It was fun to be asked about my own story - so much to reflect on! Thanks to Jeff Adams of VeganLinked for a thought-provoking interview.

Resources:

https://veganlinked.com/

This week, Chrissy welcomes Chrissy! Christina Mitchell describes herself as a fun-loving Kansas girl who loves animals and at one point in her life wanted to be a veterinarian but didn’t think she could  handle having to euthanize animals. Chrissy grew up as a meat-eater questioning where her food came from, but went vegan in 2016 when a random slaughterhouse video played on her Facebook feed. Since then, she has protested with activists around the United States against animal cruelty at slaughterhouses, factory farms ,and pet stores, and she’s also been part of a number of pretty dramatic animal rescues. Chrissy currently volunteers and lives at Shy 38 Farm Sanctuary with her 4 dogs, Izzy, Oogie, Cocoa, and Frankie. 

Resources:

Shy 38 Farm Sanctuary: https://www.shy38.org/

(HORRIFYING!!!) “Children’s” book, I Want to Be Bacon when I Grow Up: https://www.baconscouts.com/shop/i-want-to-be-bacon-when-i-grow-up/

Documentary Supersize Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlWzDV_0hnU

You may recall last week’s amazing, extraordinary guest, Dr. Frank Sabatino. This week, the Vegan Posse welcomes Dr. Frank’s equally amazing, extraordinary partner, Jayney Goddard, founder of the Complementary Medicine Association. Jayney has a Master of Science post-graduate degree from UCLancashire, England; and trained in Mind/Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School, USA, under Dr Herbert Benson (the “father” of Mind/ Body Medicine). Jayney herself faced a life-threatening illness that left her wheelchair-bound for ten years – and through lifestyle and dietary changes, she not only recovered her health but rewound her own body clock in the process. She compiled her recommendations in her latest book, Rewind Your Body Clock – The Complete Natural Guide to a Happier, Healthier, Younger You.

Resources:

Website: https://www.jayneygoddard.org/

Rewind Your Body Clock by Jayney Goddard: https://www.amazon.com/Rewind-Your-Body-Clock-Healthier/dp/1786782162/https://www.amazon.com/Rewind-Your-Body-Clock-Healthier/dp/1786782162/

This week’s interview is jam-packed with facts and truth that you won’t hear from many doctors – the sort that actually fortify, empower, and heal! Frank Sabatino, D.C., Ph.D. has been a plant-exclusive Chiropractic physician for over 45 years. He has a Ph.D in cell biology and neuroendocrinology from the Emory University School of Medicine and is one of the world’s leading experts on medically supervised water only fasting. Dr. Sabatino is the Director of Health Education for the National Health Association and host of the Health Science Podcast as well as a member of the medical advisory board of the T. Collin Campbell Center for Nutritional Studies. He is currently the director of the Balance for Life Health retreats focused on plant-exclusive nutrition and water-only fasting in Deerfield Beach, Florida. His online program, Lean for Life: The Science of Effective Weight Loss, is available at DrFrankSabatino.com. His current book Weightless: Compassionate Weight Loss for Life, is a comprehensive and practical plant-exclusive programs for eliminating the pandemic of obesity. But as always, to me, much more interesting than someone’s professional credentials are their personal stories, and Dr. Frank has some great ones!. Be warned, we did have a few

Resources:

Dr. Frank Sabatino website: https://www.drfranksabatino.com/

Weightless: Compassionate Weight Loss for Life by Dr. Frank Sabatino: https://www.amazon.com/Weightless-Compassionate-Weight-Loss-Life/dp/1910600458/

Ready to hear from the "giant" on whose shoulders so many plant-based doctors stand? Cornell University Professor Emeritus Dr. T. Colin Campbell has been dedicated to the science of human health for more than 60 years. His primary focus is on the association between diet and disease, particularly cancer. Although largely known for the China Study - one of the most comprehensive studies of health and nutrition ever conducted, and recognized by The New York Times as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” - Dr. Campbell’s profound impact also includes extensive involvement in education, public policy, and laboratory research.

Resources:

T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies; https://nutritionstudies.org/

The China Study: https://nutritionstudies.org/the-china-study/

Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by Dr. T. Colin Campbell: https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Rethinking-Nutrition-Colin-Campbell/dp/1939529840/

I don’t generally opt to hang our with other lawyers when I can help it, but I make an exception when I’m at Vegan Summerfest! Michael Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell University, where he teaches and writes about constitutional law and related subjects, including justice movements. He has authored over one hundred scholarly articles and essays for law journals and peer-reviewed science and social science journals, as well as thousands of essays. Mike is also the author or co-author of six books, including Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights, which he co-authored with his late wife, fellow vegan law professor and author Sherry Cole. Mike and Sherry raised two vegan daughters, and among his many accomplishments, he was the undefeated pie-eating contest champion at Cornell. In this discussion, Mike and I do talk about the law, but even more interesting to me was the rest.

