Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly being added to U.S. pesticide products, contaminating waterways and posing threats to human health? join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Nathan Donley, Ph. D., Environmental Health Science Director at the Center for Biologic...

Did you know that animal abuse takes place on factory farms and slaughterhouses? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Gail A. Eisnitz, Chief Investigator for the Humane Farming Association and author of Out of Sight, An Undercover Investigator’s Fight for Animal Rights and Her Own Survival (Skyhorse Publishing, May 2025). Eisnitz discus...

Did you know that powerful language and imagery are distractions from the reality of industrialized agriculture? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Will Potter, investigative journalist and author of Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth from Farm to Fable . Potter discusses the connections between factory farms and authoritarianism, and...

Did you know that livestock abuse is widespread on factory farms? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Will Potter, investigative journalist and author of Little Red Bars: Hiding the Truth from Farm to Fable . Potter will discuss “ag-gag” and other legislation designed to hide widespread abuses in industrial livestock operations and pro...

Did you know that people living in arctic regions have some of the highest body burdens of toxic chemicals? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Pamela Miller, MS, Founder and Executive Director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics and Co-Chair of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) . Miller discusses the unique food...

Did you know that oysters are not only popular items at seafood festivals, but vital to the health of our estuaries?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Sandra Brooke, Ph. D., research faculty at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory and scientific director and lead investigator of the Apalachicola Bay System Initia...

Did you know that consolidation in the fertilizer industry results in environmental harm and less choice for farmers? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Basel Musharbash, antitrust and trade regulation lawyer, and author of Kings Over the Necessaries of Life: Monopolization and the Elimination of Competition in America’s Agriculture S...

Did you know that consolidation in our food and agriculture systems has more to do with the price of eggs than bird flu? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Basel Musharbash, antitrust and trade regulation lawyer, and author of Kings Over the Necessaries of Life: Monopolization and the Elimination of Competition in America’s Agricultur...

Did you know that some food dyes can have a negative influence children’s behavior? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Peter Lurie, MD, MPH, President and Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit food and health watchdog organization based in Washington, DC. Lurie discusses the workings...

Did you know that Roundup for residential /consumer use has been re-formulated to replace glyphosate with even more harmful chemicals? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Kendra Klein, PhD., Deputy Director of Science at Friends of the Earth. Klein describes new formulations, health risks of herbicides and misconceptions about “regener...

Did you know that USDA’s recent cuts to local food promotion grants will thwart farmers’ ability to provide fresh, nourishing, local food to schools and food pantries? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Liz Graznak, MO-based certified organic farmer. Graznak will discuss the impacts of recent USDA grant funding cuts on her farm’s labo...

Did you know that federal budget allocations for farm to school purchasing have been cut, harming farmers, rural economies and the diet quality of school children? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Ryan Betz, MS., policy specialist with the National Farm to School Network where he supports the Network's federal policy efforts, as wel...

Did you know that “geohealth” refers to health and disease through a geographical lens? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Alan Kolok, PhD , Professor Emeritus, Environmental Toxicology, University of Idaho, Volunteer Faculty, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, author of Modern Poisons: A Brief Introducti...

Did you know that regional, community grocery stores can create stronger, more resilient communities?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her continued conversation with Lea Rainey, founder of Roots Zero Waste Market and Organic Café, located in Garden City, ID. Rainey introduces us to the term “food ethics,” and discusses food pricing, how she sources loc...

Did you know that the grocery industry makes a significant contribution to both food waste and the global plastic crisis? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Lea Rainey, founder of Roots Zero Waste Market and Organic Cafe, located in Garden City, ID. Rainey discusses what makes her grocery store unique, including her efforts to reduce...

Did you know that farmworkers face a growing number of hardships and threats both in their jobs and communities?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Fabiola Ortiz Valdez, Director of Organizing, Food Chain Workers Alliance. Valdez discusses farmworkers’ lives and the struggles they face as they toil to put food on our plates. Related...

Did you know that there are global brokers looking for land to “grab” as a way to capture water and food production? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Nate Halverson , Emmy Award-winning journalist at The Center for Investigative Reporting, and producer and lead reporter in The Grab , a feature-length documentary that uncovers the po...

Did you know that plastic recycling is a myth? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Megan Wolff, PhD, MPH, public health practitioner, subject matter expert on plastics and human health, visiting faculty at Bennington College, and Executive Director of the Physicians and Scientists Network for Advocacy on Plastics and Health (P-SNAP). W...

Did you know plastics don’t break down, they break up ? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Megan Wolff, PhD, MPH , public health practitioner, subject matter expert on plastics and human health, visiting faculty at Bennington College, and Executive Director of the Physicians and Scientists Network for Advocacy on Plastics and Health (...

Did you know that H5 influenza (also called bird flu) will continue to spread into new species and threaten human lives? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Carol Cardona, Ph. D., DVM, Professor and Endowed Chair in Avian Health in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at the University of MN – St. Paul.  Dr. Cardona dis...

Did you know that Mexico is trying to protect their health and food sovereignty rights to reject US GMO corn exports for use in their corn tortillas? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Timothy Wise, MS, Senior Research Fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, investigative journalist for U.S. Rig...

Did you know that whatever your interest, you can use it to make positive change in your community? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Mackenzie Feldman, founder and co-director of Re:wild Your Campus, and co-author of Groundbakers: 60+ Plant-Based Comfort Food Recipes and 16 Leaders Changing the Food System . Feldman discusses her wo...

Did you know that industrialized hog farming has harmed rural communities and public health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Sonja Eayrs, attorney, farm advocate and author of Dodge County Inc.: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America. Eayrs describes the corporatization of hog farming and the resulting wake of destruction, includi...

Did you know that nutrition can be an unspoken tool of oppression for marginalized populations? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with David Wiss, PhD, RD, pioneer in the field of nutrition and mental health. Wiss discusses his food-positive approach in addiction recovery and disordered eating. He explains how the ‘all foods can fit’ appr...

Did you know that over 30 percent of consumers say most of their meals are eaten alone? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Mike Kostyo, MA, Vice President of Menu Matters, LLC, and “trendologist.” Kostyo will discuss food and societal trends for 2025, including flavor, travel, trade and GLP-1 drugs. Kostyo says one way to address our...