Voices from the Food Revolution Summit, Part 2

“We’re beginning to get across the notion that the radicals in this situation aren’t us.  What I want is a word a little like the one I was born into.  That’s a pretty conservative notion.  The radicals are the oil companies who want to alter the composition of the atmosphere.”  Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org

“For 20 years in the US, we’ve had a perfect bipartisan record of accomplishing nothing on climate change…. It’s pretty clear that left to its own devices, the system won’t produce change, so we can’t leave it to its own devices.”   Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org

“Many consumers purchase ‘natural’ products and think they are like organic but just cheaper. But natural means very little in the marketplace. Most so-called ‘natural’ foods are not only grown or produced using pesticides, but also contain genetically engineered ingredients.”  Ronnie Cummins, founder of the Organic Consumers Association

“The USDA is supposed to represent all of the people of the United States, and it has a $100 billion budget.  That is our money that they are using.  But almost nothing in that budget is geared towards organics, sustainable farming, or traditional farming.  We need to stop subsidizing unsustainable industrialized agriculture.” Ronnie Cummins of the  Organic Consumers Association

“Washington now has roughly two-dozen lobbyists for every person that Americans elect to represent us there.”  Frances Moore Lappe, author of the best-selling Diet for a Small Planet

“I am neither an optimist not a pessimist.  I am a possiblist.  I believe in working for what is possible.”   Frances Moore Lappe

“We have to think big.  We need to make personal choices, but we also need to think societal change.  The price we’re paying is enormous… The environment is deteriorating more rapidly than anyone had thought.  And too many people are dying.”  Neal Barnard, founder and president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Forty six million Americans now depend on the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) program.  Many of the convenience stores in low income neighborhoods stock only highly processed and packaged foods with long shelf lives.  If SNAP was amended to exclude purchases of junk food, just as it already excludes purchases of alcohol and tobacco, the health outcomes for the lowest income communities could improve dramatically.   Neal Barnard, founder and president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

“The subtle energy of your food becomes your mind.”  David Wolfe, raw food expert

“It’s easier to maintain a positive mental attitude if you’re drinking wheat grass juice than if you’re drinking soda pop.  It’s easier, and you want to stack the odds in your favor.  If you eat well and you eat healthy, you will have an easier time holding energy and vibrations, and you’ll perform better….  greens are absolutely critical.”  David Wolfe, raw food expert

“My view of dairy products?  Don’t use them!  I see no redeeming value in consuming that food from a nutritional perspective.  Dairy products are a pretty potent producer of higher cholesterol levels, cardiovascular problems, and a host of other problems. Mother’s milk is perfect food for human babies.  Cows milk is perfect food for baby calves.”  T. Colin Campbell, researcher and author of  The China Study

Did you know:

– The Geico insurance company has instituted plant-based diets at 10 of their 13 facilities across the US, and (PCRM is) tracking the results.

– Google’s offices in San Jose and New York offer wheatgrass to their employees, as much as they want to drink

– Malnutrition kills 300 children per hour of every day – it affects 1 in 4 children in the world.

– We eat 1 million animals per hour in the US alone.