In the summer of 2012, Steve Jenkins was contacted by an old friend about adopting a micro piglet. Though he knew his partner Derek  Walter wouldn't be enthusiastic, he agreed to take the adorable little pig anyway, thinking he could care for her himself. Little did he know, that decision would change his and Derek's lives forever. 

It turned out there was nothing "micro" about Esther, and Steve and Derek had actually signed on to raise a full-sized commercial pig. Within three years, Tiny Esther grew to a whopping 600 pounds. After some real growing pains and a lot of pig-sized messes, it became clear that Esther needed much more space, so Steve and Derek made another life-changing decision: they bought a farm and opened the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary, where they could care for Esther and other animals in need. 

Esther's photos and videos will make you laugh, cry, and think twice about what you put on your plate. Tune in to be inspired by this very special 'little' pig.

This is not your average teenage girl. She’s not drawn to designer labels. She’s drawn to food labels. At 11 years old, Rachel Parent began researching for a school project and became alarmed by what she learned about GMOs. This gave her the spark to become an activist fighting for our right to know what’s in our food by making GMO labeling a law in Canada. That spark evolved into what’s now known as Kids Right To Know, a not-for-profit organization that she founded to inform the public, especially other children, about food safety.

A Toronto high school student, Rachel has since become a media veteran with dozens of television radio, magazine and online interviews under her belt. Rachel continues to research, educate and motivate others in schools and public events around the world in the name of transparency and choice. Various chapters of her journey are shared via her blog found on the Huffington Post Canada.

Tune in and be inspired. One person DOES make a difference.

My honored guest today! Dr. Jenn Mann (formerly Dr. Jenn Berman) is a well-known psychotherapist, author, television and radio host. She is the host and therapist for VH1 Couples Therapy with Dr. Jenn (six seasons), VH1 Family Therapy with Dr. Jenn and VH1 Couples Therapy with Dr. Jenn Reunion. She is a regular psychological expert on The Today Show, The Maury Show, Access Hollywood, The Insider and has appeared on hundreds of other shows including The Early Show, The Talk, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Dr. Jenn's call in radio program, The Dr. Jenn Show spent five successful years on Sirius XM. Before that she co-hosted On the Couch on Star 98.7, a Clear Channel station, for two years.

Dr. Jenn is the author of three bestselling books: The Relationship Fix: Dr. Jenn's Guide to Improving Communication, Connection & Intimacy, SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years, The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy Confident Kids and Rockin’ Babies. Dr. Mann also created the popular weight loss app “No More Diets” application, which is currently available on iPhone & iPad and is based on her doctorial dissertation.

Dr. Jenn has a Bachelors in Mass Communications/Journalism, a Masters in Clinical Psychology, and a Doctorate in Psychology, specifically Marriage, Child, and Family therapy. She is a licensed Marriage, Family and Child Therapist and has been in private practice for over twenty years. She lives in Beverly Hills with her family.

You can find Dr. Jenn onTwitter, Instagram, snapchat & facebook: @DrJennMann

Engine 2 Founder Rip Esselstyn was born in upstate New York, raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and educated at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a three-time All-American swimmer. After graduation, Rip spent a decade as one of the premier triathletes in the world. He then joined the Austin Fire Department where he introduced his passion for a whole-food, plant-based diet to Austin’s Engine 2 Firehouse in order to rescue a firefighting brother’s health. To document his success he wrote the national bestselling book, The Engine 2 Diet, which shows the irrefutable connection between a plant-based diet and good health.

Rip left his job as a firefighter in 2009 to team up with Whole Foods Market as one of their Healthy Eating Partners to raise awareness for Whole Foods employees, customers and communities about the benefits of eating a plant-strong diet. As the founder of Engine 2, Rip develops and implements a range of programs and events geared toward education, inspiring and nurturing plant-strong living for individuals, families and organizations across the globe.

The Engine 2 Diet has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and inspired a plant-based food revolution. Featuring endorsements from top medical experts and a food line in Whole Foods Market, Engine 2 is the most trusted name in plant-based eating. Now, readers can bring the Engine 2 program into their kitchens with this cookbook companion to the original diet program. Engine 2 started in a firehouse in Texas, and if Texas firefighters love to eat this food, readers nationwide will eat it up, too! THE ENGINE 2 COOKBOOK packs the life-saving promise of the Engine 2 program into more than 130 mouth-watering, crowd-pleasing recipes that are designed to help readers lose weight, lower cholesterol, and improve their health, one delicious bite at a time.

Children's book author, vegan activist and talented artist Ruby Roth has written here best book yet Help Yourself. 

Experts tell us the best way to teach kids healthy eating habits is to involve them in the process. This irresistibe cookbook presents 60 appealing recipes kids will beg to make themselves, in fun and charming illustrations they will love. Bursting with color, humor, cute animal characters, and cool facts (did you know your brain actually shrinks when you're dehydrated? Drink water, quick!), Help Yourself empowers children to take charge of their own nutrition -- for now and for life!

Recipes include: 

fun-to-munch hand-held snacks like Life Boats.bright fruit-flavored drinks like Tickled Pink.the always popular things-on-toast, like Leprechaun Footprints.salads they will actually eat, like Tiger Stripes.cozy soups like Tomato Tornado.and sweets like chocolatey Disappearing Dots!

