Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

Regional Food & Farming with Kathleen Finlay

I speak with Kathleen Finlay, President of Glynwood, a leader in the regenerative agriculture movement. Kathleen has also been instrumental in organizing women who work for environmental progress. The Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming is a non-profit organization serving food and farming changemakers from New York’s Hudson Valley and beyond. They advance local food production in the region, as well as educate a national audience about efforts to regionalize food and agriculture. Guided by the highest standards of ecosystem, soil, animal and community well-being, they promote regenerative agriculture in service of our natural environment, local economies and human health.

#Farming #HudsonValley #Agriculture

Jennifer Woltz, Asili: Traditional Medicine for HIV in Tanzania

East Africa houses over half of the global HIV cases, and almost 5% of the population of Tanzania has HIV.  Yet, only about half of the people with HIV consistently take anti-retroviral medication to treat it. Asili Research Alliance was born out of a calling to change these dire statistics. I speak with Jennifer Woltz of Asili about their innovative program working with local healers to supply a plant-based, locally sourced and produced medication that has known anti-HIV activity. Over 2,000 people have benefited from this treatment, either as a supplement to antiretroviral therapy (ART) or by itself when they are unable to obtain ART.  The treatment is used to supplement ART or when ART is not an option (due to cost or scarcity).  Their goal is to enable people living with HIV to regain their health in order to keep working and taking care of their families. 

#HIV #Africa #TraditionalMedicine

Progressive Indigenous Cuisine with Shane Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King

Tawaw: “Come in, you’re welcome. There’s room.” In this episode, I chat with Chef Shane Chartrand and food writer Jennifer Cockrall-King about their newly released book, Tawaw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, which is part cookbook, part exploration of ingredients, and part journal. We discuss how Shane transforms traditional indigenous ingredients like wild game and berries into some delicious works of art. 

#Indigenous #Cuisine #Cookbook

Figs! Gods, Wasps and Stranglers with Dr. Mike Shanahan

This week, we dive into the stories behind one of my favorite summertime fruits – figs! As a kid, I was never a fan of fig-based cookies, but my mind was totally changed when I first encountered a lush, ripe fig tree during fieldwork in southern Italy. I plucked a large green skinned fig off of a tree and as I bit into it, the rows of pink flowers inside were revealed. The flavor and texture was just incredible! This delicious treat was the result of an interesting relationship between the plant and local insects. I speak with Dr. Mike Shanahan, whose work weaves together the mythology, history and ecology of one of the world’s most and diverse groups of plants, covering their starring role in religion, to their potential to restore rainforests, halt the loss of threatened and endangered species, and even limit climate change. We chat about his book, Gods, Wasps and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees, and cover just about any questions folks could have about this amazing plant group!

#Figs #Botany #Ecology

 

Feasting Wild! Exploring the World of Wild Foods with Gina Rae La Cerva

Gina Rae La Cerva is a geographer, environmental anthropologist, and award-winning writer who has traveled extensively to research a variety of environmental and food-related topics. On this episode, I speak with Gina about her new book: Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Tamed Food.  Throughout human history, food was frequently procured from the wild – whether fished from the sea, foraged from meadows, or hunted in biodiverse rich forests. What once was the norm is now something all too often reserved for the wealthy. We explore the topics of foraging, hunting, and humankind's relationship with the wild!

#Forage #WildGame #Hunting

The Entangled Life of Fungi with Dr. Merlin Sheldrake

Fungi are everywhere. They coat our skin, hide beneath the soil and flourish along the forest floor, intertwined between myriad plant species – both dead and alive. They are responsible for transforming rocks into soil, making medicines, psychedelic drugs, food, poisons and ink, among many other roles. On this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, I speak with mycologist and author, Dr. Merlin Sheldrake, who reveals this hidden entangled world of fungi to us in his newly released book, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds, and Shape our Futures.  

#Fungi #Mushrooms #Ecology

No Seeds? No Problem! with Dr. Chris Gunter

What do you do when seeds are in short supply? Is there a way to transform kitchen scraps into viable plants in your garden? I asked these and so many other questions about vegetative propagation of Dr. Chris Gunter, our guest for this episode of Foodie Pharmacology! Chris is a professor of Horticultural Science and the Extension Vegetable Production Specialist for the commercial vegetable industry in North Carolina, working with commercial vegetable growers to maintain a high quality of life through the use of integrated, economical and environmentally sound production practices. His main emphasis is with the Solanaceous (tomato, pepper) and Cruciferous (cabbage, broccoli) cropping systems.  He's also a leader in the area of fresh produce safety for the fresh produce industry in North Carolina.

#HomeGarden #Vegetables #Gardening

A Sicilian Summer – Exploring the Wild Foods and Medicines of Pantelleria with Dr. Quave

On this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, I share some insights from a field study that I conducted with one of my collaborators on a beautiful volcanic island located in the Mediterranean sea. Pantelleria is the largest of the Sicilian isles and populated by roughly 7,000 inhabitants, and visited by tourists who come to the island to enjoy its numerous natural attractions such as the Specchio di Venere, a geothermally-heated lake with healing muds, archeological sites such as the Byzantine tombs, and local foods and beverages such as capers and the passito wine.

#Italy #Pantelleria #Ethnobotany

Dragon’s Blood and the FDA Approval Path for Botanicals with Dr. Steven King

This week on Foodie Pharmacology, we’re going to embark on a journey from the Amazonian rainforest to the pharmacy as we retrace the pathway of bringing a botanical drug to market to treat serious cases of diarrhea as an FDA approved drug. I first encountered the source of this drug 20 years ago in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Locally known as Sangre de Drago – or the dragon’s blood tree – it is used in traditional medicine for both topical and internal afflictions. Its bark is a smooth pale grey, and a slip of a knife dragged across that bark reveals a weeping blood red latex, from which it gets its name. I speak with Dr. Steven King, Executive Vice President of Sustainable Supply and Ethnobotanical Research and intellectual property at Jaguar Health and Napo Pharmaceuticals, about his work on this fascinating medicinal species.

#Amazon #HIV #HerbalMedicine

Regenerative Farming and Eating for Longevity with Jennifer Maynard

The soil is a vibrant and multifaceted space, full of biodiversity ranging from microbes to insects, mammals, to fungi. Beneath the ground, in the rhizosphere, plant roots engage with these organisms through a series of connections and chemical signals. Soil health is the first step to healthy crops, and in turn, foods that nourish humans to health. In this episode, I speak with Jennifer Maynard about the practice of caring for the soil through regenerative farming and eating the rainbow of plant life to support our own longevity.

#Gardening #HealthyLiving #Farming