Podcast appearances and mentions of Eric Schlosser

Part 1 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser Summary"Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser is a pivotal book that explores the fast food industry's profound impact on American culture, society, and the global economy. Published in 2001, Schlosser's work combines investigative journalism, personal anecdotes, and social commentary to uncover the hidden truths behind the fast food phenomenon. Here are the main themes and summaries of key points from the book:Origins and Growth of Fast Food: Schlosser traces the rise of fast food from the establishment of McDonald's in the 1950s to its expansion across the United States and globally. He discusses how the fast food industry capitalized on American cultural values of convenience, efficiency, and consumerism, leading to a significant shift in eating habits.Industrialization of Food Production: The book examines the industrial processes involved in producing fast food, from meat processing plants to agriculture. Schlosser describes the harsh realities of factory farming, the treatment of animals, and the dehumanizing conditions faced by workers in the food industry.Health Implications: Schlosser explores the health risks associated with fast food consumption, linking the rise of fast food to increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. He critiques how fast food marketing often targets children and promotes unhealthy eating habits.Labor Exploitation: The author highlights the exploitation of low-wage workers in the fast food industry, detailing the low pay, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions many employees endure. This aspect emphasizes the socio-economic disparities perpetuated by the fast food model.Cultural Impact: Schlosser critiques how fast food has transformed American culture and identity, contributing to the homogenization of food and culture worldwide. He argues that the success of fast food chains signifies broader societal issues regarding consumerism, corporate power, and cultural imperialism.Environmental Concerns: The book discusses the environmental consequences of fast food production, including the depletion of natural resources, pollution from factories, and unsustainable agricultural practices that arise from the demand for cheap, mass-produced food.Corporate Influence and Marketing: Schlosser details how powerful corporations influence policy and society, emphasizing their marketing strategies that create brand loyalty and shape public perception. He addresses the ethical implications of marketing, especially towards children.In conclusion, "Fast Food Nation" serves as both an exposé of the fast food industry and a call to action for consumers, urging them to reconsider their food choices and be aware of the broader implications of the fast food system on health, labor, and the environment. Schlosser combines compelling narratives with extensive research, creating a critical examination of one of America's most iconic industries.Part 2 Fast Food Nation AuthorEric Schlosser is an American journalist and author, best known for his writing on the fast food industry and its socio-economic effects. His most famous work, "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," was released in 2001. This book explores the impact of fast food on society, health, the economy, and labor practices. Other Notable Works:In addition to "Fast Food Nation," Schlosser has written other books, which include:"Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market" (2003) This book focuses on the underground economy in the United States, discussing illegal drugs, sex work, and the labor force that operates outside the law."Reefer Madness: A History of Marijuana" (2008) An updated edition of his original...

On today's episode, renowned journalist and nuclear expert Eric Schlosser joins Jon and Heather to discuss the past, present and future of nuclear command and control, building off his experiences researching and authoring his acclaimed work on the subject. What is shaping the current nuclear climate today? Is there any hope for future generations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, renowned journalist and nuclear expert Eric Schlosser joins Jon and Heather to discuss the past, present and future of nuclear command and control, building off his experiences researching and authoring his acclaimed work on the subject. What is shaping the current nuclear climate today? Is there any hope for future generations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Publishing veteran Eamon Dolan—currently Vice President and Executive Editor at Simon & Schuster—has edited hundreds of books, including Eric Schlosser's FAST FOOD NATION, Richard Dawkins' THE GOD DELUSION, and Mary L. Trump's TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH. He makes his debut as an author next year with THE POWER OF PARTING - which draws on his own experience of physical and psychological abuse in childhood, as well as research on trauma and interviews with other survivors.  In one of Eamon's first interviews about his upcoming book, he discusses the difficult topic and what drew him to it, as well as what it's like to write his own book after thirty years of editing others'; what he looks for in a proposal; and what all the books he acquires have in common. 

Grammy-winning musician Michael McDonald looks back on his childhood and his career in a new memoir. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about imposter syndrome and his first band as a tween. Also, investigative journalist and author Eric Schlosser talks about how mergers and acquisitions and very little regulation have all but decimated competition within food systems and supply chains. And Justin Chang reviews Furiosa, the latest film in the Mad Max franchise.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning musician Michael McDonald looks back on his childhood and his career in a new memoir. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about imposter syndrome and his first band as a tween. Also, investigative journalist and author Eric Schlosser talks about how mergers and acquisitions and very little regulation have all but decimated competition within food systems and supply chains. And Justin Chang reviews Furiosa, the latest film in the Mad Max franchise.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"Under the Tree" is an initiative to re - live the child hood and our lives by relating to stories by great writers of yesteryears. The objective is to rekindle the interest of reading and showcase the Indian authors work which give rebirth to the tradition, culture. Spiritual series that is rich in Indian ethos along with Management aspects increase positivity which is much needed always..

Ravi kicks off the episode with a round-up of breaking news: from the latest in Donald Trump's New York hush money trial to OpenAI's new model of GPT and the controversy surrounding Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife. Then, Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," joins the show to discuss his new documentary, "Food, Inc. 2." They dive into everything from the consolidation and corporate power in the food industry, the role of government subsidies in supporting factory farms, and the negative impact on small and medium-sized farmers to the need for stronger antitrust enforcement and getting money out of politics to address these issues. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The Branch on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebranchmedia/ Follow The Branch on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebranchmedia Follow The Branch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebranchmedia The Branch website: http://thebranchmedia.org/ The Branch channel: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-branch/id6483055204  Lost Debate is also available on the following platforms:  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vTERJNTc1ODE3Mzk3Nw  iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-lost-debate-88330217/ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/752ca262-2801-466d-9654-2024de72bd1f/the-lost-debate

Bill Maher and his guests answer viewer questions after the show. (Originally aired 5/10/24) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill's guests are Eric Schlosser, Douglas Murray, Frank Bruni (Originally aired 5/10/24) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When best-selling authors Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser first exposed the issues created by an industrialized food system in their documentary Food Inc, they didn't expect to do a sequel. But sixteen years later, they say Big Ag is creating even bigger economic, environmental and health issues. Food Inc 2 has journalist Eric Schlosser revealing the new dangers from food oligopolies. We'll talk to him about the new documentary and his piece in The Atlantic, Do We Really Want a Food Cartel?

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser says mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometimes dangerous. His new documentary with Michael Pollan is Food, Inc. 2. Also, Justin Chang reviews the film The Beast. Keep up with Fresh Air, learn what's coming next week, and get staff recommendations by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshairLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser says mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometimes dangerous. His new documentary with Michael Pollan is Food, Inc. 2. Also, Justin Chang reviews the film The Beast. Keep up with Fresh Air, learn what's coming next week, and get staff recommendations by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshairLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

John has 3 interviews for the weekend. First he speaks with attorney and legal consultant Dina Sayegh Doll about the death of O.J. Simpson and his Trial of the Century. Next, he interviews author and freelance journalist Sarah Cart about her new book "On My Way Back to You" which is a first-hand account of the rollercoaster world of lifesaving transplants and the unimaginable challenges Sarah faced as she struggled to manage her husband's devastating illness. And finally, he chats with author and filmmaker Eric Schlosser about his new film "Food Inc 2" which focuses on multinational conglomerates that are still wreaking havoc on our farmers, consumers, health, environment, and laborers. This sequel takes a deeper look into what needs to be done to cause real change in our food industry.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Friends,Today we have a special guest to help us understand why food prices continue to go through the roof: Michael Pollan. Pollan is author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, How to Change Your Mind, The Botany of Desire, and other books. He and Eric Schlosser (whose new piece in The Atlantic, “Do We Really Want a Food Cartel?” is also a must-read), are just out with a new documentary available for streaming now, “Food Inc. 2,” which explains how giant corporations have taken over what we eat. We've asked Michael to tell us what steps we can take — as consumers and citizens — to reclaim our own nutrition. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us. Consider taking our poll below: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Following a sneak peek screening of the new Food, Inc. 2, Dani sat down with Michael Pollan of The Omnivore's Dilemma, Marion Nestle of Food Politics, and the filmmakers Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo. They discuss the biggest changes they have observed since the release of Food, Inc. in 2008, the hold that multinational corporations have on the U.S. government, and whether guiding eaters toward different choices is enough to drive the food systems change we want to see. In Food, Inc. 2, the sequel to the Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®-award winning documentary, Food, Inc., filmmakers Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo reunite with investigative authors Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser to take a fresh look at our efficient yet vulnerable food system. This conversation, hosted by Food Tank, Participant, River Road, and NYU Steinhardt, was part of Food Tank's NYC Climate Week programming that positioned food and agriculture systems as a solution to the climate crisis. While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” wherever you consume your podcasts.

