Retour

Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Edible Empire

Plongez dans la liste complète des épisodes de Edible Empire. Chaque épisode est catalogué accompagné de descriptions détaillées, ce qui facilite la recherche et l'exploration de sujets spécifiques. Suivez tous les épisodes de votre podcast préféré et ne manquez aucun contenu pertinent.

Rows per page:

1–50 of 156

TitreDateDurée
Edible Empire: The Salmon and the Tomato26 Jul 202600:50:10

This is episode 4 of a six-part series on food imperialism. Welcome to Edible Empire, a podcast by Planet Pulse Pacific about the hidden cost of our food.

We celebrate flavours, but rarely the people behind them. This podcast uncovers how food—once shaped by empire and now by corporate power—has long been used to control land, labour, and cultures.

This episode explores the hidden links between salmon farming in northern Europe and tomato production in southern Spain, revealing the human and environmental costs behind cheap, year-round food.

What connects salmon farming in northern Europe with tomato farming in southern Spain? These two, seemingly distinct food supply chains ensure that our supermarket shelves are stocked with cheap, year-round food. What we don’t see, however, are the hidden links - the overfishing along the coast of West Africa that destroys local communities’ livelihoods and drives migration to Europe; the dangerous journeys by small boat where 1 in 5 people die; the entrapment of migrants arriving in exploitative agricultural labour in Spain’s intensive greenhouses. This episode examines the story of salmon farming and tomato greenhouses - and highlights the hidden costs of commodified food.

This episode uncovers the destructive and interconnected global supply chains linking northern European salmon aquaculture to southern Spanish greenhouse agriculture. Through interviews with four expert guests, the episode traces how the booming Norwegian salmon farming industry relies heavily on wild-caught ocean feed extracted from West Africa.

Investigative journalists Simen Sætre, Hazel Healy, and Brigitte Wear expose the ecological crises, corporate opacity, and false sustainability narratives surrounding aquaculture, whilst Dr Aliou Ba of Greenpeace Africa details how this industrial plundering has collapsed local artisanal fisheries and triggered a profound food security crisis in Senegal. This environmental degradation ultimately forces thousands of displaced West Africans to undertake a perilous sea voyage to Spain, where researcher María Alonso Martínez reveals they are heavily exploited as undocumented migrant labourers, working under inhumane conditions within Almería’s vast "Sea of Plastic" to harvest the cheap winter vegetables that stock European supermarket shelves.

Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next episode!

Resources from this episode:

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Edible Empire: Deep roots—a history of oil palm19 Jul 202600:59:35

This is episode 3 of a six-part series on food imperialism. Welcome to Edible Empire, a podcast by Planet Pulse Pacific about the hidden cost of our food.

Food isn’t just about taste—it’s power. This podcast explores how empires and corporations built control through agriculture, reshaping cultures and feeding some at the expense of others.

This episode traces the global impact of the palm oil industry from its indigenous roots to modern supply chains through three expert interviews.

Dr Jonathan Robins opens by detailing the pre-colonial history of oil palm in West Africa and explaining how European empires weaponised the crop to fuel the Industrial Revolution, establishing structural patterns that mirror today’s agribusiness models.

Dr Helena Varkkey then unpacks the political economy of Malaysian production, exposing how entrenched relationships between political elites and conglomerates shield the industry from regulation.

Farwiza Farhan brings a frontline conservation perspective from Indonesia, documenting how government-incentivised monoculture plantations drive deforestation, threaten endangered species, and violate Indigenous land rights. 

Together, the experts critique the effectiveness of voluntary sustainability certification schemes like the RSPO, debate whether palm oil can ever be truly sustainable at scale, and highlight the efforts of local communities fighting back against corporate food imperialism.

Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next episode!

Resources from this episode:

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Jess Lamb - Waste Minimisation As An Athlete15 Feb 202600:24:53

Jessica Lamb is the Christchurch Hub Leader for Athletes for Nature and the Sustainability Coordinator at Without Waste. Jess holds a strong connection to te taiao and is passionate about caring for both people and planet. With a background in environmental science and geography, she works to support a shift towards a circular economy and the rewilding of cities through thriving urban ngahere.

A committed nature and zero-waste advocate, Jess combines big-picture thinking with practical, community-led action. Outside of her professional roles, she is a plant-powered trail runner, avid hiker, and enthusiastic ‘compost queen’, using her love of the outdoors to inspire others to reconnect with and protect the environments they move through.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Jess’s background and what sparked her passion for nature and sustainability
  • Her studies in environmental science and geography
  • New Zealand’s waste problem and why it matters
  • Jess’s journey into trail running and how it shapes her environmental advocacy
  • Her extensive volunteering background, including Forest & Bird Youth
  • Stepping into the role of Christchurch Hub Leader for Athletes for Nature, and why she got involved
  • How composting can be a practical, change-making solution at the local level
  • Her work as Sustainability Coordinator at Without Waste
  • The role of athletes as advocates for climate action and conservation
  • Jess’s goals for Athletes for Nature in 2026, including plans for the Christchurch hub
  • How trail runners (and outdoor athletes more broadly) can reduce their environmental footprint
  • Personal ambitions over the next few years—both athletic and sustainability-focused

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Professor Julia Rucklidge - The Better Brain22 Aug 202100:59:47

Julia Rucklidge, PhD is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Julia has over 130 peer-reviewed publications and textbook contributions and is currently on the executive committee for the International Society of Nutritional Psychiatry Research.

Julia was named in the Top 100 Most Influential Women in New Zealand in both 2015 and 2018 and is a world leader in Nutritional Psychiatry research, investigating the role of micronutrients regarding mental illnesses such as ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, anxiety, stress and PTSD.

In this episode we discuss:
• Julia’s background and how her interest in nutrition and mental illness evolved
• Conventional treatments vs lifestyle practices for improved mental state
• The important link between nutrition and mental health and neuroscience
• The role of micronutrients in the manifestation of mental illness
• The changing food system, our consumption of ultra-processed food and concerns regarding mental illness
• Optimal eating patterns for improved mental health
• Julia’s research regarding the mental health benefits of micronutrient supplementation following traumatic events including earthquakes, floods and mass shootings
• Julia’s Mental Health and Nutrition online short course
• Julia’s book, 'The Better Brain',  co-authored with Dr Bonnie Kaplan

You can view Julia's TEDx talk here.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, make sure you visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Mike Joy - Growth, Emissions and Our Waterways15 Aug 202101:02:10

Still holding the record for most popular guest ever, Dr Mike Joy returns to the podcast for round two. If you’re new to the force that is Mike Joy we suggest checking out our first conversation, Episode 12 on Season 1. Mike is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

In this episode, Mike gives us his reaction to the recent IPCC report and provides us with an important update regarding the ongoing concerns about the unsafe nitrate levels in New Zealand’s lakes and rivers. Mike is one of our most valued guests as he’s not one to sugarcoat, and here he delivers some hard truths regarding the actions required to properly address the climate emergency.

In this episode we discuss:
• Mike’s key takeaways from the recent IPCC report
• The connection between GDP and GHG emissions and the urgent need for the adoption of a ‘degrowth’ economy
• The problems associated with current net-zero and carbon-neutral strategies and measurements
• The current state of Aotearoa’s waterways and the impacts this has on both human and planetary health
• Mike’s recent ‘win’ regarding dodgy use of water statistics by government agencies
• Mike's essay Food for Healing in the book: The New Possible
• Mike’s work with the Environmental Law Initiative and Boomers for Real Climate Measures
• And a lot more – this one is an important conversation!

To read the papers recommended by Mike in this episode:
Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition
Growth through contraction: Conceiving an eco-economy
• Additionally, Mike mentioned Geoff Reid’s current work, documenting the environmental harms from intensive farming practices. Read more about Geoff’s work and sign the petition here.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, make sure you visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Sally Gillespie - Climate Crisis and Consciousness08 Aug 202100:57:32

Dr Sally Gillespie is a writer, workshop facilitator, lecturer and public speaker with a background in depth psychology and ecopsychology. Sally’s recently published book Climate Crisis and Consciousness: Reimagining Our World and Ourselves, explores the psychological experience of engaging with climate change and related ecological concerns. There is a growing awareness of the climate emergency within our community and more people are acknowledging that the next ten years must bring about radical changes to avoid potentially catastrophic tipping points.

