It’s All About Food

TITLE: Melanie Joy, PhD, Practice Integrity Melanie Joy, PhD, is a Harvard-educated psychologist, international trainer, and author of eight books, including the award-winning Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters, and How to End Injustice Everywhere. She is the eighth recipient of the Institute of Jainology’s Ahimsa Award, which was previously given to Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Her work has been featured by media outlets around the world, and she is also the founding president of the nonprofit organization Beyond Carnism. You can learn more about her work at carnism.org. Melanie has also recently published her debut novel, A Half-Hearted Death Wish. The book reflects the same values of compassion and awareness that underpin her other work, and it weaves in powerful themes of justice, connection, and empathy.  

TITLE: Gardening: Nature Always Finds a Way In DESCRIPTION: Caryn Hartglass and Gary De Mattei discuss their 2026 container gardening experiences on their NYC terrace, focusing on persistent wildlife challenges (squirrels and pigeons) and the broader context of food security, organic farming, and glyphosate's ongoing legal and health controversies. The conversation emphasizes the importance of home gardening as food prices rise and agricultural systems face mounting pressures.

Description: Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the bestselling author of I Can Cook Vegan, Isa Does It, Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook, and many more. 

This week Caryn Hartglass welcomes Robert Grillo of Free From Harm back to the show.  They cover a wide variety of topics impacting the vegan movement today including Politics, the Farm Bill, Bird Flu, Herbicides and Pesticides, Investors, Ultra-processed Foods and more. They also share some of their current recipe favorites.

For the 17th anniversary of IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD, we're doing something different: taking a clear-eyed look at where the vegan food movement has been — and where it still needs to go. In this episode: the explosive growth of veganism, the staggering lobbying gap between plant-based and animal agriculture, the ag-gag laws still being passed in 2025, and the moving story of Angel Moreno — a 76-year-old mystic who has kept New York's Caravan of Dreams alive for 35 years with faith and a beautiful vision.

In this episode Caryn Hartglass and Gary De Mattei share their thoughts about the current times filled with war and violence and offer ways to cope and enjoy peaceful moments with food. They offer practical tips and useful tools to make food preparation easier and fun.

“Move people to the lentils,” says Lianna Levine Reisner, cofounder of Plant Powered Metro New York.  Learn more about Lianna and Plant Powered Metro New York and why you should join us at their 7th Anniversary Gala on March 19, called Woven Together.

This week on IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD, Caryn Hartglass takes a deep investigative dive into glyphosate, corporate deregulation, and the future of our food system. From the courtroom battles that exposed Monsanto’s internal strategies to the science behind pesticide formulations and climate impacts, this episode connects the dots between public health, soil health, and political power. Caryn also examines shifting political narratives around glyphosate, explores what really happens to these chemicals in the environment, and highlights hopeful solutions — including organic, regenerative, and veganic agriculture. 

Co-author of the book Plant-Powered Protein, Vesanto Melina discusses highlights from the book, a necessary tool in today’s times, where people are obsessing over protein, and all too often, animal protein.  

Hanna Garth is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, author of Food in Cuba: The Pursuit of a Decent Meal, and coeditor of Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice. Food justice activists have worked to increase access to healthy food in low-income communities of color across the United States. Yet despite their best intentions, they often perpetuate food access inequalities and racial stereotypes. Hanna Garth shows how the movement has been affected by misconceptions and assumptions about residents, as well as by unclear definitions of justice and what it means to be healthy. Focusing on broad structures and microlevel processes, Garth reveals how power dynamics shape social justice movements in particular ways. Drawing on twelve years of ethnographic research, Garth examines what motivates people from more affluent, majority-white areas of the city to intervene in South Central Los Angeles. She argues that the concepts of "food justice" and "healthy food" operate as racially coded language, reinforcing the idea that health problems in low-income Black and Brown communities can be solved through individual behavior rather than structural change. Food Justice Undone explores the stakes of social justice and the possibility of multiracial coalitions working toward a better future.

Caryn Hartglass and Gary De Mattei cover the impact on our culture and how it can be used to help us lead healthier, more compassionate lives – or the opposite, creating habits that are addicting and damaging to all life on earth. They stress the importance of community (shared meals, potlucks, eating in restaurants), especially in these highly politicized times that are trying to divide us.

