Advocacy & Food Archives - World Food Policy Center

E250: Roots of Change – Successful, incentive-based food and farm policy advocacy

October 8, 2024

Join Kelly Brownell in a conversation with Michael Dimock, Executive Director of Roots of Change, about transforming food systems through innovative policies. Discover how Roots of Change collaborates with various stakeholders to create nutrition incentive programs and support sustainable agriculture, focusing on community-first approaches. Learn about pioneering projects, insights into policy influence, and the future of agricultural practices. This episode provides an optimistic view of the evolving food system landscape and the potential for significant positive change.

E238: Celebrating the Successes of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

June 27, 2024

Nonprofit organizations can play a very important role in building healthy communities by providing services that contribute to community stability, social mobility, public policy, and decision-making. Today we’re speaking with Kathy Higgins, CEO of the Alliance for Healthier Generation. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization, a well-known one at that, that promotes healthy environments so that young people can achieve lifelong good health.

E223: Food Policy Lessons from Removing Trans Fats from our Diet

December 20, 2023

In August of 2023, the Food and Drug Administration issued something known as a direct final rule, disregarded trans fats in the food supply. Consumers won’t notice changes as the rule just finalizes FDA’s 2015 ruling that partially hydrogenated oils – trans fats – no longer had “GRAS status.” GRAS stands for generally regarded as safe. We cover this issue today because this trans fat ban was the product of lots of work by a key group of scientists, the advocacy community, and others. The anatomy of this process can teach us a lot about harnessing scientific discovery for social and policy change. At the center of all this is today’s guest, Dr. Walter Willett. Walter Willett is one of the world’s leading nutrition researchers. He is professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and for many years served as chair of its Department of Nutrition. He’s published extensively, been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, and it turns out, is the world’s most cited nutrition researcher.

E219: Training Chefs for Food Advocacy

October 25, 2023

Does the term Policy Advocate conjure up the image of a chef? Today we’re speaking with Katherine Miller, Founding Executive Director of the Chef Action Network, and author of the book “At The Table, The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy”. Katherine formerly served as the Vice President of Impact at the James Beard Foundation and serves as an adjunct professor at the Culinary Institute of America. She’s worked for 20 years at the intersection of policy, politics, and social impact, and says chefs have an important role to play in this space.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Chefs & Food Writers |

E201: Junk Food Politics – the price of outsized corporate influence

April 10, 2023

Processed food industries are thriving in developing countries, despite government commitment to eradicating non-communicable diseases, prevention programs aim at reducing obesity, type two diabetes, and sugary beverage consumption. What’s more, political leaders in some countries are reluctant to regulate the marketing and sale of these products, particularly among vulnerable groups, like children and the poor. Like me, you might be asking yourself: why? Our guest today is the author of a new book, “Junk Food Politics: How Beverage and Fast Food Industries Are Reshaping Emerging Economics.” His name is Professor Eduardo Gomez, Director of the Institute of Health Policy and Politics, at Lehigh University.

E192: How to achieve food equity with SNAP

January 4, 2023

Today we’re speaking with coauthors of a new report by the Center for Law and Social Policy, entitled “A Community-Driven Anti-Racism Vision for SNAP.” Senior policy analyst, Parker Gilkesson, and community organizer, Tamika Moore, argue that although public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provide critical care and support for families with low incomes, they also reinforce racism and structures of oppression.

E181: UK Stands Firm in Ruling Against Kellogg Cereals

September 21, 2022

In July, 2022 food giant Kellogg lost a court challenge of the United Kingdom’s high sugar cereal rule. The multinational food company had argued that the UK government’s inclusion of their serials among and I quote, less healthy foods is unfair because it doesn’t take into account the milk that is usually added to the cereals. The UK court dismissed the claim and is enforcing regulations, is limiting the promotion of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar in UK supermarkets as part of their efforts to curb obesity. Here to speak with us today about the implications of this ruling is Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation in London.

E177: Introducing Operation Good Food & Beverages – New Way to Think about Black Activism

July 27, 2022

What can be done to reverse racialized marketing of unhealthy foods to Black Americans? What if healthy eating could be seen as a radical act, or even as a form of Black activism and liberation? Today, we’re talking about these issues with Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika about a new campaign called Operation Good Food and Beverages. This is an advocacy movement developed by and for Black youth who want to reclaim healthy food as part of Black lives. Shiriki is an emeritus professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and research professor at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health.

E175: Striving for Black Food Sovereignty – Stewards for the Land

July 14, 2022

Today, we’re talking to Dr. Jasmine Ratliff, who goes by Dr. Jas, and is an applied food systems research and policy specialist, and co-executive director of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. She believes that your zip code should not determine your life expectancy and that building relationships are essential to creating a sustainable and just food system.

E170: Why the US Must Reduce Sodium Intake: It’s Costing Lives

June 10, 2022

Today, we’re going to talk salt with Dr. Michael Jacobson, former president and co-founder of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Dr. Jacobson is one of the authors of an important article published recently in the journal Hypertension. The article comes to a startling conclusion that delays in implementing voluntary sodium reduction targets by the food and restaurant industry may result in nearly 265,000 preventable deaths between 2017 and 2031.

Podcast Topic: Advocacy & Food

The Leading Voices in Food

Podcast Topic: Advocacy & Food

E250: Roots of Change – Successful, incentive-based food and farm policy advocacy

E238: Celebrating the Successes of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

E223: Food Policy Lessons from Removing Trans Fats from our Diet

E219: Training Chefs for Food Advocacy

E201: Junk Food Politics – the price of outsized corporate influence

E192: How to achieve food equity with SNAP

E181: UK Stands Firm in Ruling Against Kellogg Cereals

E177: Introducing Operation Good Food & Beverages – New Way to Think about Black Activism

E175: Striving for Black Food Sovereignty – Stewards for the Land

E170: Why the US Must Reduce Sodium Intake: It’s Costing Lives