It’s All About Food

Part I: Lana Dee Povitz, Stirrings, How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food JusticeIn the last three decades of the twentieth century, government cutbacks, stagnating wages, AIDS, and gentrification pushed ever more people into poverty, and hunger reached levels unseen since the Depression. In response, New Yorkers set the stage for a nationwide food justice movement. Whether organizing school lunch campaigns, establishing food co-ops, or lobbying city officials, citizen-activists made food a political issue, uniting communities across lines of difference. The charismatic, usually female leaders of these efforts were often products of earlier movements: American communism, civil rights activism, feminism, even Eastern mysticism. Situating food justice within these rich lineages, Lana Dee Povitz demonstrates how grassroots activism continued to thrive, even as it was transformed by unrelenting erosion of the country’s already fragile social safety net. Using dozens of new oral histories and archives, Povitz reveals the colorful characters who worked behind the scenes to build and sustain the movement, and illuminates how people worked together to overturn hierarchies rooted in class and race, reorienting the history of food activism as a community-based response to austerity. The first book-length history of food activism in a major American city, Stirrings highlights the emotional, intimate, and interpersonal aspects of social movement culture. Lana Dee Povitz is visiting assistant professor of history at Middlebury College.

Part II: Bettina Elias Siegel, Kid Food, The Challenge of Feeding Children in a Highly Processed WorldBettina Elias Siegel is a nationally recognized writer and advocate on issues relating to children and food policy. Her reporting and opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Houston Chronicle, and Civil Eats, as well as her own widely read blog, The Lunch Tray. She frequently appears or is quoted in national media, including Today, ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, NPR, The Doctors, the Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Parents. In 2015, Family Circle named Siegel one of the country’s “20 Most Influential Moms,” and she is one of the most successful petitioners in Change.org’s history. A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School, Siegel lives in Houston with her husband and two children.

Part I: Josh Berson, The Meat QuestionJosh Berson is an independent social scientist. He has held research appointments at the Berggruen Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, among other places. He is the author of Computable Bodies: Instrumented Life and the Human Somatic Niche.    Part II: Abioseh Cole, I Am Not Food

Abioseh Joseph Cole, is a published author, poet, animal rights blacktivist, teacher, and hip-hop artist, producer, and recording engineer. He started writing in 1989, at the age of 9, and has since found poetry to be his truest form of expression, be it in rap form, spoken word or prose. While most of his career has been spent honing his talents in hip hop, the last 4 years has been focused on spoken word poetry. He has performed schools and venues all across the country and is a member of the CT Slam Team, Verbal Slap, since 2017. He has also taught poetry workshops to students ranging from middle school age to adulthood.

Glenn Saks and Liora Raphael, Happy Animals  Liora Raphael and Glenn Saks are lawyers and long-time friends. Over lunch at a favorite vegan restaurant, Liora relayed her frustration in finding an age-appropriate book for her daughter to assist in answering the question “Why don’t we eat animals?” and Glenn, never one to turn down a challenge, said, “Let’s write one!” Liora Raphael lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and their adored standard poodle. While browsing in a bookstore in college she happened to pick up a book about animal testing in the cosmetics industry. After reading it cover to cover in the aisle, her outlook changed and she immediately became vegetarian, and eventually vegan. In addition to spending time with her family and friends, Liora loves hiking, photography, and reading mystery novels.   Glenn Saks is an attorney living in Los Angeles with his wife. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, and exploring Los Angeles by foot. At the same time he was analyzing legal precedent and contract clauses, Glenn also began analyzing what he was putting on his plate. He had long noticed the disconnect between children enjoying stories with cute animals as the hero, and how often those very same animals were being fed to them at meal time, which inspired him to collaborate on this book.

Part I: Zen Honeycutt, Moms Across AmericaZen L. Honeycutt is—first and foremost—a mom. She is also an activist, speaker, author, founding executive director of Moms Across America, and co-creator of Mothers Across the World with Dr. Vandana Shiva. While heading Moms Across America, Zen initiated the first testing for glyphosate in tap water, breast milk, and urine and spearheaded the non-profit’s successful petition to Costco to remove Roundup from their shelves. Happy to speak to anyone interested in better health for all, she has been featured on ABC, CNN, The Dr. Oz Show, the Wall Street Journal, CSPAN, Fox News, Reuter’s, Huffington Post, and many other media outlets. Her documentary, Communities Rising, highlights efforts across our nation to transform the food supply, and she is the author of Unstoppable: Transforming Sickness and Struggle into Triumph, Empowerment, and a Celebration of Community. For years, Zen has been motivating groups around the globe to take action to improve their quality of life, health, and food. Speaking tours have taken her to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, China, Maui, France, The Hague, and across mainland America. Known for being UNSTOPPABLE, Zen makes a practice of going head-to-head with government agencies, big corporations, and anyone who believes that things simply are the way they are and that it’s impossible to create change. She has it on good authority—her mother—that we are all amazing. And she knows from experience that anything is possible. Her own story is proof of her beliefs. Formerly of Connecticut and New York City, Zen currently resides in Southern California with her husband and three sons.  Part II: Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, The Joyful Vegan: How to Stay Vegan in a World That Wants You to Eat Meat, Dairy, and EggsColleen Patrick-Goudreau’s compassionate living philosophy is propelling plant-based eating into the mainstream and forever changing how we regard animals. A recognized expert and thought leader on the culinary, social, ethical, and practical aspects of living compassionately and healthfully, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is a speaker, cultural commentator, podcaster, and award-winning author of seven books, including the bestselling The Joy of Vegan Baking, The Vegan Table, Color Me Vegan, Vegan’s Daily Companion, On Being Vegan, and The 30-Day Vegan Challenge. Her newest book, The Joyful Vegan: Everything You Need to Stay Vegan in a World That Wants You to Keep Eating Meat, Dairy, and Eggs, is due out in 2019. She is an acclaimed speaker and beloved host of the inspiring podcast, “Food for Thought,” which was voted Favorite Podcast by VegNews magazine readers several years in a row. She launched a spin-off podcast called Animalogy in 2017. Along with fellow advocates, she recently formed a political action committee called East Bay Animal PAC to work with government officials on animal issues in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Colleen shares her message of compassion and wellness on national and regional TV and radio programs, including on monthly segment on Good Day Sacramento and as a monthly contributor on National Public Radio (KQED). She has appeared on the Food Network, CBS, PBS, and FOX; interviews with her have been featured on NPR, Huffington Post, U.S. News and World Report; and her recipes have been featured on Epicurious.com and Oprah.com. Colleen lives in Oakland, CA with her husband David and two cats, Charlie and Michiko.

