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Today on Word of Mouth, we talk about rising food prices and ask, is it time for a new green revolution? And we hear about why we should save endangered foods by eating them. We also learn about the way our DNA is taking the stand in courtrooms. And finally, an advocate for survivors of brain injuries tells us why the "quiet crisis" needs to be solved.

(Photo by Dionne Allison)

Is it time for another green revolution? When the world faced the possibility of famine in the mid-20th century, scientists and farmers averted global disaster by finding new ways to grow staple crops. New techniques, new breeds, and lots of new chemicals were used to bolster dwindling food supplies. The new methods were successful, but also did environmental damage that continues today.

Now the world once again faces international food shortages. The price of rice has nearly tripled this year, causing riots in some countries, as people struggle to keep their families nourished.

With major advances in agricultural science over the past half-century, some believe we are ready for another green revolution – possibly a more sustainable one. Or, as one scientist put it, an "evergreen revolution."

Joining Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott to talk about advances in agriculture is Subhash Minocha, professor of plant biology and genetics at the University of New Hampshire.

(Photo by Kristupa Saragih)

According to Gary Nabhan, if you love something, chop it down and eat it. Well, sort of. Gary's gathered a list of more than 1,000 native plants and animals that were once commonly found in American kitchens, but are now endangered, or on the brink of extinction.

The solution, he says? Eat 'em up!

Whether it’s Kentucky burgoo with squirrel, Hoppin’ John with clay field peas, or pawpaw custard, traditional American foods are part of the natural and cultural history of this nation, and many are quickly dying out.

Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott speaks with Gary Paul Nabhan, director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, and the author of "Renewing America's Food Traditions." It’s part cookbook, part history lesson, and part call to action to revive America's diverse food traditions.

She also speaks with Stephen Wood, owner of Poverty Lane Orchards and Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon, NH, about his own varieties of heirloom apples.

"A tap on the head, and anything can go wrong." That's how our guest Michael Paul Mason describes the seemingly random nature of brain injury. Just a tap, and suddenly we forget how to swallow, or become unable to recognize our own face in the mirror, or lose our sense of time or place. It seems like a remote possibility, but the numbers suggest otherwise: 5.3 million Americans are permanently disabled due to brain injury. That's 2 percent of the population.

Explorations of our brains' fragility fill the pages of Mason's book, "Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath." Mason, a brain injury case manager in Tulsa, Oklahoma, speaks with Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott about the efforts made to help those permanently disabled by brain injury.

We also speak with Lee Harvey, a prominent Seacoast architect who suffered a stroke four years ago while on a Caribbean cruise with his wife. He tells the story of his ongoing recovery at local schools and rehabilitation programs through The Krempels Brain Injury Foundation's SteppingStones program.

Listen to the NHPR StoryCorps interview with David Krempels of the Krempels Brain Injury Foundation

(Photo by Kenny Stoltz)