It’s All About Food

It's All About Food - Brenda Davis, Becoming Vegan and Chad Oliphant of Smiling Hara Tempeh - 11/04/14

Part I, Brenda Davis, Becoming VeganBrenda Davis, registered dietitian, is a leader in her field and an internationally acclaimed speaker. She is co-author of nine vegetarian and vegan nutrition classics: Becoming Vegan: Express Edition, Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive Edition, Becoming Raw, Becoming Vegetarian, The New Becoming Vegetarian, The Raw Food Revolution Diet,Defeating Diabetes and Dairy-free and Delicious. She is also a contributing author to a tenth book, The Complete Vegetarian. Brenda has authored numerous professional and lay articles. She is the lead dietitian in a diabetes intervention project in Majuro, Marshall Islands. Brenda is a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. In 2007, she was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame.Websites:http://brendadavisrd.com/http://becomingvegan.ca/Part II: Chad Oliphant, Smiling Hara TempehSarah Yancey and Chad Oliphant started Smiling Hara (which translates to “happy belly”) in 2009 with the intention of providing an organic, and locally sourced tempeh to customers in the Southeast.Early on in the business, Sarah and Chad discovered that soy-free tempeh was difficult to find. So they created two additional products, Black Bean Tempeh and Black-Eyed Pea Tempeh, to meet the needs of folks who want a vegetarian protein that’s not derived from soybeans.Sarah and Chad have used their passion for community building, self-sufficiency, environmental stewardship and living a health-conscious lifestyle to build a vibrant enterprise. Not only are the ingredients in Smiling Hara’s products made from 100% Organic and GMO-Free Beans, but they also compost all the production waste material on their small farm.Sarah Yancey is an Asheville Native. She studied dance in West African for 2 years in 2005.Chad Oliphant was born in Indiana. He studied at the Kushi Macrobiotic institute in 2000 where he learned to make Tempeh among many other fermented foods. Sarah and Chad launched Smiling Hara Tempeh in Oct 2009.

It's All About Food - Jan “Gramma” Golden, Pollinators & the Food System, and Susan Thompson, Long-term, Sustainable Weight Loss - 10/28/14

Part I: Jan Golden, Bird Lady Meets Mort and Ort in ‘It’s a Great Day for Pulling Weeds’!Jan “Gramma” Golden is a passionate environmentalist who maintains a garden that is not only a certified National Wildlife Federation habitat, but also an Audubon Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary. Her concerns about the fate of pollinators and the food system have led her to write a children’s book that has already proven popular among educators and children alike. She is active in her community, having served as a registered nurse, hospice volunteer, teacher, and Board of Education volunteer. She is passionate about maintaining her gardens and loves the outdoors. She is married with two grown children and three grandsons.Part II: Susan Thompson, Long-term, Sustainable Weight LossDr. Susan Peirce Thompson is a tenured psychology professor who has served on the faculty of several colleges and universities across the globe. Her Ph.D. is in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and she specializes in the psychology and neuroscience of weight loss, willpower, and food addiction. She is the founder and CEO of Bright Line Eating Solutions, a company dedicated to helping people achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss.

It's All About Food - Chef AJ & Maya Gupta - 10/21/14

Part I: Chef AJ, Eat UnprocessedChef AJ has followed a plant-based diet for over 36 years. She is a chef, culinary instructor, professional speaker, and author. With her comedy background, she has made appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, David Letterman, and more.In Los Angeles, Chef AJ teaches her popular Intro Class, which includes cooking instruction, nutritional advice, song parodies and flat-out fun. She discusses food addiction and addresses the emotional side of eating. Never content to leave her audience with mere just do it advice, she teaches:• How to create meals to transform your health• How to deal with cravings• How to deal with food addictionChef AJ is author of the popular book Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight. The book is half confessional memoir, half delectable recipes. It chronicles her journey from junk-food vegan faced with a diagnosis of pre-cancerous polyps, to learning how to create foods that heal the body. Many of her recipes can be seen on her YouTube cooking show The Chef and the Dietitian.She holds a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University and is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Part II: Maya Gupta, Animals and Society Institute Dr. Maya Gupta earned her BA from Columbia University and both her master’s degree and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Georgia, with a predoctoral internship at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta. Her research focused on applying data about the connections between animal cruelty and domestic violence to enhance batterer typologies and to improve the prediction and prevention of violence in all its forms. She has spoken and trained widely on the effects of witnessing animal abuse on the physical and emotional well-being of domestic violence victims, and on developing programmatic solutions such as “safe havens for pets” that assist victims in bringing their animals with them to safety.Prior to joining ASI, Maya was Executive Director of Ahimsa House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the human and animal victims of domestic violence across Georgia reach safety together. With a background in statistics and program evaluation, she also consulted for national animal-related organizations (including ASI) on evaluations of violence prevention/intervention programs. In addition to her work with ASI, Dr. Gupta serves on the Steering Committee of the National Link Coalition, focusing on the animal abuse/interpersonal violence link; on the Animal Cruelty Advisory Council of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; and as Training Director and Past Chair of the Section on Human-Animal Interaction in the American Psychological Association.Maya and her husband live north of Atlanta with six rescued cats and seven rescued chickens. – See more at: http://animalsandsociety.org/pages/staff#sthash.Fpuh8OXk.dpuf

It's All About Food - Evita Ochel, Consciousness Expansion - 10/14/14

Evita Ochel is a consciousness expansion teacher, holistic nutritionist, optimal health expert, yoga and meditation teacher and web TV host. She is the author of the book ‘Healing & Prevention Through Nutrition’, and hundreds of articles on mind-body-spirit topics. Her health- and body-oriented teaching focuses on natural, whole, plant-based, alkaline and organic nutrition for optimal health and longevity. Her mind- and spirit-oriented teaching focuses on consciousness expansion, mindful and heart-centered living for optimal joy and inner peace. She is the creator of the Healthytarian lifestyle for the wellbeing of the mind, body and spirit, and the EBTV online video network. Her teaching inspires and empowers audiences worldwide to be the change they wish to see. To learn more, please visit: www.EvitaOchel.com 

It's All About Food - Anne Dinshah, Michael Budkie, and André Leu - 10/07/14

 PART I: Anne Dinshah, Dynamic Harmlessness Day Dynamic Harmlessness Day is November 2, but it’s a concept to be practiced every day. “Do the least harm and the most good.” Anne coauthored the book Powerful Vegan Messages with her late father, American Vegan Society founder H. Jay Dinshah. Jay spearheaded the modern vegan movement in America influencing many people with his message of dynamic harmlessness. Today Anne brings the message to a new generation with a gentle, entertaining way of communicating in her own style.PART II: Michael Budkie, Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN)Michael Budkie, A.H.T., is the co-founder & Executive Director of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN), which works exclusively on the animal experimentation issue by successfully terminating research projects, forcing the USDA to take legal action against laboratories, & coordinating release of animals into sanctuaries. After witnessing the atrocities of animal experimentation during his education, he successfully ended a head injury experiment on cats at the Univ. of Cincinnati, which launched his career leading to positions with several national organizations before he co-founded SAEN in the mid-1990s. He has been published & travels extensively, appearing on TV & radio programs to expose the truth about animal experimentation.PART III: André Leu, Myths of Safe PesticidesAndré Leu, President of International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM), the world umbrella body for the organic sector. IFOAM has approximately 800 member organizations in 120 countries around the world. He was the Chair of the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA), the peak body for the Australian Organic Sector and Chair of the Far North Queensland Lychee Growers Association. Leu has extensive publications in such outlets as the New Internationalist, The Journal of Organic Systems, Acta Horticulturae, The Journal, American Bamboo Society Journal, Heartwise, Wholly Organic, The Organic Way, The Organic Standard, Ecology and Farming. He and his wife, Julia, own an organic tropical fruit orchard in Daintree, Queensland that supplies quality controlled fruit to local and international markets.

It's All About Food - Jason Wyrick and Eric Lee-Mӓder - 09/30/14

Jason Wyrick and Eric Lee-Mӓder Part I: Jason Wyrick, Vegan Tacos Chef Jason Wyrick is the executive chef of The Vegan Taste, a cooking instructor, caterer, a former diabetic, and founder of the world’s first vegan food magazine, The Vegan Culinary Experience. He has co-authored the New York Times bestselling book 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart with Neal Barnard, MD, and has taught alongside many medical and dietary professionals. Jason was the first vegan culinary instructor in the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu program through Scottsdale Culinary Institute, and has catered for many corporations. Jason has taught hundreds of vegan cooking classes around the world, and his work has been featured in the New York Times,Vegetarian News, and on both local and national television. His website is thevegantaste.com.  PART II: Eric Lee-Mӓder, Farming with Native Beneficial Insects: Ecological Pest Control Solutions Eric Mader is the Pollinator Conservation Program Co-Director at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (www.xerces.org). In this role Eric works across the world with farmers and the agencies like the US Department of Agriculture and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to enhance functional biodiversity in working agricultural lands. His professional background includes previous work as an extension farm educator, commercial beekeeper, and crop consultant for the native seed industry. Eric is the author of several books including the best-sellingAttracting Native Pollinators, and Farming with Beneficial Insects: Strategies for Ecological Pest Management, both by Storey Publishing. 

It's All About Food - Sharon Gannon, Simple Recipes For Joy and pattrice jones, The Oxen at the Intersection - 09/23/14

PART I: Sharon Gannon, Simple Recipes For Joy  Sharon Gannon is a twenty-first-century Renaissance woman, an animal-rights and vegan activist, and a world-renowned yogini, author, dancer, poet, musician, and producer. She lives in Woodstock, New York.  Part II: pattrice jones, The Oxen at the Intersection pattrice jones is an ecofeminist writer, scholar, and activist who, along with Miriam Jones, cofounded VINE Sanctuary, an LGBTQ-run farmed animal sanctuary that operates within an understanding of the intersection of oppressions. She is the author of Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World: A Guide for Activists and Their Allies(Lantern, 2007), and has contributed chapters to Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth (Bloomsbury, 2014); Confronting Animal Exploitation: Grassroots Essays on Liberation and Veganism (McFarland, 2013); Sister Species: Women, Animals and Social Justice (University of Illinois Press, 2011); Sistah Vegan: Food, Identity, Health, and Society(Lantern, 2010); Contemporary Anarchist Studies (Routledge, 2009); Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth (AK Press, 2006); and Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals (Lantern, 2004). Her portion of the proceeds of the sale of The Oxen at the Intersection will go to VINE. pattrice is pictured here with Luna.

It's All About Food - 09/09/14

Tues., Sept 9August 10, 2014 Listen at 4pm ET by going to PRN, The Progressive Radio Network. Part I Talia Fuhrman, Love Your Body Talia Fuhrman has a degree in nutritional sciences from Cornell University and has contributed to Vegetarian Times,VegNews, Positive Impact, DiseaseProof.com, CrazySexyLife.com, PyschologyToday.com and more. She lives in Newport Beach, California.     Part II: Miyoko Shinner, Vegan Cheese! A venerated chef, author, TV host, animal rights advocate and vegan cuisine leader, Miyoko Schinner is ideally poised to set the gold standard for cultured plant-based cheeses in the United States and Europe. A highly visible proponent of delicious, decadent, and healthful plant-based foods for the past thirty years, her most recent cookbook, Artisan Vegan Cheese, is a best-seller on Amazon and has been hailed by reviewers and bloggers as “groundbreaking,” “revolutionary,” and “the holy grail of the culinary world.” Miyoko’s Kitchen is the response to the rapidly growing demand for truly artisan dairy-free cheese products. More at Artisan Vegan Life and Miyoko’s Kitchen.

It's All About Food - Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and Social Justice & Ann and Jane Esselstyn, The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook - 09/02/14

Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and Social Justice, Caldwell, Ann and Jane Esselstyn, The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook Part I: Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and Social Justice Lisa Kemmerer is a philosopher-activist dedicated to working against oppression, whether on behalf of the environment, nonhuman animals, or disempowered human beings. Her books include In Search of Consistency: Ethics and Animals ; Animals and World Religions; Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice; Call to Compassion: Reflections on Animal Advocacy; Speaking Up for Animals: An Anthology of Women’s Voices ; and Primate People: Saving Nonhuman Primates through Education, Advocacy, and Sanctuary. Lisa has hiked, biked, kayaked, backpacked, and traveled widely, and is currently associate professor of philosophy and religions at Montana State University Billings. Part II: Ann, Jane and Caldwell Esselstyn, The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook Ann Crile Esselstyn is a relentlessly energetic and creative advocate for the plant-based, whole-food way of life. She has devoted herself to inventing recipes to prevent and reverse heart disease in support of the research of her husband, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. Ann never stops looking for ways to bring that important agenda to delicious life, devising ever more practical and powerful ways to shop, cook, and engage even the most reluctant eaters in the plant-perfect diet. Ann is the author of the recipe section of Dr. Esselstyn’s bestselling book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with her daughter, Jane Esselstyn. She is a graduate of Smith College and holds a Masters in Education from Wheelock College. Ann taught English and History for 27 years at Laurel School in Cleveland, Ohio, where she received the Hostatler Award for Outstanding Teaching. At the same time, she juggled the raising of four children. When not in the kitchen, Ann counsels patients, lectures around the world on how to prepare and eat plant-based foods, and spends time with her ten plant-based grandchildren.Jane Esselstyn is a fresh and charismatic voice on the plant-based, whole food diet. She brings her perspective and passion as a long-time health and sexuality educator to creating on-ramps to the plant-based way of life. Jane is an avid and inventive designer of plant-based recipes and the co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with her next door neighbor and mom, Ann. She is also the author of the recipe section of her brother Rip Esselstyn’s most recent book, My Beef With Meat.Jane has worked as a science, outdoor, and health educator for over 25 years. During her years teaching sex ed to middle school kids, she has developed a powerful curriculum around healthy sexuality and development in the digital age. A tireless champion for kids and their health, Jane brings remarkable clarity, compassion, and humor to the most difficult conversations-for kids and parents alike. Jane met her husband and fellow educator, Brian Hart, while working as a field instructor for Outward Bound. They have three plant-based children. Jane graduated from the University of Michigan, where she competed nationally as a recruited swimmer and rower, and earned a B.S in Nursing from Kent State University.Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. from Western Reserve University. In 1956, pulling the No. 6 oar as a member of the victorious United States rowing team, he was awarded a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He was trained as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and at St. George’s Hospital in London. In 1968, as an Army surgeon in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star.Dr. Esselstyn has been associated with the Cleveland Clinic since 1968. During that time, he has served as President of the Staff and as a member of the Board of Governors. He chaired the Clinic’s Breast Cancer Task Force and headed its Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery.In 1991, Dr. Esselstyn served as President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, That same year he organized the first National Conference on the Elimination of Coronary Artery Disease, which was held in Tucson, Arizona. In 1997, he chaired a follow-up conference, the Summit on Cholesterol and Coronary Disease, which brought together more than 500 physicians and health-care workers in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In April, 2005, Dr. Esselstyn became the first recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cleveland Clinic Alumni Association in 2009. In September 2010, he received the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Award. Dr. Esselstyn received the 2013 Deerfield Academy Alumni Association Heritage Award In Recognition of Outstanding Achievement & Service, and the 2013 Yale University GEORGE H.W. BUSH ’48 LIFETIME OF LEADERSHIP AWARD.His scientific publications number over 150, “The Best Doctors in America” 1994-1995 published by Woodward and White cites Dr. Esselstyn’s surgical expertise in the categories of endocrine and breast disease. In 1995 he published his bench mark long-term nutritional research arresting and reversing coronary artery disease in severely ill patients. That same study was updated at 12 years and reviewed beyond twenty years in his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, making it one of the longest longitudinal studies of its type.Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have followed a plant-based diet for more than 26 years. Dr. Esselstyn presently directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.The Esselstyns have four children and ten grandchildren.

It's All About Food - Ellie Laks and Kim Sturla - 08/19/14

Part I: Ellie Laks, The Gentle Barn Ellie Laks founded The Gentle Barn in Tarzana in 1999; it was a dream of hers since she was seven years old. Animals were always very healing and nurturing to her as she faced the challenges of growing up, finding herself, fitting in, feeling understood, etc. She majored in special education and psychology, and with her special love of animals and children, The Gentle Barn was a perfect way of putting all her talents and passions into one.Jay Weiner joined The Gentle Barn in 2002 as a volunteer, but fell in love with the place and the two joined forces to heal even more children and animals. Like Ellie, Jay also turned to animals for the support, love and nurturing he needed as a child.The Gentle Barn started on a half-acre property in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, CA. In 2003 Ellie and Jay moved The Gentle Barn moved to a six-acre paradise in Santa Clarita, CA. The property is complete with large horse and cow pastures, a red and white barnyard for the smaller animals, an organic vegetable garden, lots of shade trees, and a panoramic view of gorgeous mountains. Our over one hundred and seventy rescued animals are safe and happy at The Gentle Barn, and there is plenty of room to welcome our visitors and the children we host.The ultimate goal is to open Gentle Barn’s across the country so that every animal and child can have a place of healing and safety and where they can be seen for the perfect beings that they are. Since its inception, The Gentle Barn has been home to hundreds of animals and host to over 400,000 people.Part II: Kim Sturla, Animal Place Kim Sturla is the Executive Director of Animal Place and co-founded the sanctuary in 1989. She has been a central figure in the animal rights movement for 30 plus years. Sturla wrote the first law in the country that protects pre-university students unwilling to participate in animal dissections. For more than a decade, she served as director of the Peninsula Humane Society. Kim is the resident Pig Whisperer, able to communicate beautifully with even the wiliest of pigs! She shares her home and life with dogs Ralph, Marty, and Sally.