I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Robb Wolf for over a decade and over the course of that time and through our work together on Sacred Cow, we’ve had so many conversations that we wish we would have recorded. 

During these Fireside Chats, you’ll hear us talk about recent studies we find interesting, current events, complex food issues that need deep exploration, and other related hot topics that have captured our attention.

Join us for today’s chat as we discuss:

- How we met

- The structure of the book Sacred Cow and how it hits the three main points of controversy in a meat inclusive diet

- The reality of beef consumption in America

- The problem with profitability in Impossible Burger

- How sometimes the best use of land is grazing

- Well For Culture’s Instagram post about the importance of bison to Indigenous people

- The reality of humans trying to improve upon nature

- The study from India that attributes positive pregnancy outcomes solely to eating a vegetarian diet

- Historical lessons to be learned from demonizing meat consumption

- How being a proud meat-eater affects Diana’s social life

- The Indian Express article about the first ‘Climate Change’ diagnosis

- How the cause of wildfires should not only be attributed to climate change and how mismanagement is, in part, to blame. Don’t worry - we are not climate change deniers!

Resources:

The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf

The Dark Horse podcast

UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26)

Global Food Justice Alliance

Well For Culture

The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman

Dr. Sylvia Karpagam’s article on India’s politics and ideology around food 

Connect with Robb:

Website: The Healthy Rebellion

Instagram: @dasrobbwolf

LinkedIn: Robb Wolf

Facebook: RobbWolf.com

Twitter: @robbwolf

YouTube: Robb Wolf

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Episode Credits:

Thank you to all who’ve made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers and James Connelly. Our producer is Meg Chatham, and our editor is Emily Soape. And of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Patreon supporters, and listeners.

A big thanks to Nakano Knives for their support of my work and the podcast. I’ve been using their knives for a couple of years now and I love them. They are beautiful, easy to hold, and a fantastic value. And just in time for the holidays, you can use my offer code DIANA for 10% off plus get a $25 voucher toward your next purchase. Who doesn’t love a new knife, right? 

This episode is also sponsored by Paleovalley, my go-to, grab-and-go source for products that prioritize nutrient density in an industry that prioritizes everything else. Their epic lineup of products includes Organic Supergreens, 100% Grass-Fed Beef Sticks, Grass-Fed Organ Complex, 100% Grass-Fed Bone Broth Protein, and low-sugar snack bars. Visit their website here and enter the code SUSTAINABLEDISH for 15% off your first order.

As I have mentioned before, what we wear plays as much of a part in sustainability as what we eat.  Along with leather, wool is a natural fiber that can be used to create earth-friendly, fashionable pieces that are long-lasting.

On this episode of the podcast, I am joined by Edzard Van Der Wyck, co-founder of Sheep, Inc. Since 2017, Sheep, Inc has been making “contemporary knitwear that has a positive impact on the world.” This mission is completed through solar powered manufacturing, carbon-negative raw materials, and well-cared for sheep. 

Join our conversation to learn:

- How Edzard got started in the fashion industry and how Sheep Inc came to be

- The problems with fast fashion 

- The process of finding sustainable materials

- Cashmere versus Merino wool

- The self-cleaning nature of Merino wool

- How Sheep Inc is able to have a carbon negative impact through optimizing their supply chain

- All about the adopt-a-sheep program

- How comparing wool to slavery or the holocaust is inaccurate and unjust

- Why sheep need to be shorn once a year

- How the wool is treated affects the feel

- The unique marketing approach of Sheep Inc and gender neutral quality of the products

- How you eventually pay the price for things in one way or another

- All of Sheep Inc’s Impact Program where 5% of revenue goes to regenerative projects

- How Covid has encouraged people to make more meaningful purchases

Resources:

- Heist Studios

- Sustainable Dish Episode 14: Director Michael Matheson Miller of Poverty Inc.

- The Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID)

- ZQRX program

Connect with Edzard:

Website: Sheep Inc.