This reality is confronting and can involve a wide range of emotions. Experiences of ecological anxiety and climate grief are burgeoning and coping with these feelings in the face of climate change is extremely important. The fight against climate change is not a sprint, it’s a marathon - one that we will be dealing with for the rest of our lives and here Sally discusses strategies for staying engaged with climate change without burning out or becoming overwhelmed or depressed.
Hot on the heels of the latest IPCC report this is a timely and extremely important conversation.

In this episode we discuss:
• Sally’s background in Jungian psychotherapy and her transition to climate psychology
• Why climate change is still such a taboo subject and how we can start fostering important conversations
• The Importance of peer education and use of language when dealing with climate deniers or down-players
• Strategies for tackling climate grief, feelings of helplessness and eco-anxiety
• Cultivating grounded hope and building psychological resilience in the face of climate uncertainty
• Nature deficit disorder and the importance of nature exposure and nature-based education for children
• The importance of indigenous knowledge and the need for indigenous-led climate action
• The work of Psychology for a Safe Climate

For further resources on climate psychology research and support visit the Psychology for a Safe Climate or the Climate Psychology Alliance websites.

If this story has raised concerns for you or someone you know, you can contact Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 in Australia or Lifeline Aotearoa on 0800 LIFELINE (0800 54 33 54) or free text HELP (4357) in New Zealand.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, make sure you visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Andrew Barnes - The 4 Day Week01 Aug 202100:41:44

Andrew Barnes is an innovator, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of 4 Day Week Global. Andrew has made a career of market-changing innovation and industry digitisation, most recently in 2018 in New Zealand, where he piloted the 4-day week concept in his own business, Perpetual Guardian. The astounding results made waves around the world and sparked a global movement. Andrew’s staff were happier, healthier, more engaged, more focused and more productive, despite seeing a 20% reduction in working hours.

Here we talk to Andrew about the modern-day work environment and the multiple and wide-reaching benefits associated with the adoption of the 4-day week concept.

In this episode we discuss:
• Andrew’s background and motivation for piloting the 4-day work week
• The history of the five-day work week and the concerning rise of the ‘gig economy’
• Our typical productivity levels over a full 40hrs working week
• Changing the dynamics of a workplace to maximise productivity
• The numerous benefits of the 4-day week; from improved productivity and employee wellbeing, to a reduction in economic inequalities and a smaller environmental footprint
• The importance of this being a staff-led initiative
• Other key steps to successful implementation; which are discussed in further detail in Andrew’s book, ‘The 4 Day Week

Make sure you subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

The Lentil Express - Relaunch, Campaigns & Event Updates25 Jul 202100:34:33

In this express episode, Ben and Emma share some exciting news about The Lentil Intervention and our expanded focus and direction for the future. We’re now a registered charity in New Zealand and have plans for more community outreach, so watch this space! We’ve also overhauled our website and added a bunch of new resources, so we’d love for you to check it all out.

We also check in with a few guests for some campaign updates:
• Eco activist Geoff Reid provides an update on his coverage of New Zealand’s intensive winter grazing practices and his ongoing call to end this practice. Read more about this and sign the petition here.
• Following on nicely from this, Claire Insley, the media spokesperson from the Vegan Society of Aotearoa NZ lets us know about the society’s current appeal; Incentivise NZ Farmers to Diversify for Longevity. This appeal calls for government direction, funding and support to encourage farmers to future proof and diversity their farming to include crop growing and/or rewilding.
• Finally, we receive an update from Grant Dixon from Evidence Based Eating NZ on the organisation’s work and their upcoming public lectures in Dunedin, Auckland and Wellington.

Make sure you subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Mark Messina - The Truth About Soy11 Jul 202101:06:57

Dr Mark Messina is the President of Nutrition Matters Inc, an adjunct associate professor at Loma Linda University and the Executive Director of the Soy Nutrition Institute. Mark is a former programme director with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States, and while at the NCI he initiated a multi-million dollar research programme on the anticancer effects of soy.

Mark has spent the last 30 years researching the health effects of soy foods and is recognised internationally as a soy expert! Here he helps us sort fact from fiction by taking us on a deep dive into the science behind the safety, potential benefits and commonly touted concerns and misconceptions regarding soy food and human health.

In this episode we discuss:
• Mark’s background and how he came to specialise in soy nutrition research
• The history behind the soy food controversy
• Whether soy isoflavones are endocrine disruptors
• Soy foods and women’s health; breast cancer, menopause, puberty, osteoporosis
• Soy foods and men’s health; isoflavones, testosterone levels, muscle protein synthesis
• Soy and fertility
• Heart health and soy intake
• Whether the fat content of soy is a concern
• Soy intake and thyroid function
• Absorption of nutrients from soy foods

To learn more about the health effects of soy, visit The Soyfoods Council and Soy Connection websites.

In addition, here are some of the studies mentioned in this episode:
No Difference Between the Effects of Supplementing With Soy Protein Versus Animal Protein on Gains in Muscle Mass and Strength in Response to Resistance Exercise
Neither soy nor isoflavone intake affects male reproductive hormones: An expanded and updated meta-analysis of clinical studies
Soybean oil lowers circulating cholesterol levels and coronary heart disease risk, and has no effect on markers of inflammation and oxidation
Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational and clinical data

Make sure you subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Anton Leach & Jasmine Duthie - Lions, Bones & Bullets04 Jul 202100:42:27

Jasmine Duthie and Anton Leach of Jagged Peak Films are two of the passionate team members behind Lion, Bones & Bullets, a powerful new feature documentary exposing an elaborate wildlife con, centred around the lion farming industry in South Africa.

Jasmine worked as Producer, Editor and Writer, and Anton worked as Director, Executive Producer and Director of Photography on this three-year project. The large-scale breeding of lions in captivity in South Africa is a contentious issue and this documentary covers the subject at all levels – from corruption to outright criminal activity, to potential health risks. We talk to Jasmine and Anton about the filming process and how the industrial farming of lions emerged.

In this episode we discuss:
• Jasmine and Anton’s respective backgrounds and what inspired the documentary
• The current lion farming situation in South Africa
• The lion bone trade and why the use of tiger products in Traditional Chinese Medicine is driving demand
• The potential large-scale human health risks from lion farming
• The animal cruelty involved in this unregulated industry
• Potential solutions to lower community demand for lion products and put a stop to this inhumane industry
• Upcoming educational and public screenings of Lion Bones and Bullets and how you can support this important campaign

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Professor Ian Shaw - Chemical Food Contaminants and Natural Toxins27 Jun 202101:11:21

Professor Ian Shaw is highly regarded as an international expert on food safety, with extensive expertise in food chemical residues and their impact on human health. Ian leads the Toxicology Research Group at the University of Canterbury and has over 20 years of experience in academia, industry and government, which includes presenting at two TEDx talks, chairing the UK Pesticide Residues Committee and working as the National Food Safety Programme Manager at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), based in Christchurch.

Join us for a fascinating discussion around chemical food contaminants, natural toxins, GMOs, organic produce and Ian’s work on endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can make their way into our food supply. Does any of this actually warrant concern? Tune in to find out!

In this episode we discuss:
• Ian’s background and research history
• Food chemicals; the regulatory process, maximum residue levels, where they are found in our modern food supply and if they are of concern for human health
• Whether to wash or not to wash our fresh produce
• The natural toxins found in food
• Ian’s entertaining TEDx talks and his work on endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as BPA, DDT, Phthalates and Genistein
• The potential effects of genetically modified foods on human and planetary health
• Food safety considerations in pregnancy
• The organic food debate – is it actually the better choice?
• The story of the happy banana
• The book titled Food Safety: The Science of Keeping Food Safe, 2nd Edition
• And so much more – this one is packed full of info, you might want to have a pen and paper at the ready!

