Eating Matters

Continuing discussion on the controversial topic of food labels, this week Eating Matters host Kim Kessler and co-host Jenna Liut are on the line with Laurie Beyranevand and Andrew Martin. Laurie is the Associate Director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and is also an Associate Professor of Law at Vermont Law School while Andrew is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg News in New York who recently wrote about the animal welfare system at Whole Foods Market and the challenge of sourcing enough “sustainable products” to meet consumer demand.  Between the various claims found on products as well as the attractiveness of labels, conversation circles around terms like cage free, free range, humanely raised, and grass fed, and what they imply.  Delving into photo regulations that exist for food labels plus additional thoughts on the Whole Foods labeling system for animal welfare, this episode sheds more light on this expansive topic.

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Are food labels telling the whole truth? With the number of buzz words cluttering labels on products lately, it’s easy to feel disenchanted browsing the aisles of even the best grocers. This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler and co-producer Jenna Liut are on the line with Stephen Gardner and Diana Winters in an effort to demystify food labels, some of which that have even spurred lawsuits. Stephen heads the food law practice at the Stanley Law Group of Dallas, Texas while Diana is a Professor of Law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.  Tune in for a great discussion!

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Eating Matters is back for a new radio season! Host Kim Kessler is joined by Doug Davis (School Nutrition Association), Margo Wootan (Center for Science in the Public Interest), Kathy Lawrence (School Food Focus), and Eric Goldstein (NYC Department of Education) to discuss the scope and scale of the school lunch program and exactly what is at stake as current policy issues arise. With an ongoing discussion revolving around the SNA requesting flexibility with implementing school lunch standards, increased lunch funding, and the concept of universal meals, today’s guests bring a great deal of insight to the situation. Tune in for a great debate on how best to achieve success in the school lunch realm. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

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This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler is on the line with Paula Daniels, the founder of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC), a policy based collective impact initiative of food system leaders working toward an environmentally sustainable, equitable and regionally based food system. Discussing the current drought in California, Paula shares the outlook from the agricultural perspective and details the overall crop production throughout the state and how it affects water consumption. With almond farming taking up nearly ten percent of California’s water resources, for example, Paula suggests aquaculture as an alternate farming practices that could perhaps be an eventual fix to such droughts. Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks and aquatic plants, has potential to not only be economically viable but also to support local food systems. After the break, Kim and Paula talk about the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s key project, the Good Food Purchasing Policy, which harnesses the purchasing power of major institutions to encourage greater production of sustainably produced food,healthy eating habits, respect for workers’ rights, humane treatment of animals and support for the local business economy by providing new opportunities for small and mid-sized farmers and job creation along the supply chain. Tune in to hear more from Paula and the LAFPC’s many accomplishments. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

“The issue with the tree crops is that they are permanent so they function in a way that we call hardening the water supply so you can’t fallow tree crops, you have to pull them out… so it’s a big economic loss if you have to do that.” [6:58]

—Paula Daniels on Eating Matters

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This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler is joined by assistant producer Talia Ralph for a show focusing on feeding the Navajo Nation. The Navajo, like many other American Indians and Alaska Natives, struggle with some of the worst health outcomes in the United States. Sonlatsa Jim-Martin of the Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) Project and Ona Balkus of the REACH Food Coalition via Harvard University join the program talking about their combined efforts to mobilize community and change the current lacking regional food systems and healthcare delivery. Sonlatsa and Ona explain that their goal is to improve the overall health of high-risk patients with poorly controlled chronic diseases and those at risk of developing chronic diseases living within Navajo Nation. Also discussing how these helpful efforts began as well as the highlights and challenges of this important food advocacy, Kim gets the scoop on what’s next for COPE and REACH Projects efforts. This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market.

—Ona Balkus on Eating Matters

“This connection that we have with food is a part of our fundamental laws as Navajo people. It’s a part of our spiritual wellness and it is a customary law that goes into our teachings about the Earth and our relationship with food and water.”

—Sonlatsa Jim-Martin on Eating Matters

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Generating over $12 billion in annual sales, kosher food is big business. This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler and guest co-host Talia Ralph welcome Timothy Lytton, law professor and author of “Kosher: Private Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food” to the show. Discussing how kosher food came to be a successful private-sector regulation in an era of growing public concern over the government’s ability to ensure food safety, Tim divulges the factual evolution of the kosher certification. Currently, a network of over three hundred private certifiers ensures the kosher status of food for over twelve million Americans, of whom only eight percent are religious Jews. However, Tim explains in detail that this system was not always so reliable. After the break, Tim speaks on the Vinegar Scandal of 1986 and how the horrible instance went on to further improve kosher regulations and how private kosher certification holds important lessons for improving food regulation in general. Like organic and locavore enthusiasts, a growing number of consumers see in rabbinic supervision a way to personalize today’s vastly complex, globalized system of food production. Tune in for a wonderfully informative show. This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

—Timothy Lytton on Eating Matters.

