Meet Rachael Brown

We recently connected with Rachael Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachael, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My nephew was diagnosed with cancer at age 5. His mother was in nursing school at the time and suggested she read T. Colin Campbell’s book, The China Study and watch the documentary Forks Over Knives. They did and immediately switched to a whole food, plant-based, no oil diet. I read the book and watched the film and my husband and I decided to give this whole thing a try. We got blood work before and after and in just 17 days my cholesterol dropped 50 points–something I’d never managed to do before and had been trying to figure out for years.

A few years later Covid hit and I couldn’t see my massage and chronic pain clients for a time and so I got my plant-based nutrition and food systems and sustainability certificates from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell. Learning that I wasn’t destined to get Alzheimer’s like my grandfather and father, even though I had the gene was life changing. I wanted everyone to know that lifestyle is 80-90% of whether we get disease. Plants have the power to heal, save money, save health and save our planet.

I kept trying to give others books and resources, but many of them were tomes that people felt intimidated by or didn’t have the time for, so I set out to write a super simple, easy to read book to explain how to switch from eating SAD (Standard American Diet) to HAPPY (Healthy And Plant-Powered, Yay!). I shared the mistakes we made and how to avoid them, and created a quick, practical guide called For Fork’s Sake: A Quick Guide to Healing Yourself and the Planet Through a Plant-Based Diet (www.forforkssakebook.com).

After publishing the book I’ve spent the last 2 years podcasting with some of my heroes in the plant-based world (Chef AJ, Rip Esselstyn, the Esselstyn family, etc.), speaking (at the Center for Nutrition Studies fall retreat, to schools, Rotary clubs, at libraries, senior centers and VegFest’s) and donating 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the book to charity and 1% of gross sales to 1% For the Planet.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I help people realize they have more control over their health than they ever imagined. I help make the connection between disease and what is at the end of your fork. I tell the truth about the food system that is breaking our planet and our health.

It’s not as hard as most people assume. Health, getting off blood pressure and cholesterol and diabetes medication and saving money is possible by making some simple changes.

Most people don’t have physicians who learned about plant-based nutrition in medical school. Obesity, cancer, heart disease, pre-diabetes, auto-immune diseases, skin issues and gut issues can be reversed and in many cases resolved just by changing what you choose to put in your mouth. It’s incredible! And yet, many people haven’t heard about it.

Big broccoli doesn’t have lobbying power. Our government subsidizes meat and cheese. We’re bombarded by advertising for fast food and ultra processed junk food that has been designed in laboratories to hijack our taste. And yet, the truth about the state of our health (evidenced by many on GLP-1 drugs and heart disease being our number 1 killer) and the state of our planet is emerging.

I’ve helped 80-something year olds get off their medications. I’ve helped people lose 35-50 pounds without exercise and with feeling satiated. People regain their energy, they sleep well again, they drop extra weight and they share what they’ve learned with family and friends.

For Fork’s Sake: A Quick Guide to Healing Yourself and the Planet Through a Plant-Based Diet is available wherever you purchase books. Also at www.forforkssakebook.com you can sign up to consult with me. This is something people asked for over the last couple of years and it’s been a joy to work with people one on one who are needing some support or resources.

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?

A Lewis and Clark mindset–being excited to explore and adventure–is helpful. Choosing to change your diet and go against cultural norms is not for the faint of heart. Writing a book takes effort and time. But what you gain more than makes up for what you feel you might lose.

Having a heart for others helps. Once I learned I didn’t have to have heart disease or cancer or Alzheimer’s or gout like other members in my family, I couldn’t help but share the news. Unfortunately, not all family members were as excited or open to learning new information or making changes. But I knew others were out there suffering and looking for answers, and I wanted to help spread what I knew to help them.

Being bold is required. Learning to stand up and share, contradict false information and not be bothered by what others might think takes resilience. At times it can feel overwhelming, or like you’re at it all alone. Finding your tribe, even if it has to be online, helps.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was send me to university. My dad grew up on a farm in Iowa and paid his entire way through his PhD. My mom had educators for parents and they paid for college. Thankfully, my parents agreed to pay for 4 years of college for me. Earning a B. A. in Geography at the University of Washington taught me how to research and think critically. I studied abroad and gained an appreciation for different ways of doing things and an understanding that the way we currently do things here might not be the best, it might just be what we’re used to, or what our parents and grandparents taught us was because that was all they knew. An open mind and heart definitely helped shape For Fork’s Sake and the work I”m doing.

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