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Susan Scott & Bonné de Bod - STROOP, Journey Into The Rhino Horn War20 Jun 202101:09:12

Susan Scott and Bonné De Bod of Scott & De Bod Films are two passionate filmmakers based in South Africa. Susan and Bonné joined forces to bring to life their critically acclaimed documentary STROOP – journey into the rhino horn war. What started as a six-month project turned into a four-year filming odyssey as Susan and Bonné peeled back the complex layers of the rhino poaching trade, realising the scale and danger was far greater than they first imagined.

STROOP has since been officially selected for 40 film festivals, won 30 awards and has been broadcast and streamed in nearly 100 countries around the globe. We talk with Susan and Bonné about the blood, sweat and tears that went into bringing this powerful story to the world, learning the fascinating backstory behind the documentary. We touch on why rhino (and all wildlife) conservation should matter to everyone – in the words of these two incredible ladies; when we stand up, when we speak up, change can happen.

In this episode we discuss:
• Susan and Bonné’s respective backgrounds
• An overview of the concerning rhino poaching statistics in South Africa
• The multiple drivers of rhino poaching, following the trail from Africa to Asia
• The potential strategies and reforms that could lead to poaching reductions
• Dangers involved in documentary filmmaking – it’s more than meets the eye
• The importance of remaining independent as filmmakers and journalists
• Doing your homework to ensure financial support goes to credible organisations
• Susan and Bonné’s latest documentary Kingdoms of Fire, Ice & Fairy Tales, and future projects
• And so much more!

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Rob Wilks - A Plant-Based GP in a Pro-Meat World13 Jun 202100:26:42

In this episode, we bring you the recording of Dr Rob Wilks’ Evidence Based Eating NZ lecture. Rob is a GP based in Motueka and here he discusses his experience of being a plant-based GP in a pro-meat world, touching on the challenges of discussing diet in general practice and treating gut health and common ailments with diet.

Over the coming months, Evidence Based Eating NZ is delivering a series of health-focused public lectures that highlight the power of plant-based whole foods to restore health to all New Zealanders.
The Christchurch event, held on 22 May 2021, was themed ‘Our GP Frontline’ and this recording is the third and final of the Christchurch lectures.
There are more events still to come, in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland - please visit the Evidence Based Eating NZ website for more details and to register.

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Abby Patterson - The Future of Science Communication01 Feb 202600:30:32

Abby Patterson is an aspiring climate storyteller and science communicator, and our brand-new co-host on the Planet Pulse Pacific podcast!

Over the past two years, Abby has grown her Instagram platform Outdoors with Abby, where she breaks down the often tough (and sometimes overwhelming) realities of climate change and environmental science into content that’s engaging, relatable, and easy to understand.

Her postgraduate research focused on how climate science and emerging innovations can be communicated in ways that not only inform people but help them feel empowered to support meaningful change. Deeply passionate about sustainability and science communication, Abby hopes to build a career at the intersection of research, storytelling, and environmental advocacy.

She dreams of a future where endangered species are thriving, human impacts on ecosystems are minimised, and she’s proud to be part of the movement working towards that future.

Given all that, we’re absolutely pumped to welcome Abby on board as our new co-host! 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • A season 7 check-in and what’s ahead for 2026
  • Welcoming our new podcast presenter, Abby Patterson
  • Abby’s background and studies in environmental communication
  • Why translating science for the wider community really matters
  • Outdoors with Abby and her work in environmental advocacy on social media
  • Battling climate doom to prevent disengagement
  • Her volunteering with Forest & Bird Youth and Athletes for Nature
  • Why solutions already exist—and how we often focus on the wrong things
  • Abby’s personal goals as a podcast host
  • The impact of positive interactions that reach the right people and spark meaningful conversations
  • Navigating the role of AI in communication and the power of parody when used in the right context

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Wayne Hurlow - Success Through The CHIP Programme10 Jun 202100:28:55

In this episode, we bring you the recording of Dr Wayne Hurlow's lecture, a GP based in Nelson. Here he discusses the turn-around success that is possible through the CHIP programme. Wayne details how Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease can be successfully treated through a whole foods plant-based diet.

Over the coming months, Evidence Based Eating NZ is delivering a series of health-focused public lectures that highlight the power of plant-based whole foods to restore health to all New Zealanders.
The Christchurch event, held on 22 May 2021, was themed ‘Our GP Frontline’ and this recording is part 2 of the 3 Christchurch lectures.
There are more events still to come, in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland - please visit the Evidence Based Eating NZ website for more details and to register.

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Professor Julia Rucklidge - Building A Better Brain06 Jun 202100:31:51

In this episode, we bring you the recording of Professor Julia Rucklidge’s lecture. Julia is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury and co-author of a recently released book The Better Brain. Here Julia discusses building a better brain; the foods and nutrients for optimal mental health.

Over the coming months, Evidence Based Eating NZ is delivering a series of health-focused public lectures that highlight the power of plant-based whole foods to restore health to all New Zealanders.
The Christchurch event, held on 22 May 2021, was themed ‘Our GP Frontline’ and this recording is part 1 of the 3 Christchurch lectures.
There are more events still to come, in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland - please visit the Evidence Based Eating NZ website for more details and to register.

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Kennedy Zakeer - Rhino Conservation30 May 202100:48:19

Kennedy Zakeer is a successful account director whose life trajectory changed in 2016, after a harrowing experience working with orphaned rhinos in South Africa.

Kennedy now splits her time between the corporate world and saving rhinos in Africa, having established the Council of Contributors, a 501c3 organisation that raises funds to support ‘boots on the ground’ and ‘eyes in the sky’ organisations that are fighting to protect the rhino against the relentless poaching and the illegal horn trade.

With an average of 3 rhinos killed every single day, it’s a race against time to save these amazing creatures.

In this episode we discuss:
• Kennedy’s corporate background and how she splits her time between projects
• The motivation behind establishing the Council of Contributors
• Main focus areas for the Council of Contributors
• Past and future projects supported by the Council of Contributors and their highly collaborative, project-by-project approach, which ensures effective outcomes
• The current state of rhino poaching in South Africa and Kenya, and what drives the illegal horn trade
• Why we should all care about rhino conservation and the crucial role they play in sustaining a balanced ecosystem
• What we can do as individuals to take action on this important issue

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Diana Bogueva - Meat Consumption, Marketing and Sustainability23 May 202101:03:24

Dr Diana Bogueva is a professional journalist, Research Associate and Adjunct Fellow at Curtin University and is also centre manager at the Centre for Advanced Food Enginomics at The University of Sydney.

Diana has a strong interest in meat consumption reduction, food sustainability, social marketing and consumer behaviour change, after conducting her PhD on these topics. What we choose to eat and why, isn’t always black and white. Globally, meat consumption has almost tripled in a little over 100 years. With an increase so large there’s obviously more at play than just personal choice.

Join us for a fascinating discussion into the many aspects of what really influences consumer behaviour when it comes to meat.

In this episode we discuss:
• Diana’s background and passion for food sustainability
• The health and environmental impacts of meat consumption
• What traditionally motivates consumers to eat meat
• Marketing and its role in perpetuating meat consumption
• Perceptions of masculinity and meat eating
• The potential role of social marketing in reducing meat consumption
• Acceptance of meat alternatives and cultured meat
• Upcoming research and projects for Diana
• And so much more – lots to unpack in this episode folks!

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Ryan Alexander - No Meat May16 May 202100:43:02

In this episode, we talk with Ryan Alexander, the co-founder and managing director of No Meat May, a registered charity that challenges people to eliminate meat from their diets for the month of May for 4 big reasons; environment, health, animals and food systems.

