PlantPure Radio

Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Lee Fulkeson discuss the role played by academia in the production of ‘science’ that’s biased towards the food and drug industry.  Dr. Campbell shares a personal experience he had with this kind of bias when he served on a panel of scientists in the early 1980s called the Diet, Nutrition and Cancer Committee.  He details the changes he’s seen at Cornell University that have resulted from an influx of money from the food industry, particularly the dairy industry, and also speaks about his concerns for the future of academic freedom.   Dr. T. Colin Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research for over 40 years. His legacy, The China Project, is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted. He is a professor Emeritus at Cornell University and also co-authored the bestselling book The China Study with his son, Thomas Campbell, MD.

Amy Johnson and Lee discuss her health problems and how they were alleviated by her adoption of a plant-based diet.  They also discuss the foundation of Amy’s PlantPure Nation Pod, website, and Facebook page, as well as how rapidly they’ve grown.  Amy also shares the personal satisfaction she gets from working with individuals as a food coach, how her dietary change has had a positive impact on her extended family, and her belief that the message of plant-based nutrition is spreading in America in a way that can’t be rolled back. Amy Johnson is a PlantPure Pod leader in Frisco, Texas.  Just a few years ago, she was obese and suffered from a serious health condition.  She has now shed 50 pounds and is off all her medications.  In addition to her pod, Amy has her own Facebook page called “Mrs. Plantintexas” with close to 3000 followers and a website that’s amassed over 140,000 hits from all over the world.  

Dr. Mike Nelson and Lee discuss how his personal plant-based journey began and how significantly his health and that of his family improved as a result.  Dr. Nelson reveals how and why he began incorporating the message of plant-based nutrition into his dental practice and how his patients reacted.  He also shares how and why he formed his PlantPure Pod, what its activities are, and his hopes and expectations for its future growth, as well as for the future acceptance of plant-based nutrition in America as a whole.     Mike Nelson is a dentist with 35 years of experience. During that time, he’s broadened his health message to embrace a wide range of subjects, including plant-based nutrition.  This message has helped transform his own health, as well as that of his patients and family.  He has received notable awards for his activities and is currently a PlantPure Pod leader in Redding, California.   

Dr. Jonathan Balcombe and Lee discuss the role of an ethologist in studying animal behavior, how he came to be interested in the subject, and his work examining the thought processes of several different animal species.  Dr. Balcombe reveals the scientific evidence demonstrating that animals that we have believed for millennia are of a ‘lower order’ actually have rich inner lives that in many ways are not much different from those of human beings.  These species include fish, which are the subject of Dr. Balcombe’s latest book, What a Fish Knows.   Jonathan Balcombe is an ethologist and author. He currently serves as Director of Animal Sentience with the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy and Department Chair for Animal Studies with Humane Society University, in Washington, DC. He lectures internationally on animal behavior and human-animal relations.  

Sharon McRae and Lee discuss the devastating prevalence of cancer in her extended family and how that made her fearful of the disease, which launched her on a life-long quest to avoid the same fate.  This eventually led her into a career in applied microbiology, but she changed her focus completely after having a family.  She never ended her quest for better health, however, which ultimately led her to adopt a plant-based diet.  After seeing the film Forks Over Knives in 2011 she started a monthly Meetup group which now has over 800 members.  Her present focus is sharing her message as an individual Health Coach and a Food for Life instructor with the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.       Sharon McRae is a Food for Life instructor for the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.  In this role, she conducts nutrition and cooking classes to teach disease prevention through a low fat plant-based diet.  As a Health Coach, she also works with individual clients to help them make the dietary and lifestyle changes that produce real and lasting results.  In addition, she started a Forks Over Knives Meetup Group in Columbia, Maryland in 2011.  Starting with just under 20 members, the group has now grown to over 800 and holds monthly potlucks which draw anywhere from 60 to over 100 people.

