Bringing "Plant-Based" to the Masses

It is now edging towards the later side of 2011. We still have a worldwide epidemic of obesity and chronic disease. Medical costs are literally bankrupting our nation...even though nobody is getting better by using the medications and procedures that absorb all of that money. Cancer is no longer the "C word" due to its overshadowing prevalence. Type 2 diabetes now occurs in eight percent of the population! A third of the U.S. population is overweight. 34% of the population is obese, 6% of which are "extremely obese."

But...despite the concern of hopelessness...

We indeed have a solution...

And the world is starting to listen...

Miracles occurred when we at EarthSave, Int. took 20+ participants, clients of the Sacramento Food Bank, through a Dr. McDougall-style plant-based program for 30 days...

The results? Multiple year-long medication prescriptions were halted, energy skyrocketed, weight and cholesterol levels plummeted, blood pressure normalized, morale was lifted, etc., etc.

A documentary about plant-based nutrition soared at nationwide box-offices...Forks Over Knives was the first full-length feature film on the topic to make it to dinner table talk. And the companion book officially made the New York Times Bestseller List.







Look where we have come! Vegan and veg-friendly restaurants continued to grow and thrive. Vegan cookbooks were hitting the shelves with a gusto...People like President Bill Clinton, Steve Wynn, and Twitter creator, Biz Stone, went plant-based.

To sum up the success and take people to the next level, I made an infotainment documentary with award-winning  filmmaker extraordinaire, Jesse Pomeroy, which has just released to DVD. To Your Health is best summed up as a fun and fast-paced "journey into the Plant-Based World."

To Your Health is an in-depth study of whole food, plant-based nutrition, debunking the most common myths associated with modern nutrition. Exploring your need for protein, calcium, supplements, metabolism, and other issues, To Your Health provides answers to your biggest questions.







Follow me as I travel the country to interview the biggest names in the Plant-Based World including Dr. T. Colin Campbell (The China Study), Dr. Joel Fuhrman (Eat to Live), Dr. John McDougall (The McDougall Program), Dr. Neal Barnard (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), and Dr. Pam Popper (the Wellness Forum), and many more including Brendan Brazier, Chef AJ, and Mike Anderson. My travels take me from Cornell University and the countryside of New Jersey to the San Francisco Bay and the far reaches of Central California. I visit the benevolent haven that is Farm Sanctuary along with incredible restaurants like Millennium and The Veggie Grill. This fun and entertaining journey is full of life-changing information and hope for a future of better health for all. 


Here is the trailer:

In addition, I wrote my first book...The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. It is the perfect resource for anyone curious or forehead-deep in plant-based nutrition. The book covers the entire lifespan-from pregnancy and infancy to seniors; all health and fitness levels (including those diagnosed with any of multiple chronic diseases to elite athletes); and varying degrees of experience with plant-based nutrition. There are also 40+ recipes, a chapter on stocking your kitchen and even one on exercise.



My second book is a cookbook which I co-authored with an incredibly talented chef, Beverly Lynn Bennett. Titled The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking, you will find recipes for extraordinary items like gluten-free vegan sausages, biscuits, cakes, and more. Look for it on shelves on December 6th.

Let's continue to bring plant-based to the forefront of the masses. The timing is perfect and many curious people are finally piquing an interest. We are at the tip of the tipping point...let us take a stand and stop the destruction of our population and everything in its way...

Interview with Forks Over Knives Executive Producer, Brian Wendel

Brian Wendel is the Executive Producer of an extremely powerful, unstoppable new documentary, Forks Over Knives. Releasing in Los Angeles and New York theatres on May 6th and nationwide on May 13th, this is a film you do not want to miss. Documenting the fascinatingly parallel lives of a nutrition biochemistry researcher, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and  physician, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Forks Over Knives presents their groundbreaking path towards changing the way we think about nutrition and medicine. Simultaneously, the film explores both how we ended up in the health disaster we are currently experiencing in the United States as well as offers the audience a solution.

I have seen this film at least ten times, and I learn something new each time I watch it. Forks Over Knives may be one of the most critical films of our generation and I highly and passionately recommend it. Also starring in this film are Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Pam Popper, Rip Esselstyn, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Alona Pulde, Dr. Matt Lederman, Dr. Doug Lisle, Mac Danzig, Ruth Hedrich, Dr. Terry Mason, and some warm and wonderful real-life examples of what a whole food, plant-based diet can do.

In this interview, Brian tells us about his experience making Forks Over Knives and then watching it blossom into a huge success...

JH: You went from commercial real estate straight into producing one of the most important documentaries of our time, Forks Over Knives, as your first film. What inspired you to take the leap?

BW: The evidence that diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and sometimes cancer, can be effectively prevented, and even reversed, by a whole foods plant-based diet is compelling. For whatever reason, the information wasn’t getting to the masses, so only a few people were benefiting from it. I thought making a feature film was an opportunity to change that, and doing something that would have a positive impact on people’s lives was something I always wanted to do.

JH: How do you feel about the outpouring of support and enthusiasm for the film?


BW: The response has been beyond what I had imagined. It’s rewarding. I think people see the potential in the concepts brought forward in the film as a real way to make our lives better.

JH: What are your ultimate goals for Forks Over Knives?

BW: I hope that the level of education about food and its impact on health will increase, and that as a result, people will lead more healthful lives. It turns out that the same diet that is good for human health, is compassionate to animals and less taxing to the environment, so it’s important to see improvements in these areas as well.

JH: Can you describe the message you are trying to relay by creating such a critical piece?

BW: The message is that there is evidence that there’s something very specific we can do to greatly reduce our suffering from degenerative diseases. At a time when we’re trying to find solutions to difficult problems, it’s good to know that there may be one at hand—especially something that is simple.

JH: What was it like working with a healthy handful of the most innovative, influential scientists of our generation?

BW: Given my passion for the subject, there are no individuals I would have rather worked with than Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn. Getting to spend as much time with them as we did, and getting to know them personally, was an experience that is difficult to describe in words.


JH: What was your biggest challenge in making the film?

BW: The biggest challenge was figuring out how to take a vast amount of information along with a significant number of stories, and making into a presentation of less than 96 minutes. There’s a lot of material that didn’t make it in. We realized that the film represents more the beginning of a discussion.

JH: Do you intend to continue making documentary films with a similar message?


BW: Right now I’m focused on releasing the film, an undertaking that is quite substantial. I do, though, like the idea of making another documentary film.

Check local listings beginning May 6th in New York and Los Angeles and nationwide beginning May 13th. This film will change your life!

To Your Health Trailer

Finally...my dream project is coming to fruition. After a year and a half of delving deeply into the plant-based world, master filmmaker, Jesse Pomeroy, and I are on the cusp of releasing our baby. Join us as we tour the country in search of the answers to achieving optimum health. All of the leading experts are represented in this edu-tainment documentary, including Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, Dr. Pam Popper, Brendan Brazier, Mike Anderson, and Chef AJ. Stay tuned for more information and follow us on Facebook and our website, http://www.goingveg.net/.