It’s All About Food

It’s All About Food - Nisha Vora, Big Vegan Flavor

Nisha Vora, Big Vegan Flavor
PART 1: Nisha Vora is a cookbook author, content creator, and former lawyer known for her innovative approach to vegan cooking. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2012 and working as a lawyer, she exchanged her casebooks for cookbooks to follow her dream in the food world by creating Rainbow Plant Life, the vegan cooking website. With over 2 million followers across her blog and social channels, Nisha’s dedication to creating accessible, delicious, and meticulously tested plant-based recipes has earned her a loyal following and widespread recognition.
Following the success of her first cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook (2019), Nisha is preparing for the launch of her second cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor, which will be released September 3rd, 2024. This “vegan flavor bible” is the ultimate guide to mastering vegan cooking, sharing the principles of exceptional plant-based cuisine as well as 150 incredible recipes.
Born and raised in California and currently residing in San Diego, Nisha continues to inspire others with her innovative, flavor-forward approach to vegan cuisine.
Author Site: www.rainbowplantlife.comSocial: IG – @rainbowplantlife, YouTube – @rainbowplantlife Part 2: Caryn Hartglass, SOS-free Update.Caryn gives an update on her new lifestyle upgrade of a 100% Nutratarian, SOS-free diet, plus 60 minutes of daily exercise.

It’s All About Food - Erika Hazel The Bizerkeley Food Festival

Erika Hazel The Bizerkeley Food FestivalThe Bizerkeley Vegan is the moniker of vegan entrepreneur Erika Hazel after she transitioned to the vegan lifestyle in Berkeley, California in 2016. Urban Dictionary defines “Berzerkeley” as a slang term used to describe the beautiful politically and socially liberal mecca that is the city of Berkeley (berserk + Berkeley). After growing up hearing the nickname for years, Erika adopted the Bizerkeley Vegan denomination because she interpreted it as ‘bizarre Berkeley’ meaning unique, unconventional and extraordinary, which is how the city of Berkeley makes her feel. She is a nationally recognized vegan businesswoman, recipe creator, magazine contributor and philanthropist. As a vegan food expert, Erika is always discovering the best vegan cuisine to share with her family and social media followers to make the world a more vegan place, one bite at a time. The Bizerkeley Vegan is not only a popular social media influencer and food blogger, but also specializes in events, consultations and speaking engagements. Erika‘s goal is to engage with people to help them find the best plant-based foods the world has to offer. For more information, visit www.thebizerkeleyvegan.com or follow @itserikahazel on Instagram. 

It’s All About Food -Ron Weiss, MD, Ethos Primary Care and Ethos Farm

Ron Weiss, MD, Ethos Primary Care and Ethos FarmDual Board-certified in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine, Ron Weiss, MD is a primary care  physician in New Jersey and New York, who serves as Executive Director of Ethos Primary Care and as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Weiss is not only a physician but also a botanist and farmer, and he offers an evidence-based,  food-as-medicine  approach to healing from chronic illness and optimizing wellness. He has been featured in top media, including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Today Show, New Jersey Monthly, and the feature-length documentary, “Eating You Alive.”
A vegan-friendly plant-based doctor in New Jersey and New York, Dr. Weiss prescribes the Ethos Diet – an all-organic, ecologically-sustainable, and Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB)  diet – as the cornerstone of his work with patients.  Not only has a growing body of research indicated that a whole food plant-based diet helps patients dramatically heal from chronic illness, but over the years, Dr. Weiss has found the Ethos Diet to have an exceptional success rate in reversing most chronic diseases. 
LINKS:
ETHOS FARM TO HEALTHFARM DAYS FESTIVAL 2024ETHOS PRIMARY CARE

It’s All About Food - Gregory Berns, Cowpuppy

 
Gregory Berns, M.D., Ph.D. is the Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics in the Psychology Department at Emory University, where he directs the Center for Neuropolicy and Facility for Education and Research in Neuroscience. He pioneered the use of brain imaging technologies to understand human motivation and decision-making. Now, he uses MRI techniques to study the brains and minds of both humans and a wide range of other animals.
Dr. Berns is the author of What It’s Like to Be a Dog, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, How Dogs Love Us, Iconoclast, Satisfaction, and The Self Delusion. Dr. Berns and his wife live on a farm outside of Atlanta with several dogs, chickens, and some very special cows.