Doug Schmidt and Lee talk about the near-fatal heart attack Doug suffered in 2008 and how that led him to adopt a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet (WFPBD).  As Health and Wellness Coordinator for his school district, Doug recently organized a PlantPure Nation Jumpstart for the staff.  The results for the 30 participants were amazing and many of them have continued eating plant-based. Additionally, word is spreading throughout the district and, as a result, Doug is fielding requests from an increasing number of staff members who want to get more information about a WFPBD.  There is even a possibility that students in the district’s schools will receive more information about what really constitutes good nutrition. Doug Schmidt is a teacher and the Health and Wellness coordinator for his school district.  He adopted a plant-based diet following a serious health scare in 2008.  He also recently organized a PlantPure Nation Jumpstart for his school district staff that was partially funded by the district’s health care provider.  

Nina Gheihman and Lee discuss her transition to a plant-based diet and how her family background helped influence that choice.  They also discuss her PhD dissertation, which explores how and why France seems to be a bit behind many other European nations in the adoption of plant-based nutrition, but how that seems to be changing. They also discuss the membership and activities of her PlantPure Group in Boston and why she believes the issue of plant-based nutrition is particularly important for millennials. Nina Gheihman is a PhD student in Sociology at Harvard.  Her dissertation compares veganism in the US, France, and Israel. She also founded a PlantPure Group in Boston called "Boston Plant-Based Millennials".

Marcy Madrid and Lee talk about the distinction she draws between “health care” and “sick care”, and how and why our current medical system skews so heavily towards “sick care”.  They further discuss the particular funding challenges faced by her hospital and the entire Texas medical system, and how she sees plant-based nutrition helping to solve those challenges.  Marcy also reveals a personal health crisis she has faced recently and how her adoption of a plant-based diet has helped her to make significant progress in dealing with it.   Marcy Madrid has been Vice President of Planning and Marketing for Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas since 2014. Before that, she was an award-winning morning show anchor and reporter for the local NBC affiliate.  She also currently sits on several local community boards including the March of Dimes and Communities in Schools.

Dr.Kathryn Hayward and Lee discuss the increasing frustration she felt in traditional medical practice by the intrusion of HMOs and their ‘assembly line' approach to treating patients.  Now a practitioner of Integrative Health, she uses plant-based nutrition as a cornerstone of her practice.  Dr. Hayward now lives in Majorca, Spain. She shares her unique perspective on where the acceptance of plant-based nutrition stands with the Spanish public and how that compares to plant-based nutrition’s acceptance by the American public.   Dr. Kathryn Hayward was an Associate Physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  In 2004, she founded a private practice in Integrative Health, Odyssey Journey: A Collaborative Approach to Wellness (www.odysseyjourney.com), which among other things, stresses the adoption of a plant-based diet.  She also appeared in the film PlantPure Nation.  

Karen Cunningham and Lee discuss the remarkable success of her screening and how it was promoted by a widespread grassroots effort.  She lives in a farming community and talks about the resistance of many farmers to the Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet (WFPBD) message. However, she also mentions how the PlantPure Nation film seemed to resonate with farmers in her audience and community because of how the the greater adoption of a WFPBD could help revive the family farm in America.  She describes the challenges she faces in operating her Pod. Finally, Karen and Lee discuss how the WFPBD message is giving hope to so many who have chronic ailments like type 2 diabetes and heart disease and how this makes her confident that the WFPBD message has caught on and is likely to grow tremendously in the future.     Karen Cunningham is the leader of a PlantPure Nation Pod in Terre Haute, IN called The Maple Center Group. They recently screened PlantPure Nation at a small local theater and close to 500 people attended.    

Dr. Michael Greger and Lee discuss Dr. Greger’s education and his very personal reason for adopting a plant-based diet and using it in his practice.  They also talk about which diseases and chronic conditions respond best to treatment by a plant-based diet, and how and why Dr. Greger began his very successful efforts to educate the public about the benefits of a plant-based diet through his books, videos, speaking engagements, and website.  They additionally discuss Dr. Greger’s opinion of the role government should play in forwarding the adoption of plant-based nutrition by a wider segment of the public and his assessment of where the movement towards a plant-based diet will stand in the next 5-10 years.   Dr. Michael Greger  is a physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker on a number of important public health issues. Among his many books is the New York Times best seller, How Not to Die.  He also founded NutritionFacts.org, the first science-based, non-commercial website to provide free daily videos and articles on the latest discoveries in nutrition.  

