Food Slain

First, thanks for your interest in joining our community of food lovers, food truthers and food growers!  Food Slain is hosted by me, Michele and I look forward to seeing you on the other side of the plate!

There's an "underbelly" to this very popular green leafy vegetable that isn't so tasty. Listen in to find out how kale went from zero to hero in record time...

My good friend, Michael, an entrepreneur, husband, father, coach and meat eater shares his journey, struggles and experience "going vegetarian". He's eight weeks in...listen in to hear his story.

In this episode, we’re talking about my beef with chicken and we'll get right down to the bone and talk about how the commercial production of chicken is also impacting the economy, the environment and our health...not to mention the health of the chickens themselves. Thanks for listening in!

How is the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus impacting our food security? Our food security is being threatened, with the downturn of the economy, imports are probably going to slow down a lot more, and we are already seeing runs on the grocery stores with empty shelves, Costco is selling out of toilet paper (for some reason), many stores have already sold out of necessities and this, unfortunately, is just the beginning. All the more reason to take responsibility for what gets onto your plate. So, buckle up...this one’s going to be a doozy.

In this episode, we're digging into a neurotransmitter that is depleted by increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression and even PTSD which can impact our gut microbiome and even our overall mental and physical health. The question is, what foods help restore healthy GABA levels to help protect us all from the outcomes of anxiety and depression that will come from people being out of work and on COVID-19 lockdown during the unknown ? Listen in to find out and give yourself the gift of GABA!

Ever wonder how the gut microbiome works from a clinical perspective? In this BONUS episode, I'm interviewing a Medical Doctor, Oncologist and Researcher from UCSF who gives us an inside look at how the gut microbiome behaves, especially when it comes to colorectal cancer outcomes. The episode is a little longer, and more technical - so if you're a nerd like me, listen in for the great clinical information she shares on the gut microbiome, health, cancer, food and wouldn't you know it...MEAT!

We love avocados in this country, so much so that some people are willing to pay $19 for avocado toast! Crazy. Avocados are healthy for us (they say), and judging by the increased demand for avocados (we import over 2 billion pounds of avocados every year from Mexico), the Mexican avocado trade is worth $1.5 billion dollars annually. However, the avocado supply chain there has unfortunately left some blood in the streets, enabled organized criminals who are fighting over territory, and it’s manipulated environmental institutions causing irreversible damage to the environment - despite their big profits. Listen in to learn what you can do to support California growers and help the family farmers in Mexico stay alive!

In this episode, we're talking about peaches...and soy...and cotton...and herbicides. Recently, a big peach farm in Missouri won a settlement against Monsanto/Bayer and BASF for $265 million dollars! And in this particular legal case, the diabolical problem that was discovered was that employees of Monsanto knew that this product had the potential to destroy other farms and crops. They distributed a bunch of “voodoo science” and hoped that regulators wouldn’t get tipped off AND hoped that they wouldn’t get caught so they could stay out of jail. The impacts are far and wide and impact not only peaches and farmers, but wildlife, old growth trees and much, much more. Listen in to find out what's up with your peaches!

In this episode, I’ve invited a very special guest, Shay Myers of Owyhee Produce to talk about what’s going on in the food supply chain overall, and more specifically, how he’s dealing with the excess that his vertically integrated 3rd generation family farm and business is producing, and to shed some light on the reality of what’s happening in the field. Right now, farmers are being forced to dump their goods like millions of gallons of milk, smash hundreds of thousands of eggs and till into the ground thousands of pounds of fresh produce...which is causing a tremendous economic fallout for farmers, especially. Listen in...

Farmer and CEO of Hemp Logic USA, Cory Sharp, invited me to his live podcast to talk about the current events and what's happening in the food supply chain, specifically as it relates to farmers. Two callers asked great questions so listen in to hear the conversation. And if you want to join this conversation, follow me on the socials @foodslain.

In this EPIC episode, I am interviewing rapper, recording artist, creator, and founding member of the world-renowned Wu-Tang Clan, Grammy® award-winning music producer; BAFTA nominated film composer, author, actor, director, chess aficionado, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and vegan. Listen in as he shares his mindful insights into his choice to become vegan in the early 90's, his brief life on a farm in his youth and how that shaped his life, and also the creation of his vegan clothing line - all to create a better tomorrow!

Permaculture farmer and creator of Pintxo Sauce, Jay Valencia is embarking on his project to green his piece of the desert in Las Cruces, New Mexico and grow the best piquillo peppers for his sauce! http://pintxosauce.com We talk about everything from "greening" the desert, to permaculture and microgreens, to surviving the house music era to a brief history of piquillo peppers.

Corn is EVERYWHERE and there are a lot of by-products made from corn, you may or may not know of that already show up on your plate. In this episode, we’re going to get deeper into what “plantibodies” are, how they can impact fertility, sperm counts and can possibly control sexually transmitted diseases. We're also going to get into the deeper issue of GMO corn being in our entire food supply chain all over the world (especially Third World Countries), in our skin and body care products and even in our contraceptives!

