Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

Berry Patches, Bears & Oil Sands in the Boreal Forest with Dr. Janelle Baker

The Boreal forest of northern Canada is a magical place, filled with the sweet scents of spruce trees, with a groundcover blanketed in spongy mosses, colorful lichens and wild cranberries. Yet, it is also home to massive deposits of fossil fuel found in the oil sands. What are the consequences of mining the Earth for fossil fuels, metals and minerals both to our food system and our health? In this episode, I speak with Dr. Janelle Baker, an ethnobiologist who studies the environmental impact of oil sands operations in Canada on traditional indigenous lands and their wild foods.

#OilSands #Berries #Canada

Biodiversity, Planetary Health & Disease Ecology with Dr. Tom Gillespie

Human and planetary health are linked to biodiversity in ways that are not always clear or appreciated by the public. Even as more species are disappearing in the wild and becoming threatened with extinction, others are being introduced to new environments. This raises questions of how such environmental changes will impact our everyday life. I speak with special guest, Dr. Tom Gillespie, about how industrial agriculture impacts natural ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity loss and increases opportunities for disease transmission between wildlife and humans.

#Biodiversity #Health #Conservation

Miso, Tamari & Tasty Bean Ferments with Kirsten Shockey

One of my favorite ways to start off a meal at any Asian restaurant is with a lovely bowl of steaming hot miso soup. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that miso is actually a fermented product made from beans – often from soy! I never thought about the possibility of making miso from scratch at home until I came across Kirsten Shockey’s book on just that topic. If you’ve ever been curious about the microbial transformation of beans into products like soy sauce, tamari sauce, natto, miso or tempeh, then this is the episode for you! I speak with fermenting guru., Kirsten Shockey, who was authored several books unveiling the mystery and beauty of fermented foods.

#Fermentation #Miso #Soy

Wild Fermentation with Sandor Katz

Fermentation makes food more shelf stable, nutritious and delicious! Some ferments can also boost your health through promoting a healthy gut microbiome and strengthening immunity. The amazing thing is that through implementation of some simple steps, anyone can start fermenting at home using the wild microbes found on vegetables and even dry flour! In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, I speak with world renowned fermenting guru, Sandor Katz, about the science and history of fermentation.

#Fermentation #Sourdough #Microbiome

Mescaline and a Tale of Two Cacti with Mike Jay

If you’ve ever heard of the mind-altering effects of some interesting edible cacti like Peyote and San Pedro before, but aren’t super familiar with the cultural history and pharmacology of these plants, then this is the podcast episode for you! Join me as I speak with author and expert on psychedelic drugs, Mike Jay, about his new book on mescaline. Mike has written extensively on the history of science, medicine, drugs and mental health. His books include High Society: mind-altering drugs in history and culture (2010) and his most recent, Mescaline: a global history of the first psychedelic (2018). He is based in London, UK and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal and the London Review of Books.

#Peyote #Mescaline #Psychedelic

Preserving Abundance with Dr. Julia Skinner

During the period of social distancing and isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic, many of you may be spending a lot of time at home pondering what to do with your food stores. Perhaps you’re worried about how to make your pantry supplies stretch into more meals, or perhaps you’re looking for ideas on how to reduce food waste. In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, I chat with Dr. Julia Skinner, an expert on this very subject! Julia is the founder of Root, an Atlanta-based food history and fermentation organization. Her next book, Culture Begins Here: Fermentation and the History of How We Eat will be published by Storey in 2021.

#Fermentation #FoodWaste #Atlanta

Yo Soy! The Health Benefits of Soy with Dr. Omer Kucuk

We eat this delightful legume in so many forms, from tofu, to soymilk, edamame and more! But, did you know that in addition to serving as a great source of plant proteins for the diet, that soy has also shown a number of fascinating health benefits in cancer prevention? In this episode, I speak with Dr. Omer Kucuk, a cancer researcher and physician who also happens to be an expert on the therapeutic value of soy-based foods and supplements. 

#Soy #Cancer #HealthyEating

Herbaria! Edible and Poisonous Plants with Dr. Jordan Metzger

The terms “herbarium” (singular) or “herbaria” (plural) may elicit visions of a lush tropical greenhouse… but in fact, herbaria are collections of dead plant specimens that have been collected over years, dried and pressed to large sheets of acid free paper for long-term storage in cabinets. These specimens are prepared and cared for using similar methods used for centuries by botanists and are important tools used for identifying various plants. In this episode, I met with Dr. Jordan Metzger on location at the Massey Herbarium of Virginia Tech University. We discuss the importance of herbarium collections in distinguishing edible from poisonous plants. Plus, we chat about an interesting and super dangerous member of the carrot family – the Giant Hogweed! 

#Herbaria #Poisons #Hogweed

Food Waste and Sustainability Initiatives with Dr. Peggy Barlett

Have you ever found yourself in the unfortunate position of having to toss some food from the fridge that had lingered too long and gone bad? How about food scraps or unconsumed leftovers from your plate after a meal? Food waste is a major issue in America, as well as across the globe. And guess what – it doesn’t just happen in your home kitchen! It happens in the fields, where not all foods are harvested, or on shipping lines, where only the prettiest produce is selected for resale. It happens in the production lines on school campuses from elementary schools to universities. What is most shocking is that even while 1 in 6 American children live in a state of food insecurity—not knowing where their next meal will come from—it is estimated that between 30 to 40 percent of the United States’ food supply is wasted. In this episode, I speak with Dr. Peggy Barlett, an expert who is making changes through major sustainability initiatives, about the issues of ethical eating and sustainability.

#EthicalEating #Sustainability #FoodWaste

Serviceberries + Foraging Wild Foods with Robby Astrove and Chris Willkins

They say the best things in life are free, and what better way to enjoy food than to find free healthy food growing in the wild in your own neighborhood! In this episode, I speak with Atlanta’s own Johnnie AppleSeed – forager and forester, Robby Astrove – who is absolutely passionate about making fruit accessible to people in urban centers by planting more fruit trees. I’ll also be speaking with Chef Chris Wilkins of the Root Baking Company, a wholesale bread bakery that was founded in 2015 in Charleston, SC and moved to Atlanta, GA in 2018. Robby and Chris have been collaborating on some exciting wild food projects and we’re going to dive into some recent work they’ve done with wild serviceberry. 

#Baking #Serviceberry #Forage