I am NOT what you would call an animal
lover I don’t like dog hair cat hair on
my clothes I’m embarrassed to say I have
never rescued a lost or wounded animal
on my car you won’t find a bumper
sticker that says save endangered
animals and I have a secret phobia of
whales so you may find it strange that I
consider myself a vegan and eat a
plant-based diet
six years ago I embarked on the 30-day
health experiment sparked by curiosity I
decided to try out a plant-based diet
after reading a book called Born to Run
this book is about a native tribe in the
Mexican desert known as the Tarahumara
or the running people they eat a
predominantly plant-based diet they are
adept at running long distances and
apparently they are super laid back sign
me up
the experiment was a success after only
a few days my lifelong supposedly
genetic chronic constipation was cured
and I effortlessly lost 12 pounds in
four weeks and as cliche as it sounds I
felt amazing and full of energy
during that time I watch documentaries
like Forks Over knives and earthlings I
read books like diet for a new America
and I studied the scientific literature
but little did I know that after those
30 days my eyes and my heart would open
up in ways that I will never forget when
I was younger I used to say
I don’t care that much about animals I
grew up spending every summer at my
grandparents farm
I saw animals being slaughtered every
week my grandmother would take a chicken
by its neck and wring it then she would
hang it upside down I watched as the
chicken flapped its wings vigorously and
then it would slow down
its eyes would roll back in his head and
finally it would be still I’ve also seen
a pig slaughtered and believe me I’ll
never forget that my uncle was the
president of a cow slaughterhouse for
many years you might say that killing
and eating animals was ingrained into my
family and my culture but I also
remember tender moments I remember that
after I would help catch the chicken
that we were going to eat I would sit at
the back of the truck with its warm body
on top of my feet I could feel its
heartbeat in its respirations and I
imagined that somehow it knew its fate
that it would be part of my Panamanian
chicken stew in a few hours
I also remember walking along the dairy
farm and gazing into the gentle brown
eyes of the dairy cows as they chewed on
grass as I stared into those big brown
eyes I wondered did she know that the
sole purpose of her life was to feed us
but as soon as I would start to feel
uncomfortable I would shake it off after
all I need to eat meat right where else
will I get my protein and if I don’t
drink milk my bones will disintegrate
it’s a necessary harm after those 30
days I discovered something that I had
not known in 32 years of life 23 years
of formal education a medical degree
public health school and a Master of
Science and I admit
it was a bit unsettling when one
encounters information that challenges
their worldview it is natural to
experience something called cognitive
dissonance this psychological stress is
caused when one is confronted with
information that contradicts the values
ideas and beliefs that they currently
hold it was at this crossroads that I
had the opportunity to grow and learn
more but only if I was open-minded and
willing to change my perspective I
discovered that not only is it not
necessary to eat animals but that we as
humans can actually thrive we thrive
eating only plants at that moment I felt
like the earth shifted below my feet and
I felt the burden of the enormity of the
pain and suffering of billions of
animals in this country we kill 9
billion animals every year according to
the Humane Society of the United States
that’s a big burden but maybe you don’t
connect much with animals and that’s ok
we all have different personalities
let’s take it a step closer to home are
our food choices harming us according to
the USDA the average American derives
94% of their calories from processed
foods and animal products this standard
American diet is deficient in fiber and
antioxidants and high in salt sugar and
fat at the same time we are seeing a
rise in the prevalence of chronic
conditions like heart disease diabetes
cancer and dementia this is causing us
increased suffering increased years of
debility
shortened lifespans prominent research
organizations like the CDC and the
Harvard School of Public Health have
estimated that at least 80% of chronic
conditions can be prevented through diet
and lifestyle choices with the single
greatest contributor to premature death
being our diets but what about our
littlest citizens as a pediatrician and
a mother I care deeply about providing
children the opportunity to grow up
healthy and happy by preventing chronic
disease it’s my passion it’s typical for
us to feed kids kid-friendly food like
chicken nuggets pizza and hot dogs their
meals are often laden with processed
meats cheese and additives we have known
for quite some time that processed meats
have the potential to cause harm in fact