From humble beginnings in 2013, No Meat May has quickly grown into a hugely successful global campaign with over 65,000 participants for 2021. With this year’s campaign, one of the main goals is reaching more men. We talk with Ryan about the many misconceptions surrounding meat consumption and masculinity, including some surprising outcomes for a recent study they commissioned.

In this episode we discuss:
• Ryan’s personal background and the motivation behind establishing No Meat May
• Our current consumption of animal products and impact on the environment, human health, animals and food security
• The inclusive approach and global appeal of the No Meat May campaign
• The demographics and motivations of people taking part in the challenge
• Men, meat-eating and perceptions of masculinity
• The resources and information available on the No Meat May website and social media platforms
• The positive outcomes from taking part in the No Meat May challenge
• The exciting plans for the future for this amazing charity

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Fuchsia Goldsmith - Nutrition for Kidney Health09 May 202100:34:57

In this episode, we talk about all things kidney health with Fuchsia Goldsmith, a dietitian based in Auckland. Fuchsia is the founder of Feed Nutrition and serves as Doctors For Nutrition’s lead dietitian for New Zealand’s North Island.

Also working as a renal dietitian, Fuchsia is an expert on diet and kidney health. Kidney disease is a leading cause of premature death in developed countries and an estimated 1 in 10 Australian and New Zealand adults have biomedical signs of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), so this is an important episode for everyone!

In this episode we discuss:
• Fuchsia’s upbringing and motivations for adopting a plant-based diet
• Her research in the growing area of epigenetics - and the marketing hype vs real-world application in this space currently
• The services offered through Feed Nutrition
• Contributing factors to CKD and importance of prevention and proper monitoring
• Key nutrition tips for kidney health, including the vital difference between plant and animal proteins
• The changing advice regarding potassium and phosphate for those with established CKD (it’s good news for plant-eaters!)
• Acute kidney injuries and endurance sports
• Fuchsia’s involvement in the upcoming public lecture series with Evidence Based Eating
• Fuchsia's Pomegranate Summer Salad recipe submission to the Doctors for Nutrition Recipe Collection.

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Martyn Williamson - Plant-Based Nutrition for Metabolic Health02 May 202101:06:33

Dr Martyn Williamson is a General Practitioner from Alexandra in Central Otago, achieving the honour of New Zealand’s Plant-Based Practitioner of the Year in 2019. In addition to his GP work, Martyn is a senior lecturer in the department of general practice and rural health at the University of Otago, is co-founder of Lifestrong Health with his wife Liz, and is a committee member of Evidence Based Eating NZ.

After discovering the countless benefits of lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition, Martyn changed his approach to practice, integrating these strategies into his work, helping countless people lead healthier, happier lives by preventing, treating and reversing lifestyle-related conditions.

In this episode we discuss:
• Martyn’s frustration with the limitations of standard medicine and his journey to embracing lifestyle medicine and wholefood plant-based nutrition
• The important difference between simply managing disease symptoms and actually treating the root cause of disease through lifestyle changes
• Understanding motivations for change and various intervention strategies for adopting a whole food plant-based diet – the benefits and potential pitfalls of the different approaches
• Coaching young cyclists and ensuring they’re eating sufficiently; and dispelling the need for additional protein
• The proven benefits of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP)
• Upcoming CHIP programmes in the Central Otago area
• Future plans for Martyn and Liz in their business Lifestrong Health
• The opportunity to join Martyn and Liz on a health retreat at Aro Hā just outside of Queenstown

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

The Lentil Express - Earth Day, Listener Q&A and Event Updates25 Apr 202100:22:14

In this express episode, Ben and Emma celebrate Earth Day and share some exciting news about joining the 50by40 network.

We dive into some listener questions — Emma discusses tips and tricks for enhancing iron and zinc absorption on a plant-based diet and if oxalates are an issue; Ben delves into some strategies for overcoming shin splints.

We discuss some upcoming events of interest by our friends at Doctors For Nutrition and Evidence Based Eating NZ, and given we recorded on Earth day, we unpack an important climate study released earlier this year titled ‘Greater Committed Warming after accounting for the pattern effect’.

Ben finishes off with a fitting excerpt from ‘The New Climate War’, the latest book by American climatologist and geophysicist Michael E Mann.

Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by subscribing, reviewing, and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Rebecca van Amber - Fashion, Textiles and Sustainability11 Apr 202101:01:09

Dr Rebecca Van Amber is a Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University in Melbourne and an expert in clothing and textile science. Rebecca is passionate about textile and apparel sustainability, research and development and was the winner of the 2017 H&M Foundation's Global Change Award's innovation challenge.

Typically, when people think about the industry and environmental impact, the fashion and textile industries aren’t top of mind. However, the ecological footprint of these industries is quite significant. Each year the average Australian buys 27kg and discards 23kg of textiles, with much of this ending up in landfill. 50-60% of clothing fibres worldwide are now petroleum-based, so production methods and product lifecycles are also important considerations. Dr Van Amber takes us behind the curtain as we discuss fashion and sustainability.

In this episode we discuss:
• Rebecca’s background, interest in fashion and textiles and path to research
• The surprising link between clothing and plastic in our oceans
• Strategies to reduce microfibre shedding from clothing
• The need for responsible product stewardship from industry
• The pros and cons of various clothing fibres - have we been bamboozled by the magic of marketing?
• The steps towards sustainability within the fashion industry
• Rebecca’s involvement in an award-winning circular denim project
• How to make the best sustainable fashion choices
• Micro- and nano-sized plastics in teabags
• And much more!

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Professor Corey Bradshaw - Global Ecology04 Apr 202100:46:11

Professor Corey Bradshaw is the Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology at Flinders University, where he leads the Global Ecology Laboratory and heads the Flinders Modelling Node of the Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage.

Corey was lead author of a recent perspective article titled ‘Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future’. This paper discusses the major environmental issues that have regrettably received little attention but require urgent action. Anyone with a passing interest in the environment knows things aren’t great, but just how bad are they really? Professor Bradshaw is not here to appease the masses with a watered-down message, but rather gives us a well-needed reality check and urges us not to look away from the mess we have created. An overview of this research was published in The Conversation.

We are living on borrowed time by taking more from the planet than it can take. Scientists are no longer talking about avoiding environmental problems, but rather how to best deal with them. Irrespective of what we do now, the future is going to be ghastly – but just how ghastly depends on the path we take moving forward.

In this episode we discuss:
• How Corey’s childhood shaped his relationship with the environment and inspired his journey to academia
• The subject matter of Corey’s previous books Killing the Koala and Poisoning the Prairie and The Effective Scientist
• The silos in academia, lack of connectivity and why this model won’t deliver adequate solutions for the wicked problems we face
• The catastrophic loss of biodiversity and the detrimental impact this is having on ecosystem resilience
• How humanity is driving the sixth mass extinction
• Why the rise of the right-wing populist movement, the weaponisation of environmentalism and ongoing political donations have led to political impotence on climate change
• The ignorance of wanting unlimited economic growth in a finite world
• The potential solutions we can all consider, individually and collectively
• Corey’s must-subscribe blog Conservation Bytes
• And a WHOLE lot more - there’s a lot of knowledge dropped in this one folks!

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Amy Steel - Wildfires And Interventions on Ecosystems03 Aug 202500:58:33

Amy Steel is a climate adaptation expert and PhD candidate with Adrift Lab at Curtin University, Western Australia. With over a decade of experience advising on decarbonisation and climate resilience, Amy is now focused on a vital question: should humans intervene to help ecosystems on the verge of collapse—and if so, how, where, and when?


Amy's research centres on the Yowli (otherwise known as Flesh-footed Shearwaters) breeding on islands in the Recherche Archipelago off Kepa Kurl, Esperance. These seabirds face increasing and worsening threats from lightning-ignited wildfires during their peak breeding season, impacted by climate change. Working with the Esperance Tjaltjraak Rangers, Amy is exploring how Wudjari cultural burning can protect these fragile habitats. Amy also reflects on moving from high-level strategy to hands-on fieldwork, the importance of Indigenous knowledge, and what it means to protect ecosystems in a rapidly changing climate.