In this weeks episode I speak to what I have learned from the author of Fast Food Nation, Maester Eric Matthew Schlosser.I wanted to speak to his teachings because in my perspective knowledge is true power, over our bodies and our own volition.   His teaches all aspects of the fast food industry; from its historical perspective, to its business aspects and the humanistic fallout from father industries need for low wage labor. He wrote three books:1.     Fast food2.     Reefer madness3.     Command control: nuclear weapons, the Damascus accident and the illusion of safety that he wrote in 2013This Maester is an American investigative journalist along the lines of the great Upton Sinclair. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for history for his most recent book. I speak to what I have learned from his teachings and highly recommended his books.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schlosser , 2023) Note: Camino de Santiago Le Puy, communal dining with Victoria at Gite d'etape St. Andre- FranceLet's go, let's get it done. Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

Get ready to step into the world of the largest and most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile ever built by the United States: the Titan II. We promise you an enthralling journey, taking you into the depths of the responsibility and immense pressure shouldered by servicemen in the face of potential catastrophe. Our story today comes from a wonderful book that sheds a great deal of light on this issue, the title of the book is Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser.We'll scrutinize the US military's safety protocols, delve into the grave responsibilities bestowed upon young servicemen, and explore the Air Force's subsequent investigation into the incident. This episode is not only thrilling, but also an eye-opener to the dire importance of the technology, training, and safety measures involved in handling nuclear weapons. You don't want to miss this!Key Points from the Episode:We'll be shedding light on the daily operations and routine maintenance procedures that kept these mighty missiles in check, with the capability to hit a target as far as 6000 miles away, carrying a yield of nine megatons. Join us in unfolding the story of airmen David F Powell and Jeffrey L Plumb, who had the daunting task of managing a low-pressure warning light in the oxidizer tank of the Titan II missile.We're also going to talk about an incident that sent chills down the spine of every serviceman involved. Brace yourselves as we dive into the terrifying account of the infamous Damascus Titan missile explosion. A simple socket wrench falling off a platform and striking the missile caused fuel to spray out, nearly leading to a nuclear disaster. Other resources: Almanac of Broken Arrow EventsMore goodnessGet your FREE Academy Review here!Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly, thank you so much!Because we care what you think about what we think and our website, please email David@teammojoacademy.com, or if you want to leave us a quick FREE, painless voicemail, we would appreciate that as well.

Today Ledslie talks to Dianah Wynter. Wynter was born and raised in New York. She directed Intimate Betrayal (1999), HappySAD (2009), and Daddy's Girl (1996), for which she received an Emmy nomination. Her stage directing credits include the world premiere of The Interrogation of Nathan Hale at South Coast Rep, Mules at San Francisco's Magic Theatre and American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), the latter starring Anika Noni Rose. She was a regular director for the Mark Taper's New Work Fest, and NEA Director Fellow for The Goodman Theatre. At Princeton, she composed music for Triangle club comedy revues, collaborating with classmates such as Douglas McGrath, David E. Kelley, Eric Schlosser and John Seabrook.A graduate of the Yale school of drama. She was asst director for Lloyd Richards on the world premieres of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Fences. She mounted the second company of Fences at Seattle Rep starring Frances Foster and Samuel L. Jackson. Dianah is an author and co-editor of Referentiality and the Films of Woody Allen (Palgrave Macmillan). Her most recent book is The Post Soul Cinema of Kasi Lemmons.In 2019, she was elected Chair of the Cinema & Television Arts department at Cal State Northridge (CSUN), which consistently ranks in the Hollywood Reporters Top 25 film schools. She is the first black woman to head a Top film school. During her term as Chair, she initiated the virtual production initiative, with the support of strategic partner, Halon Entertainment; by 2021, CSUN made it into the top 20 of The Wraps Top 50 Film Schools, breaking in at #17.

A man recently lost 60 pounds eating only McDonalds for 90 days. How did he do it? An iconic brand Jenny Craig is closing its doors. Dietitian Dad discusses the fast food industry and how fast food can be included in your lifestyle. And why the weight loss Industry is in the verge of huge changes. Book recommendation: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

From 2003/2004- Eric Schlosser, author of "Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Lbor in the American Black Market"

Brothers Drew and Eric talk about the 2021 western feature The Harder They Fall. It's pretty melodramatic but it works and is really fun.   Housekeeping starts at 44:25 and involves seasonal transitions, mosquitos, orchestral maneuvers, Mean Streets, Rubber Biscuit by The Chips, Stanley Kubrick and Full Metal Jacket, Jon Ronson's ‘The Debutante,' Eric Schlosser's ‘Porn Wars,' and Ti West's ‘X' and ‘Pearl.'   File length 1:15:54 File Size 56.0 MB   Theme by Jul Big Green via SongFinch Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at Not In A Creepy Way

Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain (2020) vs Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser (2001)

感谢大家收听这一期普通读者，这一期我们聊了聊10月读了什么书，10月份终于找回了读书的感觉，有很多想和大家分享的好书。大家读了什么呢，也欢迎和我们分享。另外，在节目开播2周年之际，我们也组织了一次抽奖赠书活动，赠的书是堂本翻译的一本日本艺术史的书，欢迎大家加入微信听众群，参加抽奖活动。 聊到的书： Cold Enough for Snow, by Jessica Au A Girl's Story, by Annie Ernaux，安妮·埃尔诺， 中文版《一个女孩的记忆》 Where Europe Begins, by Yoko Tawada，多和田葉子 The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching out corrupts within, by Edward Tufte Evicted: poverty and profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond; 中文版《扫地出门》 Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal Is Doing to the World, by Eric Schlosser; 中文版《快餐国家》 《W或童年回忆》[法] 乔治·佩雷克 《白色旅馆》[英] D.M.托马斯 《长日将尽》石黑一雄 《关于女儿》[韩] 金惠珍 Offshore, by Penelope Fitzgerald，中文版《离岸》 提一句： ハッピークソライフ 4, はらだ チェンソーマン 1-9卷, 藤本タツキ A Helping Hand, by Celia Dale Dark Tales, Shirley Jackson 《我的二本学生》黄灯 Girl Online: A User Manual, by Joanna Walsh 《幽女出没的地方》[日] 松田青子 《重量》[英] 简妮特•温特森 《始于极限 : 女性主义往复书简》[日] 上野千鹤子 / [日] 铃木凉美 收听和订阅渠道 墙内：小宇宙App，喜马拉雅，网易云“普通-读者” 墙外： Apple Podcast, Anchor, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcast, Breaker, Radiopublic 联系我们 电邮：commonreaders2020@gmail.com

Fred discusses the history of fast food, on National Fast Food Day, observed on this day each year. www.rockysealemusic.com https://rockysealemusic.com/wow-i-didn-t-know-that-or-maybe-i-just-forgot https://www.facebook.com/150wordspodcast --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rocky-seale7/message

In this episode, we discuss: A Place of My Own by Michael Pollan https://bit.ly/3tb3QKX The Beast in Aisle 34 by Darrin Doyle https://bit.ly/3Q2CfFC Dreadstar by Jim Starlin https://bit.ly/3m9MQ46 This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone https://bit.ly/3mevwuK We didn't quite get to: Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander (Prospector or ILL) Command and Control by Eric Schlosser https://bit.ly/3ar9lyA The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood https://bit.ly/3GP2RGf Crushing by Sophie Burrows https://bit.ly/3Q2AmsM

Welcome back for another episode of Nick's Non-fiction with your host Nick Muniz! Eric Schlosser turns his exacting eye on the underbelly of the American marketplace and its far-reaching influence on our society. Exposing three American mainstays, pot, porn, and illegal immigrants, this book shows how the black market has burgeoned over the past several decades. He also draws compelling parallels between underground and overground: how tycoons and gangsters rise and fall, how new technology shapes a market, how government intervention can reinvigorate black markets as well as mainstream ones, and how big business learns and profits from the underground. Reefer Madness is a powerful investigation that illuminates the shadow economy and the culture that casts that shadow. Subscribe, Share, Mobile links & Time-stamps below! 0:00 Introduction 5:45 About the Author 7:30 Ch1: Reefer Madness 25:50 Ch2: In the Strawberry Fields 33:10 Ch3: Rise of an Empire 39:30 Ch4: Fall of an Empire 48:15 Ch5: Out of the Underground 56: 30 Next Time & Goodbye! YouTube: https://youtu.be/6YAObCiz-gI Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheNiche

In deze eerste aflevering lees ik een essay voor dat ik schreef voor Volkskrant op 6 maart. Over de waanzin van kernwapens. Een onderwerp dat onze aandacht verdient, ook als straks de oorlog hopelijk voorbij is.Mocht je meer willen weten over het onderwerp, dan raad ik met name dit boek aan:  'Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons and the Illusion of Safety' (2013) van Eric Schlosser.Voor tickets van mijn nieuwe show check: http://www.timfransen.nl/speellijst

