Roundup, dorm diets, and chemicals: Episode 55

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