This past spring, I had the honor of being interviewed by two exceedingly thoughtful middle-school students for a podcast they are developing with the help of their teacher. The students are hoping to submit their final result to a podcast competition supported by National Public Radio (NPR). 

After a quick minute for set up and solving a few technical audio glitches, we got down to business. The students took turns interviewing me while the other took notes. They were unfailingly polite, passionate about their subject, and eager to learn. 

The students’ insightful questions covered a range of issues, like ultra processing, corn as animal feed, and the effect of high-fructose corn syrup on human health. They had clearly done their homework. 

I taught them about the metaphor I use to explain why more insulin is required for quickly absorbed items, like soda and ultraprocessed breakfast cereals, while less insulin is required to manage foods that are absorbed slowly, like beans, nuts, and fruit. We discussed the fact that insulin is critical to life, but that more is not better. They learned that insulin is a growth hormone, and that high levels cause central (abdominal) obesity. I explained that uncontrolled diabetes leads to heart disease, stroke, vascular disease (hardening of the arteries), kidney disease and vision loss. 

We discussed the fact that all the inexpensive brands of ketchups and barbecue sauces contain high fructose corn syrup as their very first ingredient, meaning that they have more stripped carb than any other ingredient, even the tomatoes. It’s a good example of “you get what you pay for.”

We explored how stripped grains stress both humans and the animals that eat it, and how grass-fed yields meat with a different nutritional profile than grain-fed. We discussed that one way to address the increased costs of high quality foods may be to eat meat less often. “When you make a pot of chili, for example, add half the meat and twice the beans,” I said. I explained that “You are what you eat (which they already knew), but that, also, you are what what you eat eats.” Everything we eat gets concentrated up the food chain. 

To my great delight, one of the students told me that she had recently read a young people’s edition of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. I was delighted to learn that such an edition exists, and I shared that he had also been a significant influence on my thinking about real food. 

I wish these two young people and their teacher all the best. Whether or not they win the NPR podcast competition, I hope that they are all recognized for this impressive project and their commitment to high-quality experiential learning.