The nuclear threat is back, and the Doomsday Clock is almost at midnight. How did we end up here again? In the 1930s, German physicists learned that splitting the nuclei of heavy atoms could release tremendous amounts of energy. Such theoretical ideas became relevant when WW II began.  Today, we try to eliminate nuclear weaponry while exploiting the atom for peaceful uses, such as energy generation. But as the invasion of Ukraine shows, power plants can also be military targets. We lay out some of the questions that scientists and strategists are grappling with considering recent events.  Guests:  John Mecklin – Physicist, and Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Robert Rosner – Physicist at the University of Chicago and a former chair of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientist's Science and Security Board. Eric Schlosser – Journalist, author of “Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety.” Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact sales@advertisecast.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#GeekingOutSeries/Safety101/ChemicalsinFood/1This post is part of the Geeking Out series which presents data-driven information on food and farming, safety in the kitchen, practical science for cooks, cooking techniques and processes and other relevant nerdy stuff that every cook should know.  For the next few weeks, we will be covering topics from the chapter, Safety 101. This is the first of four parts.While the idea of pathogens posing a danger to our health is established knowledge-- we’ve all learned about it in elementary science for one, my reference to many chemicals that are in our food system as “poison” may raise some eyebrows.  I’m referring to three kinds: toxic chemicals that go on our crops such as fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides; are present in our meat and poultry like steroids and antibiotics, and are in ultra processed foods like sugar additives and preservatives. While there’s a growing body of woke citizens, health professionals, scientists, environmental groups and even government agencies like the CDC that acknowledge the toxicity in our food production system, most Americans don’t realize the gravity of the situation for a number of reasons.It’s fairly new. Widespread chemical use in agribusiness is relatively recent, gaining traction only in the mid twentieth century.  The adverse effects caused by chemical fertilizers and additives in our food were not easily identified or immediately apparent, sometimes taking years to diagnose. It’s only in the last decade there’s been broad consensus that sugars, particularly high fructose corn syrup, are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.      Corporate greed.  The main reason for the use of chemicals in our food system is to increase efficiency and lower production costs (but not environmental and public health costs), which means bigger profits for companies. Big Business loves its bottom line and will do anything to protect it. Large amounts of money are spent trying to convince the public their products are great or that studies showing harmful effects are conflated. Sound familiar?  We’ve been down this road before with the tobacco industry denying for decades that smoking cigarettes causes cancer. Human nature.  Our tendency towards the path of least resistance means it’s easier not to change old habits or question previously established beliefs, despite growing available data that should convince us otherwise.  Plus, it’s not easy keeping up with food trends --margarine was in, now it’s out; wine was out, now in; coffee is…what now? It doesn’t help we’re bombarded with billions of dollars in unhealthy food advertising, brainwashing us since we were children. Sorting through the muck of false or misleading information is overwhelming.  To top it all, we’re not hardwired to be on red alert if we think the danger posed is far away.  Unlike e coli which could make you sick right away, toxic chemicals in our food system are a slow poison and it’s easy to believe we’re okay until we’re not.  Just like a lobster unaware it’s slowly boiling to death (also a good metaphor for why we’re not all panicking about global warming).Knowledge is key.  Stories can put things in perspective and convince us to take action. I hope that understanding how and why America’s food system is in crisis might be the nudge we all need to make food choices that benefit the planet and ourselves, and not just Big Business.Chemical Fertilizers, Herbicides and PesticidesIt’s impossible to overemphasize the danger posed by many chemicals in our food system.  They are not only toxic to us, but to other animals, the soil, the environment. Why the US is able to legally serve its populace harmful food comes down to corporate greed, how big money can influence government regulations, and insidious marketing that’s shaped culture and tastes predisposed to unhealthy food that keeps corporate coffers full.  For a detailed understanding of America’s food system from production to consumption,  I will defer to a few books that have strongly influenced me over the years:  Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, Third Plate by Dan Barber and Micheal Pollan’s  Omnivore’s Dilemma and Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.Monoculture America:  An OverviewMost commercial farming practices monoculture, the cultivation of a single crop in an area.  Think of those sweeping fields of Idaho corn or row after row of potatoes.  It’s ubiquitous and you could be forgiven for thinking this is how farming always was.  But that’s not right.  American Indians and other farmers practiced polyculture, planting diverse crops which were mutually beneficial not only to each other, but to maintaining and building soil health. The Three Sisters of Native American agriculture is one such well-known companion planting of corn, beans and squash. Jo Robinson in her book, Eating on the Wild Side describes:‘The Wyandot people, renamed Hurons by the French were masters of this art.  Each spring, the Wyandot women would walk to a cleared field and spread a mound of fish waste every three or four feet.  They covered the fish with dirt and then planted a few corn seeds in the center of each mound. When the corn leaves reached hand height, they planted beans next to the corn, then sprinkled pumpkin seeds between the mounds. The corn stalks grew tall and sturdy, providing support for the limply twining beans.  The beans made their contribution by drawing nitrogen dioxide out of the air and converting it to a stable form of nitrogen that could be used by all three plants, but especially by the nitrogen-hungry corn.  The broad squash leaves fanned out beneath the corn and beans, preventing weeds from growing, cooling the soil, and slowing the evaporation of water.”The function of the beans to draw out nitrogen dioxide from the air and convert it into a kind of nitrogen plants can use (ammonia and nitrate) is what’s called nitrogen-fixing.  Legumes, clover, lupines are some of the nitrogen-fixers commonly used to replenish the soil.  Another popular companion planting example is the home gardener’s tomatoes-basil combination.  According to the Farmer’s Almanac, not only do they taste good together, but the basil helps increase tomato yield and repels pests like mosquitoes, flies and aphids.In companion planting, not only is there a symbiotic relationship between plants, but the diversity provides insurance of crop survival. Blight might take down corn, but maybe the squash will survive. And when planting is diverse, it’s harder for pests to home in on their favorite food. Vast swaths of single crops are an all-you-can eat buffet waiting to happen.But in the 20th century, a confluence of events propelled America and much of the world’s agriculture into a monoculture landscape dependent on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.     In 1909, A German chemist named Fritz Haber discovered a chemical way of “fixing” nitrogen, which is to produce liquid ammonia, the raw material for making nitrogen fertilizer. By 1913, the Haber-Bosch process was used to produce liquid fertilizers in greater quantities and by the time World War II was over, munitions factories which used ammonium nitrate for explosives, could find a new lease in life producing chemical fertilizers, thereby increasing supply and lowering costs to farmers.In the mid-50’s, another scientist, Norman Borlaug bred a variety of dwarf wheat that tripled yield with the use of fertilizers.  The wheat variety, regimen of fertilizers and single crop cultivation (monoculture) were tested in Mexico and then later in India, which was on the brink of a famine. With the template for breeding high-yield crops dependent on fertilizers a huge success, The Green Revolution of the 60’s was born and exported to many parts of the world, including the Philippines, where “miracle” rice, another fast yielding crop, was developed. And this is how monoculture agriculture dependent on chemicals became the norm in American Agriculture.The Ravages of Monoculture AgricultureThe Green Revolution had noble intentions and was a miracle with its bountiful yields, earning Borlaug the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.  But decades later, we’ve learned what it has cost us. Forcing land to produce more than nature intended with chemical fertilizers is like me having to put in 70 hour work weeks on uppers.  Eventually, both the land and I are going to self-destruct, affecting everything in our wake.  Artificially propped up by speed, I may be able to function temporarily on this mad schedule. But besides the adverse effects on body and mind (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need a refresher on Breaking Bad), I’d probably be an insufferable maniac to co-workers and family. It’s a vicious cycle.  An organism builds tolerance over time, so after the initial productivity, more chemicals are required.Land stripped of nutrients and toxic with chemicals becomes sick and unable to protect itself;  plants that grow in this environment are stressed and susceptible to diseases like blight.  Pollinators that feed on the toxic plants become sick and die. Declining bee population is largely linked to pesticides and habitat loss and in the US, winter losses commonly reach 30-50%. And drift-prone weed-killers like dicamba kill valuable food sources for bees—weeds.  Bees have been in serious decline over the last decade.  Pollinators, especially honeybees, are responsible for one in every three bites of food we take, according to the USDA.  You get the picture.  All these fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are killing our pollinators.But they’re also killing us.  200,000 people die every year of acute pesticide poisoning worldwide, according to a UN report released in 2017.  That doesn’t include chronic illnesses and other diseases attributed to indirect exposure such as in contaminated food. And then there’s Roundup.To be continued…Interested to learn more? Read my companion posts on Cooking Subversive:I Cook to Reclaim My Health Superpowers of the Garden Get full access to Cooking Subversive at cookingsubversive.substack.com/subscribe

Happy New Year! Welcome to Episode 12, our final episode in the series of Rituals and Practices within Home Education. It has been a fascinating year of learning, laughing, growing and building a culturally diverse community of home edders together. In this final episode, I will be speaking to my dear sister-friend on this home-ed journey, Liz Yeboah on how she cultivates the love of learning through living books and morning time within her beautiful family. Based in Milton Keynes, Liz Yeboah, a British home educator of Ghanaian heritage, spends her days enchanting her 5 children, ages 23 to 8, to love learning through her passion for God, her penchant for living books and travel adventures as well as her commitment to using her own spice to spread an atmosphere of love through life-giving family rituals. This show is packed with delights and insights to captivate the entire family. Be prepared to encounter a beautiful picture of black christian marriage in motion. You may be inspired by Liz's her heart for motherhood, and its eternal purpose in soul making for Christ. Friends, you will also be enthralled by the list of books that make Yeboah's cannot-leave-home-without-book-list not to mention the treasure trove of books for the home-ed mama's heart. I hope you will also hear and be affected by the synergy and camaraderie between this incredibly wise and radiant lady and I. This episode is truly the perfect listen to reset your year after a week or two of out of sync festivities. Enjoy and please don't forget to me know thoughts on this as well other episodes in this series. Your feedback is important to us: If this episode inspires, challenges or encourages you, please spare a moment to let us know, either by: - [ ] Leaving us a voice message on anchor at https://anchor.fm/homegrownsonshine/message - [ ] Sending us an email at info@homegrownsonshine.co.uk - [ ] Connecting with us online: •  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com homegrown.sonshine/ •  Website - https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk/blog/ •  Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/homegrownsonsh1 Resources mentioned in this episode Books for the educator * Read aloud revival, Sarah Mckenzie * Mere motherhood, Cindy Rollins * Honey for a child's heart, Gladys Hunt * A year of poetry tea time - Christine Owens Read aloud books for the whole family * 1. Aesops Fables * 2. Chew on this, Eric Schlosser * 3. Uncle Eric Book Series, Richard Maybury * 4. Rich Dad poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki Poems * Clouds, Christina Rossetti read by Boaz Yeboah * Spaghetti, Shel Silverstein read by Ellie Yeboah * Sonnets are full of love, Christina Rossetti read by yours truly, Alberta Stevens Background Music to poems * Clouds, Blessed, Ketsa Soul, Courtesy of Free Music Archive * Spaghetti, Fine Day, Ketsa Soul, Courtesy of Free Music Archive Podcast Intro/Outro theme music: by Kainan Awoonor-Renner

