It's All About Food - Neal Barnard, MD and Will Bonsall - 04.11.17

Part I: Neal Barnard, The Cheese Trap
Neal Barnard, M.D., F.A.C.C., is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Barnard has authored more than 70 scientific publications as well as 18 books, including the New York Times best-sellers Power Foods for the Brain, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, and the USA Today best-seller Dr. Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes.

As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. He has hosted three PBS television programs on nutrition and health and is frequently called on by news programs to discuss issues related to nutrition and research.

Originally from Fargo, N.D., Dr. Barnard received his medical degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee.

Barnard Medical Center. In 2015, Dr. Barnard founded the nonprofit Barnard Medical Center, which opened in January 2016, in Washington, D.C. Barnard Medical’s board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered dietitians provide complete primary care. Barnard Medical also helps patients tackle the causes of illness, with extra attention on improving health through prevention and nutrition. Barnard Medical takes advantage of years of research conducted by the Physicians Committee research team and other researchers, showing how a new approach to medicine and nutrition could help prevent and reverse serious health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, migraines, and arthritis. Barnard Medical’s focus on nutrition includes comprehensive nutrition counseling with registered dietitians and group cooking classes.

Part II: Will Bonsall, Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening
Will Bonsall has worn many hats since going “back to the land,” including prospector, draftsman, gravedigger, hobo, musician, logger, and artist, among others; however, he considers subsistence farming to be the only true career he ever had. He is the director of the Scatterseed Project, which he founded to help preserve our endangered crop-plant diversity. His first book, Through the Eyes of a Stranger (Xlibris, 2010), is an eco-novel set in a sustainable society of the future. He is also the author of the Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening: Innovative Techniques for Growing Vegetables, Grains, and Perennial Food Crops with Minimal Fossil Fuel and Animal Inputs. Will lives and farms in Industry, Maine, with his wife, Molly Thorkildsen, and two sons.