Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that microorganisms in the soil impact plant health, just as gut microorganisms impact human health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Ann Bikle, M.S., biologist, and co-author, The Hidden Half of Nature. Bikle discusses the community of soil microorganisms, and their role in plant and human health, and identifies the role...

Did you know that a Missouri peach farmer lost 30,000 trees and his peach business due to drift from Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Paul Lesko, attorney based in St. Louis who is a litigator representing farmers, nurseries, and individuals damaged by Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide. Lesko describes the Bad...

Did you know that producing more food with exported Western technologies will not “feed the world? “Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Timothy Wise, M.A., Director of the Land and Food Rights Program at the Small Planet Institute, Senior Research Fellow at Tufts University’s Global Development and Environment Institute, and the author o...

Did you know that eating is a full sensory experience?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Rebecca Katz, M.S, chef, educator, artist and author of The Cancer Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing Big Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Beyond .  Katz describes her artful culinary pharmacy, and the importance of food’s texture, flavor and col...

Did you know that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get high quality dietary supplements?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Tod Cooperman, MD., President and Founder of Consumerlab.com, an independent evaluator and reviewer of dietary products and supplements . Cooperman discusses his recent research on flavanol content and heavy-m...

Did you know that stress and anxiety have replaced weight as the leading consumer health concern?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Melissa Abbott, Vice President of Culinary Insights for the Harman Group, a consumer culture research firm, based in Belleview, WA. Abbott discusses changes in consumer food trends, trend-tracking techniq...

Did you know that working with the water cycle can help mitigate climate change? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Judith D. Schwartz, author of Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World - Building Soil, Restoring Land, and Working with the Water Cycle for a cooler, Wetter Planet. Schwartz describes the importance of healthy ecosy...

Did you know that reducing food waste is among the leading ways to mitigate climate change? According to the Natural Resources Defense Council Up to 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted, contributing to extensive environmental, economic, and societal impacts. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Turner Wyatt, Chief Executive...

Did you know that children are not “little adults?” Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Nsedu Witherspoon, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network, who describes why and how children are more vulnerable to environmental toxins.  Witherspoon describes some of the resources, programs and actions available to paren...

registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Robert Martin, director of the Food System Policy Program at Johns Hopkins University’ Center for a Livable Future who  takes a deep dive into agriculture research, practices, and policies impacting farm communities and quality of life. Martin discusses findings from his work with the PEW Commission, investigating the negative impact...

Did you know that there’s a price to pay for increasing food production without regard to planetary impact?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kevin Walker, Ph. D., author of The Grand Food Bargain and the Mindless Drive for More . Walker discusses the myths and consequences of our industrial food system, and names animal agriculture (...

Did you know that photographers use special techniques to create mouth-watering food images? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andrew Scrivani, NY Times food photographer, and author of That Photo Makes Me Hungry: Photographing Food for Fun & Profit . Scrivani will discuss his career, and describe the techniques he uses to create e...

Did you know that the American Public Health Association has called for a moratorium on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) because of risk to public health and the environment? See: https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2020/01/13/precautionary-moratorium-on-new-and-expanding-concentrated-animal-feeding-operations    Join Food Sleuth...

Did you know that there are at least 4,700 highly fluorinated chemicals, often called “PFAS” in many everyday consumer products, and that these chemicals pose harm to human health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Laurel Schaider, Ph. D., Research Scientist at the Silent Spring Institute. Schaider discusses water contamination from PF...

Did you know that dieting can lead to disordered eating? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with James Greenblatt, M.D., author of “Integrative Medicine for Binge Eating.”  Greenblatt discusses how dieting and food deprivation can lead to disordered eating, and the role of media, sleep, stress and exercise on appetite and binge eating disord...

Did you know that eating well is one of the most important ways we can feel and look our best? However, navigating popular diets and food and nutrition media messages can be confusing.  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her light-hearted but practical interview with Mary Donkersloot, R.D., host of Mary’s Smart Eating Show. Donkersloot discusses some of t...

Did you know that the time of day when we exercise can help better control blood sugar levels?   Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jill Kanaley, Ph. D., Exercise Physiologist and Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri. She’ll discuss her research on the effects of diet composition...

Did you know that highly processed “junk” food harms children’s health beyond obesity? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Bettina Elias Siegel, attorney, advocate, and author of Kid Food: The Challenge of Feeding Children in a Highly Processed World .  Siegel discusses multiple ways highly processed foods harm children’s health, and mos...

Did you know that the industrialization of wheat may be a contributing factor explaining the rise in wheat intolerance? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Bob Quinn, Ph. D., award winning organic farmer based in Montana, and co-author of Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food . Quinn discusses the...

Did you know that communities across the country are using food to rise out of economic despair? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mark Winne, Senior Advisor, Center for a Livable Future and author of Food Town USA: Seven unlikely cities that are changing the way we eat. Winne takes a deeper dive into cities that have been rejuvenated...

Did you know that the food system can be a tremendous economic driver in communities facing economic hardship? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mark Winne, Senior Advisor, Center for a Livable Future and author of Food Town USA: Seven unlikely cities that are changing the way we eat. Winne explains food’s economic potential and its ab...

Did you know that many modern chemicals used in the manufacture of consumer products mimic (though imperfectly) our hormonal systems?  Endocrine disruptions caused by this imperfect mimicry can lead to many chronic diseases that have their roots in early exposures. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Cheryl Watson, Ph. D., professor (eme...

Did you know that organic farming methods provide nutritional benefits to the end consumer and our planet? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dr. Linley Dixon, Ph. D., farmer and associate director of the Real Organic Project. Linley describes the benefits of organic farming from a farmer and plant pathologist perspective. She describes...

Did you know that new estimates put the death toll from antibiotic-resistant infections in the U.S. at over 160,000 deaths a year, making it the third-leading cause of death in the U.S.? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Lena Brook, Director of Food Campaigns, Natural Resources Defense Council, where she leads the Antibiotics Off the M...

Did you know that our cultural narrative of “rugged individualism” fails to recognize strength in community? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.  Campbell, one of our nation’s most influential faith-based progressive activists, led the famous “Nuns o...