health

"We are heading toward a two-tiered food system in this country," notes David Kirby, author of Animal Factory.
The food safety bill that just passed Congress puts some safety standards back into the U.S. food system, but does it do anything to change the ability of poor folks to buy healthy food? Raj Patel points out that when wages are kept low and work is devalued, it doesn't matter how cheap food is; people won't be able to afford it.Raj and David join us for a special extended conversation about the state of food policy in the U.S.: safety, subsidies, wages and working conditions. Does bipartisan acknowledgement that there is a problem bode well for our food system, and what's going on with local activism toward sustainable food production?Kelly Anderson is a longtime Brooklyn resident, but when she found herself being priced out of neighborhoods, she decided to take a closer look at the forces of gentrification, and their impact on the city's race and class makeup. ; Zeroing in on the Fulton Mall, a historically black shopping district in Downtown Brooklyn being eyed by developers for a "renaissance," Anderson and her crew examine the forces reshaping the city.Who benefits when neighborhoods suddenly catch the eye of the money men? Lasting Scars
is a look at a complex issue that doesn't have all the answers, but certainly has some interesting questions.Finally, when we talk about food, we often talk about fat. But Marjorie Ingall wants us to remember that shaming fat people doesn't fix a broken food system.

In 2005, Surgeon General Richard Carmona called obesity "the terror within," and said, "Unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9-11." But public policy changes would be pointless, because common-sense health decisions will be legislated. Excuse me? First of all, my thighs are a bigger threat to this country than people who fly planes into skyscrapers? Marjorie Ingall is a columnist for Tablet magazine and co-author of Hungry, with Crystal Renn Distributed by Tubemogul.

"It's not about being pure or saintly, it's about moving in the right direction," says New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, author of The Food Matters Cookbook. Bittman considers himself a "less-meatarian," and says that while he loves meat, the best way to move toward sustainability and slowing climate change is for people to consume less meat. ; Meanwhile, eating plants and other natural, unprocessed foods is not only best for the environment--it's best for our health, too.Bittman joins Laura in studio for a conversation about food: what to eat and how, the barriers to eating healthy that so many people face, and to share a few of his "revolutionary" recipes.Eating less meat might be better for the world, but it can definitely be delicious. Buckwheat is actually a fruit, a grain substitute that can be excellent for those with gluten sensitivities, or just a nice alternative to the usual.

"In every sense the Tea Party is able to get away with things that no group of color could ever possibly do," says Tim Wise, author of the new book Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity. While the Tea Party wails about socialism, Wise notes, they want to cut social services that they perceive as benefits for people of color--and the Obama administration's "race-neutral" politics aren't helping anyone.Wise joins Laura in studio for a special interview about his new book, and how racial bias infects every level of people's lives, from infant mortality rates to unemployment, college admissions and graduation rates to treatment in hospitals.