The Food Chain - What's Eating What Radio

In 1982, it appeared on the hamburger patties of fast food; today, it is found on the spinach leaves of vegetarians. This leads us to ask, “Can we survive E.coli 0157:H7?” Topics include a brief history of 0157:H7; why it poses a threat to

Oil allowed us to move off the farm and into the city, where we now eat food that is trucked in from over a thousand miles away. This leads some to ask, “Who will feed us when we run out of gas?” Topics include the extent to which we curren

Guests: Rancher Gabe Brown, Bismark,North Dakota

To spray or not to spray: that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the insatiable appetites of outrageous apple moths or, by opposing them with synthetic pheromones, end them. Topics include why controlling the LBAM has become so

Campylobacter, E. coli, hepatitis A, listeria, norovirus, salmonella, and shigella are some of the food borne pathogens that lead us to ask…

Raise your hand if you think you are gluten intolerant. Now, raise your hand if you know you are gluten intolerant. The difference between thinking and knowing leads us to ask…

10,000 years ago, when we turned from feeding ourselves with nature to feeding ourselves with agriculture, we grew shorter and weaker. This leads us to ask…

This from a concerned citizen: “No… Don’t spray! Just do not spray. No more chemicals. No pesticides. No bad stuff on my food, our community, our health!” Okay. But wait! What about the pests? Topics include whether pests s

It began as an effort to help farmers farm in hard times, but grew into an effort to help just about everyone do everything for everybody all the time. This leads us to ask….

It is one thing to save and recycle-– to waste not; it is another thing to make profitable use of what we do recycle– to want not. This leads us to ask…

The bite is on… We heard it on the radio: “All you can eat shrimp. Come and get em!” And so, mouths watering in anticipation, we stampede across the floor and out the door for… But wait…

For decades economists told farmers to “Get big or get out!” Others– the heretics of agriculture– told farmers to “Grow small and stand tall!” This divergence of opinion leads us to ask…

Scientists in laboratories can take apart two living things and recombine them into a new living thing. Individuals in basements and garages now say, “Me too!” This leads us to ask…

Some scientists say foods that have been modified to contain genes from other species are safe to eat. Other scientists say GMO foods are not safe to eat. These competing contentions lead us to ask: Are foods that contain genetically modified organisms

Sprouted seeds, or “sprouts” as they are commonly called, are truly the freshest of foods because they are, well, still living. Sprouts are also the frequent subjects of food contaminations, and thus lead us to ask…

There are three frightening ironies within the three simple sentences of this Chico Enterprise-Record letter to the editor:

Topics include the evolution of modern pesticides; the extent to which agriculture has come to rely on these pesticides; and how pests have reacted to the pesticides designed to kill them. Guest Andy Dyer, author of Chasing the Red Queen:

Many of the big issues of the day– globalization, immigration, women’s rights, pollution, self-determination– are associated with the production of coffee. And so we pause to ask, “What’s in your cup?” Topics includ

Topics include why agriculture uses pesticides to produce food; the extent to which agriculture has come to rely on pesticides; and whether those pesticides are safe. Guests:Andre Leu, President of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture

Depressed, anxious, and can’t sleep, oh my! Though modern times are making us thoroughly distraught, a prescription for happy pills will help us find peace. This leads us to ask…

The anti-depressant drug Prozac is now available in a strawberry-flavored liquid to better serve the 8,000,000,000 U.S. school children that now take psychiatric drugs. This leads us to ask, “What are we feeding our children?” Topics includ

Peppers, salt and vinegar. That is not all there is in that little red bottle of Tabasco Sauce, there's also 140 years of American history and we're going to pour it out! Topics include the two versions of how Tabasco Sauce was invented; why only the M

So much Monsanto herbicide was applied to so many Monsanto GE crops that weeds became resistant. Dow Chemical’s solution to the resistance is “Agent Orange Corn,” which leads us to ask…

Topics include a look at the various factors that give farmland its value; how inflationary and deflationary economies affect the value of farmland; and the different ways to invest in farmland. Guests: Chuck Allen of Keller Williams and Randy Dickhut

Think Local First, a business membership organizaton of Santa Cruz County, California, is conducting an Eat Local First Festival to celebrate local farmers, processors, restaurateurs, and foodies. This effort leads us to ask…