In this episode, we discuss:

  • Amy’s diverse background and what led her from leadership roles in climate strategy to research
  • The long-term impacts of heat stroke that ended her competitive netball career and influenced her path
  • Joining the Adrift Lab team and what inspired her to undertake a PhD
  • Why islands and seabirds like the Yowli are critical indicators of ecosystem health
  • The increasing severity of wildfires and extreme weather, and their impacts on vulnerable species
  • Whether seabirds and other wildlife can adapt to human-driven climate change, and if natural checks and balances are breaking down
  • The ethical and ecological questions around human intervention in collapsing ecosystems
  • Working closely with the Esperance Tjaltjraak Rangers, and the role of Wudjari cultural burning in ecosystem resilience
  • The importance of place-based policy and honouring Indigenous knowledge in climate responses
  • How to communicate climate and conservation issues effectively, and create lasting change within communities
  • Staying motivated in advocacy through collaboration and community action
  • The role of athletes in climate conversations, and how to stay safe while being active in a changing climate
  • What gives Amy hope as an environmental researcher

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Professor Alan Brent - Sustainable Energy Systems21 Mar 202101:17:25

Professor Alan Brent is Chair in Sustainable Energy Systems at the School of Engineering and Computer Science, Victoria University of Wellington. Alan also holds the position of Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University and is an executive committee member for The Sustainability Society, NZ.

His research interests encompass engineering management and sustainable systems, and as an expert in systems thinking, Alan brings a wealth of knowledge to this conversation as we discuss the various pros and cons of the current renewable energy options.

As always, things are not quite as straight forward as they first appear - renewable energies aren’t always sustainable options. So, should we all be putting solar panels on our roofs and buying Teslas? Take a listen to find out! We hope this episode helps our listeners become more critical, mindful consumers.

In this episode we discuss:
• Alan’s background and journey from engineering to sustainable energy systems
• Renewable energy – what it means, what role it currently plays and where we are headed
• The importance of systems thinking approach
• Alternative energy options and the potential benefits and pitfalls of each
• Storage issues of sustainable energy systems
• Electric vehicles vs conventional vehicles vs hybrids – what’s the better choice? 
• Renewable energies vs habit change
• Solutions into the future

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Professor Boyd Swinburn - Population Nutrition and Global Health14 Mar 202101:01:12

Boyd Swinburn is a Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health in the School of Population Health, University of Auckland. Originally trained as an Endocrinologist he is now an eminent public health physician conducting research on community and policy actions to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity, and reduce what he has coined the ‘obesogenic’ food environment.

Boyd is Co-Chair of World Obesity Federation's Policy & Prevention section and Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Obesity. He also established the World Health Organisation's first Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, at Deakin University. We take a deep dive with Boyd as he discusses the problems with our current food system and the changes needed in order to deliver on human and environmental health, as well as economic prosperity. Boyd also calls on us to reframe the role of the individual when it comes to obesity.

In this episode we discuss:
• Boyd’s transition from Endocrinology to Public Health Advocacy
• Obesity and the ‘obesogenic’ Food Environment
• The need for policy change when dealing with the harmful products that dominate our health environment; tobacco, alcohol and junk food
• Government’s role in curbing the detrimental marketing of junk food to children
• The potential benefits of a sugary drinks tax
• The policy inertia regarding nutrition - despite the evidence, and what we can do about it
• The heavy environmental impact of our current food system and the need for a social movement to change this
• The necessity of sustainable dietary guidelines and why we don’t yet have them; the strong lobby forces that unfortunately have a seat at the table
• The big-ticket items we need to address regarding policies on food
• And so much more – this is one fascinating chat!

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Peter Eastwood - Tanglewood Foundation07 Mar 202100:57:45

Peter Eastwood is a New Zealand philanthropist, passionate conservationist and founder of Tanglewood Foundation. Peter first ventured into the business world with a small homebrew shop but this soon went from strength to strength. This business success allowed Peter to expand his philanthropic work and support many worthwhile causes - from conservation of wildlife to backing a range of educational documentaries and films.

In this episode we discuss:
• Peter’s background, his love of Africa and his journey to environmentalism
• His motivation for adopting a plant-based diet and sustainable business practices
• Peter’s passion for wildlife conservation, his special appreciation for rhinos and the surprising link between rhino and pangolin poaching
• The importance of accountability, transparency measures and creating local relationships in charity and philanthropic work
• The multiple plant-based and environmental documentaries supported by Tanglewood Foundation
• The Tanglewood Foundation’s involvement in an exciting new climate change project
• The local conservation work supported by Tanglewood Foundation in New Zealand, including Zealandia, and the environmentally friendly principles of Tanglewood Retreat
• The most powerful actions we can take as individuals to make a positive impact on the planet

Peter has immense knowledge of organisations doing valuable work in Africa. If you would like to support these conservation efforts, Peter recommends the following organisations:
Blue Sky Society Trust
Council of Contributors
Elephants Alive
Pole Pole Foundation
Project Rhino
Wilderness Foundation Africa

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Hannah O'Malley - Doctors for Nutrition28 Feb 202100:35:11

Hannah O’Malley is a clinical pharmacist and lifestyle medicine practitioner based in Nelson NZ. Until recently Hannah served as Projects Lead for the health promotion charity Doctors For Nutrition, but has now taken on the challenging role of Events and Education Lead.

Hannah also founded The Better Base in 2018, to help people consume more delicious plant-based foods and educate them on the associated benefits for humans and the planet. Hannah takes us through the recently reviewed New Zealand eating and activity guidelines which lead to a broader discussion regarding the role of governments, public health measures, civil society organisations and individual actions for good health and nutrition.

In this episode we discuss:
• Hannah’s background and passion for plant-based nutrition
• An update of the work being done by Doctors For Nutrition
• The updated eating and activity guidelines for New Zealand – the positive takeaways and what still needs to be addressed
• Updated dietary guidelines from other countries in the world and how the majority are slowly but surely acknowledging plant-based and sustainable diets
• The need for a fair and equitable food system – how economic imbalances can influence food choice
• The Australian Dietary Guidelines review currently taking place
• The C40 Good Food City campaign
• The need to emphasise prevention rather than treatment of disease in guidelines

As mentioned in this episode, the Australian Dietary Guidelines are currently undergoing review. If you use these guidelines in your work or personal life the NHMRC are now calling for your input via their stakeholder scoping survey. To have your say and complete this survey.

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Catherine Knight - Nature and Wellbeing Aotearoa21 Feb 202100:57:01

Dr Catherine Knight is an environmental historian and consultant, award-winning non-fiction author, yoga teacher, and co-founder of Better Futures Forum.
Catherine’s most recent book, Nature and Wellbeing in Aotearoa, examines the link between nature and wellbeing and argues for the restoration of ‘neighbourhood nature’. Catherine brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this chat, as we take a deep dive into humanity’s relationship with nature.

In this episode we discuss:
• Catherine’s background and passion for New Zealand’s environmental history – surprisingly, it all started with bears in Japan!
• Her life on a hobby farm and learning to see farm animals as individuals
• An update on Better Futures Forum and their work
• The wide range of health benefits from regular nature exposure
• The need for accessible urban green spaces
• The link between yoga and environmental stewardship
• What we can do as citizens to advocate for neighbourhood nature
• Buy her book here

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Heleen Roex & Dr Juliette Roex - Doctors for Nutrition14 Feb 202100:44:18

In this episode, we are joined by quite the dynamic due; Dr Heleen Roex, and her daughter, Dr Juliette Roex.
Heleen is a paediatrician, Food For Life instructor and serves as Chair of Board for Doctors For Nutrition (DFN) – which, by the way, she co-founded!
Juliette is currently completing her GP training and serves as South Australian ‘Ambassadoc’ and Lead Student Advisor for DFN.
Both doctors are a phenomenal wealth of knowledge on the health benefits of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle.

