E141: Gary Sacks on Curbing Corporate Control of the Food System

September 22, 2021

Think for a moment about how much influence the food and agriculture industries have over food policy. Too much influence, too little influence, maybe? People look at this in very different ways. One thoughtful voice in this discussion is today’s guest, Gary Sacks, a person who has written extensively on corporate influence on food policy. He has considered corporate control of the food system, running the gamut from global brand consolidation to lobbying and direct involvement in policymaking to actual litigation against country governments, seeking to curb corporate influence. He asks a very key question, is it pastime to question the outsize role of food corporations in our lives? Dr. Gary Sacks is associate professor at the Global Obesity Center at Deakin University in Australia. His research focuses on policies for improving population diets and preventing obesity and he has coauthored international food policy reports, such as the Lancet Commission on Obesity and several reports for the world health organization on obesity prevention.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Food Safety & Food Defense | Obesity | Ultra-processed Food & Additives |

 

E142: Recognizing the Connection Between Obesity and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

September 15, 2021

A paper published recently by the journal Obesity Reviews brings attention to the role of EDCs – endocrine disrupting chemicals – in weight gain, and in the very high rates of obesity around the world. The results of this review are enlightening and alarming, I must say, even to the two of us who wrote the paper. Our guest today is the lead author of the paper, Dr. Timothy Lobstein. Tim recently retired as director of policy at the World Obesity Federation in London, UK, and is currently visiting professor at Sydney University in Australia. He is an advocate scholar and policy expert, and one of the world’s most effective and impactful voices in addressing obesity. He has several decades experience on obesity efforts around the world, working with groups, such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Agency UNICEF. And in 2020, he was the inaugural winner of the Philip James award.

Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Safety & Food Defense | Obesity |

 

E121: Marcia Chatelain on the Golden Arches and Black America

March 16, 2021

Today, we’re exploring the intricate relationship among African-American politicians, civil rights organizations, communities and the fast food industry. We’re talking with Dr. Marcia Chatelain, Professor of History and African-American Studies at Georgetown University. She is the author of a fascinating new book entitled, “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.”

Related podcasts: Chefs & Food Writers | Community & Economic Development | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | History & Food |

 

E108: Can we Trust Industry to Reformulate Food for Health?

January 26, 2021

When 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.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Diet & Nutrition | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Food Safety & Food Defense | International Food & Ag Policy | Ultra-processed Food & Additives |

 

E79: Andy Fisher on Exploring the Connection Between Industry and Food Banks

July 20, 2020

This podcast is part of a series focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is exposing a deep flaw in the country’s food system, namely stunning levels of food insecurity, but also the transformation of emergency food assistance into what some have characterized as an industry as food charity become big business. Andy Fisher, our guest today is a leader in the Food Security and Food Justice Movement. He founded and led The National Community Food Security Coalition and led Federal Legislation campaigns to gain more than $200 million for community-based food security and farm to school projects.

Related podcasts: COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Food | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Banks, Food Pantries & Soup Kitchens | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E57: How FoodCorps and Walmart are Driving Food Security in the US

November 7, 2019

Imagine you would like to address food, and food insecurity in particular, and could start with a blank slate. What kind of programs and practices would make sense given the incredible array of possibilities? Our guests today, Curt Ellis and Karrie Denniston have addressed this issue in their own work. Welcome to The Leading Voices in Food.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Food Banks, Food Pantries & Soup Kitchens | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Insecurity | Philanthropy & Food Systems |

 

E59: Hunt Allcott on the Optimum Soda Tax

October 21, 2019

Today’s guest, Dr. Hunt Allcott, had two recent papers with colleagues Benjamin Lockwood and Dmitry Taubinsky, on whether soda taxes are effective, and how an optimal soda tax might be established. They were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. These are important papers at an important time, given all the activity around the world on soda taxes.

Related podcasts: Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Soda Taxes |

 

E44: Chile’s Health Strategy: Warning Labels, Soda Taxes, and Marketing Limits

June 14, 2019

So what happens when a country gets really serious…REALLY serious about tackling diet, nutrition, and chronic disease? Is there a country in the world that stands out for taking the most imaginative and strongest action? The answer is yes, and a person who knows a lot about this is our guest Barry Popkin.

Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | International Food & Ag Policy | Obesity | Soda Taxes |

 

E43: Barry Popkin on the International Success of Soda Taxes

Taxes on sugar sweetened beverages now exist in a number of cities in the United States, including Philadelphia, Oakland, and San Francisco, and in more than 40 countries around the world. These have been made possible by dedicated, passionate and talented people working on the science supporting the use of such taxes. They evaluated the impact of these taxes and have worked with governments to decide how taxes might be structured and implemented. And there is no person who does all these things better and does so in every corner of the world than Barry Popkin.
International Success of Soda Taxes

Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Obesity | Soda Taxes |

 

E42: Jim Krieger on the Making of a Soda Tax

June 13, 2019

Let’s say that you are a public health advocate and would like to see a tax on sugar sweetened beverages established in your community. What steps would you take? What coalitions do you think you’d need to build. And how would you go about the extraordinary work of gathering support from both the public and political figures? Few people are in a position to tell the story in such a compelling way as today’s guest Dr. James Krieger, who joins us from Seattle–one of the many places in the world that now has such taxes.

Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Obesity | Soda Taxes |