Michelle Odiorone and Lee discuss Michelle’s family health history and how a long list of medical issues in family members only going back two generations influenced her and her family to adopt a plant-based diet, choosing to take a proactive instead of a reactive approach to her family’s health. She describes all of the positive side effects that she and her husband experienced as a result of this new lifestyle. She discusses what her family ate prior to making the switch to plant-based and how her extended family reacted to their new diet. Michelle shares how her monthly potlucks have grown from a small group of 8 to 80 people spread out over 4 different potluck events and how she is now able to bring in prominent speakers from the plant-based community, all free of charge. Finally, she discusses the expansion of her Pod, as well as her hopes and plans for spreading the plant-based message not only in the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida area, but nationwide.   Michelle Odiorone  is a PlantPure Nation Pod co-leader for Tampa Bay Roots for Plants. She holds a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from The T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University. She also facilitates a monthly plant-based potluck that has been meeting since February 2013.  What started out as a small group meeting in individuals' homes has now grown into a membership that fills a fellowship hall at a local church.  They have guest speakers every other month highlighting the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. 

Dr. Pam Popper and Lee discuss the differences between a naturopath and an MD, her work for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and how her work with the Sacramento Food Bank Project demonstrated that plant based nutrition is well within reach even for our nation's lower income citizens.  She also reveals how her organization, Wellness Forum Health, is revolutionizing our nation’s current healthcare model.  Dr. Popper also talks about her most recent book and her ambitious plans to spread the message of the benefits of plant-based nutrition in the future.     Dr. Pam Popper is a naturopath, nutritionist, and the Executive Director of The Wellness Forum Health which offers educational programs to both consumers and providers that facilitate informed medical decision-making, diet and lifestyle intervention, and improved long-term health outcomes. Dr. Popper serves on the Physician’s Steering Committee and the President’s Board for the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C.  She was also one of the health care professionals involved in the famed Sacramento Food Bank Project. She has appeared in numerous documentaries, including Forks Over Knives, and is a New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book is Food Over Medicine.  

Dr. Monica Aggarwal and Lee discuss her diet growing up and a crippling chronic illness that she suffered shortly after the birth of her third child.  She shares how her condition threatened to end her life as she knew it, including her medical practice.  Dr. Aggarwal describes the terrible side effects of the medications she was prescribed and how her research into possible alternatives led her to information on plant-based nutrition.  Her adoption of a plant-based diet led to her ability to taper off all her meds, and today her health has been completely restored.  She now recommends plant-based nutrition to her patients with outstanding results.   Dr. Monica Aggarwalis a Board certified cardiologist in Baltimore, MD. She has expertise in heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and prevention of these and other conditions. Her path in prevention started with a severe illness.  It was then, with the fear she would never practice medicine again, that she found her path to whole body medicine. One of her main focuses is educating people about the importance of plant-based nutrition and its benefits in treating and potentially reversing chronic illness.  

David Read and Lee discuss David’s responsibilities as Vice President of Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and how his personal beliefs about the causes and treatments for cancer have evolved since he’s been exposed to the beneficial effects of a plant-based diet.  David shares his ongoing journey towards personally adopting a plant-based diet and the significant challenges he faces among the oncologists at Dana Farber in terms of their acceptance of plant-based nutrition as a significant prevention and treatment for cancer.  He also relates his hopes that plant-based nutrition can significantly lower the incidence of cancer in America in the future.       David C. Read is Vice President for Ambulatory Practice Operations and Chief Administrator for the Department of Medical Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He has overall responsibility for all 14 disease centers in Medical Oncology and for 8 outpatient oncology floors in DFCI Yawkey Center for Cancer Care. His top priorities have been improving patient access to Dana Farber and improving the patient’s overall experience. He received an MBA from Boston College and a Masters in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health where he studied epidemiology and health policy.