the World Health Organization has
classified processed meats as a group 1
carcinogen known to increase our risk of
colorectal cancer but maybe kids are
different maybe they really do need meat
and dairy to grow up properly as a well
trained pediatrician I spent years
counseling my patients to consume 2 to 3
servings of dairy every day and this was
despite seeing adverse effects of dairy
in my practice daily such as cow’s milk
protein sensitivity lactose intolerance
chronic constipation and chronic
abdominal pain after my 30 days of
exploration I started investigating
whether it was safe for my own two sons
to eat a plant-based diet what I found
surprised me again not own
is this way safe but it provides
benefits for little growing and
developing bodies and brains the
American Dietetic Association has
written a policy statement stating that
appropriately planned vegetarian diets
including total vegetarian or vegan
diets are helpful nutritionally adequate
and may provide benefits in the
treatment and prevention of certain
diseases they go on to say that
well-planned vegetarian diets are
appropriate for individuals in all
stages of the life cycle including
pregnancy lactation infancy childhood
adolescence and for athletes we now have
significant scientific evidence that
eating a plant-based diet will decrease
our risk of certain chronic diseases and
may even reverse some diseases according
to several large Adventist population
studies we know that people who eat a
plant-based diet tend to weigh less have
less years of debility and as an added
bonus you could add eight to ten good
years to your lifespan because it’s not
just about quantity but quality but
maybe you’re not too concerned about
your own health and maybe you don’t have
children our our food choices harming
the planet animal agriculture is the
leading cause of species extinction
ocean dead zones water pollution and
habitat destruction and according to the
USDA every minute in our country animals
that are used for food produce 7 million
pounds of excrement if you’re concerned
about climate change it’s important to
know that according to the Worldwatch
Institute 51%
global greenhouse emissions are due to
livestock and their byproducts
physicians often quote the Hippocratic
Maxim first do no harm well it’s a bit
more complicated than that sometimes you
have to cause harm for the greater good
of a patient in medicine we often think
of it in terms of risk and benefit
whenever you elect to have a treatment
or procedure ideally the benefits should
outweigh the risks or the harms a good
example of this would be a caesarean
section when we perform a c-section on a
woman we have to cut through several
layers of her flesh it increases her
risk of hemorrhage damage to surrounding
organs pain and scarring for life
however we feel that the benefit of
saving a baby and the mother outweighs
the harm that it causes to that woman it
is in this same light that I now view my
own food choices if there is no
necessary reason for me to eat animal
products then is the harm that it causes
to animals humans and the planet worth
it is it worth the suffering increased
ability and shortened lifestyle life
cycles that it creates and then I ask
myself what are the benefits really
temporary pleasure convenience being
alive incurs risk and we all as far as I
know have a 100% chance of death at some
point but the great news is that we
could make choices today that both
reduce the burden of harm and increase
the chances of health joy and longevity
and the answer is simple a Whole Foods
plant-based diet
and the best part is it doesn’t have to
be all or nothing I’m gonna pause here
for a collective sigh of relief you okay
so where do you start the key is
simplicity you don’t have to make it
complicated first of all what is a whole
food a whole food is found in its most
whole form like that which is found in
nature the opposite would be a processed
food which is altered physically or
chemically by grinding it down or adding
ingredients such as salt sugar and
artificial colors some examples would be
an apple
versus apple juice whole wheat berries
versus white bread or a potato versus
fried potato chips and what are the
plants that we as humans can enjoy
fruits vegetables whole grains beans and
nuts and seeds whole plant foods are
beneficial because they provide us with
fiber antioxidants and phytochemicals
that bathe all ourselves and benefit our
entire body they also provide us with
water
give us hydration and that water
combines with fiber leads to satiety for
healthy weight management and great
pooping after 32 years of constipation I
am now proud to call myself a super
pooper so there are some of you out
there that may want to jump in and go
100% plant-based and to you I say go for
it if you need a recommendation for a
resource there are cards on the way out
I recommend the 21-day vegan kick-start
online and it’s free for the rest of you
the great majority I invite you to start
