The Food Chain - What's Eating What Radio

“You never let a serious crisis go to waste.” Rahm Emanuel

To protect America from transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, USDA ordered Linda and Larry’s prized milking sheep slaughtered. This leads us to ask, “What did the Fallace’s milk sheep have to do with mad cows?” Topics includ

They say 80 percent of our processed foods now contain genetically modified organisms, which our government claims to be safe. This leads one to ask…

Six decades ago, farms began leaving the city for greener pastures. Today they are returning. This leads us to ask: “Can farms and cities prosper together?” Topics include reasons why farms locate in or near a city; why cities tolerate the

Some time ago, omega-3 fatty acids were removed from the Western diet. As these fatty acids are an essential part of our body’s chemistry, we now suffer accordingly. And so we ask, “What happened to omega-3’s?” Topics include

The Federal government intends to make all food safe with HR 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. This legislation leads us to ask…

If you want to eat the sausage, you might not want to know from what, and how, that sausage was made. This leads us to ask…

Farmers and consumers in the tiny, landlocked state of Vermont have initiated a petition drive to reject the Federal government’s Food Safety Modernization Act. This leads us to ask…

Whole Foods Market wants to rate its food good, better or best, so long as its farmers pay for their ratings. This leads us to ask: How should Whole Foods Responsibly Grown ratings be rated? Topic include why Whole Foods instituted an entirely new food

They say that, where obesity is becoming the major health issue, more and more are going hungry. This leads us to ask, "Who is hungry now?" Topics include the demographics of hunger in America; reasons why the incidence of hunger appears to be increasing

During the peak of a brutal afternoon commute, when smog oppressively cloaked the sun, I had been passing alone through a singularly dreary tract of suburb, and at length found myself, as the commute wore on, within view of a melancholy Budweiser beer pla

The Preble’s jumping meadow mouse has been listed as an endangered species since 1998. Recent genetic tests, however, suggest it may not be a species at all! This leads us to ask, “Should we continue to protect the Preble’s mouse?&#822

Amish farmer Dan Allgyer has been arrested by the Food and Drug Administration for selling fresh whole milk across state lines. The FDA’s police action leads us to ask…

Topics include the fundamental differences between industrial and organic agricultures; what studies reveal about the respective productivty of each agriculture; and speculation as to which agriculture might best feed our future. Guest: UC Berkeley Co

When the video was released showing the downer cows being slaughtered inhumanely, the federal government closed the California abattoir. This leads us to ask…

In the name of safety, the federal government is establishing rules that will prohibit teens from working on family farms. This leads us to ask…

When it comes to food, white could be beautiful, but mostly its not! Topics include the impact white foods, like sugar and flour, have on our diet; why government policy encourages consumption of white foods; and what foods of color add to our diets.

Topics include a quick look at the rapidly aging demographic of U.S. farmers; who among the young will take it upon themselves to feed the nation; and where beginning farmers will get the resources they need to succeed.

We have spent more than we earned and now must borrow $10 trillion from our children to keep from going belly up. To make it easier for children to pay our bill, we could have more children, and allow for more immigration. This leads us to ask…

Ask any of those who survived the Great Depression in the 1930s what they ate for dinner and you’ll likely get an ear full, if not a belly full. Their stories lead one to ask…

Wal-Mart recently announced it will greatly expand its offering of organic foods, and will price organic only slightly higher than conventional. This leads some to ask, “Will Wal-Mart wal-mart organics?” Topic include... the short history

They say it's a $250,000,000 crop waiting to be planted--but there is one hurdle. It is illegal. This leads one to ask, "Should the United States legalize the cultivation of 'industrial' hemp?" Topics include what differences exist, if any, between hem

Farmers use 200 million pounds of the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) every year to grow food without weeds. This leads us to ask…

If nutrients are not in our soil, they will not be in our crops. If nutrients are not in our crops, they will not be in our body. This leads us to ask…

The National Animal Identifiication System, or NAIS, is a new government program that seeks to register each premises in the United States that harbors farm animals, and then to track the movements of each of those animals from birth to death. This lead