Gary De Mattei, Vegan vs Plant-BasedResponsible Eating And Living co-founder, Gary De Mattei, joins IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD host, Caryn Hartglass, to talk about the terms “plant-based” and “vegan,” industrial plant-based foods and more.

Joel Fuhrman, MD, Eat to Live Retreat

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a board-certified family physician, six-time New York Times best-selling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing, who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional methods. He is the President of the Nutritional Research Foundation and on the faculty of Northern Arizona University, Health Sciences division. Dr. Fuhrman coined the term “Nutritarian” to describe a nutrient-dense eating style, designed to prevent cancer, slow aging, and extend lifespan.

For over 25 years, Dr. Fuhrman has shown that it is possible to achieve sustainable weight loss and reverse heart disease, diabetes and many other illnesses using smart nutrition. In his medical practice, and through his books and television specials, he continues to bring this life-saving message to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

David Karopkin, Esq., Wildlife AdvisorDavid is a lifelong Brooklynite and a dedicated advocate for animals and co-existence with wildlife. Among other pursuits, David founded GooseWatch NYC in 2011 and during the past 7 years he has been involved with numerous efforts to protect threatened wildlife living in NYC through activism, legislation and policy. Under his leadership, GooseWatch NYC organized successful campaigns, notably including, the documentation of USDA Wildlife Service round-ups and killing of Canada geese in New York City parks, pivotal in encouraging the City to move towards non-lethal goose management policies, as well as passage of legislation to stop the N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan to eradicate mute swans in New York State, and the prevention of USDA’s killing of Staten Island’s wild turkeys by helping to coordinate their relocation to farm animal sanctuaries in upstate New York. GooseWatch also worked to protect deer on Staten Island and coyotes in Queens, and participated in the campaign to ban wild animal performances in circuses. As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, David has assisted with many rescues of injured geese, raccoons, squirrels, and pigeons. David graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2015, and has served as a Councilmanic Aide for New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm, Legislative Director for New York State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, and Assistant Law Clerk to the Hon. Justice Katherine A. Levine in the New York State Supreme Court.

Joyce Friedman, Board DirectorJoyce has extensive experience as a multifaceted advocate for animals. A former clinical social worker, Joyce entered the animal rights field as Northeast Campaigns Coordinator and then Northeast Director for In Defense of Animals. She gained expertise in and began to see the value of legislative work and electioneering by serving on the Board of Directors of League of Humane Voters-NYC. She then became Program Manager of the surrender prevention program Pet Help Partners at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), keeping thousands of animals in their homes and out of shelters. When she transitioned to become NYC Coordinator at The HSUS, she worked on passing local animal-friendly legislation, most notably as a leader in the successful campaign to ban wild animals in circuses in NYC in 2017. Joyce currently manages a community pets program at a local animal society and is thrilled to be serving on the Board of Directors of Voters for Animal Rights. Using her expertise, experience, and passion to pass laws to protect animals and to help ensure animal-friendly legislators are in office are her biggest priorities as an animal rights activist. Joyce has rescued dozens of dogs and cats over the years and she currently lives with her three rescued cats Pablo, Patrick, and Lucy.

Annabel Park, Healthy CampaignAnnabel is a progressive activist, a documentary filmmaker (9500 Liberty, Story of America), and the co-founder of the digital media company, Indigo Light. She is a passionate advocate for immigrant rights, social justice, and democratic reform. She has launched several online communities including the Coffee Party, Bridge the Divide, Facing Humanity, America Welcomes Refugees, and The Talk on Main Street. She studied philosophy and politics at Boston University and then at Oxford University. Since joining Healthy Campaign, the change in eating habits and diet has significantly improved her health.

Jonathan Safran Foer, We are the WeatherJonathan Safran Foer is the author of novels Everything Is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Here I Am, and of the nonfiction book Eating Animals. His work has received numerous awards and has been translated into thirty-six languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Gary De Mattei, Children’s Health and Food PolicyResponsible Eating And Living co-founder, Gary De Mattei joins Caryn Hartglass to talk about food policy and misinformation promoted by mainstream media on nutrition for children.