On November 11, 2022, I, author Melissa Diane Smith, was interviewed by Bernadette Fiaschetti and Jerry Caldwell on One Life Radio on the topic, “Could You Be Reacting to Corn?” It was a great conversation in which I was able to cover everything related to corn that you don’t hear on the mainstream news! That means, of course, how much corn is hidden in our food supply, the health hazards from genetically modified (GM) corn (as I explained in Going Against GMOs), and also corn allergies, corn sensitivity, corn allergy addiction and binge-eating, and other mysterious eosinophil-elevated illnesses from eating corn.

I also explained that with two-thirds of Americans overweight and more than half with blood-sugar- and insulin-related health conditions, corn is not a healthy food to be basing our diets on, whether we’re reacting to it or not. This is an interview you don’t want to miss listening to!

by Melissa Diane Smith

Improving soil health is an overlooked key for nutrient-dense food and a healthier planet. We can support farming that has this focus through the products we purchase.

Thanks to Roman Synkevych for the use of his picture.

I was blown away when I saw the documentary Kiss the Ground, and learned how important regenerating the soil is to so many things, including: growing nutrient-dense food that keeps us healthy; efficiently absorbing both carbon dioxide and water; and positively impacting weather extremes! Can you explain more about this and about the best ways I can take action as a consumer to support regenerative farming? (Is eating organic the way to do it?)

– Susan H. from Atlanta, Georgia

Most people don’t understand how critical healthy soil is for supporting a web of health and environmental matters they care about – everything from producing nutritious food and conserving water when growing crops to stabilizing Earth’s climate. (more…)

Use simple whole-food ingredients to prepare a low-fuss romantic meal for two

Ask the Nutritionist

by Melissa Diane Smith

Q: My wife and I both follow a Paleo/Primal and we’re both very busy. We don’t eat out that often because we have trouble finding restaurants that serve hunter-gatherer-type meals. I’d like to surprise my wife this Valentine’s Day by serving a tasty Primal dinner at home. Have any suggestions on easy foods to make that we’d both enjoy? —Mike S., San Diego

A: How thoughtful of you! Your wife is going to love your surprise! Among the many great things about the Paleo/Primal Diet is that it’s easy to use a handful of quality, whole-food ingredients to prepare a decadent, gourmet-tasting dinner with little fuss. Grains and legumes take a lot of time to cook. By cutting out these ingredients, you can really cut down on the prep time.Just think about your wife’s preferences, and decide on red meat, poultry, or seafood. Then add some tastily prepared vegetables and a yummy, easy-to-fix dessert.

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Did You Know?

The Paleo and Primal eating plans both avoid grains and legumes, which drastically cuts down prep time.

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Enjoy browsing through this photo gallery of the Resist! & Revitalize Our Communities Summit focused on Problem-Solving Monsanto, GMOs, & Pesticides in Our Food and Environment on November 4, 2017, at the Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation Conference Center! For a larger image, click on the photo you’d like to see.

I was honored to give the introduction to the summit and to introduce each speaker and panelist. I’m pictured in photos #1, #3, #6, #14, and #15.

Many thanks to: Carey Gillam and Alexis Baden-Mayer for traveling to Tucson to participate in the Summit; to farmer Anne Loftfield of High Energy Agriculture, Jason Isenberg of REALM Environments, and Rick Frey, co-founder of ARBICO Organics for participating in the local panel discussion; to the core group members of Toxin-Free Pima County who planned and worked the event; to the sponsors and supporters of the Summit (see photo #18); and to everyone who attended!

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Tucson, Arizona: October 17, 2017 – Agrichemical corporation Monsanto hasn’t been in Tucson headlines much since it dropped its bid for a tax incentive with the Pima County Board of Supervisors in February. But the company and its flagship weed killer Roundup have been under fire both nationally and internationally this year and will be in the spotlight again at an educational summit at the Conference Center at the Tucson Osteopathic Medicine Foundation, 3182 North Swan Road, in Tucson from 9 am to 3:30 pm on Saturday, November 4.

Organized by a group of concerned citizens known as Toxin-Free Pima County, the Resist! & Revitalize Our Communities Summit will reveal uncovered secrets about Monsanto’s tactics that propelled Roundup weed killer to be so widely used, along with actions that citizens can take to protect themselves against pesticides and genetically modified foods that Monsanto and other biotech corporations produce.

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If you aren’t up to speed on these subjects, here’s a primer to get you better educated.

Ask the Nutritionist

by Melissa Diane Smith

Q: This is embarrassing, but I never really paid attention to whether food was organic or not, and why I should care. I also have no idea what the difference between organic and non-GMO food is. Can you fill me in on the basics? —Nancy B., Cincinnati

A: First of all, don’t be embarrassed. It’s not always easy to get the facts on these important topics, in large part because for more than two decades, information about dramatic changes in how our food is produced has been suppressed, and people have only been discovering the truth in bits and pieces.

“So many truths [about our food] have been whitewashed,” says Carey Gillam, a writer for US Right to Know and the author of the new book Whitewash. “By pouring more and more pesticides on crops, we’re getting less healthy soil, less healthy food, and potentially a range of carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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October is “Non-GMO Month,” dubbed that term in 2010 by the Non-GMO Project to increase awareness of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food and of how to shop non-GMO. And, boy, has awareness increased since that time! Today it’s common to turn on mainstream television and see ads by mainstream companies proudly announcing that their products – from Triscuits to Cheerios – are non-GMO. We are well into the tipping point of consumer rejection against GMOs in the United States!

Yet, while awareness about GM foods has dramatically increased, understanding of the widespread use of herbicides, particularly the use of glyphosate, found in Roundup weed killer, which goes hand in hand with GMOs isn’t nearly as far along. To kick off Non-GMO Month, Natural Grocers and Going Against GMOs author Melissa Diane Smith are teaming up to hold a special event about the hot-button issue of GMOs and pesticides from 11:30 am to 1 pm on Saturday, October 7, at Natural Grocers, 6320 N. Oracle Road. The event will feature an informative presentation by Smith followed by the first showing in Tucson of “Communities Rising,” a 48-minute film that focuses on the glyphosate problem and solutions to the problem that are taking place across the country. View a trailer for “Communities Rising” here.

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