We were lucky to catch up with Linda Middlesworth recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Linda , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Thirty eight years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer, severe heart disease, had 55 lbs. too much weight, had high blood pressure and pre diabetes. I was on death’s door and thought I would be dead within months. I could not figure out why I was so unhealthy. I thought it could be due to the light smoking I was still doing but that did not explain my obesity. I was teaching up to 25 aerobics classes per week. I also thought I was eating a healthy diet of cheese, fish and chicken. I happen to move next door to a new neighbor, Frances McChesney, and I told her all about my health issues and she told me not to worry. She said just look up Dr. John McDougall and you will be fine. I did just that and, because of his knowledge, I cured myself and saved my life just from reading his book at the time, “12 Days to Dynamic Health”. He taught me to eat a plant exclusive, starch based diet. I am forever grateful to him, his wife Mary and his daughter Heather for not only saving my life but also teaching me how to thrive. I gave up smoking also. Within a week of starting his diet, my same neighbor, Frances McChesney, told me what happened to dairy cows. I was totally shocked that I was 44 years old and had no idea that the unimaginable cruelty to cows was part of the dairy industry. I became an animal rights activist on the spot.
After that disturbing dairy revelation, I researched the facts about human based cruelty to all animals. After my awakening, my life’s purpose began and I found various ways I could impart this most important knowledge to everyone. Everything I do is finding new ways to help people understand that eating a whole food starch based plant exclusive diet and or becoming vegan is the most important decision they will ever make in their lives. Because vegan means do no harm or exploit sentient beings as best one can, people will feel better knowing they are not contributing to animal suffering. They will also be happy knowing they are not adding to climate change. They will know about Dr. Sailesh Rao, ClimateHealers.org, that our very existence on earth is threatened by animal agriculture.
To help others, I became a Licensed Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Instructor with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Dr. Neal Barnard, so I could teach classes to people to learn how to reverse diabetes, prevent and survive cancer, and manage their weight.
I started my VeganMentor business, so i could provide individual coaching with my 30 Day Get Healthy Program. I give them a plan and monitor their food choices daily to help them succeed.
As an Aerobics Instructor at In-Shape FamilyFitness, I teach people how to be fit.
My late husband, David Middlesworth and I cofounded v-dog.com /v-planet.com in 2005. We wanted to help stop more animal suffering and exploitation by providing cruelty free and healthy plant based dog food and treats. My late husband and I had researched and found out that dogs could thrive on a plant based diet. My son, Darren Middlesworth became CEO and President after my husband passed.
As an animal rights activist I help educate people about animal suffering and murder by assisting PETA, PCRM, DXE, Free from Harm, Social Justice in Legislation, In Defense of Animals, Vegan Outreach, Animal Save, Plant Based Treaty and Anonymous for the Voiceless and more.
As the Organizer of Sacramento Vegan Society Meetup, with almost 6,000 members, I provide a safe place for people locally and around the world to learn about being vegan and or plant exclusive, This is a place for people seeking information about this plant based, vegan lifestyle and we offer speaker events in person and online, dine-outs, hiking, grocery tours, dancing, group coaching and support chat nights, camping, and animal rights actions.
It is very rewarding to have so many ways I can get the vegan message out to people and I am so lucky having so many wonderful friends with similar goals as mine who assist me.
I have received many awards over my 38 years as a vegan, but my most recent one from Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine 40 years ago, was the greatest honor of my life. It was called , Voice of Compassion Award.
Everything I do is about exposing the truth about animal suffering and helping people regain optimal health. Most humans, like me, have been brainwashed since birth and my goal is to awaken them and tell them the truth and uncover the lies and suffering promoted by industries that profit from animal agriculture, animal entertainment, animals used in clothling, animals killed for sport, or animals confined in zoos or wildlife exhibits.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My first and best quality or skill is my ability to stay open minded. When someone tells me any new information, I really listen and ask questions to the person with the new information to make certain they are telling me the truth. If I believe they are legitimately telling actual facts that can be verified, I believe what they are saying. Even if the information goes against my beliefs I held for a very long time.
Secondly, I am really good at finding people who are open minded. Once I am certain of my facts, I share those facts with friends and family. I focus on the people in my life or new people who I suspect or know to be open minded. I avoid talking to people who never want to know anything that challenges their current way of life.
My third skill is that I am not shy or reserved and this makes it easy for me to talk to people no matter where I am. Even as a talkative person, I must be careful how I present my new facts so as not to offend anyone. I must never be judgmental in my approach.
If someone is shy and reserved, there are ways to get the new information out to others. Many times, they can write to newspapers if they see something that is blatantly wrong after discovering new found information or they can write or call a close friend who they know would not judge them. They can send money to support their new causes and concerns.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played an important role in your development?