Called “such a nice zealot” by The New York Times and “the L.A. punk’ who turned animal rights into a celebrity craze,” Dan Mathews is the creative force behind many of PETA’s colorful crusades. He has recruited a parade of stars to speak out for the cause and was the first person to interview longtime animal rights ally Sir Paul McCartney after the death of his wife, Linda.

Dan started out at PETA as a receptionist and soon rose through the ranks while devising ways to increase public awareness of animal rights issues. Dan launched PETA’s legendary “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign by walking down the streets of Tokyo wearing nothing more than a banner. He also has promoted animal rights while costumed as a carrot in Kansas City and a cow in Denver, and he crashed a furrier’s fashion show dressed as a priest in Milan.

Dan’s accomplishments include convincing Calvin Klein to stop designing with fur after leading a raid of his office, pressuring GM to stop using animals in crash tests by storming the auto company’s float in the Rose Parade, and lobbying Gillette to halt tests on animals by wheeling a TV into the company’s cafeteria to show graphic undercover footage of the gruesome experiments.

For nearly six years, acclaimed author, speaker, podcaster, and Main Street Vegan Academy director, Victoria Moran, has trained individuals to become vegan lifestyle coaches and educators. Now, Victoria has teamed up with one her Academy alums turned faculty member, cookbook author, culinary instructor, and radio host, JL Fields, to bring that very same coaching to you.

In The Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook, Victoria and JL, along with over a hundred certified vegan lifestyle coaches, join you in the kitchen as you discover more than 100 of their favorite plant-sourced recipes. Whether you're new to the diet or a seasoned plant-based eater, vegan or just veg-curious, their tips, tricks, shortcuts, and strategies will transform your cooking, your eating, and your life.

Inside, you'll find wholesome, delectable, and accessible recipes like:

PB&J Sammie SmoothieSweet Red Chili Potato SkinsPepperoni Pizza PuffsAvocado-Cucumber SoupCranberry-Kale PilafCrisp Mocha Peanut Butter Bars

Anchored in compassion, The Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook is more than a cookbook; it's a complete guide to going vegan, from FAQs, troubleshooting, and menu plans to inspiration and innovations for navigating the culinary, nutritional, and social landscape of plant-based eating.

Embrace a healthier, more compassionate you, with Victoria, JL, and the rest of the Main Street Vegan Academy coaches by your side.

From Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM, author of the New York Times bestselling book How Not to Die, comes a beautifully-designed, comprehensive cookbook complete with more than 120 recipes for delicious, life-saving, plant-based meals, snacks, and beverages. Every recipe in The How Not to Die Cookbook offers a delectable, easy-to-prepare, plant-based dish to help anyone eat their way to better health.

Rooted in the latest nutrition science, these easy-to-follow, stunningly photographed recipes will appeal to anyone looking to live a longer, healthier life. Featuring Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen?the best ingredients to add years to your life?The How Not to Die Cookbook is destined to become an essential tool in healthy kitchens everywhere.

NUTRITIONFACTS.ORG is a strictly non-commercial, science-based public service provided by Dr. Michael Greger, providing free updates on the latest in nutrition research via bite-sized videos. There are more than a thousand videos on nearly every aspect of healthy eating, with new videos and articles uploaded every day.

My guest today is the inspiring and compassionate bestselling author Kathy Freston.  She's teamed up with co- author Bruce Friedrich to write her latest work of genius- Clean Protein.

Food and wellness experts Kathy Freston and Bruce Friedrich have spent years researching the future of protein. They've talked to the food pioneers and the nutrition scientists, and now they've distilled what they've learned into a strength-building plan poised to reshape your body and change your world.

Complete with delicious recipes and a detailed guide to food planning, Clean Protein explains everything you need to know in order to get lean, gain energy, and stay mentally sharp. You'll finally understand in simple terms why protein is essential, how much you should get, and where to find the best sources of it.

Clean Protein is a powerful solution to excess weight and chronic health issues, and it's a cultural revolution that will be talked about for decades.

Nathan Runkle would have been a fifth-generation farmer in his small Midwestern town. Instead, he founded our nation’s leading nonprofit organization for protecting factory-farmed animals Mercy For Animals. In his new book, Mercy For Animals, Nathan brings us into the trenches of his organization’s work; from MFA’s early days in grassroots activism to dangerous and dramatic experiences doing undercover investigations to the organization’s current large-scale efforts at making sweeping legislative change to protect factory-farmed animals and encourage compassionate food choices.

But this isn’t just Nathan’s story. Mercy For Animals examines how our country moved from a network of small local farms with more than 50 percent of Americans involved in agriculture to a massive coast-to-coast industrial complex controlled by a mere 1 percent of our population—and the consequences of this drastic change for animals as well as our global and local environments. We also learn how MFA strives to protect farmed animals in behind-the-scenes negotiations with companies like Nestlé and other brand names—conglomerates whose policy changes can spare countless lives and strengthen our planet.

Since founding MFA over a decade ago, Nathan has overseen the organization's growth into a leading international force in the prevention of cruelty to farmed animals and promotion of compassionate food choices and policies.

Imagine a world free of cruelty, a world in which we nurture our bodies, minds, and spirits with wholesome, healthy food that is kind to animals and sustainable for our planet. MFA believes that world is possible. In fact, it is inevitable if we work together to elevate humanity to its fullest potential.  Tune in. Be inspired.