The Food Chain - What's Eating What Radio

Topics include how seed plants evolved to dominate the natural world; the importance of seeds as a source of human food; and whether humans can successfully save enough seeds to guarantee a future. Guests: Thor Hanson, Author, The Triumph of Seeds: Ho

Though cannabis has been made illegal by local, state, national and international law and treaty, 3,000 people will soon gather to talk about doing its legal business. And that leads us to ask...

Topics include the glyphosate study conducted by UCSF; whether the amount of glyphosate discovered can affect human health; and how glyphosate is getting into our bodies. Guest: Katherine Paul, Associate Director, Organic Consumers Association

In 1907, candle makers William Proctor and James Gamble turned liquid cottonseed oil into a solid shortening they called Crisco, thus kicking off a zillion-dollar century-long war on saturated fat. And so we ask...

We banned cannabis forever with an international treaty, but then accepted it as a national medicine and pastime. Now, ready or not, we are building an entire industry on the forbidden plant. And so we ask...

Guests: UCSC Doctoral Student Monika Egerer & USCS Environmental Studies student Sara Rezaie

Guests: Open Microphone for Audience participation

When drought ends the war on weeds begins, and if the war is not won weeds will win the nutrients, sunshine, territory and water. And so we ask: Which can best win the war on weeds: animals, chemicals or people?

We began eating meat a couple of million years ago. Today we are told eating meat is bad for us, cruel to animals, and harmful to the environment. And so ask: Should people stop eating meat?

To build a viable commercial herd, or flock, the farmer believes one must select the best and cull the rest. This commercial imperative leads us to ask: Is cultural selection fair?

Though Zika was first discovered in 1947, it was never considered much of a threat, until 2015 when it popped up in Brazil. Now Zika is spreading throughout the world where it is considered to be a threat to the unborn. And so we ask: Should we release G

Topics include why the birds are considered pests by the many, and pets by the few; how the intelligence of these birds allow them to supplant and exclude other birds from the environment; and what can done, if anything, to control them so that other bi

They are the canaries in the mine of our environment, and they are dying off to the extent the federal government is considering listing them as an endangered species. And so we ask: What is killing the bees? Topics include the various theories as to w

That no definitive answer has yet to been given as to how so many Chipotle restaurants were contaminated, across such a broad geographical area, by so many different pathogens, in such a short period of time, leads us to again ask: What caused the food po

Guests: Michael Palmer, Food Safety Consultant, GAP Solutions & Karen Robinson-Jacobs, Hospitality Industry Journalist, Dallas Morning News

Ninety percent of Americans could be fed entirely by food grown within 100 miles of their city, so claims a study published at UC Merced. This leads us to ask: How can local food feed 90% of the population?

El Nino brought rains to the parched West, but not enough rain to replenish aquifers sucked dry by years of severe drought. The fight for what water remains leads us to ask: Who should own the water in an aquifer?

Much effort has been devoted to getting children to eat the right food, but in spite of all the effort, much of the right food still ends up in the trash. This leads us to ask: Should children eat what adults serve, or should adults serve what children

Could it be true? Could it be that, to save wild animals, birds and fish, we must hunt and fish for them? This thought leads us to ask:

The bees responsible for one-third of the food we eat are disappearing. Also disappearing is the scientific research into why bees are disappearing, and that leads us to ask: Why is USDA discouraging its scientific research into the disappearance of bees

Industrial agriculture has been taking the hits lately, with books like Omnivore’s Dilemma, Fast Food Nation and Appetite for Profit throwing the punches. This leads us to ask, “Can big food do the right thing?” Topics include what rel

The Federal Government has admitted to discriminating against black farmers and taxpayers must now pay $1,250,000,000 to make good. These reparations lead us to ask…

Water runs downhill. This is a problem for environmentalists and farmers. Environmentalists say water running off farms contaminates the environment and may turn babies blue; farmers say it’s impossible to prevent water from running off their farms

Topics include the incredible fecundity of the Santa Clara Valley; what happened to the fecundity when the Santa Clara Valley became Silicon Valley; and where our food will be grown when we pave all our best farmland into cities. Guest: Robin Chapman,

We look up to those who inhabit the top floors of skyscrapers for their ability to collect Other Peoples Money and hoard it for themselves. But now we must turn away from them and ask…