Food Bullying Podcast

Cranberries! One of the stars of autumn tables evokes beautiful images, wonderful scents, and a distinct taste. We discover how cranberries are grown and harvested sustainably in this episode, plus why we shouldn’t be afraid of the “sugar” in these nutritious berries. We also learn how a cranberry bog in Massachusetts looks different than a cranberry bog in Wisconsin.

Michele and Eliz are joined by Dawn Gates-Allen, a fourth generation cranberry grower, who believes that the future of agriculture is through continuing education. Collaborating with schools, realtors, universities and stewardship is a foundation; culminating these while not being afraid to embrace things that are tough will help raise awareness of what agriculture offers to our environment and at your table. Ultimately food education and good decision making is what makes us healthy and well balanced.

Key points:

How are cranberries grown?

• What you see on the commercials is a glamorized version of harvest. Cranberry bogs are flooded for harvest, but aren’t grown in water.
• Cranberries don’t like to have “wet feet.” Cranberries are grown on a vine with shallow roots.
• Durning growing season the cranberry bog looks like a lovely golf course with ditches for irrigation.
• Water is recycled and stored in reservoirs and ponds - It is very scenic.
• One of the largest managers of water in the state.

How does technology help make the farm more sustainable?

• Remote control irrigation is used to provide the right amount of water at the right time.
• Everything is done by satellite through solar powered sensors.
• Sensors report the temperature and soil moisture conditions in the bog.
• Water is used to protect plants from both frost and heat.

How does a cranberry bog in Massachusetts look different than a cranberry bog in Wisconsin?

• When cranberries farms in Massachusetts started in the 1880s, they were built in the wetlands around rocks and trees. They are unevenly shaped and require more labor to harvest
• Farms in Wisconsin are more open and rectangular. They are built with dykes around them so that machinery can be used to harvest.

What about all the sugar in cranberries?

• As with any food, portion control is important.
• Cranberries have lots of health benefits.
• Lots of recipes call for whole, unsweetened cranberries.

Much of Dawn’s work with realtors is educating them and new home owners about what to expect living near a working farm.

Three tips to overcome Food Bullying:

• Keep an open mind.
• Know your sources.
• Freeze cranberries. They keep up a year! Don’t let the sugar thing worry you.

Links:

Dawn Gates-Allen Website: www.cranberries.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MassCranberries

Twitter: twitter.com/MassCranberries

Food Bullying Podcast’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/foodbullyingpodcast

Food Bullying with Michele Payn: http://foodbullying.com

Embrace Your Heart with Eliz Greene: http://www.embraceyourheart.com/

Agronomist Kevin Hoyer joins the podcast to talk about his experience helping farmers diagnose and treat their plants and soil as well as traveling the world looking at food production in other countries. As a "doctor for crops," he says “you can be thankful and trust that the products you buy are at the highest level of safety possible. America carries the highest standards found anywhere in the world.”

Kevin Hoyer and his wife Jody own and operate a family farm nestled in the bluffs of west central Wisconsin, not far off the Mississippi River. They grow soybeans, corn along with small grains to use as cover crops. They both also work off the farm, Jody as a quality control specialist for a local dairy processor, while Kevin works as an agronomist and crop advisor at a local ag retailer.

Key points:

An agronomist is like a doctor for crops

• trained in plant and soil health.
• focused on safe and abundant food that is as sustainable and environmentally-friendly as possible.
• works directly with farmers.
  • soil tests
  • plant health analysis
  • advising farmers

Why do farmers use chemicals?

• the chemicals are plant-protectants designed to protect or reduce stress on the crop.
  • similar to using sunscreen to protect our skin.
  • like taking an aspirin for a headache.
• weeds rob water and nutrients from crops
• many compounds used are found in nature in plants or soil
  • plants have natural pesticidal activity to ward off pests.
  • alfalfa evolved to grow longer hairs on the stem to ward off aphids.

Why is understanding agriculture in other parts of the world important?

• get outside your comfort zone
• understand other consumers and their concerns - there are commonalities.
  • farmers want to grow crops with as little fertilizer or pesticides to maximize production.
  • consumers want to feel comfortable that food was grown and processed with care an safely.
• other countries do things we don’t do anymore.
• new practices reduce negative impact.
• America has the highest standards for food safety and quality.

Tips to overcome Food Bullying:

• Remember all of our food has to go through the same safety standards whether it is labeled sustainable, organic, conventional - they must meet the same levels of quality and safety.
• Look out for claims that seem outrageous. Trust that your food is safe.
• If you have questions, ask a farmer - we don’t have anything to hide.

Links:

Kevin Hoyer Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hoyer-Farms-138987533112713/

Food Bullying Podcast’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/foodbullyingpodcast

Food Bullying: How to Avoid Michele Payn: http://foodbullying.com

Embrace Your Heart with Eliz Greene: http://www.embraceyourheart.com/

What role does disgust play in our fear of disease? Why should we be careful about the language used to describe disease? Dr. Tyler Davis is back to discuss how exotic foods are associated with “otherness." Neophobia (fear of new things) creates stigmas. Bonus, Michele expresses her feelings about snakes. It's a great start to Season 7!

Dr. Tyler Davis is an associate professor of psychological sciences at Texas Tech University, where he directs the Cap Rock Lab. The Cap Rock lab is something that uses functional in neuro imaging to study cognitive neuroscience in categories, categorization, attitudes, and preference.

