Episode 99: The Ethics of The Dietary Guidelines And Food Politics In America With Adele Hite




The Ancestral RDs Podcast show

Summary: Thanks for joining us for episode 99 of The Ancestral RDs podcast. If you want to keep up with our podcasts, subscribe in iTunes and never miss an episode! Remember, please send us your question if you'd like us to answer it on the show. Today we are excited to be interviewing Adele Hite ! Adele Hite is a Ph.D. candidate in communication, rhetoric, and digital media at North Carolina State University, as well as a Registered Dietitian with a master’s in public health nutrition. Her work encompasses the rhetorical and cultural studies of food politics, nutrition science, and public health; science-based policy controversy; and the ethics of dietary guidance. Information abounds about what foods to eat and not eat in what we learn from conventional nutrition experts. But did you ever wonder what the basis is for this dietary guidance that forms people’s views about food and America’s public health policy? Adele Hite joins us today to discuss what she's learned throughout her research and experience about the effects of the Dietary Guidelines and food politics. Adele also shares insight into the state of nutrition knowledge and what the future holds for the Dietary Guidelines and public health policy. Here are some of the questions we discussed with Adele: What got you interested in studying the Dietary Guidelines? What’s your perspective on whether or not people are actually are following the Dietary Guidelines? Do you think that the Dietary Guidelines are having an actual damaging effect in real-time, or do you feel like it’s mostly the overall changes in the food environment that have led people to eat a different way? You say that there are many oversimplified narratives about nutrition, health, and “the obesity crisis” that deserve more critical examination. What are some of those narratives that you find to be the most pervasive? Do you think that there is a theory that explains the bulk of what causes obesity? If not, why is it so hard to figure out what’s causing it? What’s your opinion about the state of nutrition knowledge? What have you learned in the last several years of doing this deep dive research that either surprised you, was unexpected, or ended up actually changing your personal beliefs? What is your experience been as a dietitian who is not supportive of the Dietary Guidelines as they currently stand? Do you have any advice for listeners who don’t know how to blend their dissension with their career? What is your hope for the future of the Dietary Guidelines and public health policy in general? Links Discussed: This episode is sponsored by Maty's Healthy Products Find Adele online at Eathropology.com Roger Williams' Biochemical Individuality TRANSCRIPT:  Laura: Hi everyone. Welcome to episode 99 of The Ancestral RDs podcast. I’m Laura Schoenfeld and with me as always is my cohost Kelsey Kinney. Kelsey: Hey everyone! Laura: If you don’t know us, we’re Registered Dietitians with a passion for ancestral health, real food nutrition, and sharing evidence-based guidance that combine science with common sense. You can find me at www.LauraSchoenfeldRD.com and Kelsey at www.KelseyKinney.com. We have an awesome guest on our show today who is going to be sharing her research about the ethics of the Dietary Guidelines and the food politics rhetoric that drives our nation’s food choices. I’m so happy she’s joining us. She’s a friend of mine and I think you’re really going to enjoy this episode. Kelsey: If you’re enjoying the show, subscribe on iTunes so that you never miss an episode. While you’re there, leave us a positive review so that others can discover the show as well! And remember, we want to answer your question, so head over to theancestralrds.com to submit a health-related question that we can answer or suggest a guest that you’d love for us to interview on an upcoming show. Laura: Before we get into our interview,