Duke World Food Policy Center

06/02/2026

Kelly Brownell interviews Jon-Paul Bianchi, Director of Systems Change at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, about the foundation’s systems-change approach linking food, health, early childhood, and family economic security to address inequities affecting children and families. Bianchi describes his path from PhD research to policy work and then to Kellogg, and explains how integrated grantmaking focuses upstream on policies, practices, resource flows, narratives, and long-term investment in people and relationships rather than isolated programs. He highlights Vermont’s inclusion of food quality in childcare ratings and the foundation’s Farm to Early Childhood efforts connecting procurement, regional food systems, and state policy, with examples from states like North Carolina, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and notes Brazil’s national local purchasing policy as a model for success.

Interview and transcript – https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/podcasts/food-and-nutrition-systems-change-at-the-kellogg-foundation/

05/11/2026

Norbert Wilson will be part of the Home Grown: How Place, Culture, and Policy Are Shaping the Future of Food Waste in North Carolina—and Beyond session at taking place May 19-21 in Charlotte! Join him there: summit.refed.org

Join the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit to explore innovative food waste solutions. Network with leaders at this top food waste conference and event.

05/04/2026

Building a more sustainable, resilient & inclusive food system takes systemwide action. That’s why Norbert Wilson will be speaking at in Charlotte May 19-21. Session: Home Grown: How Place, Culture, and Policy Are Shaping the Future of Food Waste in North Carolina—and Beyond. Join him there: summit.refed.org

Join the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit to explore innovative food waste solutions. Network with leaders at this top food waste conference and event.

04/30/2026

Kelly Brownell interviews Dr. Joseph Skelton, professor of Pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and director of Brenner FIT (Families in Training), about his culinary medicine course as applied nutrition that helps translate nutrition knowledge into real-world meals. Skelton explains how the program grew from a family-meals focus and a teaching kitchen used for pediatric obesity prevention, then expanded to medical student training inspired by models such as Tulane. The voluntary course includes five hands-on classes with short practical lectures on balanced plates, basic cooking skills, social determinants of health, food insecurity, and picky eating, followed by students eating together. He emphasizes celebrating food cultures, including Southern plant-based traditions, and describes students volunteering to teach community classes. Skelton argues doctors need practical cooking and food-access understanding, not just more biochemistry.

Podcast and transcript – https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/podcasts/culinary-medicine-and-connecting-med-students-with-patients/

04/28/2026

Kelly Brownell interviews Dr. Joseph Skelton, professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, founder and director of Brenner FIT (Families in Training), and editor of the Journal of Childhood Obesity, about his AAP book "Your Child Is Not Their Weight: Parenting in a Size Obsessed World." Skelton describes how toxic diet culture and weight bias affect children in bigger bodies, contributing to lower quality of life and more depression and anxiety, and explains “weight literacy,” emphasizing genetics and environment over simple lifestyle blame. He discusses marketing pressures on families, “veiled weight talk,” and guidance on focusing on health habits without harmful weight-centered messaging that can increase disordered eating risk. The conversation also covers controversy around the 2023 AAP clinical practice guidelines, and how bariatric surgery and GLP-1 medications may fit as adjuncts within compassionate, family-based care.

Podcast and transcript - https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/podcasts/your-child-is-not-their-weight/

04/27/2026

Norbert Wilson will be speaking at in Charlotte May 19-21! Check out the full schedule and add his session - Home Grown: How Place, Culture, and Policy Are Shaping the Future of Food Waste in North Carolina—and Beyond - to your agenda at summit.refed.org

Join the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit to explore innovative food waste solutions. Network with leaders at this top food waste conference and event.

04/22/2026

Appreciating the coverage of our Duke, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, NC State University paper! The alternative protein sector is a rapidly changing industry, and rapidly changing policy space.

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/bezos-center-for-sustainable-protein-alternative-stakeholder-study/

In interviews with the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein, industry stakeholders lay out the challenges and opportunities for the US alternative protein market.

04/21/2026

Researchers explored the alternative protein sector's evolution, challenges, opportunities and trends over two decades.

Wood, A., Consavage Stanley, K., Daly, J. et al. Trends, challenges, and opportunities for the United States alternative meat and seafood sector: stakeholder-informed perspectives. npj Sci Food 10, 133 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00841-4

Funded by the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at North Carolina State University

04/16/2026

“We know that price, convenience, and daily habits matter, but we were surprised by how complex the information environment is,” Duke researcher Mike Essman said. “People are not just hearing from healthcare providers. They are also turning to social media and word of mouth.”

Essman, M., Parnham, J.C., Chang, K. et al. Understandings of ultra-processed foods among adults with responsibility for household food activities in the United Kingdom: a qualitative study. BMC Glob. Public Health 4, 35 (2026).

Background There is accumulating evidence that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are associated with many non-communicable diseases. In the United Kingdom (UK), UPFs account for more than half of mean daily energy intake. There is limited evidence describing how individuals make sense of UPFs in their da...

04/14/2026

On the Leading Voices in Food podcast, host Kelly Brownell interviews two-time Emmy winner and food journalist David Page, creator and original executive producer of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Page recounts how he left network news, struggled after starting a production company, and got connected to Food Network through Al Roker, then improvised the show’s title and concept during a pitch call. What began as a one-hour special to keep recent Food Network Star winner Guy Fieri on the air became a hit and eventually grew far beyond early expectations; Page produced the first 11 seasons. He explains that the series was designed as factual storytelling about passionate independent restaurateurs and why Guy’s on-camera talent mattered. He shares memorable restaurant experiences, notes the show unintentionally helped save some businesses, and discusses how social media and modern food TV often overemphasize competition and sensationalism.

Podcast and transcript – https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/podcasts/behind-the-scenes-of-diners-drive-ins-and-dives/