Lianna Levine Reisner, MSOD, is building a multicultural movement for health as President and Network Director of Plant Powered Metro New York, an organization she co-founded in 2019 to empower local communities to prevent and reverse chronic disease through evidence-based, plant-based nutrition. To address her family’s health challenges, Lianna had been searching for clear, evidence-based nutritional guidelines that made sense for her family. The writings of T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and his colleagues made a compelling case for whole food, plant-based nutrition, helping her to lose 20% of her body weight, reverse endometriosis and hormonal imbalances, and heavily reduce her allergies and skin issues, among many other benefits. Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center honored Lianna as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star in Food Policy in 2022. Lianna holds a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, and she is a certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator through Main Street Vegan Academy. She is also a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. With a Master’s from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, Lianna previously worked as an independent coach and consultant serving UJA-Federation of New York, providing organizational change support to Jewish nonprofit organizations in the New York metropolitan area. She lives in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband and three children.

In this episode, Caryn explores why weight dominates our resolutions, the truth behind weight-loss drugs, today’s loudest diet trends, the harm of fat-shaming, and the real goal hiding beneath it all: health, freedom, and peace with food. Featuring Nutritarian and Whole-Food Plant-Based inspiration, mouthwatering SOS-free recipe highlights, and a spotlight on NYC restaurants proving that oil-free, salt-free, refined-sugar-free dining isn’t extreme — it’s deliciously sane. Let’s drop the chaos. Not the carbs.  

In this episode of It’s All About Food, Caryn Hartglass reframes Thanksgiving leftovers as opportunities — to reduce food waste, save money, and create delicious plant-based meals. The episode covers U.S. food-waste context, a light history of the “doggie bag,” practical  food-safety and storage tips, and dozens of creative leftover transformations (roasted veg, stuffing, potatoes, beans, sauces, and sweet sides). Listeners get mindset strategies for planning and preventing waste, simple sauce tricks to revive meals.    

Hartglass & De Mattei, Celebrating Abundance: Vegan Recipes to Love, Share, and Savor In Part II of this series on Thanksgiving, Caryn and Gary share the delicious, joyful part of the celebration: their favorite vegan recipes. For the entire  Cozy Plant-Powered Feast, go to https://responsibleeatingandliving.com/hartglass-de-mattei-celebrating-abundance-vegan-recipes-to-love-share-and-savor/.

Hartglass & De Mattei: Speaking Of Birds In this episode Caryn and Gary tell the stories of the birds in the media today – the plight of Turkeys and Ostriches that are raised for food, and how they deserve so much more from us. Plus, they share their respect for their city neighbors, the Pigeons. Links mentioned in the podcast: United Poultry Concerns Karen Davis, PhD, For The Birds Why Is the US Not Vaccinating Poultry Against Bird Flu? The View From: Washington, Investors Head for the Hills With a New Commodity Canada Culls Hundreds of Ostriches as a Court and a Kennedy Fail to Save Them

Mark Reinfeld, Islands of Peace Mark Reinfeld is an award-winning author, chef, and parent advocate with over 25 years in wellness and education. Founder of Vegan Fusion and co-creator of the Islands of Peace framework, Mark blends compassion, creativity, and lived experience in his work He and his wide Ashley are parents to a child with Angelman Syndrome and are dedicated to supporting families navigating the complex, beautiful, and often overwhelming world of special needs parenting. More at https://www.ohanavitality.org/islands-of-peace.

In this episode Caryn reviews food insecurity and the history of SNAP, the Supplemental Food Assistance Program and the changes that are taking place today due to the shutdown and current politics; COP30 and climate-related events; animal rescues, meat analogs; animal foods and UTIs.

Caryn talks about the upcoming No Kings protests and protests in history like the Haymarket Affair, while preparing to perform the role of anarchist, activist Emma Goldman in a contemporary opera. She shares recipes for some favorite comfort foods for cool autumn weather. Halloween, UNICEF, the Farm Bill, and Bird Flu are other topics she discusses.

Caryn Hartglass, Seasoned Wisdom – Herbs, Spices and Seeds Caryn goes into detail about all the herbs, spices and seeds used in her daily food preparation.

Teresa Mares is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont and Affiliated Faculty in Food Systems. Her research and teaching examines food labor, food movements, and immigration from Latin America to the US. Dr. Mares has years of experience collaborating with activists in food and labor justice movements. Her first book Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont was published by University of California Press (2019). She has also published widely in journals like Agriculture and Human Values, Food and Foodways, and the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology with a Graduate Certificate in Women Studies from the University of Washington. She lives in Charlotte, Vermont with her partner, daughter, and two pups.