Phil and Jake are joined by returning guest Matt Hock (from Space Cadet & The Explosion) to rank In-N-Out Burger, and word mash-ups aka portmanteaus on the List of Every Damn Thing.Get Space Cadet's record “Lion On A Leash” on Wiretap Records, listen to them on Spotify, and follow them on Instagram (@space_cadet_band). And go to one of their upcoming shows!If you have something to add to the list, email it to list@everydamnthing.net (or get at us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook).SHOW NOTES: In the episode, Phil talks about @tweakseason on TikTok. Phil doesn't have TikTok but he has a summary of @tweakseason's activities on his desk every Monday morning. Here's a youtube compilation it's in the genre of "guy walking around NYC". Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is a book about fast food in America. We read it a long time ago but we remember it was heavy on the Carl's Jr. One of the last chapters is about how everything they just said about how bad the industry is doesn't really apply to In-N-Out - they pay their workers better, produce better quality food, etc. Shake Shack is a fast-casual hamburger chain based in NYC (which is now nationwide). According to Phil, the burger is better than In-N-Out but it costs three times as much.  We mention Taqueria Diana in Williamsburg again. Go there. Dick's is the place where the cool hang out. The swass like to play, and the rich flaunt clout. It's a burger place in Seattle. In an alternate universe it took off in popularity instead of In-N-Out. Sir Mix-A-Lot is a Seattle-based rapper and HAM radio enthusiast. Waffle House is an all-day breakfast chain based in the Southeast. When fights happen at Waffle House, they often end up on social media. Veggie Grill is a vegetarian fast food chain on the West Coast, as well as in New York and Massachusetts. It's pretty much wherever coastal elites like to be, and it's good food. Taco Time is a Mexican fast food chain in the western U.S., but not California. El Pollo Loco deserves to be ranked later. It's Phil's favorite fast-food chain. "Thighvertising" came up in Phil's search for portmanteaus. He admits Jake was right it should be called “adverthighsing”. James Joyce coined the term “Scandiknavery” in Finnegan's Wake'. It's pretty specific but we're looking forward to using it.  Phil thinks “pegacorn is” a bad one because "Winged Unicorn" just sounds better. Other portmanteaus discussed include “bodacious”, “throuple”, “guesstimate” and “chillax”. After plugging his own shows, Matt makes sure to plug our good friend Dave Hause's upcoming shows in November. ALSO DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:Jesus Christ * Animal Style * French fries * anti-vaxxers * * Popeye's chicken * Steven Seagal * QAnon * war * the Jersey Shore * Alice in Wonderland * Pompeii * goats * Jessica Rabbit * skorts * jorts * jeggings * Watchmen (TV series) * Below are the Top Ten and Bottom Top items on List of Every Damn Thing as of this episode (for the complete up-to-date list, go here).TOP TEN: Dolly Parton - person interspecies animal friends - idea sex - idea Clement Street in San Francisco - location Prince - person It's-It - food Cher - person Pee-Wee Herman - fictional character Donald Duck - fictional character Hank Williams - person BOTTOM TEN:204. Jenny McCarthy - person205. Jon Voight - person206. Hank Williams, Jr - person207. British Royal Family - institution208. Steven Seagal - person209. McRib - food210. war - idea211. cigarettes - drug212. QAnon - idea213. transphobia - ideaTheme song by Jade Puget. Graphic design by Jason Mann. This episode was produced & edited by Jake MacLachlan, with audio help from Luke Janela. Show notes by Jake MacLachlan & Phil Green.Our website is everydamnthing.net and we're also on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.Email us at list@everydamnthing.net. 

