunter and Tanner Faaborg to discuss the Transformation Project, an initiative that helps farmers transition from factory farming to more sustainable practices. Megan discusses the project's origins and goals, highlighting the importance of policy support and farmer solidarity. Tanner shares his personal journey,...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam Shriver delves into the troubling issue of water regulation in Iowa with investigative journalist Peter Waldman from Bloomberg News. The conversation highlights Waldman's groundbreaking article on the rising nitrate levels in Iowa's water, focusing on the small town of Remsen as a microcosm for the state-wide problem. Waldman recounts his extensi...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam Shriver welcomes Andrew deCoriolis from Farm Forward to discuss current counterproductive policies related to avian influenza (bird flu) as well as potential solutions. This episode is the second in a two-part series on avian influenza.

In this first episode of a two-part series on avian influenza, host Adam Shriver sits down for an in-depth discussion with Dr. Gregory Gray from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Gray, a leading expert in infectious disease epidemiology, explains what avian influenza is, how it differs from other flu types, and why it poses a potential risk to human and animal health.

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, we are joined by Aaron Lehman, President of the Iowa Farmers Union; Colleen Fowle, Water Program Director at the Iowa Environmental Council; Amy Kahler, CEO of Des Moines Water Works; and Audrey E. Tran Lam, Environmental Health Program Director at UNI. Our guests provide reactions to the first official presentation of findings from the Central Iowa Source...

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, we explore a comprehensive report on water quality in central Iowa. The discussion highlights the extensive work done by experts like Dr. Claire Hruby, Dr. Peter Levy, Professor Keith Shilling, Dr. Elliot Anderson, and Professor Mary Kopec, led by Jennifer Terry. Topics include the impact of nitrates, fish kills, and other pollutants on drinking water, eco...