All Podcasts
E119: Chef Deborah Madison – An Onion in my Pocket
March 2021Ever wonder how a groundbreaking, pioneering, and award-winning chef and cookbook author came to such a place? Today, we'll find out from Deborah Madison. After working at breakthrough restaurants Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Greens in San Francisco, Deborah Madison made her mark in Rome, opened Cafe Escalera in Santa Fe, and became a prolific writer of cookbooks and articles about foods for places like "Gourmet" magazine and "Food & Wine." Her latest book, which is entitled, "An Onion In My Pocket," is a memoir. It has been very positively reviewed in many places with terms like "beguiling, honest, and captivating." And in the words of Marion Nestle, a well-known figure in the food area, the book shows how the path that carried Deborah to become what Marian said is, "The consummate vegetarian cook and cookbook writer." Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E119: Chef Deborah Madison – An Onion in my Pocket »
E118: Joel Pitkowsky on MAZON - A Jewish Response to Hunger
March 2021You may not automatically think of faith organizations as advocates for a stronger food system, but boy are they ever. I'm talking today with Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky of Teaneck, New Jersey. Rabbi Pitkowsky, in addition being a rabbi, is a leader and is on the board of directors for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. This is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and in Israel. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E118: Joel Pitkowsky on MAZON - A Jewish Response to Hunger »
E117: Society’s Hunger Conundrum: Who is to blame, and who is responsible now?
February 2021Food and security, poses one of the most pressing development and human challenges in the world. This has been true for a very long time. And still there is a little social consensus on who ought to do what to solve the hunger problem. Today we're talking with Dr. Michelle Jurkovich, Author of a new book entitled "Feeding The Hungry Advocacy and Blame in the Global Fight Against Hunger." She argues that food is a critical economic and social right, and presents a toolkit of ideas for more effective rights advocacy. Dr. Jurkovich is a Political Scientist on the Faculty of the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E117: Society’s Hunger Conundrum: Who is to blame, and who is responsible now? »
E116: The Origins and Vision for the Native American Agriculture Fund
February 2021Knowing that Native Americans were our country's first farmers and have a rich and very special history with the land, one might consider it surprising and of course discouraging that some of the most challenging food and agriculture issues in our country confront Native Americans. Our guest, attorney Janie Simms Hipp is one of the most passionate and thoughtful voices in addressing these issues. Simms Hipp is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation and leads the Native American Agriculture Fund, the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving Native American farming and ranching communities. The Native American Agriculture Fund is a charitable trust that provides grants to eligible organizations for business assistance, agricultural education, technical support and the advocacy services to support native farmers and ranchers. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E116: The Origins and Vision for the Native American Agriculture Fund »
E115: How Precision Diet Might Overcome Some Genetic Roadblocks
February 2021Could there come a day when an optimal diet could be recommended not just for the population overall or for people with special conditions such as diabetes but a diet that would be unique for you? A diet based on your genetics let's say on the condition of your microbiome perhaps? Or on your environmental exposures or other factors? This futuristic possibility may be closer than you think. Thanks to the work of researchers, including today's guest Dr. Steven Zeisel, Director of the Nutrition Research Institute and Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of North Carolina. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E115: How Precision Diet Might Overcome Some Genetic Roadblocks »
E114: Why Nutrition is So Important In the First 1000 Days of Life
February 2021At a conference on early child development and nutrition - comprised of leading experts on brain development, child development and public policy - one of the most memorable things said, in my mind, was that “poor nutrition early in life confers a life sentence.” Those striking words were issued by today's guest, Dr. Michael Georgieff the Executive Vice Chair of Pediatrics and head of the Neonatology Division at the University of Minnesota. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E114: Why Nutrition is So Important In the First 1000 Days of Life »
E113: The Power of Policy and Parents in School Meals
February 2021It wasn't that long ago that there was a nutrition free-for-all in schools where sugary beverages, high calorie snack foods, and even things like pizzas and cheeseburgers direct from fast food chains were part of the food landscape in schools. What do you think the situation is today? Has it deteriorated even further? Has it improved or stayed about the same? Today's guest, Dr. Marlene Schwartz, is a champion for improved nutrition and physical activity in schools and one of the leading experts in the field. Schwartz is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Connecticut. She's an expert on nutrition and physical activity policies in schools and preschools nationwide, and has collaborated in particular with the Connecticut Department of Education on their policies. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E113: The Power of Policy and Parents in School Meals »
E112: Food Bank, Food Pantries, and the Promise of More