My book I use to coach my client’s with is “The Starch Solution”, by Dr. John McDougall. It remains an important book to help myself and others understand that our food choices help determine our health outcomes. Even if we are dealt with less than perfect genes, we can almost always mitigate them and remain healthy if we follow the diet guidelines of a starch based, plant exclusive diet. We have the science to show that eating any animal protein promotes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, obesity and more.
Peter Singer’s book, “Animal Liberation” was a life changing book that increased my awareness that speciesism is wrong and it is no different than racism or sexism. If it is wrong to harm a human, then it is also wrong to harm a non human being just because they are a different species. We humans need to give non humans the right to live their lives without harming them. He also wrote about the environmental impact of breeding, feeding and murdering animals. He said, we humans do not have the right to experiment on animals either. One statement he made never leaves my mind, “It is not whether we eat meat or not, but rather if they suffer.” That was a pivotal book for me and is another reason I became an animal rights activist for life.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am focused on getting the most important message to all humans. Everything I do revolves upon helping people understand that eating a whole food plant diet and or becoming vegan is the most important goal they will ever have in their lives. Vegan means do no harm or exploit sentient beings as best one can. I am hoping more people will choose kindness over harm to all species.
As a Licensed Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Instructor with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, I teach classes to people to learn how to reverse diabetes, prevent and survive cancer, and manage their weight.
As a VeganMentor business, I provide individual coaching with my 30 Day Get Healthy Program. I give them a plan and monitor their food choices daily to help them succeed.
As an Aerobics Instructor at In-Shape FamilyFitness, I teach people how to be fit.
As a cofounder and co-owner of v-dog.com
/v-planet.com, I can help stop more animal suffering and exploitation by providing cruelty free and healthy plant based dog food and treats.
As an animal rights activist I can help educate people about animal suffering and murder by assisting Peta, PCRM, DXE, Free from Harm, Social Justice in Legislation, In Defense of Animals, Vegan Outreach, Anonymous for the Voiceless and many more.
As the organizer of Sacramento Vegan Society, with almost 6,000 members, I provide a safe place for people locally and around the world to learn about being vegan and or plant exclusive, This is a place for people seeking information about this lifestyle and we offer speaker events in person and online, dine-outs, hiking, grocery tours, dancing, group coaching and support chat nights, camping, animal rights actions and more.
It is very rewarding to have so many ways I can get the vegan message out and now and to so many wonderful friends with similar goals as mine.
I have received many awards over my 38 years as a vegan,, but my most recent one from Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine 40 years ago, was greatest honor of my life. It was called Voice of Compassion Award.
Everything I do is about exposing the truth about animal suffering and improving human health. Most humans, like me, have been brainwashed since birth and my goal is to awaken them so they also realize the truth about animal suffering inherent when we eat and use them. Every animal has the right to live its life without human harm.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My first and best quality is my open-mindedness. When someone tells me any new information, I really listen and ask questions to the person with the new information to make certain they are telling me truth. If I believe they are legitimately telling me actual facts that can be verified, I believe them, even if the information goes against my beliefs I have held for a very long time.
Secondly, once I am certain of my facts, I share those facts with friends and family but only to those who I know to be open minded. I must focus on the people in my life who I already know are also open minded. I am discovering that strangers are often open minded these last few years giving me daily chances to spread information about our healthy lifestyle and vegan message.
I no longer try to talk to people who really hang on to the so called “normal” way to do things as they are not generally willing to take on a different perspective.
My third skill is that I am not shy or reserved so I have no problem gent introducing new concepts. Even as a talkative person, however, I must be careful how I present my new facts so as not to offend anyone. I must never be judgmental in my approach.
If someone is shy and reserved, there a ways to get the new information out to others. Many times, they can write to newspapers to give out information if they see something that is blatantly wrong with their new found information or they can write to or call a close friend who they know would not judge them. They can send money to support their new causes and concerns.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Peter Singer’s book, “Animal Liberation” was the life changing book to open my awareness that speciesism is wrong and it is no different than racism or sexism. If it wrong to harm a human, then it is also wrong to harm a non human being just because they are a different species. We humans need to give non humans the right to live their lives without harming them. He also wrote about the environmental impact of breeding, feeding and murdering animals. He said, we humans do not have the right to experiment on animals either. One statement he made never leaves my mind, “It is not whether we eat meat or not, but rather if they suffer.” That was a pivotal bood for me and I became an animal rights activist on the spot.
The book I use for coaching, Dr. John McDougall, is and was a key book for me to learn why a whole food starch based plant diet is the greatest path to optimal health.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://[email protected]
- Instagram: instagram@veganmentorcoach
- Facebook: https://facebook.comveganmentorlinda
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/lindamiddlesworth
- Twitter: Linda Middlesworth@farmanimalluv1
- Youtube: VeganMentor Coach@veganmentor
Image Credits
Dr. Neal Barnard, Darren Middleswworth, Margie Burton,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