It’s All About Food - Julie Guthman, The Problem with Solutions

Julie Guthman, The Problem with SolutionsJulie Guthman is a geographer and professor of sociology and community studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she where she conducts research on the conditions of possibility for food system transformation in the US. Her 2019 book, Wilted: Pathogens, Chemicals, and the Fragile Future of the Strawberry Industry, was the recipient of the 2020 American Association of Geographers Meridian Award for outstanding scholarly work in geography. Her earlier publications include two other multi-award winning monographs, an edited collection, over sixty peer-reviewed journal articles and dozens of other book chapters, book reviews, commentaries, and public-facing pieces. Her research and writing has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the USDA, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, and Mesa Refuge. She has also received an Excellence in Research Award from the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the Martin M. Chemers Award for Outstanding Research from the Social Sciences Division at UC Santa Cruz. Her book, The Problem with Solutions, stems from her research with the UC-AFTeR Project, a multi-campus collaboration exploring Silicon Valley’s recent forays into food and agriculture.

It’s All About Food - Lowering Cholesterol, Reducing Plaque

Lowering Cholesterol, Reducing PlaqueCaryn shares her mission to lower her cholesterol and reduce plaque, incorporating daily exercise of at least one hour and a 100% SOS-free Nutritarian diet. She reviews some of the meals and recipes she has created, the kitchen tools she is using; and discusses the benefits and challenges of SOS-free (consuming no salt, oil, or sugar).

It’s All About Food - Christine Wong, The Vibrant Hong Kong Table

Christine Wong, The Vibrant Hong Kong TableChristine Wong, author, plant-based cook, and advocate for eco-friendly choices, blends cultural representation with culinary expertise. Her upcoming book, The Vibrant Hong Kong Table (Chronicle Books, available for pre-order), reimagines 88 iconic dishes, preserving the rich cultural tapestry of Hong Kong. Christine’s impactful works include Living Without Plastic (Artisan, 2020), co-authored with Plastic Oceans International, and The Plantiful Plate (Countryman Press, 2019), showcasing versatile, plant-forward recipes. Through collaborations with major brands and features in renowned publications, Christine shares recipes and tips, promoting health and sustainability. An active member of NYC’s Chinatown community, she celebrates Asian American culture on various platforms, embodying the belief that food is a vibrant blend of culture, nostalgia, and sustainable living. Links mentioned in this podcast:
PREORDER The Vibrant Hong Kong Table!
Upcoming events with Christine Wong

It’s All About Food - Dr. John McDougall and Steven M. Wise: Remembering two leaders who left us this year

REMEMBERING TWO LEADERS WHO LEFT US THIS YEAR
Dr. John McDougall, MDDr. John McDougall national recognition as a nutrition expert earned him a position in the Great Nutrition Debate 2000 presented by the USDA. He was a board-certified internist, author of 13 national best-selling books and co-founder of the McDougall Program who dedicated over 50 years of his life caring for people with diet and lifestyle medicine.      Steven M. WiseSteven M. Wise was President of the Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. He held a J.D. from Boston University Law School and a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary. He practiced animal protection law for 30 years throughout the United States and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar. Steve taught “Animal Rights Jurisprudence” at the Vermont, Lewis and Clark, University of Miami, and St. Thomas Law Schools, and taught “Animal Rights Law” at the Harvard Law School and John Marshall Law School. He is the author of four books:* Rattling the Cage – Toward Legal Rights for Animals* Drawing the Line – Science and the Case for Animal Rights* Though the Heavens May Fall – The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery* An American Trilogy – Death, Slavery, and Dominion Along the Banks of the Cape Fear River
He has authored numerous law review, encyclopedia, and popular articles. His work for the legal rights of nonhuman animals was highlighted on Dateline NBC and was the subject of the documentary, A Legal Person. The documentary Unlocking the Cage follows Wise in parts of his struggle for chimpanzees.
Links mentioned in the podcast:UN Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Food from Somewhere, Building food security and resilience through territorial markets

