Food Sleuth Radio

Did you know that “foodscaping” involves the planning, design, management, and nurturing of ecological edible landscapes?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Matt Lebon, owner of Custom Foodscaping. Lebon, who provides education and leadership to foodscapers nationally, discusses the multiple benefits of creating beautiful, edible lands...

Did you know that one year ago the community of East Palestine Ohio was poisoned by a Norfolk Southern train derailment and the resulting purposeful burning of vinyl chloride? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jess Conard, Appalachia Director at Beyond Plastics who discusses the ongoing public health consequences facing her community....

Did you know that the drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are revolutionizing the medical treatment of obesity and related disorders?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Mary Donkersloot, RDN, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and host of the Smart Eating Show. The two will discuss the pros and cons of this new class of obesity drugs and drug-free...

Did you know that there are multiple benefits resulting from the co-location of solar panels with agricultural production? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Byron Kominek, founder of Jack’s Solar Garden and Executive Director of the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center in Longmont, CO - the largest commercially active agrivoltaics syst...

Did you know that the majority of corn seeds planted in the United States are coated with a powerful pesticide that harms pollinators, birds and other wildlife? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Elizabeth Hilborn, DVM, registered nurse, farmer and author of Restoring Eden: Unearthing the Agribusiness Secret that Poisoned my Farming Com...

Did you know that exercise benefits both physical health and cognition? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Michelle Gray, Ph. D., Head of the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Director of the Office for Studies on Aging, and Professor of Exercise Science at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.  Gray discusses a...

Did you know that Dollar Stores are the fastest growing food retailer in the U.S.? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Sara John, Ph. D., Deputy Director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and lead author of “Stretching the Dollar: Community Informed Opportunities to Improve Healthy Food Access through Dollar Stores.” John...

Did you know that farm couples often have to find off-farm jobs to secure health insurance?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Anna Jones-Crabtree, Ph. D., owner and operator of Vilicus Farms and Institute, in Havre, MT. Jones-Crabtree discusses agricultural challenges and opportunities for farming in light of climate change, policy, a...

Did you know that biodiversity is key to resilience? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Doug Crabtree, owner and operator of Vilicus Farms and Institute, in Havre, MT. From the heart of wheat country in the northern plains, Crabtree discusses the challenges he faces from climate change, U.S. agricultural policies, and the benefits of or...

Did you know that USDA’s new Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards will help promote animal welfare? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Harriet Behar, organic farmer, inspector, educator and Farmer Services Consultant for the Organic Farming Association. Behar describes the multiple benefits of organic agriculture and explains how USD...

Did you know that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) serves more than 40 million Americans, or about 1 in 8 people living in poverty in the U.S.?  However, large corporations also benefit from the program. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Jennifer Wilkins, Ph. D., RD, a leader in sustainable, community-based food sys...

Did you know that religious beliefs have influenced our eating habits throughout history? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Christina Ward, food historian, Vice President and Editor at Feral House, and author of Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat – An American History. Ward discusses historic...

Did you know that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in the inability of Mexican corn farmers to earn a living? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Dana Geffner, co-founder and former executive director of Fair World Project, the leading fair trade advocacy organization in the U.S. Geffner explains how “free tra...

Did you know that chefs are uniquely positioned to drive food system change for good? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Katherine Miller, advocate and author of At The Table: The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy (Island Press, 2023). Miller was the founding executive director of the Chef Action Network, a  chef advocacy group, and the vice pre...

Did you know that we have more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet and then some?  Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Michael Fakhri, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Fakhri is a  professor at the University of Oregon,  School of Law where he teaches courses on human rights, food law, development, and...

Did you know that the Feb. 3rd, 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine OH resulted in chemically-contaminated air and water that continues to harm public health? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Andrew Whelton, Ph. D., Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University in...

Did you know that on February 3rd, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster released toxic chemicals into the air and water in East Palestine, Ohio and surrounding areas? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Nick Keppler, journalist reporting for the Washington Post and Environmental Health News. Keppler describes his on-the-gro...

Did you know that we can build community through good food?                          Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Brad Reubendale, CEO of So All May Eat, and the SAME Café. Reubendale discusses the mission of SAME Cafés: to create community through healthy food access. He describes the unique and sustainable “participatory model”...

Did you know that climate change is water change? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Erica Gies, author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge. Gies, an independent journalist and National Geographic Explorer, writes extensively about water, climate change and biology. She discusses how development, climate chang...

Did you know that children’s health is dependent upon their environmental conditions? Join Melinda Hemmelgarn, Registered Dietitian and Food Sleuth Radio host for her interview with Nse Witherspoon, MPH, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network and co-leader of the science and health arm of the Cancer Free Economy Network. Witherspoon describes the Eco-Friendly childcare i...

Did you know that agriculture is not sustainable without fair wages? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Elizabeth Henderson , award-winning farmer, writer, activist, and agrarian leader best known for her decades of support of and contributions to organic and sustainable agriculture. She is a founding member of the Northeast Organic Far...

Did you know that children as young as nine years of age work in agriculture in the U.S.? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Amy Tamayo, J.D., National Policy and Advocacy Director at Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc. Tamayo describes her work in which she advocates for farmworker women to advance immigration, environmental justice,...

Did you know that climate change threatens public health and safety, especially for underserved and vulnerable populations? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. Benjamin discusses regional differences of climate impact, and describes the ways extreme weath...

Did you know that a long-standing relationship exists between food as a political tool and the maintenance of power, and that food provides a unique opportunity to engage in peace-building? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Christina Campbell, Ph. D., R.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at IA...

Did you know that food is at the core of health and wellness as well as national and international security? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Laurie Beyranevand, JD, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, South Royalton, VT. Beyranevand discusses food law an...