E146: Organic Vs Regenerative Agriculture – What You Need to Know

October 19, 2021

So what does it mean for something to be considered organic, or to be considered regenerative or sustainably produced? Defining these concepts in agriculture production and in food labeling is complicated, but very important. So government defines and oversees certain terms, while other terms are generally overseen by producers, by industry experts, or even by non-governmental organizations. The politics and governance structures of labeling can be very important in how sustainably produced goods are made and marketed. In today’s podcast, we’ll speak with Dr. Samantha Mosier, political scientist on the faculty of East Carolina University, as part of our Regenerative Agriculture podcast series.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Safety & Food Defense | Regenerative Agriculture |

 

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 |

 

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 |

 

E61: Awilo Ochieng Pernet on the Global Complexity of Food Safety

November 18, 2019

Food safety is a very important international issue and few people have been as engaged on this topic as our guest today, Awilo Ochieng Pernet, a senior advisor on international matters related to food safety, nutrition, water and veterinary issues at the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office.

Related podcasts: Food Safety & Food Defense | International Food & Ag Policy |

 

E57: Tom Bollyky on How Food Drives International Instability

October 28, 2019

When Americans hear the term national security, I suspect few people would think about food in this context. Our guest, Thomas Bollyky is an ideal person to explain why this may be a glaring oversight.

Related podcasts: Food Safety & Food Defense | International Food & Ag Policy |

 

E53: Michael Osterholm on Food Safety and Killer Germs

October 10, 2019

With our daily food now coming from around the world, keeping food safe needs to be a practice of prevention–at home and in commercial factories. Food safety and infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm helps to explain.

Related podcasts: Food Policy | Food Safety & Food Defense |

 

E45: Celebrating Howarth Bouis’ Contributions to Biofortification

July 15, 2019

So imagine that you face a daunting challenge: addressing malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies that affect people all around the world. These are people who live in different countries; they have different diets; and different nutrient challenges. How would you devise a way to affect the health and wellbeing of billions of people, and do so in a way that can be permanent and sustainable? Today’s guest has done just that.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Diet & Nutrition | Food Safety & Food Defense | International Food & Ag Policy |

 

E38: Diego Rose on Environmental Sustainability and our Food

June 6, 2019

When you make decisions about what to eat, what factors in? Most people think about taste, what food costs, what is available and in some cases the health consequences. But what about the environmental impact of food choices? Our guest Dr Diego Rose has done fascinating work on just this topic.

Related podcasts: Agriculture & Tech | Climate Change, Environment & Food | Food Safety & Food Defense | International Food & Ag Policy | Regenerative Agriculture |

 

E36: Amy Kircher on Food Fraud, Pomegranates & Baby Formula

May 9, 2019

Fraud. We hear about it a lot. Financial fraud, political fraud, and more, but food fraud? It turns out that this is a more significant issue than one might imagine. Dr Amy Kircher, director of the Food Protection and Defense Institute at the University of Minnesota is a leading voice on this issue.

Related podcasts: Food Safety & Food Defense |