February 2021Food banks and food pantries provide life-saving help for families all around the country. Like other institutions addressing food issues, there is growing focus on providing not just food, but healthy food. There are complex issues in this picture, however, issues we can address with today's guest, Dr. Marlene Schwartz. Schwartz is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Connecticut. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E112: Food Bank, Food Pantries, and the Promise of More »
E111: Teaching Responsive Feeding to Parents Create Lifelong Healthy Habits in Children
February 2021There is very interesting work going on the topic of responsive feeding. Our guest today, Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla published commentary with several colleagues on feeding practices in the context of nurturing young children. And they began the paper with this statement: "Dietary guidelines provide advice on what to eat "to different subsets of the population, but often do not take into account the how to eat. It turns out that the how is pretty darn important." Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E111: Teaching Responsive Feeding to Parents Create Lifelong Healthy Habits in Children »
E110: Policy and Medical Practice Need to Better Support Breastfeeding
February 2021Breastfeeding is front and center in discussions of maternal and child health. But optimizing breastfeeding practices is anything but simple. There's no person better suited to discuss the challenges and opportunities in this area than our guest, Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla. Perez-Escamilla is director of the Office of Public Health Practice, and professor of epidemiology and public health at the Yale University School of Public Health. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E110: Policy and Medical Practice Need to Better Support Breastfeeding »
E109: The FABLE of International Sustainable Development
January 2021To meet the challenge of feeding the world's growing population and safeguarding the planet's land and resources in perpetuity, nations are going to have to work together like never before. Today's guests are part of a 20 country research consortium, dubbed FABLE, which stands for Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use and Energy. Guests: environmental policy specialist, Jordan Poncet, who coordinates FABLE for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Justin Baker, Associate Professor and forest resource economist at North Carolina State University. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E109: The FABLE of International Sustainable Development »
E108: Can we Trust Industry to Reformulate Food for Health?
January 2021When the food industry promises to police itself and pledges to improve nutrition in public health, can it be trusted to make meaningful change or must government mandate those changes? Our two guests today have done groundbreaking work to help address this very question. Dr. Jessica Fanzo, Professor of Global Food and Agricultural Policy and Ethics at Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Jennifer Harris is Senior Research Advisor for Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E108: Can we Trust Industry to Reformulate Food for Health? »
E107: Fish Need a Stronger Role in Global Food Security Planning
January 2021In a recently released January 2021 paper, scientists urge global policy makers and funders, to think of fish as a solution to food insecurity and malnutrition, not just as a natural resource, that provides income and livelihoods. The research team argues that fish can play a larger role in addressing global hunger and malnutrition, but fisheries governance would need to change. Welcome to the Leading Voices in Food podcast. Our guest today is lead author Abigail Bennett, an assistant professor of Global Inland Fisheries Ecology and Governance at Michigan State University. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E107: Fish Need a Stronger Role in Global Food Security Planning »
E106: Behind the Scenes of LA’s Good Food Zone Policy
January 2021In today's episode, we're digging into the Good Food Zone Policy that will be implemented in Los Angeles, California. The goal is to expand access to healthy food in neighborhoods considered food deserts and to create economic opportunity and jobs for residents living on low incomes. If you follow food policy work, you'll be interested in the Good Food Zone, food entrepreneurship and Community Development Framework. Guests in this podcast include three people deeply engaged in developing this place-based policy strategy: Ronnell Hampton, of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Samantha Salmon, of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Community Organizer and Media Specialist, Matt Sanderson. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E106: Behind the Scenes of LA’s Good Food Zone Policy »
E105: Culinary Historian Adrian Miller on Food Justice
January 2021Food justice is a term heard more and more. Captured in that term is a view of how historical factors have shaped inequity in food systems, and powerful ideas for addressing issues such as food security, obesity, and the welfare of farmers. Listen in to a discussion with well-known author Adrian Miller, a very thoughtful voice on these issues. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E105: Culinary Historian Adrian Miller on Food Justice »
E104: Adrian Miller on the History of Soul Food
January 2021Two commonly known words “soul” and “food” capture so much meaning. There are the foods themselves--wonderfully diverse and prepared in homes, churches and restaurants--but there's so much more to this. There's a history, a culture, religion and the blending of cuisines from surprising places according to culinary historian Adrian Miller. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E104: Adrian Miller on the History of Soul Food »
E103: Film Discussion - Sanjay Rawal on GATHER
January 2021Today, we're celebrating the power of stories in creating shared understanding. We're talking with James Beard award-winning filmmaker Sanjay Rawal. The creative force behind a new movie about Native American food ways called "Gather." Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E103: Film Discussion - Sanjay Rawal on GATHER »