In this conversation we discuss:
• Both Heleen’s and Juliette’s background and the motivation behind adopting plant-based diets
• How DFN came to life and the charity’s main aims
• The lack of nutrition training in med school, underscoring the importance of DFN’s work
• The current ‘sick-care’ model and the unfortunate exclusion of disease prevention training for doctors
• DFN’s Health Professionals Guide and other helpful resources available for health professionals and the public
• The benefits of healthy eating and the spectrum of plant-based diets.
• Bridging the gaps between nutrition, environmental health and human health

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts - The Moreton Bay Foundation07 Feb 202100:51:48

Dr Ian Tibbetts is Associate Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland and serves as Director of the Moreton Bay Foundation. He has authored more than 100 journal articles, many of which feature Moreton Bay, and in 2018 Ian was appointed Chair of the Scientific Expert Panel advising the Minister for Fisheries on the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy.

Moreton Bay supports large numbers of the nationally threatened green turtle, hawksbill turtle and loggerhead turtle. It is also one of three important sites in Queensland where large numbers of dugongs habitat. This is the second episode in our two-part series on Wetlands, following on from World Wetlands Day. Conservation of wetlands is crucial in our fight against climate change and for protecting wildlife - take a listen to find out more.

In this episode we cover:
• The beauty and uniqueness of Moreton Bay and why it’s so important to protect this area
• The Moreton Bay Foundation and their valuable work
• The importance of traditional owners leading the charge in caring for country
• Why wetlands are undervalued and current damage to wetland areas globally
• The importance of wetlands for biodiversity, carbon capture, water quality, ecosystem functioning, shoreline protection and human wellbeing
• Ian’s fascinating research regarding tiger sharks.
• What we can do as citizen scientists and eco-activists to help protect these valuable areas

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Melanie Dixon - National Wetland Trust of New Zealand31 Jan 202100:43:01

Melanie Dixon is a principal ecologist and serves as a trustee and deputy chair for the National Wetland Trust of New Zealand.
Wetlands are often undervalued, but are amongst the most productive ecosystems in the world, home to an immense variety of species and acting as important filtration and buffer systems. These ecosystems are also hugely important carbon sinks, storing ~1/3 of the world’s terrestrial carbon. Unfortunately, over the last 300 years, 85% of the world’s wetland areas have been destroyed.

On February 2nd we celebrate World Wetlands Day and this episode serves as the first interview in our two-part series on the wonders of wetlands!

In this episode we cover:
• Melanie’s background and her journey to ecology and wetland preservation
• What classifies as a wetland and why they are so important for human and planetary health
• The valuable work of the National Wetland Trust in New Zealand
• The current state of New Zealand’s wetlands and impacts of farming and development
• Why peatlands are one of the most important types of wetlands
• What we can do to conserve and restore New Zealand’s wetland areas

World Wetlands Day is held annually to celebrate the 1971 adoption of the International Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar, with this year’s theme being Wetlands and Water. The National Wetland Trust will be releasing a new report on 2nd February, to coincide with World Wetlands Day.

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Michal Siewierski - Award Winning Filmmaker24 Jan 202100:50:12

Michal Siewierski is a world-renowned, award-winning documentary filmmaker known for his previous documentaries Food Choices and Diet Fiction. Michal has continued his impactful film-making journey with his latest documentary offering Takeout.
In this documentary, Michal embarks on a daring journey to expose the real drivers behind the Amazon forest fires and devastating deforestation rates. Michal is a force for positive change and continually highlights the benefits of a plant-based eating pattern for human AND planetary health.

In this episode we cover:
• Michal’s background, his personal health struggles and journey to a plant-based diet
• His driving motivations for transitioning to documentary film making
• Michal’s previous documentaries Food Choices and Diet Fiction
• The inspiration for his latest documentary Takeout
• Why we ALL need to care about the plight of the Amazon
• Why the Amazon is burning, the impact of cattle and soy production and the local and global influences at play
• The human health consequences of deforestation in the Amazon
• The far-reaching ecological effects of this deforestation, including water quality and security issues, climate change, loss of biodiversity and desertification
• Key drivers for positive change moving forward – how can we take action?
• Michal’s current projects, including his recently launched Film Warrior Secrets

We hope you enjoy this important conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Wrap-up 2020 with Dr Luke Wilson16 Dec 202002:09:54

Folks, this is our final episode for 2020 – it’s been one hell of a year. Thank you for taking this journey with us. We close out the year by reflecting on some of the incredible wisdom our stellar guests have shared with us since we kicked off in April. We are joined once again by our very first guest, the incredible Dr Luke Wilson, to help us recap, weigh in on some hot topics and share some valuable insights.

If you’re newer to the show, we hope this episode can serve as a brief synopsis of our mission and the importance of our three key pillars of health; movement, whole food nutrition and environmental wellness. We also urge you to peruse our back catalogue and catch up on any episodes you may have missed – this is one jampacked episode, and unfortunately, we just couldn’t fit everything in!

This has been a year of uncertainties, upheavals and radical changes for many. Covid-19 has sharply brought into focus the consequences of how we’ve been interacting with our environment up until this point. How we choose to recover from the pandemic is up to us, as a society and as individuals. We hope this episode can help clarify what is truly of importance, and how we can all take action for a better future moving forward. Let’s not hope to go back to ‘normal’, let’s strive for something even better. Stay safe, stay well and speak to you again in 2021!

We hope you enjoy this conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family. And remember to also visit our website for more content, and subscribe to the newsletter.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Christelle Bakhache - Ecological Impact of Nature Recreation13 Jul 202501:02:04

Christelle Bakhache is a climber, conservationist, Lagoped ambassador, and Nature Sports Project Manager at Asters, the Conservatory of Natural Spaces in Haute-Savoie, France. With a background in environmental science and fieldwork that includes time with global organisations like WWF, Christelle brings a deep, practical understanding of conservation to her current work protecting some of France’s most fragile alpine environments.

Christelle works where outdoor adventure and environmental protection meet. She focuses on making sure that people can still enjoy the mountains without causing lasting harm to the ecosystems that make these places so special. Whether it’s shaping policy, supporting grassroots projects, or helping athletes think differently about their impact, she’s passionate about finding practical ways to balance human presence in these special and unique environments.

In this conversation, Christelle shares how her love for wild spaces fuels her mission, what she’s witnessing firsthand in the face of climate change, and how outdoor athletes and everyday adventurers alike can reduce their impact. She also reflects on her personal journey—blending exploration, advocacy, and a commitment to low-impact living to pursue a more sustainable future.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Christelle’s path into conservation and her drive to protect the natural world
  • Life and work in Haute-Savoie, and how the region shapes her environmental outlook
  • Her role at Asters and their mission to safeguard mountain biodiversity
  • The rapid and visible impacts of climate change in the European Alps
  • Conservation wins, persistent challenges, and reasons for hope
  • The hidden environmental toll of large-scale sporting events
  • What genuinely low-impact outdoor events could look like
  • Sustainable training and travel tips for athletes and adventurers
  • Practical ways we can all reduce our footprint in nature
  • The influence of individual athletes and institutions advocating for change
  • Christelle’s year of travelling simply and living with intention
  • Steps toward becoming a more thoughtful, respectful presence in the outdoors

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

The Lentil Express - Calcium, Movement and Oats06 Dec 202000:22:19

In this express episode, Ben and Emma weigh in on the recent EPIC-Oxford paper, which assessed fracture risk differences between plant-based eaters and omnivores. It’s caused quite the stir in the nutrition world - but as always with nutrition, there are many shades of grey and blanket statements should not be made (If you want a deep dive into some of the methodological flaws of the study, see Dr Avi Bitterman discuss that here).

We also discuss the brand new physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines released by the World Health Organisation, and Ben shares some interesting findings from a recent study looking at the anti-inflammatory compounds in oats on exercise-induced muscle damage. If that last one piques your interest, be sure to sign up to our newsletter for an oat-filled recipe coming your way soon!