This is the Season Finale and in this episode, I'm interviewing the Char-Man of the Board of Blue Sky Biochar, Michael Wittman. He shares SO much information in this interview on everything from his background, growing up in the Bronx, NY and his first experiences with Grandmother growing food, to explaining in depth what biochar is, how it works to regenerate soil and how to create living soil. It's worth the full hour listen, but no matter whether you're a "backyard gardener" or a full on crop grower of hemp, you'll get a little bit of everything in this interview. And if you just want to hear about what you're in to, check out the timestamp list below. And make sure to connect with him on social media or head over to blueskybiochar.com to learn more about his products. Listen in and enjoy! 1:00 Introduction and Michael Wittman’s Extensive background and experience10:30 - Food Supply Chain and Self-Sufficiency13:20 -  Nutrient Dense Food & the disappearance of varieties of food13:56 - Justus von Leibig - chemist who discovered NPK16:22 - Creating living soil and how biochar is the management system of soil20:37 - Microbiology, nutrient retention and biochar as a permanent amendment24:12 - Interesting facts about Biochar26:08 - Impacts of Biochar on livestock (Cattle)31:48 - Impacts of Biochar on livestock (Chickens, Ducks, Geese)34:18 - Using NPK for the “backyard gardener” and creating a living soil45:27 - The balance between bacteria and fungi in the soil48:28 - Why mulching is critical52:14 - Maintaining living soil and why Michael doesn’t use NPK fertilizers55:26 - 3 Steps to properly using foliar spray for plants and trees1:06:54 - Foliar spraying to avoid powdery mildew & mites on cannabis and hemp1:18:18 - What Blue Sky Biochar products to use if you’re just starting out

In this BONUS episode, I’m talking to Erica Ballard. She's a leader in the wellness space, specifically focused on workplace wellness, she’s done a lot of work investigating why we have to focus on food to optimize our power and performance and understanding the role stress plays on our food choices and overall health. And we all are experiencing stress right now!  Listen in and find out what you can do to give yourself space and grace, change behavior and figure out why getting back to basics is so important. 02:19 - Intro : Who is Erica Ballard 04:05 - The Gut Microbiota - getting back to basics and starting small 07:19 - How the gut microbiome impacts our mental health 10:02 - Feeding the “bad” bacteria & why we don’t “feel” good 12:50 - How to keep healthy food on the plate & save some dollars 20:07 - Access to healthy food isn’t just a community of color issue 22:35 - A customized approach to eating healthy & getting clear about goals 26:32 - The What, When & How to Eat - Erica’s B Method 30:22 - Changing behavior, self talk & Atomic Habits 34:40 - Is being unhealthy serving you? A coping mechanism… 38:06 - Giving yourself space and grace…

Welcome to Season Two of Food Slain! In this season, we're digging deeper into food from a health, environmental and scientific perspective. If you haven't listened to Episode 9 of Season One, called "No Children of This Corn", where we dig into GMO corn, aka "contraceptive corn", go check it out here. It's the precursor to this episode. Because today, I’m talking to a guy with a PhD in Chemical Biology who breaks down the science behind corn, and how it impacts our genetic sequence as carbon based beings, how it impacts our gut microbiota (our 1st brain) and why it's essential that we make better food choices. It’s fascinating and I am glad you’re here. Please welcome, Tanei the Science Guy. For convenience, here is the time stamp breakdown : 01:34 - Tanei’s Background 02:49 - Who is Tyrone Hayes? 06:18 - Epicyte corn impacts sperm and renders women pseudo-sterile 11:47 - How does genetically modified food work against us bio-chemically speaking? 16:05 - BT corn is punching holes in your gut & the rise of leaky gut syndrome 20:30 - Drug resistant bacteria, bacterial evolution & foreign DNA in food 24:20 - The carbon that exists in our bodies is from corn 26:58 - Carbon hair test reveals that 69% of carbon in body is from corn 36:47 - Our (and livestock animals) addiction to corn (by products) 39:10 - How corn is controlling your thoughts in your 1st brain 42:46 - Making better choices 47:26 - The Dirty Dozen - EWG 51:54 - Genetics & GMO corn To find Tanei, follow him on Twitter @TJRicks_TSP or email him : info@taneithescienceguy.com Thank you again for listening in. I hope you get some real value from this and every episode. A few notable links discussed in this podcast : Link to the article on carbon hair testing that revealed the percentage of corn, in plant biologist at the University of California-Berkeley, Todd Dawson’s hair. https://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/09/22/kd.gupta.column/ Link to Tyrone Hayes’ TedTalk on The Toxic Baby https://www.ted.com/talks/tyrone_hayes_penelope_jagessar_chaffer_the_toxic_baby?language=en#t-479152

In this episode, I’m interviewing Matt & Sarela who have made it their mission to change the food supply chain game! They started SIMPLi Good in 2019 with the belief that the best flavors come from the best relationships. They are focused on ethically sourcing food to create a better world - for farmers, for people, for food and for the environment. Visit https://www.simpligood.co/ to learn more about what they are up to, how they are changing the game and how you can support them with a purchase of something simply good!

In this episode we’re talking about sugarcane. Sugar...that sweet, sweet stuff. Now I like sweet treats just as much as the next person but with the global production of sugarcane supplying 80% of sugar consumption in our food, we have to look at the who, the what, the where and why. The impacts of sugarcane production on our health (especially our children), our environment and our economy are startling. Our "sugar daddy" is the largest corporation producing sugarcane in Florida, and we are getting pimped out, keeping all of us coming back for more - from the cradle to the grave. Listen in to what I've discovered about where our sugar comes from, what's happening on a global scale, where its influence impacts our politics and how it continues to feed our addiction.

This week’s episode is about meat additives and what we don’t know about what is in our meat, why it’s there and what it’s doing to our bodies! Specifically, our kidneys. In the podcast episode, you’ll hear what these additives are, and we’ll focus on phosphates - because your kidney health matters! Our kidneys regulate blood pressure, and if you’re starting to feel more anxiety with everything that is going on, the LAST thing you need is stressed kidneys! As you know, we eat a lot of meat in this country, we're still seeing meat shortages and increased prices in meat products at the grocery store. What we don't know, and aren't made aware of is, what "big meat" is putting into and onto our food. Listen in to find out what these additives are, some which are on our food labels and many that are not...and aren't required to be. :( I thank you for listening in, subscribing and sharing this episode with someone that you love. I'll see you on the other side of the plate! Chow.