Bryan is joined by journalist and author Eric Schlosser to discuss the 20th anniversary of his book ‘Fast Food Nation.' They talk through the process of turning his magazine story into a book (2:49), discuss what it was like reporting on the fast food industry from talking to the founder of Carl's Jr. to going undercover at a slaughterhouse (30:20), and then consider how this book has aged 20 years later (1:00:35). Host: Bryan Curtis Guest: Eric Schlosser Associate Producer: Erika Cervantes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to another audio version of Burnt Toast! This is a newsletter where we explore questions and sometimes answers around fatphobia, diet culture, parenting and health. I’m Virginia Sole-Smith. I’m a journalist who covers weight stigma and diet culture. I’m the author of The Eating Instinct and the forthcoming Fat Kid Phobia.Today I am chatting with Christy Harrison, a dietitian, host of the beloved Food Psych podcast and author of Anti-Diet, one of my favorite books, and the forthcoming Rethinking Wellness. Welcome, Christy!ChristyThanks, Virginia. So good to be here. VirginiaI’m so glad to have you on. Christy and I have been guests on each other’s podcasts over the years, so it is fun to be doing it again. Christy, I am sure most of my listeners are going to know your work because you are kind of a legend in this space. But why don’t you give us a little background on you and your work?ChristyLike you said, I’m a journalist and dietitian. I started my career as a journalist, and also had my own undiagnosed eating disorder at the time. It kind of made me obsessed with food, nutrition and health, and that’s what I sort of fell into reporting on. And that can really exacerbate disordered eating. Even people who don’t have pre-existing disordered eating, sometimes falling into those beats can create some disorder in one’s relationship with food. So I really struggled with that, but was slowly recovering and had a therapist and had some good people around me, supporting me to at least expand my horizons a little bit with food. I ended up working at a food magazine, Gourmet—RIP—and worked there for a couple years until it folded. And during that time, I realized that the magazine was maybe a little bit on the rocks, and the magazine industry in general was not a great—VirginiaNot a sustainable business model—Christy Yeah, not the most sustainable, and that has really kind of proven to be true. So I went back to school to get my dietitian’s license and get my master's in public health nutrition. And at the time, my goal was to be the next Michael Pollan, or like, Michael Pollan meets Marion Nestle. I wanted to write about sustainability and food systems and ending the “obesity epidemic.” I had really bought into that rhetoric. I think it came out of my own disordered relationship with food and how much I had bought into to diet culture, and specifically the version of diet culture that I now call the wellness diet, which was sort of birthed by the Michael Pollan paradigm. You know, “eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” which is enough to just drive a person up a wall, thinking about the minutiae of that. And of course, my thinking about calories and carbs, and all the sort of overt diet-culture stuff never really went away, either. So it was just a hot mess in my head.Fortunately, when I was in grad school, I started researching a book that I never ended up writing, but that kind of, in a roundabout way, became the basis of Anti-Diet 10 years later. And that original book that I was researching was about emotional eating. I considered myself an emotional eater at the time. I now can see that it’s because I wasn’t eating enough. When people are deprived of food, it makes them eat more in response to emotions, and it also can make them eat more and attribute it to emotions, when really it’s attributable to the deprivation itself, to hunger.I wasn’t really aware of all that. But I started to find research on restrained eating and the effects of that. And I discovered the book Intuitive Eating. And those things started to shift my relationship with food, especially the book Intuitive Eating, and I started to try to practice that and brought it into my therapy. Fortunately, I had been an intuitive eater up until the age of 20, when my eating disorder started. Luckily, no one had interfered in my relationship with food growing up, so I was able to have that intuitive relationship with food, I think largely because of thin privilege—which is the privilege of being thin enough to have nobody say, “you’re too big, you need to lose weight,” and also the privilege of having food security. Those things allowed me to keep on eating intuitively through my adolescence, and I think it was a little bit easier to click back into it because I had that base. It did still take a long time, it took years to really heal my relationship with food, get back to a place of intuitive eating. But I think having that sort of memory was helpful.Once I had gone through that I, you know, was now a nutritionist and soon to be full-fledged dietitian, and I worked for three years as a nutritionist at the New York City Department of Health. And that’s while I was recovering, and sort of re-learning intuitive eating. So the cognitive dissonance of what I was teaching and preaching to people, and what I was doing in my own life, started to be pretty clear to me. I started thinking a lot more about people’s relationships with food, and what makes someone a disordered eater versus having a peaceful relationship with food. And I realized that was the direction I wanted to go in my career. That’s what led me to the eating disorder field and to starting the podcast in 2013, and where I ended up now, I guess. Along the way, of course, I picked up more about Health at Every Size, and an anti-diet approach that I think is really necessary for working with disordered eating, but also for working with any client on any nutritional issue. People of all shapes and sizes, and people of all backgrounds really deserve to have an intuitive relationship with food and a peaceful relationship with food and not to be told what to eat or policed about their food choices.So that’s the perspective I come from now: How can I partner with people and support people through my journalistic work to reconnect with their own innate wisdom about food and nutrition in their bodies?VirginiaThat’s the piece of the conversation that I see missing over and over, when we look at the work of the Michael Pollans of the world or the wellness industry where it is today. There’s no recognition of the emotional piece of this, the oppression that many people face around their bodies and the way the world treats them for their bodies.ChristyIt’s really seen as education is the answer to everything. And I don’t know anyone I’ve seen as a client who hasn’t sort of “known what they were supposed to be doing,” right? They come in saying, you’re gonna tell me I’m bad. I eat this. I’m so ashamed of myself, I eat a lot of processed food, or whatever. People know what the “rules” are. The fact that they’re not following them speaks to the arbitrariness and messed-up-ness of the rules themselves.VirginiaAnd the unsustainability of them, ironically, given that it’s often framed as this effort to find sustainability.I got to know Christy when I interviewed her for The Eating Instinct. Her story is in chapter two, which was excerpted in Medium. When we first met, we both had these early experiences in the magazine world. I was at a magazine called Organic Style, so it was sort of in the same realm, but not a food magazine full on, but very much an incubator of a lot of this wellness industry stuff in the early years of that, and we both had these complicated journeys out of that space. So it’s kind of cool that we both ended up where we are.I’ve got some listener questions that I wanted to put your way. The first is getting at this intuitive eating versus processed food concept, which you sort of touched on a little bit there, and is something folks struggle with a lot. I get a version of this question all the time, but this person wrote: “I love the idea of intuitive eating, but wonder how it works with modern processed food, which is designed to keep us eating more and more. I have heard the processed food hijacks our body’s natural impulses, that sugar and white flour are addictive. I’m especially interested in this question as I get ready to introduce solid food to my baby.” A lot to unpack there.[Editor’s Note: You can read Virginia’s full response to this question here.]ChristyI get versions of this question a lot, too, and I think it’s fascinating because when I first was coming into the intuitive eating space, I still had a lot of that Michael Pollan baggage with me. And I thought, well, maybe there’s a way to bridge these two worlds and think about food politics and how “bad” processed foods are, but do it through an intuitive eating lens where we’re not demonizing anything. And through a lot of reflection on that, I sort of realized, it’s not really possible to bridge those two worlds because the Michael Pollan world is so rooted in—and I keep calling him out as the exemplar of this, but it’s so many people now, the whole wellness industry basically, now—but that world is so rooted in this concept that fat is bad, that eating certain foods makes us fat, and makes us inherently unhealthy, so we need to cut out those foods and it really demonizes certain foods and elevates others. I’ve come to see that that’s really a hallmark of diet culture, and very much a hallmark of this modern guise of diet culture that I call the wellness diet, which is really diet culture disguising itself as health and wellness. It’s still about restriction and deprivation and fatphobia, shaming certain types of bodies and elevating others, and shaming certain types of foods, both because of their perceived connection to higher weights, and also because of other baggage about those foods being “unhealthy” in and of themselves. So now I think that is just fundamentally incompatible with intuitive eating, because one of the principles of intuitive eating is make peace with food, and this full unconditional permission to eat all foods.What I’ve found and what the research bears out, is that when people are truly not deprived of anything, when they don’t see anything as bad or off limits, they paradoxically are able to modulate their eating in a way that is much more aligned with their body’s desires and needs. They’re not in this restrict-binge cycle, with particular foods or with food in general. There’s some research that I cite in my book about the effect of dietary restraint on people’s eating and even their brain activity in response to certain types of foods specifically like sugar, processed foods, you know, “processed” foods and highly palatable foods that are so demonized in our culture. What researchers found is that people who are restricted and deprived, people who are restrained eaters aka chronic dieters, do eat more in the presence of highly palatable foods, do eat more, get more brain reward from sweet foods [Editor’s Note: use of weight-stigmatizing language], and also eat more in the presence of food advertising, and also diet advertising. There are ads encouraging people to eat more foods that are delicious, and also ads encouraging people to eat less, or eat more diet foods, and all of those things dieters are actually more susceptible to doing. Dieters will eat more of the foods that they are told are “good” as well as foods that diet culture deems “bad” in the presence of that kind of marketing. And their brain activity in response to sweet foods is far greater. People who are not restrained eaters, people who are not chronic dieters, don’t show that same response. They actually eat the same amount in the presence of food industry and diet industry marketing, they have way less brain activity in response to sweet foods, they might still have some activity in the pleasure centers because, of course, sweetness is pleasurable. And we all deserve that, we all deserve to have pleasure in food, but there’s not this immense reward because there wasn’t the immense deprivation. When you’re more deprived of something, you tend to gravitate towards it more, and you tend to have a greater reward from that food. And then of course, the corresponding guilt afterwards.VirginiaThat’s so interesting, and what I’m just thinking about, as you’re talking, is how we so often hear this conversation demonizing highly palatable foods, processed foods, and demonizing food marketing for making us want more and more, but we don’t talk very often about how much that marketing is playing into the restrict-binge cycle. So much of the advertising around foods that are “highly palatable” or whatever you want to call it is sort of playing into that rhetoric that you should indulge, that message is not subtle at all in the advertising. And then the diet industry messaging is really the flip side of the same coin in terms of the marketing. We don’t think enough about how it’s not really the food itself. It really is this conversation around food that’s making us feel addicted to it or out of control around it.ChristyAnd I think people like Michael Pollan, and Eric Schlosser, and Marion Nestle—VirginiaAnd that new guy, Michael—ChristyYeah, yes. Michael Moss, Salt, Sugar, Fat.They all sort of make this connection, which actually, in research methods, we call the ecological fallacy, which is like “X thing happened in this community around a certain time, and Y thing also happened, so X was the cause of Y.” In this case, processed food advertising increased, portion sizes increased, and then “obesity” increased, and therefore, these increases in portion sizes, and the type of marketing, made people fat.My response to that is, if we actually step back and look at the cultural context, what was happening leading up to, most people will cite the 1970s as sort of when people’s body sizes supposedly started increasing. Diet culture existed for, you know, about 100 years before that, and really, in a concerted way for 50 years or so before that, and the market share of the diet industry was steadily increasing, and the number of people who were dieting and restricting really increased every decade from, you know, the 1910s, onward, 1920s onward, and reached kind of a fever pitch in the 1970s. So that was the context in which portion sizes also increased and food advertising increased. You have to think, well, what does that sort of mass food deprivation do to people? It makes them crave more food.So if the industry was, in fact, increasing portion sizes and so on, some of that may have had to do with increased demand from an increased number of starving or deprived people. People want bigger portions when they’re deprived of food. You have to sort of take it as a whole, right? We can’t just blame the food industry—and also, blaming anything for people’s body size is inherently fatphobic and stigmatizing. I think looking for a reason for why people are larger is missing the point. We really don’t need to be talking about weight in that kind of pathological way. But we need to talk about this cultural context that makes people think their bodies are too large, makes people fear fatness and demonize fatness and want to do anything to outrun it, including these really extreme, but sometimes also, “less extreme” or “light” or “healthy” diets. Any sort of restriction and taking yourself away from that intuitive relationship with food interferes with that innate connection with food that we’re all born with, and sets people up for that restrict-binge cycle and other forms of disordered eating and exercise.VirginiaYes to all of that. On a related note, the other thing I wanted to chat about is diet foods as a sort of cultural concept. I wrote a piece a few weeks ago about how I continue to love Diet Coke, and also protein powder. I’m somehow more embarrassed about the protein powder. But anyway.Even though it’s been, you know, a good six years plus, since I went on an official diet, and I’ve been out of diet culture in terms of my own head for that long, these are foods that, once I stripped away the diet stuff, I just enjoyed them, and I just eat them without the diet mindset. When I wrote about this, there were a couple of really interesting responses. Quite a few folks said something like, oh, I don’t eat diet foods, I just eat small portions of the real thing I want. And that, to me, is diet mentality. Right? Christy I think it’s so interesting that people are saying, “I just eat small portions of the real thing.” There’s something about this need to limit, that is very much the diet mentality. Because why not just say, I eat however much I want of the real thing?In your case, I mean, I read that piece. And I thought it was really fascinating, the way that you sort of analyze your relationship with those products. Especially in the case of Diet Coke, where it’s something that you grew up with where you weren’t dieting when you were first exposed to it. It was like the taste, the just literal flavor of the diet version, instead of the regular version is what appeals to you.VirginiaBecause my family was dieting, but I was not. Like, they bought it out of a diet mindset for sure.[Editor’s Note: Virginia’s dad says it was about dental health! Do with that what you will…] But that was not my introduction to it or my experience of it.ChristyRight, which is so interesting and different, because it’s like this second hand inheritance of diet culture, but you weren’t being pushed to diet yourself.VirginiaBecause I had thin privilege, I should underscore, because I was a thin kid. And so people weren’t expecting that of me. I was allowed to just experience the magic of Diet Coke. But also as diet culture has morphed into wellness culture, there is now this disdain for something like Diet Coke. Other people were saying to me, “Oh, I don’t let myself drink Diet Coke because of the chemicals or because of the aspartame.” Someone said, “Actually, that was something I didn’t let myself drink when I was dieting, because I was clean eating. And now I’ve reclaimed it.” So there’s layers upon layers, this sort of Venn diagram happening between our feelings about processed foods and our feelings about these diet foods. And in both cases, it seems to me that we’re really just food shaming, right? We’re still playing into this idea that there’s this hierarchy around food we need to ascribe to.ChristyEspecially with that idea of “chemicals” or that Diet Coke, or regular Coke, for that matter, can’t fit into someone’s plan because it’s not healthy, or it’s demonized by this strain of wellness culture. So I think there’s so many different ways that people can relate to it. Your experience is one way where you kind of came by that flavor craving, honestly, you know, you were introduced to it in a way that was, for you at least, devoid of diet culture, not necessarily for the people introducing it to you. But for other people, maybe that was a staple in their dieting days, or in their disordered eating days. And that’s complicated too, right. Because if it’s a disordered eating thing, someone is drinking a lot of caffeine to try to avoid eating, then maybe they need to wean off of those kinds of products for a while and eat more food, and not have that disordered behavior of using caffeine to mask hunger. But maybe for other folks, like you said, the person who wouldn’t allow themselves to have it in their orthorexia clean eating days, maybe the sort of way of breaking out of that and of challenging diet culture is to actually have it and to reclaim it. It’s really different for everyone.Then there’s a political consciousness that comes in that says, you know, I don’t want to buy something that has died on the label, because I don’t want to contribute to that. That’s another way of potentially relating to that, too. But then I think if you’re shaming yourself for what you really want, then maybe the real trick is to drop that political consciousness for the moment so that you can engage with the food you really want, so that you’re not creating this sense of deprivation or lack of permission with something that you really love. If it’s something you don’t really love, and you’re sort of like, take it or leave it, then maybe that’s a situation where you can say, I don’t go in for that stuff. You know?VirginiaWe were then talking about the diet foods that we’ve reclaimed and Skinny Pop Popcorn came up a lot. And I thought, oh, God, I’ve never bought that, and it’s completely a reaction to the word skinny. I’m just really turned off by this sort of overt fat shaming of that product. But while that’s sort of a logical response to that marketing campaign, it also means that I’m banning a food. As it happens, I don’t really like popcorn, so I don’t think in this case, I’m depriving myself of something I would love. But you can really overthink this one.ChristyYou really can but sometimes you just got to go with what you love. When I was in my orthorexia days, I never got into juicing or green juice, because it was kind of early for that, in the early 2000s. For me, the juicing trend didn’t really come until the late 2000s, early 2010s. But these days, occasionally if I see green juice on the menu or something, or just out somewhere, I’m like, oh, that seems really good. Like, I want that flavor. And I’ll sometimes be like, oh, do I want to participate? Do I want to buy from this company that’s like so gross and wellness-y, and that’s sort of against a lot of what I stand for. Sometimes I’ll be like, I don’t want it that much. And other times, I’ll be like, that seems really good. I’m gonna have it. So it can be case by case, too, how you’re feeling on a given day.VirginiaIt’s useful too to remember that the rhetoric around voting with your dollars, that really comes out of the alternative food movement and the wellness industry. And, you know, there certainly is some power to it, consumers have a lot of power. But certainly in my case, if I was like, I’m not gonna buy Diet Coke, because it has diet on the label, but I’m gonna buy a different soda, I’d probably buy regular Coke. So the same company would be profiting off my decision. And I just would enjoy my beverage less. So it’s useful to remember that your individual purchase is not rocking the boat. There’s so much guilt that goes into being an ethical grocery shopper, and a lot of that is more diet culture messaging. ChristyIt really is out of this sustainability, Michael Pollanized wellness-diet version of how we’re “supposed to eat.” We don’t have as much power as individual consumers or even as a block of consumers, as we’re made out to have. VirginiaUnfortunately, but it’s also somewhat freeing to realize that you can truly operate from that intuitive eating place and have what you love and not worry so much about it.The last question that came in that I would love help unpacking is a little more complicated. This reader wrote: “Okay, but what about diet foods you may not love, but which make you feel better. I am very sluggish and tired after eating rice. So I avoid it and make cauli rice. Not saying I love cauli rice, but I do prefer how I feel after eating it compared to actual rice. I don’t eat cauli rice with the intent to be dieting, but I’m aware of the impact certain foods have on me, and then make choices with that knowledge. I’m still trying to figure out if I’m attempting anti-diet culture properly.”ChristySuch a good question. There’s so many layers to that too, right?I don’t know where this person is in their intuitive eating process, but I think it takes years for people to truly be able to look at how they feel after eating a certain food without having it be colored by their diet culture beliefs about that food. In the case of something like rice versus cauliflower rice, it definitely raises a red flag for me. Where does this belief about how rice makes you feel come from? Is it actually because we’ve been fed so much about carbohydrates, and, as I’ve personally evolved in my own relationship with food — and I’ve seen this in clients too; this demonization of carbs, and this sense of like, carbs make me sluggish or make me crash or I don’t feel as good after eating them. But then over time, as the prohibition on carbs starts to fade, and you make peace with them, there’s the sense, like now, I actually am not satisfied by a meal or don’t feel energized after a meal if I don’t have carbs. And I think that’s really coming from a place of having gotten rid of all that diet cultural baggage about carbs and truly listening to my body and how it feels.Playing with that, asking yourself, do I even need to be thinking about this right now? With clients and people in my online course, I often say: Put aside questions about how particular foods make you feel at first and focus on the other principles of intuitive eating. Gentle nutrition, which is the 10th and last principle, is the last principle for a reason because it is so tricky. And gentle nutrition doesn’t even have that much to do with how particular foods make you feel. It’s also about building meals that are going to be satisfying and sustaining and snacks that are going to be satisfying and sustaining and learning how to energize and nourish yourself. There’s this misconception about intuitive eating, that probably comes from the wellness diet, that comes from the strain of diet culture that’s like, X food makes you bloated and Y food makes you sluggish. And you know, those words, sluggish, bloated, like—VirginiaThey have a lot of implicit fatphobia. And they’re vague symptoms. I don’t want to discount her lived experience of her body, but they are symptoms that are difficult to name and pin down and tie to a concrete thing. There are a lot of reasons you might feel sluggish and tired on any particular day, totally unrelated to what you’re eating.ChristyDiet culture has conditioned us to look to food as the source instead of thinking about how much sleep did I get, how stressed am I. So many different things can affect how we feel in our bodies, our level of fatigue, or energy, our sense of bloating and digestion and stuff like that. So I think kind of broadening the lens to what beyond the food is going on. We’ve talked previously about the nocebo effect or the converse of the placebo effect. The placebo effect is, you think something’s gonna make you feel better, and so it does, because there’s the power of that mind-body connection to actually help improve symptoms, like pain and fatigue and stuff like that. And then conversely, the nocebo effect is, you think something’s gonna make you feel worse, so it does.That’s not to say it’s all in your head, because I know how dismissive that can feel, because I have had so many health conditions and concerns myself that doctors implied were in my head when that was not the case. What I mean is that our thoughts about particular foods and other things, medications and such, do really have an effect on how we feel when taking that food or medication. Thinking about that in relation to this question, too. Can this person sort of think through how much of this maybe is the nocebo effect? And how can you change your beliefs about regular rice so that you’re not putting all this pre-existing baggage on it, that might end up making you feel worse after eating it? Versus if you can divest a little bit from those beliefs?Your relationship with rice and how you feel after eating rice might change.VirginiaI think I also just came away with a little sadness, where she’s saying, “I’m not saying I love this food that I’m eating.” I just want people to eat the foods that they love. If you’re not loving it, then I think it’s worth looking at why you’re making yourself eat it. That’s where I land at the end of the day. And I think that goes for, you know, any diet foods.ChristyAs you were talking, it sort of struck me how it’s this conversation about rice versus cauliflower rice, but also why not rice versus pasta, or bread? Is there something about that? Are you actually avoiding all carbs and thinking that carbs are bad. Or gluten? [Editor’s Note: Of course, all rice is gluten-free, but fear of gluten often leads to a broader fear of carbs.] Is there a belief about gluten that is sort of coming from that nocebo place or that wellness diet place too that’s making you avoid those foods? If the only option feels like it’s cauliflower rice, then I think there’s definitely some work to be done unlearning those negative beliefs about the other food. Of course, there’s a tiny percentage of people, like 1%, or less than 1% of the population, who has Celiac Disease and would need to avoid gluten. I’m not talking about that. But even people who do have Celiac, I think it’s worth working through the harmful negative beliefs you might have about gluten-containing foods so that you’re not demonizing anything in your mind, even if you’re not eating them for self care. Just allowing yourself to drop the negativity about particular foods can help you feel a little more grounded in your food choices. I definitely know some people with Celiac Disease who sort of rebel against that deprivation and restriction by eating gluten. And that’s not super helpful for their well-being, you know, that can be definitely physically uncomfortable and potentially harmful in the long term too. And so, you know, I think getting yourself to a place where you’re not in this restrict binge cycle is always helpful.VirginiaThat totally makes sense.Christie, thank you so much. This was a really super helpful conversation. I always love chatting with you. Why don’t you tell listeners where they can find more of your work?ChristyPeople can find more of my work on my website, ChristyHarrison.com, I actually do a weekly newsletter as well, at ChristyHarrison.com/newsletter. And I also have my book and podcast and all the other stuff I do there as well. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Este es el último documental del que hablaremos esta semana, en el que Eric Schlosser y Michael Pollan hablan de esos monopolios en la producción de alimento, de su falta de transparencia y en fin, mejor escúchate esta cápsula y descubre lo demás. ¿No? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lainsurecta/message

