Foodie Pharmacology Podcast

What We Sow with Jennifer Jewell

Seeds are essential to the rhythm of life. This week on the show, we discuss seeds and how gardening can open up deeper connections to nature, our foods, and sense of place. Our guest is Jennifer Jewell, gardener, creator, and host of the public radio program and podcast “Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden”. Jennifer is the author of three books: The Earth in Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants (Timber Press, 2020); Under Western Skies, Visionary Gardens from the Rockies to the Pacific (Timber Press, 2021); and What We Sow, on the Personal, Ecological & Cultural Significance of Seeds (Timber Press, 2023). Learn more about her work at her website: https://www.cultivatingplace.com/

#podcast #garden #seeds #vegetables #nature

The Kitchen Connection with Earlene Cruz

Welcome to an all new epodes of Foodie Pharmacology with Dr. Cassandra Quave. This week Cassie welcomes Earlene Cruz, founder and executive director of Kitchen Connection Alliance (KCA), explores her role in revolutionizing the global food system. She outlines KCA's mission to educate on sustainable food practices and discusses her work as a Youth Representative and Steering Committee Member at the United Nations, focusing on youth engagement in combating food insecurity and climate change. The episode delves into how these issues intertwine with the global food system and presents specific strategies and projects for positive change. For more information, visit https://www.kitchenconnection.org/ or follow Earlene on Instagram at kitchenconnection.

#FoodSystems #FoodInsecurity #UnitedNations #Cookbook #foodiepharmacology

The Future of Food with Dr. Andy Jarvis of Bezos Earth Fund

By 2050, the world needs to be able to produce enough food to feed 10 billion people. Our guest this week is Dr. Andy Jarvis, Director of the Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund. We discuss the challenges of sustainable agriculture in the face of an increasing global population and delve into the complexity of the food system, addressing the potential for transformative change on topics like loss and waste, nutritious diets, and innovative farming practices. We also discuss important initiatives such as the Periodic Table of Food, aimed at fundamentally advancing our understanding of food composition, and the role of the Bezos Earth Fund in driving scientific innovation in agricultural sustainability.

 

This podcast is sponsored by The Periodic Table of Food Initiative in association with the American Heart Association. The views and opinions in this podcast are those of the presenters and represent the synthesis of science. For more information on the Periodic Table of Food Initiative, please visit https://foodperiodictable.org/ 

 

#PTFI #ClimateChange #FoodSystems #FutureOfFood #Sustainability 

Treaty Talks: Crop Metrics with Álvaro Toledo and Luigi Guarino

The next episode has a slightly different set-up from what you may be used to when listening to Foodie Pharmacology. This interview is part of a series that I did in collaboration with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In this series, I talk to different experts about the trends they observe in plants that are important to our agriculture, diets and health. 

Episode Description

Dr. Cassandra Quave in conversation with Álvaro Toledo (Deputy Secretary of the International Plant Treaty) and Luigi Guarino (Director of Science at the Global Crop Diversity Trust) on global trends regarding plants that feed the world. Host and guests discuss the study “The plants that feed the world” that shows how countries are interdependent for their food supply and how the type of crops that are important to our diet are shifting over time and geographically. Which plants will become more important in the future? How can such trends inform our national and global planning for the research and safeguarding of the plants that feed us?

Resources:

International Plant Treaty: https://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/en/

Study and database “The plants that feed the world”: https://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/areas-of-work/the-multilateral-system/plant_genetic_metrics

Benefit-sharing Fund project in Malawi (referred to in the episode): https://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/areas-of-work/benefit-sharing-fund/projects-funded/bsf-details/en/c/1198834/?iso3=MWI

Presenter: Cassandra Quave

Producer: Hedwig de Coo
Sound: Gijs de Bakker, Eric Deleu

 

#FAO #Crops #PlantTreaty #Nutrition #ClimateChange #Policy #UnitedNations #Coffee

Ethnobotany and Medical Discoveries with Dr. Paul Alan Cox

From the discovery of an HIV/AIDS drug candidate to uncovering the secrets behind a neurotoxin responsible for neurodegenerative diseases, we have a lot to share this week on the show! Our guest is Dr. Paul Alan Cox, ethnobotanist and Executive Director of the Brain Chemistry Labs in Jackson, Wyoming, where he and his colleagues are searching for new treatments for ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Cox has lived for years in remote island villages, searching for new medicines. He was named one of TIME magazine’s eleven “Heroes of Medicine” for his discovery of a new HIV/AIDS drug candidate. He was also awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, sometimes known as the Nobel Prize for the Environment. Visit this website to learn more: https://brainchemistrylabs.org/

#HIV #AIDS #Prostratin #ALS #Alzheimers #Okinawa #LSerine #cyanobacteria #podcast

Agrobiodiversity and climate resilience in Ethiopia with Dr. Alex McAlvay

Our guest this week is Dr. Alex McAlvay, ethnobotanist at the New York Botanical Garden's Institute of Economic Botany. His research focuses on understanding the relationships between humans and their environments, the evolutionary and ecological impacts of humans on plants, and the traditional stewardship of plants by cultures. Alex is working on an interesting research project in collaboration with the Periodic Table of Food Initiative on agrobiodiversity and climate resilience in Ethiopia. 