where you feel comfortable and work up
to at least 75% plant-based if you just
want
dip a toe in start with meatless Monday
what would this look like on your plate
how about for breakfast
oatmeal with fruit and walnuts a veggie
and bean burrito for lunch and for
dinner a whole grain pizza crust loaded
with veggies hold the cheese
once you start to get comfortable with
one day a week you can slowly continue
to incorporate more whole plant foods
into your diet focus on what you want to
add more of fruits vegetables whole
grains beans and nuts and seeds instead
of stressing about the rest
it’s not about deprivation it’s about
abundance now to get to the 75% goal
I recommend two simple approaches the
first is the weekday vegan where all of
your meals Monday through Friday are
plant-based so you can be a little more
relaxed on the weekends or perhaps the
vegan before 6:00 method where all of
your breakfasts and lunches are
plant-based so that you can be more
flexible for dinner either way you will
be significantly reducing the burden of
harm and I know you can do this I see
your faces and there is a question that
you are undoubtedly asking so let me
just address the elephant in the room by
the way did you know that elephants are
the largest land mammal on earth and
they eat only plants
where will I get my protein I have one
word for you
plants apples yup
brown rice absolutely beans of course
broccoli
did you know that calorie for calorie
broccoli has the same amount of protein
at stake you will get sufficient protein
from eating adequate calories from whole
plant foods because all whole plant
foods contain protein there’s no special
combining or counting necessary and
remember along with protein all whole
plant foods also contain fiber and
antioxidants so it’s a win-win-win if
not for the animals
then perhaps for your own health and
well-being if not for yourself then for
your children if you don’t have children
then for the planet it doesn’t matter
which reason you choose what matters is
that it be meaningful to you
six years ago I opted to continue to eat
a plant-based diet
with eyes wide open and I have never
looked back so no I do not identify as
an animal lover but I do choose to eat a
plant-based diet and live a vegan
lifestyle because I wholeheartedly
desire to reduce unnecessary harm to my
body our beautiful planet and to other
sentient creatures today I choose
chickpeas instead of chicken and maybe
you can – thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
lover I don’t like dog hair cat hair on
my clothes I’m embarrassed to say I have
never rescued a lost or wounded animal
on my car you won’t find a bumper
sticker that says save endangered
animals and I have a secret phobia of
whales so you may find it strange that I
consider myself a vegan and eat a
plant-based diet
six years ago I embarked on the 30-day
health experiment sparked by curiosity I
decided to try out a plant-based diet
after reading a book called Born to Run
this book is about a native tribe in the
Mexican desert known as the Tarahumara
or the running people they eat a
predominantly plant-based diet they are
adept at running long distances and
apparently they are super laid back sign
me up
the experiment was a success after only
a few days my lifelong supposedly
genetic chronic constipation was cured
and I effortlessly lost 12 pounds in
four weeks and as cliche as it sounds I
felt amazing and full of energy
during that time I watch documentaries
like Forks Over knives and earthlings I
read books like diet for a new America
and I studied the scientific literature
but little did I know that after those
30 days my eyes and my heart would open
up in ways that I will never forget when
I was younger I used to say
I don’t care that much about animals I
grew up spending every summer at my
grandparents farm
I saw animals being slaughtered every
week my grandmother would take a chicken
by its neck and wring it then she would
hang it upside down I watched as the
chicken flapped its wings vigorously and
then it would slow down
its eyes would roll back in his head and
finally it would be still I’ve also seen
a pig slaughtered and believe me I’ll
never forget that my uncle was the
president of a cow slaughterhouse for
many years you might say that killing
and eating animals was ingrained into my
family and my culture but I also
remember tender moments I remember that
after I would help catch the chicken
that we were going to eat I would sit at
the back of the truck with its warm body
on top of my feet I could feel its
heartbeat in its respirations and I
imagined that somehow it knew its fate
that it would be part of my Panamanian
chicken stew in a few hours
I also remember walking along the dairy
farm and gazing into the gentle brown
eyes of the dairy cows as they chewed on
grass as I stared into those big brown
eyes I wondered did she know that the
sole purpose of her life was to feed us
but as soon as I would start to feel
uncomfortable I would shake it off after