Sanjay Rawal is my guest on Episode 85 of Inside Ideas. Sanjay is a James Beard Award winning filmmaker, Sanjay made FOOD CHAINS (EP Eva Longoria, Eric Schlosser) which chronicled the battle of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a small group of Oaxacan and Chiapan indigenous farmworkers in Florida, against the largest agribusiness conglomerates in the world. The film was released theatrically in a number of countries (Screen Media in the US) and won numerous awards - including citations from the US Conference of Mayors, the Clinton Global Initiative and the White House. The film was also a Winner (shared) of the 2016 BritDoc Impact award and several festival prizes. Sanjay's last film 3100: RUN AND BECOME won several festival prizes, had a robust theatrical release in the US in 2018 and is opening in traditional theatrical engagements across Europe and Australia in 2020 and 2021. https://gather.film/

Sanjay Rawal is an Indian-American documentary film director who has made films like Food Chains (produced by Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser with narration by Forest Whitaker), 3100:Run and Become, and Gather (produced by Jason Mamoa).  This conversation illustrates the complexities involved in our food system through a broad lens.  

Today, in the first of a two-part series on the film, we look to John Carpenter's 1981 dystopia, Escape from New York, as a jumping off point to examine the emergence of the modern prison industrial complex (PIC) over the past century and it's socio-political underpinnings and impacts.  The year is 1997 and, in an America overrun by crime, Manhattan island has been designated the one prison for the whole of New York county, whereupon entering, prisoners are condemned to live out the rest of their years. The city is walled off from the rest of society and there are no guards on the inside, only the prisoners and the rudimentary society they have developed.  In this episode, we examine what Carpenter got right in his dystopian prophecies, what he didn't foresee and the historical developments which lead to the PIC as we now understand it.  texts: The Prison-Industrial Complex, by Eric Schlosser (for The Atlantic), 1998 --> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/12/the-prison-industrial-complex/304669/ Mass Incarceration's Dangerous New Equilibrium, by Yves Smith (for Naked Capitalism), 2017 --> https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/06/mass-incarcerations-dangerous-new-equilibrium.html  John Carpenter's Escape from New York 1981 DVD Commentary (John Carpenter and Kurt Russel)--> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mooWs8xwpjY

