Eating Matters

How does nutrition impact your ability to conceive? What are key nutrients and vitamins and their recommended food sources for boosting both women AND men’s fertility? Are there multigenerational health effects of our dietary and lifestyle choices? Dr. Nicole Avena, research neuroscientist, nutrition expert and author of the newly released book, “What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant” joins host Jenna Liut to discuss these ques...

Host Jenna Liut is joined by Leah Garcés, President of Mercy for Animals (MFA), an organization working to construct a compassionate food system and end commercial animal agriculture.  They discuss MFA’s undercover investigation into the horrific conditions of Costco’s chicken farm as profiled in New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s recent exposé, the concept of sentience, and what differentiates their work from other animal...

Host Jenna Liut welcomes the award-winning investigative journalist, Carey Gillam, back to show to discuss her new book, The Monsanto Papers: Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption, and One Man’s Search for Justice. A follow up to Gillam’s first book, Whitewash – an explosive expose on Monsanto and the health risks of its best-selling herbicide, Roundup – her new book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the landmark lawsuit against Mo...

We know that U.S. industrial agriculture has had monumental effects on our climate, but how has climate change reciprocally impacted our agricultural system? And, an even more pressing question, how close is our agricultural system to total collapse? In his new book, “Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It,” Tom Philpott looks for answers in the nation’s primary farming hubs: California’...

The US is a global leader of food waste, generating about 40 MILLION tons annually, which represents between 30 - 40% of the food supply. Within this waste stream are 10 million tons of perfectly usable vegetables that don’t make it to market. Recognizing the critical role this produce could play in tackling the dual challenges of food waste and limited availability of nutritious food for millions of Americans, Anna Hammond founded...

The fight to eliminate hunger entails measures that go well beyond food banks, soup kitchens, and SNAP benefits. Prior to Biden’s inauguration and the release of the Administration's COVID & economic relief proposal, host Jenna Liut interviewed Joel Berg to discuss how higher wages, affordable housing, universal health care, school meals and nutritional education are each vital to ensuring widespread food security. Joel is the CEO ...

Longtime food and agriculture policy reporter, Chuck Abbott, helps us to understand our nation’s “farmer voting bloc” and its loyalty to Trump throughout the last two election cycles. What policies and belief systems have generated our rural-urban political divide? Chuck takes us through the trade war with China, agricultural subsidies, climate change debates, COVID-19 relief, and their collective impacts on the political allegianc...

Following up on our previous episode featuring Sanjay Rawal, director of the newly-released film, Gather, host Jenna Liut interviews a central character of the documentary: Native food practitioner, Nephi Craig. Chef Craig is the founder of both the Native American Culinary Association as well as Café Gozhóó where he also serves as the Executive Chef. They discuss Indigenous food systems and the modern colonial violence that contin...

Ever wonder why we don’t eat Bison meat in this country? This is a little known - but extremely important - part of American history that perfectly demonstrates one way the US government worked to systematically steal land from and decimate Native American people. It was a tactic that effectively communicated that ‘one dead buffalo is two dead Indians.’ 

Director Sanjay Rawal (Food Chains) joins host Jenna Liut to discuss his critic...

Host Jenna Liut interviews author Benjamin Lorr to talk about his new book, “The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket,” which delves into what it takes to get food onto grocery store shelves and who suffers the consequences of our increasing demand for cheap food and efficiency. Lorr pulls back the curtain on a notoriously secretive industry, interviewing people at every level – from the founder of...

As the country prepares for President-elect Biden to take office in January, host Jenna Liut is joined by journalist Lisa Held to reflect on the major food and agricultural policy changes we have experienced since Trump took office and the long-term effects they will have on our food system.  Lisa is a senior policy reporter for Civil Eats and a fellow Heritage Radio Network host of the show, The Farm Report.   

Heritage Radio Netwo...

Host Jenna Liut interviews Turner Wyatt, Co-founder & CEO of the Upcycled Food Association, a nonprofit working to reduce food waste by growing the upcycled food economy. They discuss consumer demand upcycled products, UFA’s progress in creating an Upcycled Food Certification Standard, and of course, Brené Brown.

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Host Jenna Liut kicks off the fall season with the one and only Marion Nestle to talk about her new book, "Let's Ask Marion: What You Need to Know about the Politics of Food, Nutrition, and Health" published by the University of California Press. The book features a series of short essays that explore how food intersects with politics, culture, identity, social class, inequity, and power. It's 4" x 4" and jam packed with everything...

Host Jenna Liut speaks with farmer, educator, author, and food sovereignty activist, Leah Penniman. She is the Co-Founder, Co-Director and Program Manager of Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg, New York, and she is the author of the book, "Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land." For the past 20 years, Leah has worked to end racism and injustice in our food system by increasing farmland stewardshi...

Host Jenna Liut speaks with environmental justice expert, Dr. Fatemah Shafiei about how communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental hazard, the toll it takes on their collective health and overall wellbeing, and what is being done (and not done) to address these issues.  

Dr. Shafiei is associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and director of environmental studies at Spelman Coll...

Host Jenna Liut speaks with Devon Klatell, Managing Director of the Food Initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation, on the longstanding work the Foundation has done to advance a healthier and more equitable food system as well as its recent focus on supporting school nutrition programs in the U.S. during the ongoing COVID crisis. 

In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was h...