Collection of the ‘commentary’ Category

This week on Food Nation Radio Network, we talked with Dr. David Gang from Washington State University about an alternative to modifying our beloved citrus crops.

Here’s what he had to say: 

From Dr. David Gang’s bio page: Plants produce an amazing diversity of small molecular weight compounds. While the chemical structures of close to 50,000 of them have already been elucidated, the total number of such compounds is probably in the hundreds of thousands to millions. Only a small number of these are part of what have been termed “primary” metabolic pathways; the rest of these molecules are called “secondary” metabolites, also known as specialized metabolites or natural products. The vast majority of these compounds are not found in the standard crop plants of the Western world, nor in standard laboratory model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago trunculata. These compounds are, however, believed to play vital roles in the physiology of the plants that produce them, particularly as elements of the plants’ defensive arsenals.

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday morning at 8 on the Business Talk Radio Network (beginning June 1st 2013), Saturday afternoons at 4 on flagship WWBA AM820 News, and Sunday mornings at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcast page on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff, MIT

Nearly everyone knows a family affected by autism. One might say it’s an epidemic with now 1 in 88 children affected overall and 1 in 54 boys. We know there have been major changes in our food supply including pesticide load and genetically modified foods introduced in the American diet that began in the mid-seventies and really ramped up in the 1990s, continuing today.

We spoke with Dr. Stephanie Seneff from MIT about the connection between rates of autism and what is in our food supply.

Here’s what she had to say:  A Connection Between Autism And GMO Foods? Click To Listen

Dr. Seneff’s bio from her site: Stephanie Seneff is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She received the B.S. degree in Biophysics in 1968, the M.S. and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1980, and the Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1985, all from MIT. For over three decades, her research interests have always been at the intersection of biology and computation – developing a computational model for the human auditory system, understanding human language so as to develop algorithms and systems for human computer interactions, as well as applying natural language processing (NLP) techniques to gene predictions. She has published over 170 refereed articles on these subjects, and has been invited to give keynote speeches at several international conferences. She has also supervised numerous Master’s and PhD theses at MIT. In 2012, Dr. Seneff was elected Fellow of the International Speech and Communication Association (ISCA).

In recent years, Dr. Seneff has focused her research interests back towards biology. She is concentrating mainly on the relationship between nutrition and health. Since 2011, she has written 10 papers (7 as first author) in various medical and health-related journals on topics such as modern day diseases (e.g., Alzheimer, autism, cardiovascular diseases), analysis and search of databases of drug side effects using NLP techniques, and the impact of nutritional deficiencies and environmental toxins on human health.

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday morning at 8 on the Business Talk Radio Network (beginning June 1st 2013), Saturday afternoons at 4 on flagship WWBA AM820 News, and Sunday mornings at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcast page on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

On Food Nation Radio Network this week, we talked with Katrina Frey of Frey Vineyards about genetically modified yeast and over 100 surprising additives that can be put in wine without your knowledge and without a label.

Here’s what she had to say: 

About Frey Vineyards from their website: We have always been family-owned and operated, and today a third generation helps with the production of fine organic wines in a tradition of sustainability started 30 years ago. Our vineyards and winery are nestled on the slopes of the Redwood Valley A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area) in Mendocino County, California, at the headwaters of the Russian River. All of our wines are made with no added sulfites. Our innovative winemaking techniques compensate for the lack of this synthetic preservative (which can induce headaches, sniffles, and other allergic reactions in some people). The wine is therefore free to reveal its delicate and true flavors. Today, we are pleased that many more wineries and grape growers have become certified organic and Biodynamic®, for the health of our common environment as well as our customers.

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday morning at 8 on the Business Talk Radio Network (beginning June 1st 2013), Saturday afternoons at 4 on flagship WWBA AM820 News, and Sunday mornings at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcast page on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

Food Nation Radio Network has learned a new rule may be going into effect in Florida that would limit the amount of eggs and poultry sold for human consumption at places like your local farmer’s market.

To more fully understand the implications of this rule for farmers and consumers, we spoke with Professor Mark Bauer from Stetson University School of Law.

You can listen to that interview from the show here: 

From the Stetson Law site: Mark Bauer is a Professor of Law teaching Antitrust, Administrative Law, Property, Consumer Protection, and Financial Advocacy. He also supervises Stetson’s internship program in Elder Consumer Protection Law and Stetson’s Full Semester Federal Agency Externship. Professor Bauer served as Stetson’s Associate Dean for Academics from 2009-2011. (His full bio is here.)

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday afternoon at 4 on WWBA AM820 News, Sunday morning at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcastpage on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

1. Corn – Nearly all corn in this country (except popcorn, at this writing) is genetically modified and you have to buy organic corn or organic corn products to avoid eating the modified versions. It’s also fed to chickens, cows and other livestock as vegetarian feed.

2. Soy - Nearly all soy in this country is genetically modified and you have to buy organic soy or organic soy products to avoid eating the modified versions. It’s also fed to chickens, cows and other livestock as vegetarian feed.

3. Sugar – Unless sugar is listed as cane sugar and/or organic, it is probably beet sugar, which could be genetically modified.

4. Squash (zucchini & yellow) – Some zucchini and yellow squash are modified. Buy organic.

5. Papayas – If you are buying them commercially, they are most likely GMO. Buy organic or from a source you trust.

6. Dairy – Some of the dairy supply contains rBGH which is a GMO growth hormone. It has been implicated in several health problems, including cancer.

7. Canola oil – Touted as healthier oil and margarine, canola is largely genetically modified. Stick with olive, grapeseed, safflower, coconut or other organic oil.

8. Aspartame – This artificial sweetener is made from GMO bacteria. Use organic cane sugar.

NEW- 9. Alfalfa grass – Fed to grass-fed beef, you should only buy meat that is grass-fed if it is organic.

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday afternoon at 4 on WWBA AM820 News, Sunday morning at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcastpage on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

Genetically modified organism sounds so ominous these days, doesn’t it? What with insecticide inside some GM crops, and the ability to spray weed killer on them all day long without damaging them, it hasn’t been very good PR for companies like Monsanto.

Citizens across the United States are in favor of labeling these crops so they know what they are buying and taking home to their families.

Corporations, with all their political contributions, scare tactics and other means have been unsuccessful in duping the public into thinking these foods are safe to consume.

A change must be made.

What if…we put something beneficial inside these crops like more beta carotene, lycopene or other nutrients? We could continue to put all the other genes in there that allow us to keep our insecticides and weed-resistant crops in place, all in the name of…nutrition.

Food Nation Radio talked about it this week: 

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday afternoon at 4 on WWBA AM820 News, Sunday morning at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcast page on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

This week on Food Nation Radio Network we interviewed Professor Joe Cummins, Professor Emeritus at the University of Western Ontario about vaccinations in the general food supply. He writes papers for the Institute of Science in Society. Professor Cummins has written papers in the past at the behest of the USDA and FDA, among other government organizations in the United States.

Here’s what he had to say: 

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday afternoon at 4 on WWBA AM820 News, Sunday morning at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcastpage on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.

This week on Food Nation Radio Network, we asked some important questions about the national bill to label genetically modified food. Why is there a huge exception for GMO vaccines in the general food supply? Why aren’t consumer groups who are supposed to be informing people what is in our food mentioning this giant hole in the national labeling bill? Are they abdicating their responsibility to consumers who have given them donations?

Here’s what we had to say about it: 

Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 200 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday afternoon at 4 on WWBA AM820 News, Sunday morning at 8 on both  WAMT AM1190 News and WIXC AM1060 News. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcastpage on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.