E102: Lyla June on Returning to Native American Agricultural Traditions
December 2020What if we cultivated our environment instead of intensive crop planting and animal farming, and in turn created an abundance of food to meet our needs? Is this what First Nations people did here in the Americas? This concept is the focus of doctoral research of today's guest, Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer, Lyla June. June is an Indigenous woman of Dine (Navajo), Tsetsehestahese (Cheyenne) and European lineage. She's pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. And she's fascinated by the intersection of Indigenous food systems and Indigenous land management. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E102: Lyla June on Returning to Native American Agricultural Traditions »
E101: Virginia Takes Equity Approach to Community Development Through Food
December 2020As the governments the world over try to solve the thorny issue of equitable food access in underserved communities, the state of Virginia is trying something new. Led by Dr Jewel Bronaugh, the only black woman agriculture commissioner in the United States, Virginia passed legislation this spring, to establish something very special: The Virginia Food Access Investment Program and Fund which will give communities grants to create food businesses. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E101: Virginia Takes Equity Approach to Community Development Through Food »
E100: Blueprint for a National US Food Strategy
November 2020This podcast focuses on the need for a national food strategy and why now is the right time to fix the US food system. I'm talking today with two food policy experts who have collaborated on an effort with an ambitious title of Blueprint for a National Food Strategy. They argue it's time to coordinate policymaking that identifies national food systems priorities, and develop a process that gives the public an opportunity to weigh in on the trade offs inherent in food policymaking. Emily Broad Lieb is the Faculty Director of the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic. And Laurie Beyranevand is the Director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law school. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E100: Blueprint for a National US Food Strategy »
E99: How Soda Taxes Can Drive Equity and Community Wellbeing
November 2020Soda taxes now exist in about 50 countries around the world and in a number of US cities. They raise lots and lots of money. How would you suggest that the revenues be used? This podcast focuses on the connection between sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and racial and social equity. We're speaking today with a champion of community-driven approaches to health equity and environmental justice. My guest is Xavier Morales, the executive director of The Praxis Project, the national organization headquartered in Oakland and dedicated to supporting communities, building power for health. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E99: How Soda Taxes Can Drive Equity and Community Wellbeing »
E93: EFOD Impact: Aligning Financial Support with Community Wellbeing
November 2020This is the final podcast in a five-part series focused on Equitable Food Oriented Development, a growing movement to promote food projects and enterprises as vehicles for building community wealth, health and self-determination. With us today are two leaders in this movement: urban planner Rudy Espinosa, the executive director of inclusive action for the city in Los Angeles and community activist and organizer, Camryn Smith, the founding member of Communities in Partnership, the Grassroots Organization in the old East Durham, North Carolina. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E93: EFOD Impact: Aligning Financial Support with Community Wellbeing »
E98: The COVID-19 Pandemic Response of No Kid Hungry
November 2020This podcast is part of a series focused on the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food system. Today we’re looking at how responses to the pandemic have affected food availability and nutrition for one of America’s most vulnerable populations – young children. Joining me is Eleni Towns, the Associate Director of the No Kid Hungry Campaign at Share Our Strength. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E98: The COVID-19 Pandemic Response of No Kid Hungry »
E97: Can a New Commission Jumpstart Progress Towards Zero Hunger?
November 2020Progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger is stalling, and the Covid-19 Pandemic is erasing the progress of the last decade in many parts of the world. Is it possible to re-energize on this issue? Could a new commission make a difference? Today, we’re talking with the authors of a new report entitled "High Level Commissions and Global Policymaking Prospects for Accelerating Progress Toward SDG2." Geoff Gertz is a fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. And Sarah Zoubek, is the Associate Director of the World Food Policy Center here at Duke University. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E97: Can a New Commission Jumpstart Progress Towards Zero Hunger? »
E91: Developing through Community Identity and Sense of Place
October 2020Equitable Food Oriented Development is a growing movement to promote food projects and enterprises as vehicles for building community wealth, health and self-determination. With us today are two leaders in this movement. It is my pleasure to welcome Rashida Ferdinand, a fifth generation, lower ninth ward homeowner in New Orleans and an organizer of the Sankofa Community Development Corporation and Lorena Andrade, the executive director of La Mujera Obrera in El Paso, Texas. This is the third podcast in a five part series, focused on equitable food oriented development. Listen to Podcast/Read Transcript about E91: Developing through Community Identity and Sense of Place »