As always, please tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Taisia Cech, MBChB - Plantify29 Nov 202000:52:02

Dr Taisia Cech is a GP based in Nelson and founder of Plantify. Taisia’s own health struggles set her down the path to becoming a doctor and discovering a whole food plant-based lifestyle. Taisia keeps busy running Plantify and working as a GP, but states her main job is raising two plant-powered little ones; she has discovered increased clarity and a sense of urgency to look after our planet since having kids!
Taisia brings a wealth of personal experience and clinical knowledge to this discussion as we chat about plant-based pregnancies, women’s health and much more!

In this episode we cover:
• Taisia’s background and her previous health challenges
• Improvements in physical and emotional wellbeing after switching to a plant-based diet
• The inspiration behind Plantify
• Taisia’s involvement in the Nelson C40 Good Food City initiative
• Plant-based pregnancies and raising plant-powered little ones
• Women’s health – lifestyle basics from pregnancy through to menopause 
• The safety of soy products
• Lifestyle for heart health
• The need to propagate real change and move away from the current ‘sick care’ system

We hope you enjoy this conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Geoff Reid, Nature Photographer and Environmentalist22 Nov 202000:37:59

Geoff Reid is a passionate environmental activist, nature photographer and content creator based in Aotearoa. Geoff uses his skills as a visual communicator to advocate for forest and water restoration, pest management and increased biodiversity.

Geoff is only a one-man band, and to-date has been running on a shoe-string budget, yet he has still been able to achieve so much through his hard work, dedication and effective advocacy. A phenomenal human. His latest campaign brings awareness to the intensive winter grazing that takes place in New Zealand. You can also view some of Geoff’s work and footage on his YouTube account.

In this episode we cover:
• Geoff’s background, his passion for the environment and his evolution to environmental activist
• His involvement in forest and water advocacy and pest management
• Intensive winter grazing – what it is, why it’s done and how it is a big environmental and ethical problem
• Intensive horticulture – it’s not just animal agriculture that poses an issues
• Deforestation in New Zealand – the scale, causes and consequences
• Effective advocacy – The success of the ‘Choose Clean Water’ campaign by reframing the issue and messaging
• A way forward – the problem with greenwashing, the need for strong leadership and what we as individuals can do
• Future projects!

Geoff really is able to achieve a lot, while working with so little. There are big plans in the pipeline, but in order to action some of these ideas Geoff needs more funding. If you would like to support his work or to simply find out more about his important work please visit Geoff’s Patreon.

Geoff's latest campaign is for Pāmu farms to stop intensive winter grazing and you can sign this petition to do your part.

We hope you enjoy this inspiring conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Adam Guthrie, Plant-Based Chef and Wellness Coach15 Nov 202001:10:42

Adam Guthrie, founder of I Feel Good, joins us for an inspiring discussion about his health challenges and journey back to wellness. Like many of us, Adam was leading a very busy life and wasn’t paying close attention to his health and nutrition… until he was forced to reassess everything, following a heart attack at 39.

His transformation was nothing short of incredible. Following the heart attack, Adam didn’t just recover – he thrived, losing 30 kg and completing an Ironman triathlon. Since this time, Adam has established I Feel Good, a platform that helps thousands of people around the world transform their lives through a whole food plant-based diet and lifestyle. Folks, this is one uplifting conversation.

In this episode we cover:
• Adam’s backstory and life pre-heart attack 
• His road to recovery, including the journey from heart attack to Ironman
• The key pillars of Adam’s lifestyle now
• His work as a wellness coach and why I Feel Good was created
• Supporting others on their plant-based journeys
• And a whole lot more!

We hope you enjoy this inspiring conversation and would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to tag @TheLentilIntervention and help us reach more people by liking, reviewing, subscribing and sharing this episode with your friends and family.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Kate Wylie - Climate Medicine01 Nov 202001:05:20

Dr Kate Wylie is a GP and climate activist based in Adelaide. Kate is the founder of Climate Medicine, a member of Doctors For The Environment Australia and has completed the Climate Reality Leadership Program with Al Gore. Dr Wylie does vital work, educating on the health effects of climate change to both community groups and health professionals.

In this episode we discuss:
• Kate’s background and journey to climate activism
• The need to view climate change as a health issue
• The major causes of our climate emergency, current projections and timeline for making crucial changes
• Climate change and its wide-ranging impacts on human health – from the increased risk of Asthma right through to zoonotic diseases
• Recommended climate management plan moving forward for governments, organisations and individuals
• 10 individual actions we can all implement that will benefit our planet and our health
• Kate’s upcoming advocacy work
• And so much more!

This one covers climate change from the angle of human health – and the climate emergency is arguably the greatest threat to human health this century. Please help us reach more people with this important message by liking, reviewing, subscribing and most importantly sharing this episode with friends and family.

View The Future We Choose, the book mentioned by Dr Wylie.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Shane Ward - Action Ecology25 Oct 202001:08:36

Shane Ward is founder of Action Ecology, a consultancy offering a range of services that improve land productivity, resource efficiency, resilience and ecological function. Shane is passionate about the benefits of regenerative agriculture and the opportunities it provides for carbon drawdown, presenting regularly on the subject. He serves as Better Futures Forum’s expert on regenerative land use, sustainable food systems and ecosystem restoration.

In this episode we discuss:
• Shane’s background and interest in ecology
• How Action Ecology came to be and the services provided
• Current problems with intensive farming and consequent effects on the environment and long-term sustainability of our food supply
• Regenerative agriculture; what it means, the importance of soil and some of the common approaches
• The importance of considering the unique natural environment when designing a sustainable farm
• The role of animals, holistic grazing and the need to transition towards more plant-centred diets
• The new Netflix documentary Kiss The Ground
• Actionable changes for the home gardener/hobby farmer to improve the sustainability of their ventures.

We hope you enjoy this episode and would love to hear your feedback! And don’t forget to tag @TheLentilIntervention on your social media posts.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

James Wilson - Plant Paradigm18 Oct 202000:40:44

James Wilson had spent a lifetime growing, harvesting and eating meat and milk products but following a serious health scare, he made the switch to a wholefood plant-based lifestyle.
James lost weight, turned his health around and was able to discontinue his prescription medication. He has now authored the book Plant Paradigm which describes the benefits of veganism for animals, human health and planetary health and touches on an extra benefit – the joy of eating this way.

In this episode we discuss:
•  James’ background, including his work as a farmer
•  The health scares that motivated James to switch to a wholefood plant-based diet
•  What spurred James to author Plant Paradigm and key outtakes from the book
•  Why certain farming methods are out of date, and why regenerative agriculture is short-sighted
•  The benefits of a WFPB diet for weight management and longevity
•  And a lot more!

We hope you enjoy this episode and would love to hear your feedback! And don’t forget to tag @TheLentilIntervention on your social media posts.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Lyn Mayes - Mad World04 Oct 202000:53:43

Lyn Mayes joins us in this episode to talk about the New Zealand soft plastics stewardship scheme and touch on the Australian equivalent, REDcycle - so this chat will be applicable to both our Aussie and NZ listeners!
Lyn is director and founder of the sustainability consultancy Mad World, the sustainability advisor to the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council, a member of the Institute of Directors and Chair of the Auckland Conservation Board.  Lyn also manages the NZ soft plastics stewardship scheme. A very busy and passionate human!

Over the period from 1950-2015, cumulative production of plastics reached 7.8 billion tonnes worldwide – more than one tonne of plastic for every person alive today! As our listeners would know, soft plastics cannot be recycled via regular curbside collection, so this is an important issue to address.

