Food production is responsible for a third of the climate crisis, yet it’s the part of the problem we talk about the least. With agricultural land making up forty percent of our planet, we are literally eating the Earth. The first step is acknowledging the mess and the second is addressing it. In today’s episode, Ken is joined by investigative reporter Mike Grunwald. They discuss Mike’s exploration of our broken food system in his new book, “We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate”.

Both Ken and Mike acknowledge that industrial agriculture has many problems: it mistreats workers and animals, pollutes air and water, and relies too heavily on toxic chemicals and antibiotics. But they also share a conviction that reform is possible — and essential — if we want to feed a growing population without destroying the planet.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

We Are Eating the Earth The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate

Monsanto Hid Decades Of Pollution (The Washington Post, 2002)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

The Republican-led Congress is considering a “Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill that might include new hurdles for crucial assistance programs like Medicaid and SNAP, such as adding work requirements and increasing paperwork. GOP lawmakers claim the changes aim to tackle fraud, waste and abuse in the programs.

In today’s episode, Ken talks with Bob Greenstein, founder and president emeritus of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank that for more than 40 years has been the gold standard for analyzing the impact of federal and state government budget policies.

Ken and Bob highlight the millions of Americans who will lose access to health care and food assistance if the bill becomes law. A core EWG belief is that you can’t help people make healthier choices if they don’t have access to food. Creating barriers to, and reducing, benefits, doesn’t mean healthier kids – it only leads to hungrier kids.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

The Brookings Institution

Paul Krugman's Substack

Work Requirements and Work Supports for Recipients of Means-Tested Benefits (CBO)

The Recession of 2007–2009 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Medicaid Work Requirements In Arkansas: Two-Year Impacts On Coverage, Employment, And Affordability Of Care (NIH)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

While there are positive aspects of having top government officials talking about chronic disease prevention and diet, the food industry's primary goal remains profit – not public health. In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Marion Nestle, one of America's most respected voices on nutrition and food politics.

Marion believes that truly addressing human health and equality in food requires getting politics out of the discussion. She has dedicated her career to advocating for public health and food policy, is a professor at NYU, author of several books and writes the daily newsletter Food Politics.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Marion Nestle’s Newsletter Food Politics

Marion Nestle’s Books

Awareness of the MyPlate Plan: United States, 2017–March 2020

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Food Research & Action Center

Food security among SNAP participants 2019 to 2021: a cross-sectional analysis of current population survey food security supplement data (Journal of Nutritional Science)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup