I’m letting people know about the first-ever Food Revolution Virtual Summit.
With rates of obesity and chronic illness continuing to rise, GMOs penetrating ever deeper into our food supply, and industrialized agriculture putting small, sustainable and ethical farms out of business, the time is ripe for a food revolution.
Bestselling author John Robbins (he is the one who walked away from the Baskin Robbins fortune for ethical reasons) is personally interviewing 21 people who are leaders in movements for healthy, sustainable, humane and delicious food.
And you can join in -- for free!
From April 28-May 6, there will be three interviews broadcast daily. You’ll get cutting edge disease-beating, health-activating, age-reversing information. These tools can help you and your family to thrive and to make a difference in the world.
Get more info on the amazing speakers, and register today:
Food Revolution Summit
This summit is a chance to get up-to-date, highly useful information from an amazing array of visionary leaders and food experts, including:
Expert doctors and acclaimed researchers such as Dean Ornish, MD (Preventive Medicine Research Institute) and T. Colin Cambell, Ph.D (The China Study);
NY Times best-selling authors Marianne Williamson (Spiritual Principles for Weight Loss) and Kathy Freston (Quantum Wellness);
Culture-changers and icons such as Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) and Rory Freedman (Skinny Bitch);
Natural health pioneers such as Joseph Mercola (Mercola.com) and David Wolfe (Radiant Health Now) and Food system innovators such as Vandana Shiva (How to Stop Big Ag) and Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association), and many more inspiring visionaries.
You’ll get training, inspiration and practical know-how from modern day heroes of health and sustainability. You’ll get answers to burning questions, tools for dealing with family and peers, and practically useful insights, ideas, motivation and tips, all from the comfort and convenience of your phone and computer.
You’ll get the latest thinking on preventing and reversing heart disease, cancer and diabetes; the truth about GMOs, soy, raw foods, and grass-fed beef; the social, ethical and environmental impact of what you eat; and how to inspire your family to join you in making healthy choices.
and if anyone hears these great speakers and wishes to comment on anything do so here.
here is part of the info I got in an email
"The Schedule: Between April 28-May 5, we'll be broadcasting all 23 interviews, and on May 6 I'll be conducting a special bonus finale interview with my dad, John Robbins. The schedule of each day's interviews (linked here-- http://foodrevolution.org/calendar.html
this one is set to eastern standard time so check your time zone ) will be a sequence airing at 8, 9, and on most days 10 AM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and rebroadcast at 7, 8, and (on most days) 9 PM PDT. Each call will be approximately 30 minutes long, and participants will be able to listen via teleconference (calling in to a US phone number), via Skype, or on the Internet. To translate for a different time zone, click here. (3 hours later for EST) Those participants who purchase the Empowerment Package will also receive a daily email with a link to the downloadable recording and transcript from that day's calls and all previous calls — and can listen whenever they wish.
We will email you each day of the Summit with an overview of the next day’s presentations, and also to detail how you can listen over the Internet, or via teleconference or Skype. If you want to record all the information now, here are your instructions: To call in via teleconference, at the time of the broadcast you will dial your choice of local access numbers (listed here-- http://yourconferenceline.com/Local/?p=8097135
or just use (#1)-206-402-0100 if it is convenient for you, and enter the Summit conference ID, which is: 326519#. You can also use Skype at the time of a broadcast by calling: join conference, bringing up your dial pad, and entering the conference ID which is 326519#. To listen over the Internet, you will need a web address that will be specific to each broadcast, and that will be included in the daily emails we send you during the summit.
We are excited to welcome you to the Food Revolution Summit. It’s going to be an extraordinary event!"
They have now extended the interviews each day to be able to be replayed for 24 hours so people can listen anytime that day making it much easier.
so far 9 great speakers have spoken and 3 of these are still available for hearing today. Today's three speakers are:
1, Morgan Spurlock who made film supersize me
Morgan Spurlock: Super Size Me
When Monday, April 30, 11:00am – 11:30am EST replay after this for 24 hours
Where Worldwide (map)
Description
John Robbins interviews Morgan Spurlock: Super Size Me Morgan Spurlock is a writer, director and producer. His first film, Super Size Me, captured him eating nothing but McDonald's meals for 30 days, and tracking the results. What he learned just might change how you look at fast food forever. Super Size Me premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and won Morgan Best Directing honors. The film went on to win the inaugural Writers Guild of America best documentary screenplay award as well as garner an Academy Award nomination for best feature doc. Morgan went on to be the executive producer and star of the reality TV series, "30 Days." http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=28863732
This interview is part of the Food Revolution Summit: Heal your body, and your world... with food! To find out more and sign up for free, check out http://foodrevolution.org
2. Rory Freedman-auithor of book Skinny Bitch
Rory Freedman: How to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous
When Monday, April 30, 12:00pm – 12:30 EST (24 hours replay after this time
Where Worldwide (map)
Description
John Robbins interviews Rory Freedman: How to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous Rory Freedman is co-author of the #1 NY Times bestseller, Skinny Bitch: A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous. Skinny Bitch spent three years on the New York Times bestseller list, and it now has more than three million copies in print and has been translated into twenty-seven languages. Rory has appeared on dozens of national and international television and radio programs. She has a deep sense of ethics and conviction that underlie her life and work. Rory was named VegNews Magazine’s first ever “Person of the Year.” http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=28863795
This interview is part of the Food Revolution Summit: Heal your body, and your world... with food! To find out more and sign up for free, check out http://foodrevolution.org
3. Jeffrey Smith-GMOs
Jeffrey Smith: The Truth About GMO's
When Monday, April 30, 1:00pm – 1:30pm EST and 24 hours after this on replay
Where Worldwide (map)
Description
John Robbins interviews Jeffrey Smith: Take Genetically Engineered Foods Out Of Your Diet: Immediately! International bestselling author and filmmaker Jeffrey Smith is a widely popular and leading spokesperson on the dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). He has counseled world leaders from every continent, changed the course of government policies, and is now orchestrating a tipping point of consumer rejection of GMOs through his programs at the Institute for Responsible Technology. His book Seeds of Deception is the world's bestseller on GMOs, and Genetic Roulette documents 65 health risks of GM foods Americans eat every day. http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=28909155
This interview is part of the Food Revolution Summit: Heal your body, and your world... with food! To find out more and sign up for free, check out http://foodrevolution.org
Our theme for launch day was The Science of Healthy Eating, as we absorbed the knowledge, inspiration and practical tools offered by Drs. Ornish, Esselstyn and Fuhrman. Some participants listened to the first broadcasts via teleconference, others over the Internet, and others got MP3 downloads with the Empowerment Package. Responses have been overwhelmingly positive. I'll share a few of my highlights from the speakers and what people said about them:
Dr. Dean Ornish started things off, telling us many people have the belief that there's a false choice between what's good for us and what's fun for us. But it's not true. Better diet can lead to better sex and more energy and a happier life. In his words:
"I can't tell you how many patients who have told me that if they knew they wouldn't live a day longer, they are still grateful for the changes they have made because their life is more fulfilling. It's a very simple idea, but a very radical idea, that when you eat better, love more, exercise more, and don't smoke, you'll be happier. When people realize that you just feel so much better, that's what makes it worth doing."
During Dr. Ornish's interview, Zsolt Zsofka wrote: "Listening to the summit now. Quality content! Intelligent, timely, well worth my time! Thank you!"
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn told us that among certain cultures that eat plant-based diets, heart disease is virtually non-existent. If you live there, he commented, you'll have a more lucrative career selling pencils than being a cardiologist. During World War 2, Germany deprived the countries it occupied of livestock. From 1939 to 1945 in Norway, deaths from heart attacks and strokes plummeted. But as soon as there was a cessation of hostilities - back came the meat, back came the dairy, and back came the heart attacks and the strokes.
Finally, we had an interview with Dr. Joel Fuhrman - the man who coined the term "Nutritarian", which means someone whose food choices provide an optimal amount of nutrients per calorie. Dr. Fuhrman offered the specific nutritional recommendations that he has come to after decades of study and practice. "The American diet", he commented, "could not be more effective in generating heart disease if we designed it for that purpose..."
Amechina Anyanwu wrote: "I was very excited to attend the free, online Food Revolution Summit. I was ready with pen and paper and an open mind to learning new information. I felt Drs. Ornish, Esselstyn and Fuhrman presented essential and balanced information that demonstrated their personal and professional integrity, and commitment to humanity. Their ability to present the core "truths" about food, health and nutrition in a clear, concise and practical manner was aided by the excellent interview technique of John Robbins. I came away from each session armed with new information and empowered to exercise greater control of my health. This is the education most of us have never received but from which we can all benefit. I look forward with enthusiasm to the upcoming speakers.""
If you were able to join in this first set of broadcasts: what did you think? You can share thoughts or reactions, and see what other people are saying, on the Summit's Facebook page. I also invite you to join my dad (@johnrobbinsnow) and I (@oceanrobbins) on Twitter during today's broadcast using the hash tag #foodrevolution.
Today's Theme is GMOs: How Dangerous Are They?
Today, the Food Revolution Summit shifts its focus to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's). Did you know that more than 70% of the foods in American restaurants and supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients?
Is there a link between the spread of GMOs and the recent dramatic increase in food allergies?
Genetically modified foods have been linked to toxic and allergic reactions in people; to sickness, sterility and fatalities in livestock; and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals. Should you be alarmed?
Why is Monsanto spending millions trying to stop GMO's from being labeled, even though 90% of the American public supports labeling? Why is an upcoming California ballot initiative one of the most important fronts in the GMO struggle? And how can you get involved?
Join Jeffrey Smith, founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology; Dr. Joseph Mercola, founder of the world's #1 natural health website Mercola.com; and Dr. Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya Institute, who is helping to organize 500,000 farmers in India for cultural and ecological survival.
You'll get answers to vital questions, and find out how you can protect your family, and how you can make a difference on this crucial issue.
want to tell you about the amazing lineup coming up next. But first, what did we find out in day two?
Jeffrey SmithJeffrey Smith, founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology, rocked the opening with some alarming information about Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs. Jeffrey told us that shortly after GM soy was introduced in the UK, food allergies shot up by 50%.
Jeffrey said that GMOs are leading to a massive increase in human exposure both to the Roundup herbicide, and to the bt toxin that has been genetically engineered into every cell of corn and other plants.
Ninety-three percent of Americans want labeling of GMO foods, and Jeffrey reported that 53% of Americans say they wouldn’t eat GMOs if they were labeled.
Response to Jeffrey’s interview quickly lit up the Summit Facebook page, and letters of appreciation (and outrage at what he is exposing) have been pouring in ever since.
Dr. MercolaDr. Joseph Mercola, founder of the internet’s most popular natural health website, spoke next. He reflected that Monsanto, which makes most of the world's GMO seeds, has been very effective. They have essentially planted former employees in just about every major US federal agency that is responsible for making GMO decisions on a federal basis. They have corrupted the system, so the only way to fight back is on the state ballot initiative level.
“Even if we all become aware of the dangers of genetically engineered foods, we can’t do anything about it if we don’t know which foods are genetically engineered”, commented Dr. Mercola, so “we need to require labeling. That’s why Monsanto is spending $100 million fighting a California ballot initiative that would require labeling. Because they know this could bring down their whole scheme.”
Dr. ShivaOur final speaker of the day was Dr. Vandana Shiva, on the line from India. She spoke of the tragic irony that in the land where Gandhi spun freedom through cotton and the spinning wheel, 95% of the cotton is now controlled by Monsanto.
More than 250,000 farmers in India have committed suicide since Monsanto began to take control of the cotton industry.
“Patents on seed mean genocide, and patents on seed mean ecocide,” she told us. “I’m working with 500,000 farmers, mobilizing millions, creating 66 seed banks, training farmers every month, to be fighting for food sovereignty. This isn’t what I wanted for my life, but too much is at stake. Everything’s at stake.”
Yesterday’s speakers were issuing a call to action.
It’s time to label GMO’s, and to expose them for what they are. Long touted as an answer to poverty and hunger, they are turning out to be an attempted consolidation of power and money by big agrichemical companies – with profound and disturbing implications for our soil, our health, and our farmers.
Although disturbing, the message was also empowering. Jeffrey Smith commented that he felt we are reaching a tipping point on this issue. The days of unlabelled GMOs running rampant through our food supply may be numbered.
If you have been among the many thousands who have joined in the first days of broadcasts: what did you think? You can share thoughts or reactions, and see what other people are saying, on the Summit’s Facebook page. Or Tweet us your thoughts, ideas and questions to @johnrobbinsnow and @oceanrobbins using hashtag #foodrevolution.
Some of the responses we received yesterday were heartwarming.
Udit Shah, writing from India, commented: “What you have done deserves infinite amount of gratitude from millions of people around the world… And, you are doing this COMPLETELY FREE. Hardly anyone does such a great job for free. Especially, these days... Salute to all the 23 speakers. May God bless all of you and this world!”
And Now… What’s Coming Next? Get Ready!
Our first speaker today, Morgan Spurlock, ate nothing but McDonald’s meals for 30 days. He filmed the whole experience, and a team of doctors watched what happened. He turned his story into the award-winning feature documentary Super Size Me.
Find out what Morgan learned. It just might change your relationship to fast food… forever.
Next we’ll hear from Rory Freedman, co-author of the 3 million copy global bestseller Skinny Bitch: A no-nonsense, tough love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous. Find out Rory’s keys not only for looking great, but also for reaching new audiences with messages of health and wellness.
If you want to be an ally to people you love, instead of a self-righteous nag, Morgan and Rory have crucial lessons to share.
Finally, we’ll get a special repeat airing of the interview with Jeffrey Smith. We’re offering it again at 10 am Pacific Daylight Time / 1 pm Eastern Daylight Time.
See the calendar for the whole lineup.
Starting today, by popular demand, the first broadcast of every interview will be available on the internet afterwards for 24 hours of replays. And if your internet connect is via satellite or dial-up, we recommend using the teleconference option.
It’s going to be another exciting day in the food revolution. And another step towards health and freedom for all of us.
Ocean Robbins Yours for a thriving life and a thriving world,
The Food Revolution Summit continues to inspire and mobilize tens of thousands of people. And what a day we have before us!
But first, let’s take a look at some of the highlights from yesterday’s presentations.
Morgan SpurlockMorgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker whose smashingly successful film Super Size Me captured him eating nothing but McDonald’s meals for 30 days and risking his own life in the process, told us a little more about his experience making the film:
“I was shocked by the speed with which my body deteriorated. I was lethargic, and I felt terrible.”
When Super Size Me came out, Morgan said, McDonald’s offered to give apples to audiences as they exited the movie theaters. Theater owners told McDonald’s what they could do with those apples. Then as concern about obesity was growing worldwide, McDonald’s held a press conference to publicize their concern about the issue. They announced they were launching an exercise video in which Ronald McDonald encouraged kids to exercise. Of course, the menu at McDonald’s went unchanged.
Bonnie Lane commented: “GREAT discussion by Morgan Spurlock! Your work is wonderful and has helped me share such important information with my teenage son in a way that he understand, enjoys and is motivated by! Thank you for the great interview this morning!!”
Rory FreedmanNext, #1 bestselling author Rory Freedman delivered a call to action to stop eating crap so we can start looking fabulous. In her charming and straight from the heart style, she challenged listeners to take steps, of any size, in a positive direction.
“We all need to love our bodies and embrace our size and shape just as it is,” Rory said. “And that’s no reason not to do everything we can to be as healthy and vibrant as possible. You don’t have to go all the way to a perfect diet now. You can start where you are, and keep moving in a good direction.”
What really keeps her going, Rory told us, is her love for animals. She says that they are so beautiful, and our species is treating them with so much disdain. For her, seeing how animals are really being treated by humans is a game-changer.
Afterwards, Annie Morrissey wrote: “Ocean, today I was in tears again, laughing with Morgan, crying with Rory... just fantastic interviews, and most influential. Congratulations for attracting what can only be described as a virtual stadium-full of people committed to saving themselves and our planet.”
What did you think? You can share thoughts or reactions, and see what other people are saying, on the Summit’s Facebook page. Or Tweet us your thoughts, ideas and questions to @johnrobbinsnow and @oceanrobbins using hashtag #foodrevolution.
Today’s Focus is on Eating As If The Earth Mattered (Which It Most Certainly Does!)
SunsetIt turns out that what we eat doesn’t affect just our own health. It affects our whole world. But here’s the other part of it: our whole world affects us, too!
So today’s conversation isn’t just for “environmentalists”. It’s for everyone who wants to be healthy and to live on a healthy planet.
We’ll start off by hearing from Bill McKibben on the food-climate connection. Bill is the founder of 350.org, which has become the biggest grassroots climate campaign on the planet. He has been described by the Boston Globe as “probably the most important environmentalist” in the United States.
Bill will share his take on the urgency of our climate situation, and the tremendous point of leverage that our food choices provide. Get the full scoop (sorry, but coming from what was once an ice cream family, I tend to over-use that word!) and find out what it means to your life.
Then we’ll look at organic foods. In recent years, the market for organics has exploded. Are they an over-priced scam, or fundamental to your health and the health of our world? And what is the difference between “organic” and “natural”?
For this conversation, we’ll interview Ronnie Cummins, the founder and director of the Organic Consumers Association, a non-profit network of 850,000 consumers dedicated to protecting organic standards and promoting healthy, just, and sustainable agriculture.
Finally, we’ll turn our attention to Frances Moore Lappé, who is author of eighteen books, including the three-million-copy culture-changer, Diet for a Small Planet. Frances is the cofounder of the Small Planet Institute, and for more than 40 years she has been studying the interface between the personal and the global. She delivers a rousing call to action and an inspiring voice of insight.
As you will see, Bill McKibben, Ronnie Cummins, and Frances Moore Lappe’ are all extraordinary. This is a day not to be missed!
See the calendar for the whole lineup.
It’s going to be another insight-filled and galvanizing day in the food revolution. And another step towards health and freedom for all of us.
Ocean RobbinsYours for a thriving, just and sustainable world,
Today’s Food Revolution Summit interviews focused on Eating As If The Earth Mattered (Which It Most Certainly Does!). All three speakers delivered extraordinary, knock-your-socks-off insights and compelling calls to action. I was exhilarated and inspired, and judging by the comments that have been coming in, so were many of the other Summit participants!
What did you think? If you heard today’s interviews already, the Summit’s Facebook page is a great place to post comments or questions.
All three of these interviews are still available for free via teleconference and 24 hour web replay – check out the Summit calendar for the details.
Bill McKibbenBill McKibben, author of numerous bestsellers including Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, and founder of 350.org, which is now the world’s largest grassroots climate campaign, offered some zingers.
“There are times when I wonder if that big brain of ours was really a good idea in terms of adaptive potential. Maybe it depends if it’s connected to a big enough heart.”
“We’re beginning to get across the notion that the radicals in this situation aren’t us. What I want is a word a little like the one I was born into. That’s a pretty conservative notion. The radicals are the oil companies who want to alter the composition of the atmosphere.”
Asked about the UN Food and Agriculture Organization report that says 18% -- or more -- of the entire world’s greenhouse gas emissions stems from livestock production, Bill answered: “Yes. It is clearly a big problem. Iit comes from cutting down forests in order to get more pasture land. It comes from the emissions of animals themselves, belching methane… and on and on and on.”
“For 20 years in the US, we’ve had a perfect bipartisan record of accomplishing nothing on climate change…. It’s pretty clear that left to its own devices, the system won’t produce change, so we can’t leave it to its own devices.”
Ronnie CumminsRonnie Cummins, founder of the 800,000-member Organic Consumers Association, and quite possibly the leading advocate for organic foods on the planet, spoke next. Some of the highlights I took from his commentary included:
“Many consumers purchase ‘natural’ products and think they are like organic but just cheaper. But natural means very little in the marketplace. Most so-called ‘natural’ foods are not only grown or produced using pesticides, but also contain genetically engineered ingredients.”
“The USDA is supposed to represent all of the people of the United States, and it has a $100 billion budget. That is our money that they are using. But almost nothing in that budget is geared towards organics, sustainable farming, or traditional farming. We need to stop subsidizing unsustainable industrialized agriculture.”
“Is organic agriculture capable of providing the bountiful harvests that we need? In the developing world, where a majority of the world’s people live, organic farms are 2-5 times more productive than chemical-intensive agriculture, and in the industrialized world we can produce about the same yield per acre, without all the chemicals.”
Frances Moore-Lappe'Frances Moore Lappe’, who helped to bring the connection between diet and our planet into global consciousness with the 3-million copy bestseller Diet for a Small Planet, was our final speaker of the morning. She delivered non-stop moving commentary:
“Washington now has roughly two-dozen lobbyists for every person that Americans elect to represent us there.”
“We don’t have a shortage of food, we have a shortage of justice. As we shift to focus on our relationships with each other, and with the earth, as we align our lives and our economy with what is true about our nature and is harmonious with the wellbeing of nature, we find answers to so many of the questions we face today.”
“I am neither an optimist not a pessimist. I am a possiblist. I believe in working for what is possible.”
“Hope is not what we find in evidence, it’s what we become in action.”
"We need to seek out others who are in action, already engaged, and believe that we will become more like them as we work shoulder to shoulder. If we want to become more courageous, we have to hang out with courage."
Moving Forward
All three of these amazing interviews are still available on replay for another 15+ hours. To find out how to hear them, and all the other speakers still to come in our program, visit the Food Revolution Summit calendar page.
To get downloadable MP3 recordings and transcripts of the interviews with all of today’s speakers, and all 20 others in this Summit, plus an extraordinary collection of bonus gifts, check out the Empowerment Package, which is still available for 50% off until the end of the Summit.
If you’re interested in volunteering with us to help further the Food Revolution, we invite you to check out our Volunteers page, linked here.
Ocean RobbinsYours for healthy people and a healthy planet,
You already know that there’s a huge link between your food and your health.
You know that rates of obesity and chronic illness are the highest in human history, and that a majority of the medical costs that are bankrupting families, companies, and nations could be eliminated with better nutrition.
But do you know what is the alternative? Do you know what the experts have found out about how to promote optimal health, and how to contribute to building a healthier society?
That’s what we look at today.
Dr. Neal BarnardWe start our program with Dr. Neal Barnard, the founder and president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Dr. Barnard is author of 15 books including the New York Times bestselling 21 Day Weight Loss Kickstart. He is an esteemed clinical researcher with a particular expertise in plant-based nutrition. And he is gifted in the ability to make complex medical information highly accessible for the rest of us.
David WolfeThen we’ll dialogue with David Wolfe. The author of seven bestselling books, David is passionate about natural health, beauty nutrition, herbalism, longevity, chocolate, and organic superfoods. He is founder of the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, and a highly successful eco-entrepreneur with a passion for building businesses that make a difference for healthy people and a healthy planet.
Dr. T. Colin CambellWe’ll complete the day in dialogue with Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Dr. Campbell spent years in China leading the largest study of diet and disease in world history, and came to some startling conclusions that just might change your life. He found out why more money could actually make you sicker — and what to do about it.
Dr. Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research for more than 40 years. He has more than seventy grant-years of peer-reviewed research funding and has authored more than 300 research papers. He is also coauthor of the bestselling book, The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health.
So get ready to learn from some of the best. All interviewed personally, of course, by my dad — food revolutionary leader John Robbins.
Here is a schedule for today and for the whole Summit.
Ocean Robbins Yours for vibrant health for all of us,
Today’s Food Revolution Summit interviews focused on the question, “What Is The Optimal Diet for Human Beings?”
All three speakers offered insightful, research-based commentary. I found the information they provided to be at once practical and inspiring.
What did you think? If you heard today’s interviews already, the Summit’s Facebook page is a great place to post comments or questions.
All three of these interviews are still available for free via teleconference and 24 hour web replay – check out the Summit calendar for the details.
Dr. Neal Barnard Dr. Neal Barnard, who serves as founder and president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), is an esteemed clinical researcher with a particular expertise in plant-based nutrition. Here are a few highlights from his interview:
“When women consume soy, their risk of Breast Cancer is reduced by about 30%. And women who have had cancer and consume soy have a 30% reduction in their rates of the cancer coming back.”
“We have to think big. We need to make personal choices, but we also need to think societal change. The price we’re paying is enormous… The environment is deteriorating more rapidly than anyone had thought. And too many people are dying.”
Towards that end, Dr. Barnard described several societal changes that could have huge impact.
“The Geico insurance company has instituted plant-based diets at 10 of their 13 facilities across the US, and we’re tracking the results,” he commented.
What would happen if corporate America recognized the health insurance savings that could be realized by encouraging healthy food choices? Could it save money and improve employee productivity? Could it help to reduce skyrocketing healthcare costs, make businesses more competitive, and even improve the economy?
Dr. Barnard also has a prescription for uplifting the health of America’s poorest, and least healthy, communities: “We want to stop food deserts by limiting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamps program to cover foods that are healthy. That will force retailers to stock healthy foods in low income communities.”
Forty six million Americans now depend on the SNAP program. Many of the convenience stores in low income neighborhoods stock only highly processed and packaged foods with long shelf lives. If SNAP was amended to exclude purchases of junk food, just as it already excludes purchases of alcohol and tobacco, the health outcomes for the lowest income communities could improve dramatically.
(If you’re interested in knowing more, check out this recent article about a bill in Florida intended to accomplish just that).
David Wolfe Next my dad, John Robbins, interviewed David Wolfe. David is the author of seven bestselling books and a passionate advocate for natural health, nutrition, herbalism, longevity, chocolate, and organic superfoods. Much of his interview focused on the energetic and even spiritual impact of food choices. For example:
“I believe (dogmatism) very detrimentally affects both the raw food movement which I have been a very big part of (for over 20 years), and the vegan movement… We have got to get out of that cycle of dogma or fundamentalisms.”
“The subtle energy of your food becomes your mind.”
“It’s easier to maintain a positive mental attitude if you’re drinking wheat grass juice than if you’re drinking soda pop. It’s easier, and you want to stack the odds in your favor. If you eat well and you eat healthy, you will have an easier time holding energy and vibrations, and you’ll perform better.... greens are absolutely critical."
Dr. T. Colin Campbell The final interview today was with Dr. T. Colin Campbell. He spent years in China leading the largest and most comprehensive study of diet and disease in world history. He serves on the Research Advisory Board of the Chinese government's leading institution responsible for nutrition research and policy, and he has more than seventy grant-years of peer-reviewed research funding and has authored more than 300 research papers.
When Dr. Campbell gives nutritional advice, I’m inclined to listen to what he’s got to say.
“My view of dairy products? Don't use them! I see no redeeming value in consuming that food from a nutritional perspective. Dairy products are a pretty potent producer of higher cholesterol levels, cardiovascular problems, and a host of other problems. Mother’s milk is perfect food for human babies. Cows milk is perfect food for baby calves.”
“Animal protein is not doing the job that we thought it might be doing in terms of creating health… Animal food in general, creates a sort of metabolic acidosis, which in turn can have a major influence on the activities of various enzymes… The research tells us that a whole foods plant based diet is a really smart way to go. It is best to derive as much of our carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals from plant sources as possible.”
“Protein consumed in excess of the amount that we need, and most of us do consume more than we need, actually has some pretty serious consequences. It has been documented in peer reviewed literature.“
Dr. Campbell’s bottom line recommendation? “A whole food plant based diet with vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes.
And Look What’s Coming Next!
The theme of tomorrow’s interviews is “Healthy, Humane Food For Everybody.”
Nicolette Hahn NimanWe’ll start off with Nicolette Han Niman, the author of Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms. Nicolette is an attorney and a livestock rancher who has served as Senior Attorney for the environmental organization Waterkeeper, where she exposed and prosecuted the environmental devastation caused by factory farms.
Nicolette is an inspired advocate for Community Supported Agriculture, healthy school lunches, school gardens, networks of pasture based farms, and farm to table restaurants. Nicolette knows the livestock industry intimately, and she brings vital insights about the health and environmental impact of the choices we make.
Nikki HendersonThen my dad, John Robbins, will interview Nikki Henderson, who is one of the leaders in the food justice movement. Throughout the developed world, people of low income consistently have less access to healthy food, and therefore worse health outcomes, than people of greater means. Nikki is setting out to change that so that everyone can have access, and education about, healthy food.
Working in a community that has 25 liquor stores, countless fast food establishments, and only one grocery store, Nikki serves as Executive Director of People’s Grocery. They operate several urban organic gardens, provide culturally based nutrition education, and are launching several innovative enterprises including The Mobile Market which is a travelling produce store. They are building an ongoing demand for healthy local food, and their work is being replicated by organizations across the United States and around the world. Find out how you can be part of the food revolution, and help it grow in some of the communities that need it most.
Gene BaurOur third interview of the day will be with Gene Baur – the man hailed as the conscience of the food movement by TIME magazine. For 25 years he has traveled extensively, campaigning to raise awareness about the abuses of industrialized factory farming. Gene is the president and co founder of Farm Sanctuary, the leading farm animal protection organization in the United States. He has a masters degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University and has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses to document conditions.
Find out what’s really going on in today’s factory farms, and what you can do to contribute to more humane, and healthy, systems of food production. Warning: After listening to Gene, you might not ever want to eat another factory-farmed burger for the rest of your life.
Today’s Food Revolution Summit interviews focused on Healthy, Humane Food For Everybody.
Our three speakers are all doing potent, hands-on work to transform food systems. They spoke from real life experience, and their insights have much to teach all of us.
What did you think? If you heard today’s interviews already, the Summit’s Facebook page is a great place to post comments or questions.
All three of these interviews are still available for free via teleconference and 24 hour web replay – check out the Summit calendar for the details.
Nicolette Hahn Niman Our first interview today was with Nicolette Hahn Niman, a vegetarian cattle rancher. I know, those words don’t often go together. But it’s true! As senior attorney for the organization Waterkeeper, Nicolette exposed and prosecuted the environmental devastation caused by factory farms.
Now Nicolette and her husband, Bill, run a small organic ranch. The author of Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms, Nicolette knows the meat industry from the inside out, and has some compelling observations to share.
“In the beginning of the twentieth century a typical dairy farm had about 20 cows. Today many dairy farms in the United States have over 10,000… The animals were essentially brought indoors, brought in off the grass, they were separated from grass and from natural environments and they were kept in very large and very crowded herds and flocks.”
“We are all citizens… and so we owe it to ourselves and to future generations to be demanding that our governments are actually encouraging good farming practices and farming and food production methods that produce healthy safe food and food that we feel comfortable eating and feeding to our children.”
“(My feeling) is that meat and other foods from animals is something that you don’t have to be consuming nearly as often as most Americans are. But if you are going to consume it, it’s something you should make sure is produced in the best possible way.”
Next we turned out attention to food justice. In the US and many developed nations, consumption of highly processed sugar-laden “junk” foods, white flour, unhealthy fats, and artificial chemicals is highest in low-income communities. Not surprisingly, these same communities suffer from disproportionate rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and many other health ailments.
Nikki Henderson Nikki Henderson is director of People’s Grocery, a non-profit organization working to increase demand for and access to healthy food in historically underinvested communities. She lives and works in West Oakland, a community of 30,000 residents that has 53 liquor stores and not one grocery store. Interviewed by my dad, John Robbins, she shared some of her key insights from work on the front lines of the food revolution:
“We don’t try to communicate our message the first time we interact with someone. We try to build the relationship first. It is in building the relationship that we can actually figure out what is important to them and where we can align. There are so many ways to interact with someone around healthy foods. If I talk to someone long enough I will be able to find out why healthy food is important to them.”
“Access to good food is a very intersectional concept that includes economic access (so people can afford it)… cultural access (so people can cook it and integrate it into their diet)… and leadership (to help inspire people to take charge of their health).”
“We are rooted very locally and one of the reasons why we wanted to be rooted very locally is because the transformation of historically underinvested communities like West Oakland has to begin with the people who live here. We resource people in the community so that they can create a fully functional local food system.”
Gene Baur Our final interview today was with Gene Baur, the founder of the world’s largest farm animal protection organization, Farm Sanctuary, and a man who has been called the Conscience of the Food Movement. For 25 years Gene has campaigned to raise awareness about the abuses of industrialized factory farming and our food system. He is the author of the bestseller Farm Sanctuary. Some highlights:
“Most people would be appalled by the conditions that are commonplace on today’s factory farms. In fact, the industry is trying to pass legislation to make it illegal to take pictures and videotape of the conditions of these facilities. That says an awful lot about just how bad the conditions are and the fact that they are unacceptable in our society.”
“What we believe is that most people are humane. Most people oppose cruelty. Most people do not think it is right to treat these animals with such wanton disregard.”
“People are getting a whiff of factory farming and they don’t like it. In response a lot of animal producers are now starting to label their products as if the animals are being treated well but unfortunately those labels tend to sound a lot better than they really are. In the case of “free range” for example, access to the outdoors is not defined, so what it means in many instances is you have basically a factory farm warehouse with thousands of animals in it with a small door that goes to a crummy little paddock outside. So that is technically access to the outdoors but the animals never use it and they are basically confined in a factory farm. That is an example of free range.”
“In the case of ‘natural’, that says nothing about how the animals are raised. It only describes the processing after the animals are killed. You can have beef cattle for example that are raised in a feedlot, given hormones and fattened for slaughter just like other factory farmed animals and then their meat can be sold as natural. So these terms unfortunately mislead consumers.”
All three of these amazing interviews are still available on replay for another 16+ hours. To find out how to hear them, and all the other speakers still to come in our program, visit the Food Revolution Summit calendar page.
And Look What’s Coming Next
The theme of tomorrow’s interviews is “The Politics of Dinner — Food Policy for Healthy People.”
Raj Patel We’ll start off with Raj Patel, who brings an international perspective to our increasingly global food systems. He illumines how choices made in one place send ripples around the world – and then come back to us! He is author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, and the international bestseller, The Value of Nothing.
If you care about the social, political, and global impact of your food choices, and if you want to know what it will take to create a world where everyone has enough food, then this is an interview you do not want to miss!
Michele Simon Then my dad, John Robbins, interviews Michele Simon. Michele is one of the world’s leading experts on the politics and practices of the food industry. She is the author of Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back, and president of Eat Drink Politics, an industry watchdog consulting business. In an industry often dominated by big money, Michele is a champion of the public welfare. You will find out her take on the food system and how you can fight back against nutrient-deficient factory-made pseudo-foods.
Elizabeth and Dennis Kucinich For our third interview of the day, we'll be joined by Elizabeth and US Congressman Dennis Kucinich for a look at bringing sanity to public food policy. Elizabeth Kucinich is the director of government affairs for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Her husband, eight term Congressman Dennis Kucinich, has been a leading champion in the United States Congress for the regulation of GMOs and for healthier school lunches, along with many other causes. They work in the heart of politics, and they bring compelling insights to help you understand what’s really going that fuels the crazy food policies coming out of Washington, DC – and more importantly, what you can do about it.
Moving Forward
To get downloadable MP3 recordings and transcripts of the interviews with all 23 of the speakers in this Summit, plus an extraordinary collection of bonus gifts, check out the Empowerment Package.
If you’re interested in volunteering with us to help further the Food Revolution, we invite you to check out our Volunteers page, linked here.
Here is a schedule for today and for the whole Summit.
Ocean Robbins Yours for food systems that help us all thrive,
Ocean Robbins
P.S. - Remember, you can listen to these extraordinary interviews for FREE when they are broadcast twice per day, or via replay for 24 hours after their first broadcast. The instructions and schedule are here (see original posts for links) And don't worry! If you miss the interview you wanted to hear, just go to order the Empowerment Package for all the interviews and transcripts, and a whole bunch of amazing bonus offers!
P.P.S. - It's not too late to invite friends and family to join The Food Revolution! Just forward this email and they can click here for instant access to all the details )see original post)
Today’s Food Revolution Summit interviews focused on The Politics of Dinner — Food Policy for Healthy People.
Our three speakers are all engaged in creating food policies that support healthy people and a healthy planet. At a time when there are 24 paid full-time lobbyists for every elected representative in Washington, DC, and at a time when the USDA and it’s $100 billion budget is almost exclusively supporting big agriculture at the expense of family farms, this is a crucial topic.
What did you think about our speaker’s messages? The Summit Facebook page is a great place to post comments or questions.
All three of these interviews are still available for free via teleconference and 24 hour web replay – check out the Summit calendar for the details.
Raj PatelOur first interview today was with Raj Patel, who is both a brilliant scholar and a passionate advocate for social justice in food policy. The author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, Raj shared compelling commentary, including:
“People should be free to consume what they like. But if you’re serious about that, then why is it that the playing field is so tilted towards processed foods from the largest corporations? Why is it so much cheaper to buy the least healthy foods?”
“One of the reasons that factory farming is possible is that the farms don’t have to pay the real costs of the pollution they produce. The costs of the waste and contamination, the environmental and social costs associated with the production of meat today enables the industry to be profitable precisely because the industry is able to escape the consequences of their actions.”
“To some extent the extra cash that was left over from the oil and housing bubbles bursting went to (investment in) food (commodities), which drove up the price of food. So you had speculators on Wall Street betting on an increase in the price of food. And you saw retailers seeing if they could get away with an increase in their price of food, too.
“Higher food prices have had an important impact in terms of political instability around the world. The Arab Spring movement actually started in Algeria with street demonstrations protesting the rising price of wheat.”
“Can we ever end hunger? Yes we can. But it’s going to take political will to end poverty, rather than just providing more food on the bread line. We need to make sure that everyone can eat, and live in dignity.”
Michele SimonNext we interviewed Michele Simon about how the food industry undermines your health and how to fight back.
Michele Simon is a public health lawyer, an author, and the president of Eat Drink Politics. Highlights included:
“The food industry’s job is to sell more products and increase shareholder value. But when they market their products in ways that are deceptive, claiming to be healthy when they really aren’t, then people suffer as a result. They keep America eating their highly processed junk-food.”
“The same companies that claim to care about kids are actually lobbying to make sure they keep their highly processed junk food products in front of kids at all costs.”
“A recent report found that many popular brands of breakfast cererals are higher in sugar than Hostess Twinkies. Industries have been saying they are self-regulating and don’t need outside interference. But this report found that they aren’t even following their own lame guidelines.”
“We can argue about marketing to adults because they have some decision-making abilities, but children are extremely vulnerable and there is a moral issue here.”
I saw a children’s T-shirt recently, that said: “If you love me, don’t feed me junk food.”
Elizabeth and Dennis KucinichFinally, we heard from Elizabeth and Congressman Dennis Kucinich about bringing sanity to public food policy.
Elizabeth Kucinich is director of government affairs for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Her husband Dennis Kucinich is an 8-term member of the United States Congress and a leading champion for the regulation of GMOs and for healthier school lunches, along with many other causes. They spoke candidly about the struggle and significance of enacting legislative change to food policy.
Dennis: “(The genetic engineering struggle) reminds me so much of the battles that were going on over tobacco, where people were actually told in another era that tobacco is good for you, smoking cigarettes was healthy.”
Dennis: “Independent studies show that genetically engineered food has the ability to create new, unintended toxins and increase allergens and other health problems. In a 2011 study out of Canada, researchers found that 93% of blood samples and 80% of fetal cord blood samples contain a toxic found in a genetically engineered corn, Bt corn, that produces its own pesticides.”
Elizabeth: “Immediately after the Haitian earthquake Monsanto offered to donate hundreds of tons of GMO seeds to Haitian farmers. The Peasant Farmers Movement actually got together and 10,000 strong demonstrated in the streets and symbolically burned the seeds in protest. They understand the effects (the GMO direction would have on) seed supply, food sovereignty, and the pesticides and artificial fertilizers that would be necessitated by growth of these crops.”
Dennis: "We need a serious discussion in America about the impact of monopolies in agriculture. The horizontal and vertical monopolies that have taken place have created a monolith that includes pharmaceuticals, the chemical and biotech industries, and it includes banks that back them up. We learned that when banks were too big to fail, they brought down our economy. Monopolies in agriculture present a threat not just to our freedom but our ability to survive because you have to have food to eat. Monopolies in agriculture and banking have destroyed family farmers and made America a less democratic nation.”
Many Summit speakers have encouraged participants to join in the GMO labeling struggle, and Just Label It is a great place to start.
All three of these amazing interviews are still available on replay for another 12+ hours. To find out how to hear them, and all the other speakers still to come in our program, visit the Food Revolution Summit calendar page.
And Look What’s Coming Next
The theme of tomorrow’s interviews is “Food and the Human Spirit”, and what an incredible team of speakers it is!
Geneen RothWe’ll start off with Geneen Roth , the author of three New York Times bestsellers including Women, Food and God. In her 20’s, Geneen gained and lost more than 1,000 pounds, and she became something of an expert in the diet-binge cycle. But after finding herself on the brink of suicide, she discovered breakthroughs that changed her life. In the past 30 years Geneen has helped hundreds of thousands of people to bring more consciousness and kindness to themselves and their relationship with food.
Marianne WilliamsonNext my dad, John Robbins, will interview Marianne Williamson on food, body, and Divine perfection. Marianne is one of the world’s most beloved spiritual authors and lecturers. Her books have sold millions of copies. Her latest bestseller is A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever. She brings to food and weight loss the same piercing insight and spiritual principles she has brought to so many areas of our lives.
Kathy FrestonOur final interview of the day will be with Kathy Freston. Kathy is a bestselling author with a focus on healthy living and conscious eating. Her latest book, Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World , was an instant New York Times bestseller, as were two of her previous books -- Quantum Wellness and The One. If you’ve been inspired during the Food Revolution Summit and want support in putting your inspiration into action, then this is the interview for you. Kathy will hold your hand and lovingly help you lean into the possibilities for your life.
Moving Forward
Visit the calendar page for links to 24 hour replays and to check out all the interviews still to come.
Sunday is the last day of the Food Revolution Summit, and I am excited to be interviewing my dad, John Robbins, in a special hour-long “Putting it all together” presentation. Stay tuned!
Ocean RobbinsYours for great food and sane food policy,
day 8 wrap up and day 9 line up Tomorrow is the last one
Today’s Food Revolution Summit interviews focused on Food and the Human Spirit.
Geneen Roth, Marianne Williamson, and Kathy Freston have all been New York Times bestselling authors on multiple occasions, and each has inspired millions through numerous appearances on Oprah and other programs.
Today’s message was a profound reminder that every time we eat, we are participating in a web of relationships that extends around the world. We are interacting with farmers, with the rainforests, with the air and water – and with ourselves. Bringing consciousness to this intimate interaction with our world and our own biology can bring healing and richness to our lives.
What did you think about our speakers’ messages? If you have listened to today’s interviews already, the Summit’s Facebook page is a great place to post comments or questions.
All three of these interviews are still available for free via teleconference and 24-hour web replay.
Check out the Summit calendar for the details.
Geneen RothOur first interview today was with Geneen Roth, on Feeding The Heart and Soul.
In the past thirty years, Geneen has worked with hundreds of thousands of people to use food as a doorway towards consciousness and healing. Her many popular books include the runaway bestseller Women Food and God. Highlights included:
“In my 20s with extreme dieting I got down to 82 pounds. But with every diet, there’s an equal and opposite binge. I went on an extreme diet, and then I doubled my weight in a couple months and became suicidal. If you believe you’re not worthy of the life you’ve been given, then you take what you can in any form you can get it in. So I took food in that way.”
“Eventually I decided to try living as if I was worth it. Living as if I was worth a basic amount of kindness. And my life changed.”
“Chances are, if you treat yourself with disrespect, that you’ll also treat other people like that. If you feel like you’re not getting your basic needs met, your precious self isn’t being cared for, then you’ll be less likely to care about the Earth and the impact of your food on the Earth.”
“I find that people’s inner dialogue with themselves about their relationship with food is merciless. We really need kindness. There’s a core belief that the only way I will change is if I force and punish myself. And that is not how people change.”
“Just because you’re working and living in an insane culture doesn’t mean that you need to be insane.”
“Most of our thoughts are based on our history and our conditioning. Most of us follow instructions given to us 10 or 20 or 50 years ago by people we wouldn’t ask for street directions today. No matter how old or young you are, change is possible. It’s really possible. This moment, this very second, matters in terms of where you are placing your attention.”
Marianne WilliamsonNext my dad, John Robbins, interviewed Marianne Williamson, who is one of the world’s most beloved spiritual authors and lecturers. Marianne’s latest bestseller is A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever. Our interview with Marianne was titled Food, Body, and Divine Perfection. Some of the insights I found most inspiring included:
“A situation has to be accepted fully before you can have the power to change it. That has to be extended to our bodies and weight levels. Every person no matter what size, shape or form, should be respected. At the same time, no one should pretend that carrying around an extra 50 or 60 pounds is good for your breathing, your liver, or your arteries.”
“Obesity is not just a vanity issue for people who want to lose 10 pounds at the beach. This is a serious and life-threatening condition.”
“When you realize that your body is an extraordinary gift, then you want to treat it well. Food is a gift, and eating chemically processed food can begin to be recognized as an act of violence against yourself.”
“When you start to meditate and bring consciousness to your body, you want to treat it better.”
“In parenting, you have to know when to hold and when to fold. As parents, we are responsible for what food we have in our homes, and what we feed our children. It can be hard for a lot of people who have even the best of intentions to fill their homes with healthy food.”
Kathy FrestonOur final interview of the day was with Kathy Freston, a bestselling author with a focus on healthy living and conscious eating. Kathy’s most recent hit is The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss . She promotes a body/mind/spirit approach to health and happiness that includes a concentration on healthy diet, emotional introspection, spiritual practice, and loving relationships. Our interview was titled: Leaning into a healthier life, one bite at a time. Kathy said:
“How can we say we’re striving to spiritually evolve without considering how the food we’re consuming got to be on our plates?”
“I want to align my life with the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
“When we open our hearts, that translates across the board in our lives. When we feel compassion, empathy, or like we want to do something positive, that bleeds over and makes us feel like more powerful beings. We are smarter. We are more aware. We are on the forward edge of human evolution. That is going to translate to being better partners in our relationships, and attracting better people into our lives, because we are vibrating at a higher level. We’ll feel more directed in work because we’ll be energized and able to accomplish more because we have a sense of the bigger picture.”
“It’s all about leaning into it, leaning forward. I just take one step at a time, and keep moving in a good direction. Most people have maybe seven to ten things that we cook over and over again. So I would just take one thing I would make each week that I wanted to replace, and I would switch it for something new and healthier. I’d make a dinner that looked pretty much like what I grew up with, but it was a healthier version, with no cholesterol, low fat, high protein, and delicious.”
