Welcome to the first installment of U Look Hungry: The New Orleans Sessions. During her recent trip to New Orleans, Helen Hollyman was busy at work interviewing people in the local food scene on site. In this episode, Helen interviews Al and Sal Sunseri of P & J Oyster Company, a staple of the Louisiana oyster industry since 1876. Tune in to hear about the start of the company, as well as the origins of the oyster business in Louisiana. Immigrants from all ethnic backgrounds were involved in the development of the industry and made it what it has become today. Hear about how the daily business has changed after the Gulf oil spill, and the damage done to the local oyster reefs. Are the government and BP doing anything to help the Gulf Coast environmentally? Listen in to hear Al and Sal's opinions about the best way to rebuild the coastline, including the importance of barrier islands in protecting the Gulf Coast. Al and Sal also talk about the New Orleans Oyster Festival, and Blake, a 5th generation member of P & J, stops in for the interview. New Orleans is one of the biggest ports in the country, and because of this, everyone in the nation is impacted by the events in the Gulf. So tune in and educate yourself about the port that affects you! This program has been brought to you by Tekserve.

"It's a totally different dynamic now; farmers are having to go through a little bit of a challenge in that the product is not as predominant. Usually after the fresh water events that happened after the spill, you see a lot of growth- and that is a young oyster which is fat and attaches itself to culch, and other oyster reef. Well, we haven't seen that, so our concern is how productive oysters are going to be in the Louisiana south." -- Sal Sunseri on U Look Hungry

"What's happened down here is that we don't have this big barriers any longer. Because of the amount of storm surge that we've gotten over the years, because of the 10,000 plus miles of oil and gas lines that have been put in to pump oil all across America- we have lost this coastline in a much more accelerated fashion than if none of this oil and gas activity had taken place." -- Al Sunseri on U Look Hungry

Bristol Bay is our nation's last great wild salmon fishery but may soon become our largest open-pit mine. Tune in to to The Main Course as Patrick Martins hosts a discussion about the negative effects that the proposed pebble mine would have on salmon fishing in Bristol, Alaska. Find out how sport fisherman and commercial fisherman are uniting to protect Bristol Bay against potential sulfide deposits, acid mine drainage and other threats to the surrounding habitat. Hear from Bristol fisherman Christopher Nicholson, chef Corwin Kave of the Fatty Crab empire, Michael Dimin of Sea2Table and Elizabeth Dubovsky of Trout Unlimited. Learn how you can help by signing a petition to President Obama at www.SaveBristolBay.org. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

"Britsol Bay is the site of the worlds greatest salmon run. Theres a tremendous threat from a conglomerate of mining companies who want to build a gigantic open pit mine right in the head waters of Bristol Bay." --Michael Dimin of Sea2Table on The Main Course

"It's rare to see commercial salmon fisherman and sport fisherman uniting over a common cause." --Elizabeth Dubovsky of Trout Unlimited on The Main Course

"The quality of product you can get at a price point you can afford to serve it as is very low...[Luckily], consumers are more educated now and are willing to pay more for something like wild salmon."--chef Corwin Kave on The Main Course

Erin Fairbanks continues talking about oyster farming on this week's episode of The Farm Report. Steve Malinowski of Fisher's Island Oyster Farm, Inc. is on the line to set the record straight on oyster breeding. Find out what Steve seeks out in an ideal oyster, and how certain oysters are selected for breeding. Hear about the spawning process, and how to distinguish between male and female oysters. How do oysters differ from other bivalves in terms of reproduction? Later, Steve explains how Fisher's Island Oyster Farm, Inc. grows all of the food for their oysters on-site, and why juvenile oysters are susceptible to disease depending on the salinity of the water they inhabit. Erin wraps up the show by talking with Liz Carollo for this week's GrowNYC Greenmarket Update! This episode has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

"All clams are born males, and during the first year, approximately 50% of them will become female and remain that way for the rest of their lives. Oysters, on the other hand, can actually change sex from one season to another." [8:00]

-- Steve Malinowski on The Farm Report