Resources:

Michael Dorf Cornell Faculty Page: https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/michael-dorf/

Blog: https://www.dorfonlaw.org/

Bi-weekly columns: Verdict: https://verdict.justia.com/

X/Twitter: @dorfonlaw

Facebook fan page, Dorf on Law: https://www.facebook.com/p/Dorf-on-Law-100057326753544/

BlueSky: @dorfonlaw.bsky.social

Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights (Critical

Hot-dog-eating champion banned from contest for having vegan sponsor: https://nypost.com/2024/06/11/business/joey-chestnut-banned-from-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/

Non-Human Rights Project: https://www.nonhumanrights.org/

Whitecoat Waste, movement to save animals and taxes by

A Well-Fed World: https://awellfedworld.org/

Vegan Posse gets a shout-out in Wired! https://www.wired.com/story/bitcoin-bros-go-wild-for-donald-trump/

Nan Simonsen is a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and the author of Aging Powerfully: Accept Your Past and Take Control of Your Future. Many of us think of eating disorders as something that teenagers and young women wrestle with and naturally "outgrow" – but that’s not always the case. Shrouded by feelings of abandonment, inferiority, and self-loathing throughout adolescence, Nan developed an eating disorder that would stay with her into adulthood. She carried that secret for decades, until she found her way out of pain and self-sabotage by feeding her body - and her microbiome - the right foods.

Resources:

Nan Simonsen website: https://nansimonsen.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CtyZ3rERgU

Aging Powerfully by Nan Simonsen: https://www.amazon.com/Aging-Powerfully-Accept-Control-Future/dp/1736331000

PETA “Meet Your Meat”: https://www.peta.org/videos/meet-your-meat-in-30-seconds/

"Dairy Is Scary" video: https://youtu.be/UcN7SGGoCNI?si=dmF5uUEmDHN88mcD

Chef Guy Vaknin is the founder and executive chef of City Roots Hospitality and based in New York City. For part of his youth, Chef Guy was raised on a kibbutz in Israel, where he was immersed in agriculture from a young age. He was taught how to cultivate food for the benefit of a community as a whole. To this day, Chef Guy believes that food is deeply connected to emotion, culture, and memory which is why he set out to create a restaurant group that would raise awareness about the interconnectedness of food and environment.

Chef Guy launched his first restaurant, Beyond Sushi, in 2012 as a tiny storefront in the East Village. As the success of Beyond Sushi flourished with several locations across New York City, Chef Guy’s vision expanded into a multi-restaurant group including Willow, Coletta, Anixi, and Sentir - each venue distinct yet unified by the goal to redefine vegan cuisine.

In 2012, Chef Guy was in the spotlight as a contestant on Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen Season 10. He also appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2018 where he made one of the largest deals in the history of the show. He has plans to open more restaurants in New York City - stay tuned to see what's next! 

City Roots Hospitality: https://cityrootsnyc.com/restaurants/

City Roots Restaurants...

Anixi: https://www.anixinyc.com/

Beyond Sushi: https://beyondsushi.com/

Coletta: https://www.colettanyc.com/

Sentir: https://sentirnyc.com/

Willow: https://willownewyork.com/

Chef Guy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefguyvaknin/?hl=en

City Roots Hospitality Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cityrootsnyc/?hl=en

Contact Chrissy Benson: [email protected]

Christine Melanie Benson website: https://christinemelaniebenson.com/

Marrying Myself by Christine Melanie Benson: https://www.amazon.com/Marrying-Myself-Christine-Melanie-Benson/dp/1685130763/

How many of us bemoan all the years we spent consuming "foods” that were in fact the products of unconscionable animal suffering? If you’ve ever wondered what it would have been like to be raised vegan, you can hear firsthand

More about Sarina...

Sarina Farb is a vegan educator, TEDx speaker, and liberation activist working to make the world a better place for all beings. As a former science teacher and lifelong vegan, Sarina focuses on combining heart

Resources:

Sarina Farb sebsite: www.bornvegan.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bornvegan1 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BornVegan/ 

Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/bornvegan 

Christine Melanie Benson website: https://christinemelaniebenson.com/

Vegan Summerfest, July 10-14, 2024, Johnstown, PA: https://summerfest.navs-online.org/

Sap;ote (fruit): https://miamifruit.org/products/black-sapote

This final short but sweet episode summarizes the aspects of self-love and my own biggest takeaways from our amazing guests. Be part of the self-love revolution! And go forth in love.

Resources:

Christine Melanie Benson website: https://christinemelaniebenson.com/

"Why Am I Me?" from musical Shenandoah: https://youtu.be/ONGXYI2WDo0?si=z2YFw5iQbfHWe_V8

Music credit:

"Spring, Spring Is an Amazing Thing" by Lij Shaw (with Sarayah Shaw: https://youtu.be/1OVkxnN9qLk?si=ZDbiyMv2Z7utvpeh