all I need to eat meat right where else
will I get my protein and if I don’t
drink milk my bones will disintegrate
it’s a necessary harm after those 30
days I discovered something that I had
not known in 32 years of life 23 years
of formal education a medical degree
public health school and a Master of
Science and I admit
it was a bit unsettling when one
encounters information that challenges
their worldview it is natural to
experience something called cognitive
dissonance this psychological stress is
caused when one is confronted with
information that contradicts the values
ideas and beliefs that they currently
hold it was at this crossroads that I
had the opportunity to grow and learn
more but only if I was open-minded and
willing to change my perspective I
discovered that not only is it not
necessary to eat animals but that we as
humans can actually thrive we thrive
eating only plants at that moment I felt
like the earth shifted below my feet and
I felt the burden of the enormity of the
pain and suffering of billions of
animals in this country we kill 9
billion animals every year according to
the Humane Society of the United States
that’s a big burden but maybe you don’t
connect much with animals and that’s ok
we all have different personalities
let’s take it a step closer to home are
our food choices harming us according to
the USDA the average American derives
94% of their calories from processed
foods and animal products this standard
American diet is deficient in fiber and
antioxidants and high in salt sugar and
fat at the same time we are seeing a
rise in the prevalence of chronic
conditions like heart disease diabetes
cancer and dementia this is causing us
increased suffering increased years of
debility
shortened lifespans prominent research
organizations like the CDC and the
Harvard School of Public Health have
estimated that at least 80% of chronic
conditions can be prevented through diet
and lifestyle choices with the single
greatest contributor to premature death
being our diets but what about our
littlest citizens as a pediatrician and
a mother I care deeply about providing
children the opportunity to grow up
healthy and happy by preventing chronic
disease it’s my passion it’s typical for
us to feed kids kid-friendly food like
chicken nuggets pizza and hot dogs their
meals are often laden with processed
meats cheese and additives we have known
for quite some time that processed meats
have the potential to cause harm in fact
the World Health Organization has
classified processed meats as a group 1
carcinogen known to increase our risk of
colorectal cancer but maybe kids are
different maybe they really do need meat
and dairy to grow up properly as a well
trained pediatrician I spent years
counseling my patients to consume 2 to 3
servings of dairy every day and this was
despite seeing adverse effects of dairy
in my practice daily such as cow’s milk
protein sensitivity lactose intolerance
chronic constipation and chronic
abdominal pain after my 30 days of
exploration I started investigating
whether it was safe for my own two sons
to eat a plant-based diet what I found
surprised me again not own
is this way safe but it provides
benefits for little growing and
developing bodies and brains the
American Dietetic Association has
written a policy statement stating that
appropriately planned vegetarian diets
including total vegetarian or vegan
diets are helpful nutritionally adequate
and may provide benefits in the
treatment and prevention of certain
diseases they go on to say that
well-planned vegetarian diets are
appropriate for individuals in all
stages of the life cycle including
pregnancy lactation infancy childhood
adolescence and for athletes we now have
significant scientific evidence that
eating a plant-based diet will decrease
our risk of certain chronic diseases and
may even reverse some diseases according
to several large Adventist population
studies we know that people who eat a
plant-based diet tend to weigh less have
less years of debility and as an added
bonus you could add eight to ten good
years to your lifespan because it’s not
just about quantity but quality but
maybe you’re not too concerned about
your own health and maybe you don’t have
children our our food choices harming
the planet animal agriculture is the
leading cause of species extinction
ocean dead zones water pollution and
habitat destruction and according to the
USDA every minute in our country animals
that are used for food produce 7 million
pounds of excrement if you’re concerned
about climate change it’s important to
know that according to the Worldwatch
Institute 51%
global greenhouse emissions are due to
livestock and their byproducts
physicians often quote the Hippocratic
Maxim first do no harm well it’s a bit
more complicated than that sometimes you
have to cause harm for the greater good
of a patient in medicine we often think
of it in terms of risk and benefit
whenever you elect to have a treatment
or procedure ideally the benefits should