Key points:

• We need to be careful about the language we use to describe disease because if we are unfamiliar with something there is more chance of misinformation.
• If people believe a disease, such as Covid-19 originated from an exotic food source it is perceived as more risky and this creates a stigma around the disease and the country of origin.
• In the United States, we don’t typically eat bats or snake (although some people eat rattlesnakes). We often don’t understand the importance of these animals to the food chain. For example, bats control malaria by eating insects and are pollinators.
• People also generalize the perceived risk of exotic foods (or disease) with the people who eat it.
• Neophobia is the fear of new things. This plays into food bullying as identity-based avoidance technology, such as non-GMO, contributes to fear. Labels like “natural” prey on this fear.
• To change perceptions we need to focus on the values of the group and how they identify around a fear.

Three tips to overcome food bullying:

1. Think about how food relates to your values
2. Check that food claims actually mean what you think they mean. Ask why people want you to believe or identify with the claim.
3. Don’t assume people are different because they eat differently.

Links:

Dr. Tyler Davis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/flatlandneuro

Email: [email protected]

Food Bullying book with Michele Payn: http://foodbullying.com

Embrace Your Heart book with Eliz Greene: http://www.embraceyourheart.com/

Food Bullying Podcast’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/foodbullyingpodcast

In this special behind-the-scenes episode, Michele and Eliz welcome Callie (Eliz’s daughter and manager of the Food Bullying Facebook Page) for a wide-ranging Q&A session. Callie Greene is about to begin her second year at Lawrence University, where she studies psychology and harp performance.

Callie’s Questions:

What’s with all the Roundup in hummus and cereal?

• Roundup kills weeds and has been used and tested for many years
  • Farmers treat the fields to kill weeds to protect the crop plant
  • Weeds in chickpea field will cause mold after harvest
  • If weed seeds get into harvest, the chickpeas the farmers can’t sell it
• Roundup like the sun is a carcinogen. The dose (or exposure) matters
  • The EPA has stringent guidelines for residue measured in mg/kg/day
  • A person would have to eat 36 Kg of breakfast cereal per day to be harmful.
  • The Environmental Working Group is not a research group; they use their own, non-science-based measurement as a scare tactic.
• Farmers don’t dump chemicals on to their land
  • Time-consuming and expensive
  • Soil is the most important asset
• Your food is safe. Check the source of information for facts.

What can we do to eat better when we are eating dorm food?

There is room for all foods in your diet.

• Choose colorful foods
• Talk to the foodservice manager and ask for what you want
• Pay attention to how you feel after eating. Experiment with combinations of proteins, grains, and produce.

Why is there so much blame and fear about agriculture and the environment?

People working with the land care deeply about the land

• People are disconnected from the farm and get misleading information about what happens on the farm
  • Ag is responsible for 9% of greenhouse gasses
  • Electricity of the U.S. is responsible for 7 times the impact of Ag
  • COVID19 drastically improved the air quality around the world - but there are the same number of animals.
  • The FAO's Livestock’s Long Shadow study exagerated figures on the environmental impact of agriculture, and has been corrected by the author. The damage to ag’s reputation hasn’t been corrected.
  • The study created distrust and fear.
  • Ads like the recent Burger King ad continue to spread misinformation
• There is always room to do better, that’s called progress
  • Ag is always trying to reduce environmental impact.
  • GMOs are part of that effort.
• People may feel that changing their eating habits is something they can do to individually impact the environment:
  • Check the sources of the information.
  • Make choices based on your own standards
  • Farmers deserve choice on how they farm, too.

Links:

Food Bullying Podcast’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/foodbullyingpodcast

Embrace Your Heart with Eliz Greene: http://www.embraceyourheart.com/

Food Bullying: How to Avoid Michele Payn: http://foodbullying.com

Two moms with unique insight on food and health. Michele Payn & Eliz Greene are both authors and professional speakers, but come from very different backgrounds - and like to debate. Tune in to the final episode of Food Bullying podcast season one for a candid conversation about their work in health, agriculture, and nutrition.

Known as one of the leading voices in connecting farm and food, Michele helps you simplify safe food choices while understanding food bullying. An international award winning author, she brings common sense to the overly emotional food conversation and gets perspective from the cows in her front yard. Michele is a mom who is tired of the guilt trips around food, so she wrote Food Bullying: How to Avoiding Buying B.S. She’s also a kick boxing professional speaker who has helped thousands of people understand the real story behind food. Michele’s work has appeared in USA Today, Food Insight, CNN, Food & NutritionMagazine, NPR and many other media outlets. Armed with science, compelling stories, and a lifetime on the farm, Michele will upend the way you think about food. She is also the author of No More Food Fights! and Food Truths from Farm to Table, an IPPY award winner in health, medicine and nutrition.

Surviving a heart attack at age 35 while seven months pregnant with twins propelled Eliz Greene on a mission to share her story to inspire other busy people to pay attention to their health. As a professional speaker, she shares down-to-earth strategies on wellness, leadership, and stress management. Recognizing stress as an essential and often under-addressed risk factor, Eliz conducted a research study on job stress and is writing Stress-Proof Your Life. She was named as a Top Online Influencer on Stress and Heart Health. She’s been seen on CNN, PBS, Lifetime, TNT, and many national and local news programs. A national spokesperson and advocate for the American Heart Association, Eliz received the Heart Hero Award in 2010. More recently, she has partnered on the Take Cholesterol To Heart campaign. Eliz writes a Top Health and Wellness Blog and has also authored Stress-Proof Your Heart and Busy Women's Guide to a Healthy Heart.

Links Eliz's website: https://embraceyourheart.com/

Michele's website: https://causematters.com