Chemicals in our food, water, and air are risk factors contributing to the rise of Parkinson’s disease. It’s  the fastest-growing brain disease in the world, creating urgency to address not just treatment for Parkinson’s but also its causes.

Today’s guest is Dr. Ray Dorsey, a neurologist who co-authored the book, “Ending Parkinson’s Disease: A Prescription for Action.” He explains why Parkinson’s is a man-made disease and how eliminating harmful chemicals in food, water, and air could help get rid of it. EWG is on a mission to ban harmful pesticides like paraquat that have links to Parkinson’s disease. We’re thrilled to have Ray as an ally and leader in the fight. Head on over to BanParaquat.org to join the effort.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Paraquat Papers

BanParaquat.org

Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

At EWG we believe everyone should have access to safe products, clean drinking water, healthy food, and clean air. We believe in that so much that we’ve spent decades fighting for you.

Ken sits down with his colleagues Scott Faber and Jocelyn Lyle to discuss EWG’s impact in 2024 and what’s to come in 2025. From a potential Red dye-3 ban to pesticides in produce to PFAS in your drinking water, EWG has made incredible progress.

We’ll have our challenges in 2025 but we’re ready to face them head-on, but not before we celebrate this year’s successes with you, our listeners. Thank you for your support and we’re excited to do it again with you next year.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

EWG’s Dirty Dozen

EWG Verified

EWG’s Healthy Living App

Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

Center for Environmental Health

Clean Water Action

Natural Resources Defense Council

Sierra Club

Illinois Environmental Council

 

Defend Our Health

Maryland PIRG

Alliance for a Healthier Tomorrow

Resilient Sisterhood Project

Ecology Center

Women’s Voices for the Earth

Clean + Healthy

Earthjustice

Clean Cape Fear

North Carolina Conservation Network

Oregon Environmental Council

Vermont Conservation Voters

Vermont Natural Resources Council

Vermont Public Interest Research Group

Toxic-Free Future

Zero Waste Washington

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

 

Break Free From Plastic

Center for Environmental Health

Clean Production Action

Commonweal

Consumer Reports

Environmental Defense Fund

International Pollutants Elimination Network

Learning Disabilities Association of America

National Caucus of Environmental Legislators

Silent Spring Institute

Toxic-Free Future

Union of Concerned Scientists

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

We know which healthy choices we need to make to improve our diet and health but it can seem so daunting in the moment. In today’s episode Ken is joined by pharmacist turned wellness content creator, Mona Vand to tackle exactly that. Sometimes it doesn’t feel convenient to eat healthy or find healthy options when you need something quick but Mona helps reframe how to approach food prep and what to look for.

If you travel as frequently as Ken and Mona, eating healthy can be very tricky. Mona provides some great tips to improve your energy and how to eat healthy and move your body while on the road.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

MonaVand.com

Mona's Instagram

EWG’s Dirty Dozen

EWG Verified

EWG’s Healthy Living App

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

No matter your politics, you want the food you and your family eat every day to be safe. So why do so many of the products on the grocery store shelves have worrisome  food chemical additives that have been banned in other countries, including many linked to cancer and behavioral problems in children.

To help unravel this, Ken is joined by EWG’s Vice President of Government Affairs Melanie Benesh to do a deep dive into the world of food additives. They discuss how the failures by federal regulators at the FDA have allowed food companies to add troubling chemicals linked to serious health problems into countless foods, and how some states like California are taking a stand on behalf of consumers. 

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

EWG’s Dirty Dozen

EWG Verified

EWG’s Healthy Living App

What is Propyl Paraben?

Propyl Paraben: Are you eating an endocrine disruptor?

Common food additives in Cap’n Crunch and Apple Jacks cereal may harm human health

Thousands of children’s sweets STILL contain additive unsafe for human consumption

California agency acknowledges synthetic food dyes’ link to hyperactivity and behavioral problems in kids

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Babies are our most vulnerable population when it comes to chemical exposure. And yet, many baby products contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Entrepreneur, environmentalist, and trailblazer Shazi Visram wants to protect the next generation. Shazi’s mission isn’t just business, it’s personal, and the subject of neurological health is particularly close to her heart. 

Shazi is the creator of the groundbreaking baby food company Happy Baby and has launched her newest venture - HealthyBaby. Her line of baby personal care products are all EWG Verified.

In today’s episode Ken and Shazi sit down after an EWG board meeting to talk about her journey, what inspires her, and why being EWG-verified is so important to her.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Shazi's website

Happy Family Organics

HealthyBaby

EWG Verified

EWG’s Healthy Living App

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Do you need an election recovery tool kit? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In today’s episode, Ken is joined by activist, educator, author, and podcast host, Jenna Arnold. Her book, Raising Our Hands, dives deep into conversations with white women about their identity, role in the country, and how to become more engaged citizens to make the changes we desperately need.