Instagram: @sheepinc

LinkedIn: Edzard van der Wyck

Twitter: @evdwyck

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Episode Credits:

Thank you to all who’ve made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers, Lauren Manning, and James Connelly. Our producer is Meg Chatham, and our editor is Emily Soape. And of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Patreon supporters, and listeners.

A big thanks to Nakano Knives for their support of my work and the podcast. I’ve been using their knives for a couple of years now and I love them. They are beautiful, easy to hold, and a fantastic value. And just in time for the holidays, you can use my offer code DIANA for 10% off plus get a $25 voucher toward your next purchase. Who doesn’t love a new knife, right?   

Creating a world that is not only sustainable but regenerative extends past our plates into what we wear. With the rise of fast fashion and unchecked consumerism, buying quality, real leather goods is one way to make your wardrobe more sustainable. 

You can read my article here about the problems in the textile industry and how many of the “ethical” or “better” options fall short.  One solution is long lasting quality goods made from leather. 

A few years ago the Savory Institute connected me with Janet Hamilton, owner of Farrier Leather, a company dedicated to making sustainable vegetable tanned leather goods. Janet makes beautiful, functional pieces from responsibly sourced materials and continues to strive for higher standards as availability improves.

Join my co host, Lauren Manning and Janet as they discuss the role of real leather in the sustainability movement and other topics:

-Why Janet started Farrier Leather and the barriers she faced finding well-sourced raw materials

-The benefits  of  traditional vegetable tanning methods over current methods using chromium salts

-Other brands that are concerned with leather sourcing

-The good and the bad about sustainable materials becoming more mainstream

-Correcting misconceptions about leather and highlighting the problems with vegan leather

-How to start making more sustainable choices - and it’s not throwing out all your clothes and starting over

-Sometimes the most sustainable choice is choosing not to buy 

-It’s about better choices, not perfect choices. Define your personal priorities

-It’s not used. It’s vintage!

-How Janet learned how to make leather goods

-Janet’s favorite leather items

Resources:

Leather Working Group  

Pennyroyal Designs

Savory Institute

Modal fabric

Poshmark

Thredup

Rent the Runway

Leatherworking group on Reddit

Leatherworker.net

Connect with [Guest]:

Website: Farrier Leather

Instagram: @farrier_leather

Facebook: Farrier Leather

Twitter: @Farrier_Leather

Pinterest: Farrier Leather 

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Episode Credits:

Thank you to all who’ve made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers, Lauren Manning, and James Connolly. Our producer is Meg Chatham, and our editor is Emily Soape. And of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Patreon supporters, and listeners.

Today’s episode is a little bit different. I wanted the opportunity to talk about current events, topics that need deep exploration, or catch-up with friends. So, I am starting Fireside Chats, intimate conversations with people in my inner circle, like my co-host James Connolly, and Robb Wolf, my co-author of Sacred Cow. 

This first chat was sparked by responses I received from my Instagram post a few days ago. You can read the original post here and my response here. James and I talk about our feelings surrounding the food landscape in which we find ourselves living and how the food industry, specifically ultra processed foods, is using activist language in order to sell products. 

These tactics create a right versus wrong situation absent of all nuance, which leads to fights over language and word use rather than allowing us to get to the heart of the issue. As a dietitian, it is my job to identify foods that are better sources of nutrients than other foods. Those of you that have been following my work for some time, know that I look at diet holistically considering many factors.

For folks new to Sustainable Dish, I would encourage you to read my post on foods that are more expensive and less nutritious than grass-fed beef. Or listen to previous podcast episodes featuring experts in the field of climate change, sustainable farming, and other issues that impact human health (like poverty).