We address some important questions, such as:

1. What can you share about your research project in collaboration with the Periodic Table of Food Initiative on agrobiodiversity and climate resilience in Ethiopia? What brought you to Ethiopia and how do you work with local communities and scientists on the project?
2. What do you hope to learn from the multi-omics data on food composition that you are generating as part of this project?
3. As an ethnobotanist, your work integrates diverse ways of knowing. You have been integrating traditional knowledge and laboratory tools. What challenges and opportunities have you encountered in this interdisciplinary work? What are ways that more researchers can carry out interdisciplinary work and what is the importance of this work?
4. How would you describe the role of teff in Ethiopian agricultural systems and cuisine?

This podcast is sponsored by The Periodic Table of Food Initiative in association with the American Heart Association. The views and opinions in this podcast are those of the presenters and represent the synthesis of science. For more information on the Periodic Table of Food Initiative, please visit https://foodperiodictable.org/ 

 

#PTFI #ClimateChange #Ethiopia #conservation #agroecology

Life Below Zero with Sue Aikens

Imagine living 500 miles from the closest town, relying on your grit and skills in hunting, fishing, and foraging to find food and medicine to survive. Now, imagine doing all of this at the edge of the world, deep in the Arctic, beyond the tree line where there are no roads and no neighbors nearby to help in an emergency. Our guest this week is Sue Aikens, star of the eight-time Emmy-award-winning show Life Below Zero on National Geographic TV. Sue recounts lessons learned from her 23 years living at Camp Kavik, including how she survived a bear attack and found fresh frozen fruit by analyzing patterns in the snow drift.

#Arctic #Forager #BearAttack #Survival #Alaska #Hunting #foodiepharmacology #sueaikens #kavik #livebelowzero #natgeo

Foodomics with Dr. Tracy Shafizadeh

You might be asking, "What is 'foodomics”? Fundamentally, foodomics is the science dedicated to comprehensively studying what's in our food, from its genetic building blocks to its chemical composition.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of a special series on the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, produced in collaboration with The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI)! The PTFI is spearheading a global effort to decipher the makeup of foods, aiming to enhance both human and environmental health.

Our guest today is Dr. Tracy Shafizadeh, a distinguished nutritional scientist and the Director of Programs and Partnerships at Verso Biosciences. Additionally, Tracy holds the position of Director of Technology Partnerships at the PTFI. With over 15 years in product development and scientific communication, she has played pivotal roles at various life science corporations. In this episode, we delve into how foodomics is demystifying the composition of crucial foods, including tomatoes.

We address some important questions, such as:

1. What are challenges and opportunities for foodomics for advancing our understanding of food and health for people and the planet?
2. How does the multi-omics data that the PTFI is generating complement both existing food composition data - as well as existing foodomics efforts?
3. How do you envision the data being generated by the Periodic Table of Food Initiative to be utilized? What are your hopes? 
4. What does a nourishing food system look like to you? What are you most hopeful about for the future of food?

This Foodie Pharmacology podcast is part of a special series co-designed with the Periodic Table of Food Initiative also known as the PTFI. The views and opinions in this podcast are those of the presenters and represent the synthesis of science. The PTFI is a program of RF Catalytic Capital managed by a collaborative team at the American Heart Association and the Alliance of Bioversity CIAT that seeks to advance our fundamental understanding of food composition by providing tools, data, and training to scientists across the global so they can better characterize the quality of the world’s edible biodiversity. The PTFI's ultimate goal is to advance data-driven solutions in the food sector for the health of people and the planet. Funding for the PTFI is provided by The Rockefeller Foundation, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Seerave Foundation, Fourfold Foundation, and Atria Health Collaborative.

https://foodperiodictable.org/ 

 

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Foodomics: A Data-Driven Approach to Revolutionize Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
• What Is In A Tomato? Mapping The Building Blocks Of Food
  

#foodomics #omics #tomato #PTFI  #foodiepharmacology #cassadraquave

The Science Behind Non-Caloric Sweeteners with Dr. Grant DuBois

Let's face it: Americans have a penchant for sweet foods and drinks. However, the health implications of consuming large amounts of sugar are concerning. For years, food and beverage chemists have been on a quest for non-caloric sweeteners, and several innovative products have emerged in the market. This week, we delve into the science of sweet tastes and explore how experts in biochemistry and physiology have developed zero-calorie sugar alternatives for various products. Joining us is Dr. Grant E. DuBois, a specialist in non-caloric sweetener technologies. He has dedicated his career to pioneering new flavor technologies and has worked with leading companies like Searle Pharmaceutical Co., The Coca-Cola Company, Almedra, and Crave Crush LLC.

#sweetener #stevia #aspartame #flavor #podcast #diet #softdrinks

At the Table: The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy with Katherine Miller

The U.S. Farm Bill has far-reaching implications for our food systems and our health. Our guest this week, Katherine Miller, shares insights into this piece of legislation and offers tips on how to effectively advocate for food policies. Katherine has built a 20-year career working at the intersections of policy, politics, and social impact. Her new book, "At the Table: The Chef's Guide to Advocacy," highlights ways that people can get involved in food policy and advocacy. It showcases chefs that work on hunger relief efforts, food waste reduction policies, labor, and mental health policies and more. We address questions like: 

• What is the role of chefs and culinary professionals in helping change the food system? 
• What are some ways people can get started on political advocacy?
• What are common mistakes people make when it comes to food advocacy?

You can learn more about Katherine’s work at her website www.table81.com and follow her [at]Table81 on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads.

 

#FoodPolicy #FarmBill #Chefs #FoodWaste #FoodSystems #FoodBook #foodiepharmacology