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This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler and guest co-host Talia Ralph are on the line with Anurag Varma, attorney at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP who has been an instrumental part of what is considered the biggest discrimination case in agricultural history, Pigford v. Glickman. In the 1999 case Pigford v. Glickman, African-American farmers claimed the USDA had systematically discriminated against them on the basis of race, wrongfully denying them of farm loans and assistance. A successful case relating to discrimination against Native American farmers also followed, Keepseagle v. Vilsack. Although the Pigford case was settled, many farmers were unable to file claims before the deadline and numerous lawsuits were filed. Over a decade later in 2010, Congress approved $1.25 billion to pay claims and other expenses as part of the Settlement of Pigford II. Talking to Anurag about how the case came about and his experiences working for a positive outcome, Kim and Talia also get his take on the similar Keepseagle v. Vilsack case. Tune in for a great show! This program was brought to you by Edwards VA Ham.

“It’s been the greatest honor in my life to work on both of these cases.” [34:00]

—Anurag Varma on Eating Matters

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This week on a jam-packed Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler and guest co-host Chef Evan Hanczor are talking mission oriented food trucks with a plethora of guests including: Jordyn Lexton, Fredrick Coleman, and Matt Geller. Jordyn is the founder of the Snowday Food Truck and Drive Change, which operates in NYC to build and operate locally sourced food trucks that hire, teach and empower formerly incarcerated youth while Fredrick is the Drive Change/Snowday liaison. Matt is on the line from California and is the CEO of the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors’ Association and as such has extensive experience advocating on behalf of food trucks. In the first half of the show, the group chats about Jordyn’s background and experience in the criminal justice sector and how she became involved in the food truck realm, plus what she and Fredrick believe customers take away from their unique food trucks. After the break, Matt joins in the conversation giving further insight on the regulations and technicalities of running food trucks and explains how food trucks are important entities in the restaurant and food industries. Tune in for a great show! This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

—Jordyn Lexton on Eating Matters

“What the food truck industry has done has really created a lot of innovation in the food industry because it’s so expensive to get into. It can be a little stifled… and some food truck owners become restaurant owners eventually as well.” [26:00]

—Matt Geller on Eating Matters

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This week on Eating Matters Kim Kessler is joined by Robert Egger, the Founder and President of L.A. Kitchen, which recovers fresh fruits and vegetables to fuel a culinary arts job training program for men and women coming out of foster care and older men and women returning from incarceration. L.A. Kitchen is currently holding a pilot program at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, and will move into its own kitchen facility in 2015. Robert pioneered this model during his 24 year tenure as the President of the DC Central Kitchen, the country’s first “community kitchen”, where food donated by hospitality businesses and farms is used to fuel a nationally recognized culinary arts job training program. Since opening in 1989, the Kitchen (which is a $11 million a year, self-sustaining, social enterprise) has produced over 26 million meals and helped 1,000 men and women gain full time employment. The Kitchen operates its own revenue generating business, Fresh Start Catering, as well as the Campus Kitchens Project, which coordinates similar recycling/meal programs in over 40 colleges or high school based kitchens. In addition, Robert is the Founder and President of CForward, an advocacy organization that rallies employees of nonprofits to educate candidates about the economic role that nonprofits play in every community, and to support candidates who have detailed plans to strengthen the economy that includes nonprofits. This program was sponsored by Cain Vineyard and Winery.

“Restaurants are the island of misfit toys.” [05:00]

“We’ve raised a generation with the idea that the food pyramid is the way we’re supposed to eat. Industry has become wildly good at figuring out how to addict people to crunchy, sweet, etc.” [24:00]

“I think there’s a tremendous alliance between older eaters and younger millennial eaters that needs to be explored.” [26:00]

–Robert Egger on Eating Matters

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This week on Eating Matters, host Kim Kessler is looking at the intersection of healthy food and design and how smart design can influence physical activity. Welcoming Joanna Frank, she is the Executive Director of the Center for Active Design, a nonprofit resource for design professionals, policy makers, real estate developers and community advocates, committed to promoting and expanding the Active Design Guidelines published by New York City in 2010. Joanna explains how the center maintains a multi-disciplinary perspective in the translation of health research into design solutions that amplify the role of architecture and urban planning in improving public health and well-being. Their mission is to reduce the risk of obesity and chronic diseases by promoting physical activity and healthy food access through the design of buildings, streets, and neighborhoods. Tune in for an interesting conversation! This program was brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

“Ten years ago we started looking at is there a role the designers of our spaces, streets, buildings, to play in offsetting this public health crisis?” [6:15]

—Joanna Frank on Eating Matters

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