Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that more than 10,000 chemicals are allowed to be added to our food, but not all are tested for safety?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sheela Sathyanarayana, M.D., MPH ,  associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, and co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new policy statement on “Food...

Did you know that “pink ribbon” products may actually increase the risk of breast cancer? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Karuna Jaggar, Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action.  Jaggar exposes and critiques hypocritical “pink ribbon” campaigns, and discusses social justice, plus the health and environmental policy changes needed...

Did you know that mutual understanding and respect are at the heart of food justice? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Joshua Sbicca, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University and author of “Food Justice Now!: Deepening the Roots of Social Struggle.” Sbicca explains the differences between food justice and f...

Did you know that a former Marine has aerially documented hurricane damage to confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Eastern North Carolina? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with photojournalist and Senior Advisor to the Waterkeeper Alliance, Rick Dove. Dove describes his brush with Pfiesteria Piscicida, repeated fish kills, coal as...

Did you know that children are strategically targeted by manufacturers of fast and processed foods and sugary beverages? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andrea Curtis, author of “Eat This! How Fast-Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (and how to fight back).” Curtis discusses marketing strategies that are specifically used to trick k...

Do you know the foods that are most likely to be mislabeled or incorrectly identified on menus and grocery shelves? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Larry Olmsted, author of “Real Food, Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating & What You Can Do About It.” From dried grass clippings in oregano to cellulose in grated Parmesa...

Did you know the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that about one in 59 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? And that food is at the heart of treatment?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Elizabeth Strickland, R.D. author of “Eating for Autism: the 10-Step Nutrition Plan to Help Treat Your C...

Did you know that Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world’s largest hog producer and slaughterhouse? (Smithfield slaughters 32,000 hogs per day; that’s 33 hogs per minute or 1 every two seconds.) Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Lynn Waltz, two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, assistant professor of journalism...

Did you know that organic farming methods improve soil and water quality, and can help mitigate climate change? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Brise Tencer, Executive Director of the California-based Organic Farming Research Foundation. Tenser explains the meaning and benefits of organic food and farming, how certification, benefits...

Did you know that a compound largely found in mushrooms could help prevent neuro-degenerative diseases? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Robert Beelman, Ph. D., Professor Emeritus of Food Science, and Director of the Center for Plant and Mushroom Foods for Health, at Pennsylvania State University. Beelman will describe the unique nutr...

Did you know that supermarkets hold great power and influence over the farmers, producers and workers who supply their products? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Irit Tamir, J.D., Director of Oxfam America’s Private Sector Department. Tamir will discuss Oxfam’s new report, “Ripe for Change: Ending the human suffering behind our food”...

Did you know that “food touches everything?” Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Laura Titzer, community food organizer based in Seattle, WA, and author of “No Table Too Small: Engaging in the Art and Attitude of Social Change.” Titzer discusses her work history, defines food “activist,” and describes barriers to, and solutions for food...

Did you know that labor union contracts help protect slaughterhouse workers’ health and safety? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dennis Olson, Senior Research Associate and Policy Analyst for the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union. Olson describes how labor unions in poultry slaughterhouses help uphold safer line...

Did you know that water is our most important nutrient, and industrial agricultural production methods threaten water quality, public health, and quality of life in rural communities? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with William Stowe, CEO and General Manager of the Des Moines Water Works. Stowe sits on the board of directors of the Assoc...

Did you know that as of May 2018, menus at fast food and chain restaurants, as well as ready-to-eat foods in supermarkets will have to provide calorie and nutrition information to customers?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Margo Wootan, Ph. D., Director of Nutrition Policy at the Washington, D.C. – based Center for Science in the Pu...

Did you know that organic farming methods could help mitigate climate change, reduce pollution and improve the nutritional quality of our diets?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jessica Shade, Ph. D., Director of Science Programs at the Organic Center. Shade explores the science that supports the benefits of organic food and farming,...

Did you know that approximately 12% of the U.S. population is food insecure, and that many rely on charity to survive?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andy Fisher, community food security advocate, and author of “Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups.” Fisher explores the charity model and...

Did you know that the development of obesity is dependent upon more than simple caloric balance? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Bruce Blumberg, Ph. D., Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology at the University of California-Irvine, and author of “The Obesogen Effect: Why We Eat Less and Exercise More but Still Struggle to Lose W...

Did you know that healthful foodsheds are key to democracy and a sustainable future? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Philip Ackerman-Leist, M.S., organic farmer, professor of sustainable agriculture and food systems at Green Mountain College (VT), and author of “A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved it...

Did you know that we depend on hundreds of thousands of Latino farm workers who perform skilled and strenuous labor under harsh conditions in the state of California? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Gabriel Thompson ,  award-winning investigative journalist, and author of Chasing the Harvest : Migrant Workers in California Agricultur...

Did you know that an increasing number of hospitals nationwide are investing in on-site farms,  farmers’ markets, and “good” food prescription projects?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sue Erhardt , Executive Director of the Allegheny Mountain Institute. AMI is an educational non-profit organization with the mission to cultivate hea...

Did you know that food (plus laughter) can be our best medicine? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mary Purdy, M.S., R.D., Integrative and Functional Medicine Nutritionist, and former actor. Purdy’s theatrical background makes her a uniquely entertaining nutritionist. She’s the host of the web series & podcast “Mary’s Nutrition Sho...

Did you know that preserving our regional agricultural heritage and culinary traditions can promote economic development and regional pride? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Daniel Harper, Director of Policy and Communications for the American Origin Products Association. Harper discusses the multiple benefits of regional food brandin...

Did you know that 70 percent of our immune system is in the lining of our guts? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Tanmeet Sethi, MD, an Integrative Medicine Physician on the faculty at the Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine Residency in Seattle, WA. Recognizing the power of food in mental and physical health, Sethi established a culin...

Did you  know that exposure to pesticides puts children and farm workers in harm’s way? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Kristin Schafer, Executive Director of the Pesticide Action Network (PAN). Schafer discusses the risks of pesticide drift and harms related to exposure on children and farm workers, including neurological damage fro...