It’s All About Food - Sailesh Rao, Climate Healers

Dr. Sailesh Rao has over three decades of professional experience and is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers, a non-profit dedicated towards healing the Earth’s climate.
A systems specialist with a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, Dr. Rao worked on the internet communications infrastructure for twenty years after graduation. During this period, he blazed the trail for high speed signal processing chips and technologies for High Definition Television, real-time video communications and the transformation of early analog internet connections to more robust digital connections, while accelerating their speeds ten-fold. Today, over a billion internet connections deploy the communications protocol that he designed.
He received five Exceptional Contribution Awards from AT&T Bell Laboratories between 1985 and 1991, a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff award in 1990, the Intel Principal Engineer Award in 2003, and the IIT Madras Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013 for his technical contributions. He is the author of 22 peer-reviewed technical papers, 50 standards contributions, 10 US patents and 3 Canadian patents. He was the co-founder of Silicon Design Experts in 1991 which was acquired by Level One Communications in 1996 and which was later acquired by Intel Corporation in 1999 for $2.2 billion.
In 2006, he switched careers and became deeply immersed, full time, in solving the environmental crises affecting humanity. Dr. Rao is the author of four books, Carbon Dharma: The Occupation of Butterflies, Carbon Yoga: The Vegan Metamorphosis, Animal Agriculture is Immoral and The Pinky Promise, and an Executive Producer of several documentaries, The Human Experiment (2013), Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014), What The Health (2017), A Prayer for Compassion (2019), They’re Trying to Kill Us (2021), The End of Medicine (2022), The Land of Ahimsa (2022), Animals – A Parallel History (est. 2024), Milked (2022), Christspiracy (2024) and I Could Never Go Vegan (2024). His work is featured in the award winning film, Countdown to Year Zero produced by Jane Velez-Mitchell and Unchained TV.
Dr. Rao is a Human, Earth and Animal Liberation (HEAL) activist, husband, dad and since 2010, a star-struck grandfather. He has promised his granddaughter, Kimaya Rainy Rao, that the world will be largely Vegan before she turns 16 in 2026, so that people will stop eating her relatives, the animals. He has faith that humanity will transform to keep his pinky promise to Kimaya, not just for ethical reasons, but also out of sheer ecological necessity. Along with Kimaya, Dr. Rao was the co-recipient of the inaugural Homo Ahimsa award from the Interfaith Vegan Coalition in 2021. He has formally taken the Ubuntu pledge to become Homo Ahimsa.
Dr. Rao was honored with the Karmaveer Puraskaar Global Indian award by the Indian Confederation of NGOs (ICONGO) in 2008, the Shining World Award for Earth Protection from the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association in 2020 and the Winsome Constance Kindness Medal by the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust in 2022. He was designated a Climate Hero by The Guardian Newspaper in 2023, which recognized him as “a foremost voice on green transition and on the true scale of societal change required to save the planet.” He serves on the Universal Meals Advisory Council of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and he served on the Board of Directors of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies in 2023.

It’s All About Food - Tracey Winter Glover, Chickens are Animals Too!

Tracey Winter Glover, JD, is an animal caretaker, activist, author, and filmmaker. She earned a BA in history and political philosophy from the University of Michigan, followed by a law degree (JD) in which she focused primarily on constitutional and international refugee law. In 2014, Tracey co-founded a non-profit intersectional pro-vegan animal rights group, Awakening Respect and Compassion for all Sentient Beings (“ARC”), of which she remains the Executive Director. In January 2019, she adopted eight chickens who had been rescued from a bankrupt chicken farm in Colorado that had turned off the heat and stopped feeding the 40,000 birds in its houses. This was the beginning of Sweet Peeps Microsanctuary, which occupies most of her time these days. She is the author of the book Lotus of the Heart: Living Yoga for Personal Wellness and Global Survival, published by Lantern Publishing & Media. She also released a short award-winning documentary entitled Until All Are Free, and her first children’s book, inspired by the chickens at Sweet Peeps, Chickens Are Animals Too! Fannie Goes to Washington, is scheduled to be published June 30th, 2024.