As a Women’s March Organizer, Jenna is constantly asking questions about what went wrong, what can be done next and what we need to learn more about.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Jenna Arnold’s Website

Raising Our Hands How White Women Can Stop Avoiding Hard Conversations, Start Accepting Responsibility, And Find Our Place on the New Front Lines

Jenna’s Instagram @itsjenna

Jenna’s Podcast Let’s Begin

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Everyone wants cleaner, cheaper energy. Well, almost everyone. Powerful utility companies like PG&E, Sempra, and Southern California Edison aren’t going down without a fight, and they fight dirty.

In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Executive Director of the California Solar & Storage Association, who was instrumental in passing the Million Solar Roofs Initiative into law with then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.

Since then the solar industry in California has created over 70,000 jobs and has installed over 2 million solar rooftops. But thanks to the monopoly utility giants and the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom—along with his handpicked regulators—the once-vibrant rooftop solar market has been decimated. Misinformation and deceptive tactics from the utility monopolies, threatened by solar's growth, are systematically dismantling the industry in a bid to protect their profits.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

The California Solar & Storage Association

California Public Utilities Commission

1 Million Solar Roofs InitiativeEnergy Cities & Regions (Climate Action Stories)

Milestones: A million solar roofs (Public Interest Network)

Edison Electric Institute

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

In today’s episode, Ken is deep-diving into the intersection of environmentalism and animal welfare.

First, Ken speaks with veterinarian Crystal Heath who has been bravely raising the alarm of how her profession enables and endorses animal abuse from veterinarian school to factory farms.

In the second part of today’s episode, Ken is joined by longtime friend and founder of Animal Wellness Action, president of the Center for a Humane Economy, and former CEO of the Humane Society, Wayne Pacelle. Wayne,  like Crystal, is advocating for animal welfare across many industries.

Crystal and Wayne are great examples of individual integrity and commitment to a cause.

They are also great reminders that, as consumers, what we choose to invest in with our dollars makes a difference.

Want a deeper dive on today’s episode? Check out the links below:

Our Honor (Crystal's organization)

Animal Wellness Action

Center for a Humane Economy

Crystal Heath wants veterinary medicine to live up to its values (Vox)

New Documents Reveal How the Animal Agriculture Industry Surveils and Punishes Critics (The Intercept)

What are gestation crates and are they legal in the U.S.? (Farm Forward)

Supreme Court Upholds California’s Prop 12, Protects Rights of States to Set Humane Treatment, Food Safety Rules (Animal Wellness Action)

The Bond Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them

The Humane Economy How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

 Hi, it's Ken Cook from EWG. I'm here in Washington and we're here to get ready to fight.  It already feels like Trump's Washington. That feeling reminds us of what we went through during his first term where we saw a massive assault on environmental protection. We haven't always been happy with everything that happened over the last four years with the Biden administration.

And we have called that out. We will always do that.

We don't favor Democrats or Republicans. We favor environmental protection. We favor human health. We favor your health.

But I have to tell you, this is a very, very different situation that we're facing now. Different than we've ever faced before.

We have every reason to think that appointees are, for the most part, here to tear down the ability of the government to do its job, starting with EPA. One of the first announcements was an EPA administrator, and he was instructed to deregulate Environmental protections. So we know that's coming.

And for whatever reason, you may have voted for President Trump. That's your right.

We're not here to suggest who you should vote for. But we will say that when you vote for someone, you get the whole package. There is no such thing as a single-issue politician.

And so what we're seeing now is the consequences of someone coming to power, using that power in ways that we predicted would happen, to deregulate the economy, weaken environmental law, and weaken food safety.

Now, there's plenty that we can do as individuals. EWG has tens of millions of people who come to us every year, seeking information so you can protect your family yourself.

You can protect your health yourself, and that's vitally important to do. But there are some things we can't do for ourselves.

There are some things we can't shop or behave our way out of. Those belong in the realm of policy and politics.

So we're here for the fight. We wake up every morning ready to fight. We have for 31 years.

We're fighting against companies that don't do the right thing when they make their products. We're fighting against polluters. We're fighting against them and won't ever stop.

But now we're facing a really serious challenge that's structural across the entire government at the federal level. We'll be pushing for advances at the state level to make up for what doesn't happen here in Washington.

We'll be giving you advice so you can protect yourself without having to depend on the government, as ever. That's who we are.

But I'll tell you, I'm very concerned about what we're seeing already with this Trump administration. We're not counting on any help with our agenda from the inside.

If we're proven wrong, that would be great. But in the short term, we're preparing for the worst.

I'm asking you for your feedback, for your help, as we do that. Because my feeling is, we're in for a long battle.

On this show, we're going to be your eyes and ears on Trump's Washington. And we're going to be reporting from the front lines of the fight.

So, please keep tuning in.

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

We are interrupting our regular programming for Election Day to encourage you to vote. Make your voice heard at the ballot box and if you have any last-minute questions on how or where to vote head on over to VOTE.ORG.

Who knows what episode I’ll be having after the results are in but tune in to find out.

Happy Election Day.