In this episode we discuss:
• Lyn’s background, her business Mad World and why she ventured into the realm of sustainability
• The NZ soft plastic recycling scheme and mention of REDcycle in Australia.
• The Packaging Forum and partnership with Future Post and Second Life Plastics to create a circular economy
• The number of soft plastics saved and the future direction of the scheme
• Some quick-fire FAQs on what can and cannot be recycled through the scheme

We hope you enjoy this episode and would love to hear your feedback! And don’t forget to tag The Lentil Intervention on your social media posts.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Ondine Sherman - Vegan Living27 Sep 202000:57:56

The fantastic Ondine Sherman is an established author, the co-founder and managing director of Voiceless: The Animal Protection Institute and also serves as director of the conservation NGO This is My Earth. Ondine joins us to discuss her new book Vegan Living: A simple guide to a cruelty-free, healthy, plant-based life.
And thanks to the generosity of Ondine and her Publisher, Pantera Press, we are able to offer four copies of Ondine’s new book to our Aussie and Kiwi listeners – so be sure to tune in to find out how you can win yourself a copy of this great new book!

In this episode we discuss:
• Ondine’s background and journey to veganism
• The history of Voiceless and their important new initiatives 
• Ondine’s new book and why it was needed
• The benefits of a plant-based diet – not just for animals, but for human health, the climate and protecting earth’s natural spaces
• Possible issues plant-based eaters may face and how to tackle them
• The need to make the plant-based movement an inclusive and welcoming space

This episode has some great takeaways but will likely be of particular benefit for anyone new to a plant-based diet, or someone thinking about transitioning. Please help us reach more people with this important message by liking, reviewing, subscribing and most importantly sharing this episode with friends and family. 


To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Hannah Blumhardt - The Rubbish Trip20 Sep 202000:58:56

Hannah Blumhardt is one busy lady. Having a background in law, policy, history and international relations she serves as the zero-waste expert for Better Futures Forum, founded The Rubbish Trip with her partner Liam in 2015 and is the co-founder and policy spokesperson for Takeaway Throwaways. Hannah is also a member of the steering committee for the New Zealand Product Stewardship Council, amongst many other things! Hannah is a passionate advocate for zero waste living, her work and research spans from grassroots to government and focuses on reaching a waste-free world.

In this episode we discuss:
• Hannah’s background and journey to a waste-free lifestyle
• The motivation behind establishing The Rubbish Trip
• The need to shift our thinking about waste, the waste hierarchy and the surprising fact that recycling is one of the least preferable options
• Linear versus circular economy models and the consequences on the environment
• Industry ‘greenwashing’ and the complacency that stems from that
• Government, industry and consumer responsibilities in waste management 
• The New Zealand Product Stewardship scheme and the potential benefits and pitfalls
• What changes individuals can make to reduce their impact on the environment

There are a lot of important topics covered in this episode if you care about the environment – whether you are a local kiwi or based abroad, this is a necessary listen. Please help us reach more people with this important message by liking, reviewing, subscribing and most importantly sharing this episode with friends and family.
(photo credit: Solene News and Land)

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Joseph Boctor - Micro- And Nanoplastics In Agricultural Soils29 Jun 202500:41:26

Joseph Boctor is a PhD researcher at Murdoch University’s Bioplastics Innovation Hub and a passionate advocate for sustainable environmental solutions. Originally from Egypt, Joseph’s work is driven by a personal mission to address the growing plastic pollution crisis in the Nile River and other regions where waste management and recycling systems are underdeveloped or ineffective.

At the Bioplastics Innovation Hub — a collaborative initiative between Murdoch University, CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and industry partners — Joseph’s research focuses on developing innovative ways to break down plastics in environments where traditional approaches fall short. With expertise in chemical sciences and biotechnology, he’s helping pioneer next-generation strategies for plastic degradation and sustainable materials.

Together with the team at the Hub, Joseph is contributing to Australia’s efforts to rethink the plastic lifecycle, to create a cleaner, more resilient future for ecosystems around the world.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Joseph’s background and what sparked his passion for tackling plastic pollution
  • The shocking scale of plastic waste in the Nile River and its broader implications
  • The two sides to the plastic problem—beginning and end of life strategies
  • His lead authorship on the paper Microplastics and nanoplastics: fate, transport, and governance from agricultural soil to food webs and humans”
  • Why micro- and nanoplastics are so concerning, and how their size makes them nearly impossible to escape
  • From soil to salad: How micro and nanoplastics enter agricultural soils and what that could mean for our health
  • The urgent need for regulation and standardised risk assessments of plastics in food webs
  • Packaging solutions that don’t leave a legacy: The groundbreaking work of the Bioplastics Innovation Hub
  • Australia’s love affair with plastic, and the alarming statistics behind our consumption
  • Joseph’s lead authorship on the review Nature’s Plastic Predators: A Comprehensive and Bibliometric Review of Plastivore Insects
  • The intriguing insects that can feed on plastics—and how they could revolutionise waste management
  • The Hub’s Smart Sprays Project and its potential to transform the agricultural industry
  • Practical steps we can take as consumers to reduce our plastic footprint and avoid contamination

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Dr Sam Gartland, MB, ChB, BSc (Hons), MRCP, FRACGP, MSPMED06 Sep 202001:02:57

Dr Sam Gartland is a GP based in Ballina, NSW. In 2008 while busy as an intensive care doctor, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and his world changed. Sam’s symptoms were so severe he had to resign his position, but fortunately, he has now been relapse-free since 2009, after implementing specific dietary and lifestyle changes.

These changes not only helped in his recovery but shape Sam’s practice as a doctor today. Sam now strongly advocates for a lifestyle medicine approach, where appropriate, and empowers and educates patients so they can also start writing their own recovery stories.

In this episode we discuss:
• Sam’s background and work as a doctor in Australia and the UK
• His diagnosis and disenchantment with the mainstream medical approach for MS
• Sam’s road to recovery and the impact MS typically has on quality and length of life
• The work of Dr Roy Swank and Professor George Jelinek
• The importance of diet, exercise, stress management, vitamin D and Omega-3s and how they relate to MS
• The importance of hope in healing and maintaining a positive mindset

This is a valuable episode for anyone struggling with a chronic health condition and Dr Gartland has such a positive and powerful message to share. Please help us reach more people with this important message by liking, reviewing, subscribing and most importantly sharing this episode with friends and family.

Here are the links to:
• the Overcoming MS programme
• Sam’s personal website
• and if you are local to Dr Gartland in the Ballina area, this is where you schedule an appointment

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

The Lentil Express - Dairy versus Soya Bean23 Aug 202000:21:40

And we’re back! And we bring you the first ‘express edition’ of the podcast. These will be short-form snippets peppered in between our regular episodes, where Ben and Emma cover specific subjects or timely topics.

In this episode we let you know what’s been happening behind the scenes while we’ve been away from the mic and cover a current hot topic. Social media and news platforms have been alight due to a recent paper released by The Sustainable Food Trust. The paper recommended that those who want to choose the environmentally sustainable milk choice should opt for dairy over soya. This translated into news articles with clickbait headlines like ‘Soya milk will cost the earth, vegans warned’. So, do the findings in this paper actually stack up? Not so much. We delve into the details.

And, we have a brand new website so make sure you check it out, share it and subscribe to our mailing list!

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop, Principal Scientist22 Jul 202001:03:02

Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop is the Executive Director of World Preservation Foundation. He worked until mid-2010 as Principal Scientist with the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Resources Management Remote Sensing Centre, where he witnessed 4% of the world's deforestation for over 20 years. Following 37 years with federal and state government, Gerard is now engaged in communicating environmental issues such as deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss, and is full of optimism that together humanity and our natural environment have a bright future.

In this episode we discuss:
• Gerard’s background work monitoring deforestation.
• Australia’s disastrous land clearing rates, and what’s really driving this.
• Queensland deforestation and its impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Key planetary boundaries, including those we have already overstepped.
• The contribution of animal agriculture to climate change.
• Gerard’s work with NGO Beyond Zero Emissions.
• His involvement in the upcoming documentary and associated book Eating Our Way To Extinction.

This one covers some really vital issues and the consequences of not addressing these concerns soon are quite dire.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.

© My Podcast Data · Projet indépendant · Données issues d'Apple & Spotify