outweigh the risks or the harms a good
example of this would be a caesarean
section when we perform a c-section on a
woman we have to cut through several
layers of her flesh it increases her
risk of hemorrhage damage to surrounding
organs pain and scarring for life
however we feel that the benefit of
saving a baby and the mother outweighs
the harm that it causes to that woman it
is in this same light that I now view my
own food choices if there is no
necessary reason for me to eat animal
products then is the harm that it causes
to animals humans and the planet worth
it is it worth the suffering increased
ability and shortened lifestyle life
cycles that it creates and then I ask
myself what are the benefits really
temporary pleasure convenience being
alive incurs risk and we all as far as I
know have a 100% chance of death at some
point but the great news is that we
could make choices today that both
reduce the burden of harm and increase
the chances of health joy and longevity
and the answer is simple a Whole Foods
plant-based diet
and the best part is it doesn’t have to
be all or nothing I’m gonna pause here
for a collective sigh of relief you okay
so where do you start the key is
simplicity you don’t have to make it
complicated first of all what is a whole
food a whole food is found in its most
whole form like that which is found in
nature the opposite would be a processed
food which is altered physically or
chemically by grinding it down or adding
ingredients such as salt sugar and
artificial colors some examples would be
an apple
versus apple juice whole wheat berries
versus white bread or a potato versus
fried potato chips and what are the
plants that we as humans can enjoy
fruits vegetables whole grains beans and
nuts and seeds whole plant foods are
beneficial because they provide us with
fiber antioxidants and phytochemicals
that bathe all ourselves and benefit our
entire body they also provide us with
water
give us hydration and that water
combines with fiber leads to satiety for
healthy weight management and great
pooping after 32 years of constipation I
am now proud to call myself a super
pooper so there are some of you out
there that may want to jump in and go
100% plant-based and to you I say go for
it if you need a recommendation for a
resource there are cards on the way out
I recommend the 21-day vegan kick-start
online and it’s free for the rest of you
the great majority I invite you to start
where you feel comfortable and work up
to at least 75% plant-based if you just
want
dip a toe in start with meatless Monday
what would this look like on your plate
how about for breakfast
oatmeal with fruit and walnuts a veggie
and bean burrito for lunch and for
dinner a whole grain pizza crust loaded
with veggies hold the cheese
once you start to get comfortable with
one day a week you can slowly continue
to incorporate more whole plant foods
into your diet focus on what you want to
add more of fruits vegetables whole
grains beans and nuts and seeds instead
of stressing about the rest
it’s not about deprivation it’s about
abundance now to get to the 75% goal
I recommend two simple approaches the
first is the weekday vegan where all of
your meals Monday through Friday are
plant-based so you can be a little more
relaxed on the weekends or perhaps the
vegan before 6:00 method where all of
your breakfasts and lunches are
plant-based so that you can be more
flexible for dinner either way you will
be significantly reducing the burden of
harm and I know you can do this I see
your faces and there is a question that
you are undoubtedly asking so let me
just address the elephant in the room by
the way did you know that elephants are
the largest land mammal on earth and
they eat only plants
where will I get my protein I have one
word for you
plants apples yup
brown rice absolutely beans of course
broccoli
did you know that calorie for calorie
broccoli has the same amount of protein
at stake you will get sufficient protein
from eating adequate calories from whole
plant foods because all whole plant
foods contain protein there’s no special
combining or counting necessary and
remember along with protein all whole
plant foods also contain fiber and
antioxidants so it’s a win-win-win if
not for the animals
then perhaps for your own health and
well-being if not for yourself then for
your children if you don’t have children
then for the planet it doesn’t matter
which reason you choose what matters is
that it be meaningful to you
six years ago I opted to continue to eat
a plant-based diet
with eyes wide open and I have never
looked back so no I do not identify as
an animal lover but I do choose to eat a
plant-based diet and live a vegan
lifestyle because I wholeheartedly
desire to reduce unnecessary harm to my
body our beautiful planet and to other
sentient creatures today I choose
chickpeas instead of chicken and maybe
you can – thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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