Around the Table: Food Stories from Science to Everyday Life – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode, Stanley interviews Professor Marion Nestle about her two latest books, Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat (2018) and Let’s Ask Marion: What You Need to Know about the Politics of Food, Nutrition, and Health (with Kerry Trueman) (2020). Prof. Nestle describes the various ways that food industries influence research, pay for their own experts, and avoid regulation, often following the infamous tobacco industry playbook. If you want to learn more, check out Prof. Nestle's regular blog (which we love) at https://www.foodpolitics.com/ and find her on Twitter @marionnestle.

Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor, of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University, which she chaired from 1988-2003 and from which she officially retired in September 2017.  She is also Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell.  She earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been awarded honorary degrees from Transylvania University in Kentucky (2012) and from the City University of New York’s Macaulay Honors College (2016).

In this interview with Tess, sociologist Prof. Anthony Hatch explains why the problem of sugar is much greater than just being bad for our bodies. As a colonial commodity, sugar carries a legacy of slavery and racism that is still with us today. He describes sugar's relationship to black bodies, metabolic syndrome, and global trade, calling for political action: a boycott of sugar. This podcast is an eye-opening take on sugar from an environmental, ecological, and social perspective. (Listeners take note: we had some sound tech issues with this one, so we hope you can forgive the clicking sound!)

Listener's may also be interested in Madeleine Power's discussion of food justice in the UK, Esther González-Padilla's description of sugar and micronutrient dilution, and Michael Goran and Emily Ventura's latest book on how to help children eat less sugar.

Anthony Ryan Hatch, Ph.D., is a sociologist and Associate Professor and Chair of the Science in Society Program at Wesleyan University where is he is also affiliated faculty in the Department of African American Studies, the College of the Environment, and the Department of Sociology. Dr. Hatch is an expert in health systems, medical technology, and social inequalities. He recently appeared in the PBS documentary Blood Sugar Rising and is the author of Silent Cells: The Secret Drugging of Captive America (2019) and Blood Sugar: Racial Pharmacology and Food Justice in Black America. He also mentions his co-authored article, “Sugar Ecologies and their Metabolic and Racial Effects” in the podcast.

In this episode, Tess talks with Dr. Emily Ventura, co-author of the new book Sugarproof: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar That Are Putting Your Child’s Health at Risk and What You Can Do, and a mother and daughter in Washington state who have tested out some of the Sugarproof techniques and recipes. 

This episode follows Thursday's, where Stanley interviews Prof. Michael Goran and Dr. Emily Ventura about Sugarproof. If you haven't listened in, start there!

For more info, visit: www.sugarproofkids.com and www.goranlab.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @sugarproofkids; Facebook @sugarproofkids; and Prof. Goran on Twitter: @michaelgoran

In this episode, Stanley talks with Prof. Michael Goran and Dr. Emily Ventura, PhD, MPH, about their new book Sugarproof: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar That Are Putting Your Child’s Health at Risk and What You Can Do. They give a comprehensive overview of some of the risks of sugar consumption in childhood as well as practical tips and techniques for reducing sugar consumption in the family. Stay tuned for a follow-up episode, released over the weekend, where Tess and Dr. Emily Ventura interview a mother and daughter in Washington state who tried some of the Sugarproof techniques and recipes.

Dr. Goran is one of the world's most widely recognized experts in childhood nutrition and obesity research, with more than 30 years of experience as a researcher, mentor, and educator. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Co-Director of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute and leads the Program in Diabetes and Obesity at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Dr. Ventura is an experienced nutrition educator, public health advocate, writer, and cook. After working in writing and public relations in the arenas of environmental protection and food, she completed her Master's in Public Health and Doctorate of Philosophy in Health Behavior Research at the University of Southern California.

For more info, visit: www.sugarproofkids.com and www.goranlab.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @sugarproofkids; Facebook @sugarproofkids; and Prof. Goran on Twitter: @michaelgoran 

Dr. Esther González-Padilla is a nutritional epidemiologist at Lund University in Sweden. In this interview with Stanley, she talks about sugar and micronutrient dilution, i.e. "the displacement of the intake of nutrient-dense foods by the overconsumption of energy-dense foods (rich in fat and sugar and poor in nutrients)" (learn more). She also explains why nutrition research can be so complex, especially when studies rely on participants self-reporting their diets. This is Dr. González-Padilla's second podcast with us. You can listen to the first one here.

Anne Katrine Kleberg Hansen, a medical historian and food-lover in Copenhagen, Denmark, talks to Tess about how the New Nordic food movement has changed how she eats in her everyday life, how those around her eat, and how it has impacted her neighborhood. This episode is paired with one from Anders Kristian Munk, another Dane who has written about the New Nordic movement.

Anders Kristian Munk is an ethnologist and computational social scientist interested in cultural phenomena in Europe. He uses computational methods to study patterns in large amounts of data. In this interview with Stanley, Munk discusses one cultural phenomenon that he has been following for over 15 years: the New Nordic food movement. The New Nordic food movement was made famous by the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, which focuses on fresh, local, seasonal foods and traditional cuisine re-made in new ways. The movement has since spread around the world. Munk talks about how New Nordic food compares to other local diets, such as the Mediterranean Diet, and speaks to the potential for food innovation present in Scandinavia. This recording is truly embedded in the local: you can hear the birds chirping throughout.

Stay tuned for a follow-up "Household Dynamics" podcast hosted by Tess about eating and experiencing New Nordic cuisine!

Giles Yeo is a neuroendocrinologist at the University of Cambridge with over 20 years experience researching  brain control and body-weight (learn more). He speaks in this episode about the relationship between Covid-19 and obesity. As this research is unfolding, Yeo gives us some potential hypotheses and explains what data is still needed. He also points to the socioeconomic inequalities evident in the pandemic.  [Note that this episode was recorded on May 29, 2020]

Stanley interviews Claude Fischler, a French social scientist, Senior Investigator Emeritus with CNRS, the French National Science Center, and a former director of the Interdisciplinary Institute for Contemporary Anthropology in Paris. In this episode, he talks about the importance of food to humans, beginning with why he decided to pursue the study of food. He defines commensality, explaining where this word comes from and how it manifests today. He also discusses the contemporary eating habits of the French and how they compare to other countries.

Season 2 is here! In this season, we have bite-sized interviews with experts in food and nutrition, and other issues that impact the biological body. We will pepper these with interviews with households on the topics discussed. Write to us! DM us on Instagram @aroundthetablepod or send us a message at anchor.fm/aroundthetablepod