Sanjay Rawal spent 15 years working on human rights campaigns globally. He also ran initiatives for acclaimed artists and philanthropists, one of whom encouraged him to start making films. Sanjay's first documentary, FOOD CHAINS (2014), was produced by Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser with narration by Forest Whitaker. The film won numerous awards, was released theatrically in 40 cities by Screen Media, and was acquired by Netflix. Sanjay's second effort took a sharp turn into non-traditional filmmaking. Applying narrative cinematic technique, Sanjay directed a sweeping expedition film about the Sri Chinmoy 3,100 Mile Race. The film, 3100: RUN AND BECOME, was released theatrically in the US and internationally. Sanjay's work has been supported by Ford, Bertha, BritDoc, Fledgling, 11th Hour Project, NoVo, and the Omidyar Network. His work has won an assortment of honors include a James Beard Media Award. His new movie, Gather, is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political, and cultural identities through food sovereignty while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. Gather follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath River. Follow Sanjay on Instagram at @mrsanjayr: https://www.instagram.com/mrsanjayr Watch his new film, Gather on iTunes: https://apple.co/2Yxv4MC Amazon: https://amzn.to/2F7JBbi Vimeo: Vimeo.com/ondemand/gather Learn more about his new movie, Gather, here: wwww.gather.film ___________________________________________________ To check out CURED nutrition and their various wonderful CBD products, click here: https://bit.ly/3hVQivi. Use the code LOVEBOMBS at checkout, and you will save an extra 10% and get FREE shipping. I use it every day and cannot recommend it more highly. They're fantastic (especially the ZEN pills)! Seriously. __________________________________________________ Follow me on Instagram @LongDistanceLoveBombs: https://www.instagram.com/longdistancelovebombs Sign up for my weekly newsletter! Each week, I share a personal story as well as my favorite books, tunes, articles, and ideas. Click here: http://eepurl.com/T0l91. It's easy and takes five seconds. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/longdistancelovebombs/message

Here comes a fun "crossover" episode, in which your Book XChange co-hosts go multimedia and talk about some of their favorite (and maybe not-so-favorite) book-to-movie adaptations. The brothers discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with adapting a well-known or beloved book for the screen, and kick around a broad assortment of choices - some very famous, others a little more obscure. What makes an adaptation truly noteworthy and interesting? What are some of your favorite films made from books? What are some of the reasons book adaptations fail? All of this, plus plenty of movie recommendations to fill your queues or satisfy your quarantine viewing needs, are coming your way in lucky Episode 13 of the Book XChange podcast... MOVIE ADAPTATIONS DISCUSSED/RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE (and what they're adapted from): 'No Country for Old Men,' directed by the Coen Brothers (from the Cormac McCarthy novel); 'True Grit,' directed by the Coen Brothers (from the Charles Portis novel); 'Silence,' directed by Martin Scorsese (from the Shusaku Endo novel); 'Hugo,' Martin Scorsese (from the Brian Selznick novel); 'Shutter Island,' Martin Scorsese (from the Dennis Lehane novel); 'The Age of Innocence,' Martin Scorsese (from the Edith Wharton novel); 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,' Andrew Dominik (from the Ron Hansen novel); 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,' by Peter Weir (from multiple Patrick O'Brian novels); 'The Grapes of Wrath,' John Ford (from the John Steinbeck novel); 'The Sister Brothers,' Jacques Audiard (from the Patrick deWitt novel); 'The Road,' John Hillcoat (from the Cormac McCarthy novel); 'The Big Short,' Adam McKay (from the Michael Lewis non-fiction book); 'The Shining,' Staley Kubrick (from the Stephen King novel); '2001: A Space Odyssey,' Stanley Kubrick (from the Arthur C. Clarke novel); 'Barry Lyndon,' Stanley Kubrick (from the William Makepeace Thackeray novel); 'A Clockwork Orange,' Stanley Kubrick (from the Anthony Burgess novel); 'Rosemary's Baby,' Roman Polanski (from the Ira Levin novel); 'Oliver Twist,' Roman Polanski (from the Charles Dickens novel); 'Death and the Maiden,' Roman Polanski (from the Charles Dickens novel); 'Carnage,' Roman Polanski (from the Yasmina Reza play); 'The Innocents,' Jack Clayton (from the Henry James novella 'The Turn of the ' - adaptation written by Truman Capote); 'Ran' and 'Throne of Blood,' Akira Kurosawa (from the William Shakespeare plays); 'High and Low,' Akira Kurosawa (from the Ed McBain novel 'King's Ransom'); 'Roshomon,' Akira Kurosawa (from the Ryūnosuke Akutagawa short story); 'Enemy,' Denis Villenueve (from the Jose Saramago novel 'The Double'); 'Dune,' Denis Villenueve (from the Frank Herbert novel); 'Arrival,' Denis Villenueve (from the Ted Chiang short story 'Story of Your Life'); 'Fantastic Mr. Fox,' Wes Anderson (from the Roald Dahl novel); 'The Iron Giant,' Brad Bird (from the Ted Hughes novel 'The Iron Man'); 'A Scanner Darkly,' Richard Linklater (from the Philip K. novel); 'Bernie,' Richard Linklater (from the Texas Monthly article 'Midnight in the Garden of East Texas' by Skip Hollandsworth); 'Fast Food Nation,' Richard Linklater (from the non-fiction book by Eric Schlosser); 'In Cold Blood,' Richard Brooks (from the non-fiction book by Truman Capote); 'Adaptation,' Spike Jonze (from the non-fiction book 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean - adaptation written by Charlie Kaufman); 'Kristin Lavransdatter,' Liv Ullman (from the trilogy by Sigrid Undset); Planned next episode of the Book XChange podcast: We discuss some of our favorite Nobel Prize for Literature winners!

The Two Gay Geeks

Sanjay Rawal worked in the human rights and international development sectors for 15 years and in over 40 countries before transitioning to filmmaking. His first feature, Food Chains (click here), premiered at the 2014 Berlinale, screened at Tribeca, was produced by Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser, and narrated by Forest Whitaker. His new film, 3100: Run and Become, opened in theaters in fall 2018 and is completely fucking bonkers. To learn more about the film, check out www.3100film.com. You can also follow Sanjay on Instagram here, learn more about 3100 here, and check out @scmtny for race news. The film is available on Amazon (click here), iTunes, and Google Play. Watch it. It's unique and super inspiring. __________________________________________________ Follow me on Instagram @LongDistanceLoveBombs: https://www.instagram.com/longdistancelovebombs Sign up for my weekly newsletter! Each week, I share a personal story as well as my favorite books, tunes, articles, and ideas. Click here: http://eepurl.com/T0l91. It's easy and takes five seconds. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/longdistancelovebombs/message