James and I continue our conversation discussing:

-Michelle Obama and the Let’s Move campaign leading to the Everything in Moderation mantra

-Processed food’s predatory nature on communities

-The importance of diving deeper into the issue and determining how less nutritious foods came to be culturally appropriate foods

-How the potato became a part of Irish culture as a way to control the Irish

-How food groups are made up

-Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and its effect on people’s food choices

-How food access is only one factor when it comes to eating healthfully

-The Universal Basic Income experiment that led to positive health outcomes

-How stressors prevent you from making choices that lead to a better health future

-A study of pregnant women from India that associated vegetarianism with positive pregnancy outcomes without considering class, economic status, or healthcare access.

-What James is up to now

What Diana is up to now

-Resources:

The Four Agreements

Food Compass Study

Sacred Cow

Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf

Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman

Death in the Garden with Jake Marquez and Maren Morgen

White Oak Pastures

Sustainable Dish Episode 164: Will Harris of White Oak Pastures  

Center for Agricultural Resilience (CFAR)

Jason Rowntree at Michigan State University

Sustainable Dish Episode 167: Dr. Tony Hampton

Connect with James: 

Website: The Primate Kitchen

Instagram: @primatekitchen

Twitter: @jamescophoto

***

Episode Credits:

Thank you to all who’ve made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers, Lauren Manning, and James Connolly. Our producer is Meg Chatham, and our editor is Emily Soape. And of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Patreon supporters, and listeners.

Tufts University recently released the updated Food Compass, a nutrient profiling system to help consumers and policymakers determine the healthfulness of certain foods. You can read the full study here, (a subscription to Nature is required) read the brief overview here, or see a detailed list of the food rankings here. 

Dr. Tony Hampton joins me in this episode to discuss some of the shocking and inaccurate results of the Food Compass. Spoiler alert: Cheerios scored a 94 out of 100 while beef only scored a 24.

Dr. Hampton is a board certified obesity specialist, Certified Physician Executive, researcher and author. His goal is to empower his patients with knowledge in order to improve their health conditions. 

Like me, Dr. Hampton is passionate about the necessity of meat in a healthy diet, and takes issue with how animal-based foods are often vilified in studies like the Food Compass.

Guides like this are troubling because they serve as reference points for school lunches, food policy, and government programs like SNAP.  They claim to be intended for healthy populations but the sad fact is that many Americans are not metabolically healthy. 

Along with the Food Compass report, Dr. Hampton and I discuss:

How Dr. Hampton started his journey in metabolic health with his wife’s diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes

The importance of bio individuality

The concept of TOFI - Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside

The importance of self-experimentation

Why learning how to breakdown research papers is important, especially for clinicians

The importance of a culturally appropriate diet

The origins of soul food

How small changes can make a big difference

Resources:

Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy

 Dr. Tony Hampton’s book: Fix Your Diet, Fix Your Diabetes

Nina Teicholz

Dr. Eric Westman

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

Levels Glucose Monitor

Dr Vyvyane Loh & her video on TOFI

Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners

Chris Masterjohn’s podcast on how to read a research paper 

Chicken George

Connect with [Guest]:

Website: Doctor Tony Hampton

Instagram: @drtonyhampton

LinkedIn: Tony Hampton, MD, MBA, CPE

Facebook: Tony Hampton, MD, MBA, CPE

Twitter: @drtonyhampton

YouTube: Dr Tony Hampton

Podcast: Protecting Your N.E.S.T

***

Episode Credits:

Thank you to all who’ve made this show possible. Our hosts are Diana Rodgers, Lauren Manning, and James Connelly. Our producer is Meg Chatham, and our editor is Emily Soape. And of course, we are grateful for our sponsors, Patreon supporters, and listeners.

This episode is sponsored by Paleovalley, my go-to, grab-and-go source for products that prioritize nutrient density in an industry that prioritizes everything else. Their epic lineup of products includes Organic Supergreens, 100% Grass-Fed Beef Sticks, Grass-Fed Organ Complex, 100% Grass-Fed Bone Broth Protein, and low-sugar snack bars. Visit their website here and enter the code SUSTAINABLEDISH for 15% off your first order.