“We either like the messenger, or we shut down and reject their message. So as ambassadors of this food awakening, it’s beholden on us to be kind, to be warm to be patient, to be generous with our spirit and our information.”
And Look What’s Coming Next
Tomorrow, Sunday, is the final day of the Summit, and we decided to end with something special.
Over the last 9 days, you’ve had the opportunity to hear my dad, John Robbins, interviewing 23 of the world’s leading food revolutionary experts. But now’s the time we get to put it all together.
John and Ocean RobbinsWe’ll turn the tables, and I will have the opportunity to interview the interviewer, who as it happens literally wrote the book on the Food Revolution.
You may know a little of the story: My grandfather started Baskin-Robbins, and groomed my dad to one day succeed him. My dad walked away from the family company, and the ice cream cone shaped swimming pool, to follow his own “rocky road” and devote his life to advocating for health and sustainability.
My dad’s books became international bestsellers, and the media called him a “rebel without a cone.” For 25 years, John Robbins has been challenging some of the most powerful industries on the planet, and inspiring millions of people to look at their food and life choices as an opportunity to get empowered and make a difference.
What are the most surprising and useful things he’s learned this week?
If you want to be a food revolutionary and take advantage of the health secrets we’ve discovered, what are the top things you need to do?
And how the heck can he bench press his own weight 30 times, at the age of 64?
I plan to ask him some good questions! And I can’t wait to share our conversation with you.
This special hour-long broadcast, Putting It All Together, is the only interview on our final day, and it runs at 10 am PDT / 1 pm EDT, and then will be available on 24 hour replay.
Check out the calendar for schedule and links for our final two days. And then stay tuned, because the first-ever Food Revolution Summit may be in its final weekend, but this food revolution is far from done!
Ocean Robbins
Yours for radiant health and a thriving world,
Ocean Signature
Ocean Robbins
P.S. - Remember, you can listen to these extraordinary interviews for FR*EE when they are broadcast twice per day, or via replay for 24 hours after their first broadcast. The instructions and schedule are here. And don't worry! If you miss the interview you wanted to hear, just go to order the Empowerment Package for all the interviews and transcripts, and a whole bunch of amazing bonus offers!
last interview wrap up of the first food revolution summit
Today we completed the 2012 Food Revolution Summit. What a week it’s been!
Thank you for all the ways that you participate in this rapidly growing movement. It's a movement that grows stronger…
Every time you choose tomatoes over Twinkies...
Every time you choose organic and locally grown over chemical-laden genetically engineered pseudo-foods...
Every time you choose to set a positive example instead of succumbing to the status quo...
Every time you make a nourishing meal and enjoy it with reverence...
Every time you support healthier food systems by signing a petition or lobbying a representative or organizing in your community...
Every time you speak out instead of being dumbed down....
And every time you look at food as an opportunity to take a stand for the life you want and the world you love.
Thank you for your participation in the Food Revolution.
Final Day Dispatch
John and Ocean Robbins In case you missed it, today I got to interview my dad, John Robbins. We had a lively dialogue that brought together many of the key ideas that have emerged during the Summit, and then took them a next step. If you want to hear it, you’ll find it on replay linked here for a short time http://foodrevolution.org/calendar.html
I was touched to hear my dad talk about having polio as a child, and being constantly sick growing up. This experience imbued in him a deep appreciation for the value of health. He said he never takes the ability to walk, to breath, or to be healthy, for granted. His childhood illnesses inspired him to take care of his body, and eventually to help others do the same.
He talked about the epic struggle between two great forces today. On the one side is Monsanto, factory farms, and big agrichemical companies. These forces are profiting from putting family farmers out of business and from producing food that is harmful to our health and to our world.
On the other side, we have a rising tide of people who want food that is healthy, that is produced in harmony with the earth, and that is a celebration of life.
He defined himself as a reporter, but also an advocate. “As for me,”, he said, “I have made a choice. I have taken a side.”
No Happy Cows I asked him why he had chosen to title his latest book “ No Happy Cows,” and to join in the lawsuit against the California Milk Producers Association for their “Happy Cows” ad campaign. He answered that the ads, which depict happy cows grazing in lush green pastures, are a fabrication and were actually shot in New Zealand. In reality, there aren’t any happy cows in industrialized modern agribusiness. California’s dairy industry is concentrated in the state’s hot and dry San Joaquin valley, with 20,000 animals often housed in a small area. Many of them never see a blade of grass in their lives. Many consumers care about animal well-being, and for that reason are willing to pay extra for humanely raised products. My dad is engaged in suing the California industry, because he says:
“I think they are attempting to take an unfair advantage of the public. I would consider their dishonesty to be criminal. I don’t think we should allow campaigns to portray animals has humanely treated when they are not.”
When I asked my dad for his advice to Summit participants who want to take the inspiration of the summit forward in their lives, he said:
“I think you’ll know what to do. I think you do it a step at a time, a day at a time, a mouthful at a time, a food choice at a time, a purchase at a time, an order at a time, a meal at a time. And I think we will change the world one heart at a time.”
“The primary agent of social change, to my way of seeing, is the human heart. As it awakens, as it becomes engaged, as it becomes alive with its responsibility, with its capacity for wisdom, for caring and for action, then our prayers start to manifest as our lives. Then our caring starts to be expressed in the way we are with each other. Then we bring out the best in one another. Then we live in a way that’s worthy of the suffering we experience, and that transforms the suffering into strength.”
Gratitude and Going Forward
As we come to the completion of an extraordinary week, my dad, John Robbins, and I feel so grateful for all the people who helped us make this possible, including Lionel Church, Greg Boggs, Kaia Van Zandt, all our speakers and affiliates, and so many more friends and allies. And of course, we want to thank Deo Robbins (my dad’s partner for 45 years and my mom for 38) and the love of my life and wife for 17 years, Michele Robbins.
Most of all, we want to thank you. Thank you for your participation in the Summit, and more importantly, in the vital work of our times.
We wish you radiant health, abundant joy, and a life filled with meaning. And we wish you good, delicious, nourishing food.
Ocean Robbins
Yours for healthy people and a healthy planet,
Ocean Signature
Ocean Robbins
P.S. The first-ever Food Revolution Summit is coming to completion, but our work together is just beginning. I’ll be in touch soon to share next steps of how you can be involved as we continue to build the Food Revolution into an even GREATER success!
P.P.S. Don't miss out on this last chance to get your Empowerment Package of the summit interview recordings and transcripts for a special 50% discount until midnight tonight! It will still be available after the Summit for the regular price.
P.P.P.S. Does your mom LOVE healthy food? Remember, the Empowerment Package is a gift you can keep giving, and sharing with loved ones. With Mother's Day next week- it can be the perfect gift for your mom! (She'll appreciate it more than flowers, believe me.) Take advantage of your 50% discount now.
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