Many people in the modern world have become distant from their food. They may not know where it's grown, who grows it, who produces it, or who harvests it, what impact its production has on the environment, how it is processed, how to prepare it, and more. A champion of shrinking this distance and of understanding how all these pieces fit together is an activist, and an advocate, and a journalist. A person whose career has been devoted to making it easier for people to eat healthy food, and good food, Mark Bittman. About Mark Bittman Mark Bittman was an opinions columnist for the New York Times, a food columnist for the paper's dining section, and the lead food writer for the New York Times magazine. His column, known as The Minimalist ran for more than 13 years. He also hosted a weekly Minimalist cooking video on the New York Times website. He is a member of the Faculty of the Columbia University' Mailman School of Public Health. He also appeared as a guest judge on the Food Network's Chopped. Mark is the author of 14 books, including the bestselling book "How to Cook Everything," which I happen to love, and "Vegan Before 6." Interview Summary You were a correspondent for the climate change documentary called Years of Living Dangerously. Why would a climate change documentary include a food journalist? Well, you know, it's interesting that you're asking that question because in a way it was a bone of contention between the producers and me. I thought there should have been much more food substance in Years of Living Dangerously. They wanted to do some and they also liked me. They liked my voice, they liked my TV presence and so on. So, I wound up reporting on methane production--but not from cows. From leaks and methane wells and on hurricane or Superstorm Sandy and its impact on the New Jersey coastline. So I really didn't get to talk about agriculture, but as, as you know I'm sure, agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas production. And quite possibly the leading if not the second leading, it depends how you look at it, contributor to climate change. So I'm still waiting for the show that talks about climate change and agriculture because it is a big deal. So our listeners will have varying levels of knowledge of the impact of food production on the environment. If you to put together a show that you just said mentioned, what would you include in it? There are many problems with agriculture in the industrialized West. But, I think probably the primary one is our is industrial production of animals--it is the biggest single contributor to climate change in agriculture. And it also has a number of other egregious environmental effects. So from the lagoon, the waste lagoons that are the result from hog production to the air pollution that results from chicken houses and so on. I mean, we're talking about anonymous looking barns that may have hundreds of thousands of chickens in them, and thousands of hogs in them. Which are, you know, really, really big numbers of animals kept in crowded, torturous and pollution-producing situations. Is there an alternative to these kinds of things if the world wants as much meat as it does? Well, the second half of that question sort of takes issue with the first. The alternative is really going to be to eat less meat. And, you know, what's happening in the world today is that countries like India and China with huge populations, and increasing numbers of people with relative wealth--and the word relative is important here--but enough money to be able to buy meat. Those people want to eat like Americans have eaten for the last 50 to 70 years. But the real key to environmental sanity and a number of other things, but let's just say environmental-ecological sanity, is for us to eat the way the Chinese and the Indians have eaten traditionally. Which is to say a more plant-based diet. And I wouldn't say meat is forbidden. I wouldn't say that we have to stop eating meat. But from a public health perspective. And a personal health perspective, and environmental perspective, and for that matter from a moral perspective--we'd all be better off eating less than half the amount of meat we now. What I'm hearing from you is a little unusual to be hearing from a cookbook author. There are people who write  food cookbooks, or food columns, for example. People who work on environmental issues,  who are advocates--but not that many people do all these things. You do. Why do you believe it's important to put all these pieces together? I love that question by the way. I do think that cooking remains an important tool in helping people eat better. When you cook, it's almost impossible to eat as badly as you do when you don't. When you look at what you're putting in your body in a raw, unprocessed state, it's much easier to eat well than it is when you go through a drive-through window and just ask for whatever you're craving. And you and I both know we could spend a lot of time talking about the degradation, I guess is the word, of the food environment. The way that food has been increasingly presented to us in the last 50 years. Which just makes it easier and easier for people to eat badly. Cooking is one of the tools that helps people eat better. At the same time, we need policy changes. We need to be pressuring food companies to do things differently. We need regulations so that our food system doesn't increasingly produce food that's bad for us while having a negative impact on the environment. And that is not something that is under an individual's control. Those are societal changes. So while I started out as a cookbook author and I do strongly believe in cooking, I also think it's important to talk about the kind of changes we need to make as a group, as a society, in order to produce food better, eat better food, and steward the land and the earth in general better. What's happened with norms around cooking over the years and how many people are doing it compared to before? Well, it's very hard to gather numbers because if you go to the store and buy a microwave pizza, buy a chocolate cake, and buy a six pack of coke. And you bring that home and microwave the pizza and cut up the cake, that counts as cooking according to USDA numbers. So it's hard to know. It's hard to know who's cooking what and how many people are doing it. Anecdotally, it does seem like the numbers plummeted in the seventies, eighties, and nineties, and have climbed a little bit since then. That is Millennials are cooking more than the generations that preceded them. But for real numbers, it's hard to know when one of the indicators of how many people are cooking versus how many people aren't is chronic disease. And we believe, and  some studies that would back us up, we believe that the more you cook, the less susceptible you are to chronic disease such as diabetes and coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and so on. Conditions that are caused by the way we live. A lifestyle, which may mean everything from smoking to cooking to eating to exercise and so on. As chronic disease numbers increase, and they have, it's easy to believe that the numbers of people who cook or are going down. If the numbers are trending up for the Millennial generation, why do you think that is? Is it because they're more interested than generations that preceded them in the story of their food, where it came from, how it was produced and things? Well, I think there is that, but I also think in the last 20 years, let's say it's become increasingly evident that the food system does not serve the people that it should be helping. That isgreater:, the greater population. And that's caused many people, starting with Frances Moore Lappe in the seventies, but continuing with Eric Schlosser and the film Food, Inc. And so on. People have been exposed to information about how the food system is not serving them, and they're trying to figure out, at least some are trying to figure out, how to make it work better for greater numbers of people. If we're talking generalities, and it seems we are big picture stuff, I want to say that if you asked most people what a food system ought to look like, they might give an answer like: it should provide the greatest number of people with the best nutrition possible while doing the least damage that it possibly can to animals and the land and workers and so on. And that is not what we have. We have a food system that's designed strictly for the profit of the people who are running it. And that's a bad public health decision, and that's a bad environmental decision. And I think people are starting to see that and trying to turn that around. At least I hope so. That represents a big change because at one point if you'd ask people what a good food system would be, it would be two whoppers for $2. Well, if you know, if that's your definition of a good food system, then we're practically there! But when you look at chronic disease numbers and when you look at environmental damage and so on, then you're looking at something different than two Whoppers for $2. It does depend what you think is the greatest good for the greatest number. I suppose. Let's shift gears a bit and talk about your book Vegan Before 6. In this book, you discuss a flexitarian way of eating. Could you explain that concept? I mean really, flexitarianism is not that different from being omnivorous. That is to say, someone who defines themselves as a flexitarian will eat everything, or can choose to eat everything. But the trends in good diets today is to emphasize plant foods. And the trend is to emphasize unadulterated, minimally-processed plant foods. So it's fine to say eat more plant foods, but let's remember that both French fries and coke have their origins in plants. So we have to talk about what kind of plants we want to emphasize. And, as most people know, that means unprocessed fruits and vegetables, whole grains, olive oils, nuts, and seeds. So, it doesn't mean you can't eat meat. You can eat dairy, you can eat cheese. It doesn't even mean you can't eat junk food now and then. It means that the emphasis on our diets should be  unprocessed plant food. And that in a way goes back to one of the earlier questions you asked earlier, which is how we can we continue to eat and produce meat at the rate that we are? And the answer is we really cannot. It's a diet of kindness, isn't it? So it's a diet that is kind to the environment, kind to animals and kind to your own health. I thought you were making a pun, but yeah, it's a diet of kindness. But it's also a diet of respect and wisdom. I mean, if we want to be here a hundred years from now, we want to consider ourselves people who do the right thing. And we want to live long enough to do the right thing, then we need to take a close look not only at our diets but at the way we produce food because agriculture and diet are closely aligned. They could not be more closely aligned in that each affects the other. So how do we grow food and what food do we choose to grow? What food do we choose to eat and how do we produce it? These are all kind of the same question. And if we want those things to be sustainable, which is, if, you know, people sometimes mock the word sustainable, but it's a very real and useful word. If we want those things to be sustainable, if we want human and other life on earth to be sustainable, then we need sustainable agriculture and sustainable diets. And that's not what we have right now. As you project out into the future, what are some pieces of the food picture that alarm you most? You know, it's sad but true that you and I had this discussion 10 years ago, and I think the answers have not changed much. I have a pet three things that alarm me the most, but one of them is the routine use of antibiotics in the production of animals. This is something that could be easily changed and could have been changed 10 years ago. It certainly should have been changed during the Obama Administration. And it hasn't been. So if you're giving animals antibiotics routinely, prophylactically, preventively, then you're enabling the crowding of animals in production facilities, and you're making antibiotics less efficient, less effective when it comes to treating humans. That is really a scary thing. And as a result, we have bacteria that are antibiotic resistant now that we didn't use to have. And humans are dying as a result of this. So that's my number one. My number two, and I know you and I are closely aligned with this, my number two is that there's virtually no regulation on the selling of junk food to children. And that means that we're normalizing bad diets for kids who don't know any better. Which means every year that  happens means another year of adults who struggle with bad diet. So that would be my second. And the third is a little more technical, but basically, it's that we grow so much food using the technique that's generally called monoculture, which means we grow one crop at a time on very large swaths of land, which encourages mechanization, which in turn encourages the use of pesticides and other chemicals. And encourages the growing of crops like corn and soybeans, which mostly are used--to come full circle--to feed those industrially-produced animals and to produce the junk food that's making us sick. So those three things are my top, my top scary things and if you asked me if I think they're going to change it sorta depends which side of the bed I wake up on. I certainly hope they're going to change. What are some of the things you see as positive signs? They signs are smaller, but they're not insignificant. And they're more individual. I think one of the things that I see are farmers who are choosing to grow a variety of crops and a variety of crops that go to feed real people and steward the land. We see that all over the country and all over the world. We see farmers who are choosing to grow crops in a sustainable manner. I wouldn't say organic, although that's part of it,but the word that we choose to use more of these days is agroecologically. That is agriculture with an eye towards ecology. We see things like good food purchasing program, which helps cities determine who's growing and producing and selling things in a sustainable manner, and focus their purchasing on those producers. So it's not global the way you can say monoculture industrial agriculture is global, but these are things that we're seeing more and more of. And they are encouraging. You're publishing a newsletter that people can receive by email now. I receive it and  like it a lot. Can People get it? Yeah. The newsletter is new. It's just about two months old and anyone can can receive it by just going to http://markbittman.com. And I welcome you to do that. It's actually it's actually a good week to do that because we have some interesting stuff coming up, but yes, thank you for that, Kelly.   Produced by Deborah Hill at the Duke World Food Policy Center

From his book Command and Control to a powerful film project The post Eric Schlosser – The Bomb #Berlinale appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

There are over 15,000 nuclear weapons in existence today – down from over 70,000 in 1986. Though the threat of a nation using one of these catastrophic weapons has lowered, chances of an accident are still considerable. Eric Schlosser spent six years investigating the current US nuclear arsenal – and its command and control system – to get a deeper sense of how nuclear risks in the post-Cold War era are mitigated. What did we learn from the near disasters of the past? Have the risks of an accident been lessened or just forgotten?

An eye-opening investigation of the commercial pork industry and an inspiring alternative to the way pigs are raised and consumed in America. This interview is with Barry Estabrook, author of the New York Times bestseller Tomatoland and a writer of “great skill and compassion” (Eric Schlosser). This episode explores the dark side of the American commercial pork industry and highlights some of the amazing humane treatment Heritage Hogs receive.  Visit: HeritageBreeds.org for additional podcasts.

1-Grecia: ancora nessuno accordo in vista. Asse schauble – Lagarde contro il piano Tsipras. ( Anna Filini ) ..2-l'Isis tenta di riconquistare Kobane...La città siriana è diventata simbolo della resistenza dei curdi. ( Gabriele Barbati) ..3-Francia: giornata di mobilitazioni dei tassisti contro Uber. Violenti incidenti a Parigi. ..4-Birmania: aung san suu kii non può presentarsi alle presidenziali. In parlamento l'esercito boccia la riforma della costituzione in parlamento. ..5-Burundi : il dittatore abbandonato dai suoi più fedeli. In fuga il vice presidente. ( Raffaele Masto) 6-” dacci oggi la nostra acqua quotidiana” intervista a monsignor Luis Infanti, vescovo della Patagonia cilena...7-World Music: dal Congo il progetto “ from Kinshasa” ..( marcello Lorrai) ..8-Le recensioni di vincenzo mantovani: Comando e controllo. Il mondo a un passo dall'apocalisse nucleare, di Eric Schlosser..

Susannah Clapp joins Anne McElvoy for the very first review of David Tennant's much anticipated performance as the lead in Shakespeare's Richard II. Writer and journalist Eric Schlosser reveals a series of near-disasters in the history of management of nuclear weapons. New Generation Thinker Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough has a sneak preview of the Illuminating York Festival, which celebrates the city's Viking history. Richard Burton on his new biography of poet Basil Bunting.