Climate Diet Podcast

Can what's on your plate really fight climate change? I sit down with policy researcher and lifelong vegetarian Nandita Srivastava to break down the hidden climate cost of meat — including why livestock methane is up to 80x more warming than CO2, and why India has one of the highest vegetarian rates in the world.
Nandita grew up vegetarian in India and later worked on international food systems and climate change projects across Asia and Africa. In this episode of the Climate Diet Podcast, we dig into the real data behind animal agriculture and climate change, the sneaky role food waste plays in methane emissions, and why sustainable eating doesn't have to mean giving up flavor — or your morning coffee.
🎧 WHAT WE COVER✅ Nandita's vegetarian origin story growing up in India✅ Why India has one of the highest vegetarian rates on Earth✅ The staggering number of animals slaughtered for food every single day✅ Methane vs. CO2: why livestock emissions matter more than you think✅ How food loss and food waste quietly fuel climate change✅ Simple, doable food swaps that actually cut your carbon footprint✅ Why plant-based eating is also a personal health choice✅ Climate Diet's Meat Down Pledge and Power of Food school program
📚 SOURCES & REFERENCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE- Our World in Data – how many animals are slaughtered for food every day: https://ourworldindata.org/how-many-animals-get-slaughtered-every-day - The Rockefeller Foundation – True Cost of Food report: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/True-Cost-of-Food-Full-Report-Final.pdf - Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop, "Increased Transparency in Accounting Conventions Could Benefit Climate Policy," Environmental Research Letters (2025): https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adb7f2 

Host Erin DeMarines sat down with Chuck Carroll — "The Weight Loss Champion" — who lost 260 pounds after weighing 420 lbs, and we got real about food addiction, weight loss surgery, and why he had it reversed years later.
At his heaviest, Chuck was eating 10,000 calories a day, half of it from a nightly run to Taco Bell. In this episode he opens up about the gastric bypass surgery that saved his life in 2009, why he believes food is more addictive than nicotine, the study showing your brain lights up the same way for a donut as it does for cocaine, how a plant-based diet helped him keep the weight off for over a decade, and the terrifying mystery illness that forced him to have his bypass surgery reversed earlier this year.
If you've ever struggled with food addiction, emotional eating, yo-yo dieting, or you just need proof that it's never too late to turn your health around — this conversation is for you.
🎙️ WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE:
* Growing up on fast food and how it turned into a 10,000-calorie-a-day addiction* Hitting 420 lbs by his mid-20s and the chest pains that scared him into change* The gastric bypass surgery that changed everything in 2009* Why he compares quitting Taco Bell to quitting nicotine — and says food is worse* The "bliss point": how food companies engineer cravings to mimic cocaine in the brain* Discovering plant-based eating through WWE wrestler Austin Aries* The documentaries that changed his life: What The Health, Food Inc., and The Game Changers* Building The Exam Room into one of the biggest nutrition podcasts in the world* His mystery illness, the Mayo Clinic diagnosis, and reversing his gastric bypass in 2026* Daily habits: morning sunlight, gut health, and his go-to healthy "splurge"Why the plant-based community can be its own worst enemy
📚 RESOURCES & SOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: * Chuck Carroll's website & newsletter: https://chuckcarroll.com  * The Exam Room Podcast (Apple Podcasts): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-exam-room-by-the-physicians-committee/id1312957138  * The Exam Room Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/6XElJTfdDQLQBd8Wm5BeOv  
📱 FOLLOW CHUCK CARROLL: Instagram / Facebook / X: @ChuckCarrollWLC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chuckcarrollwlc  

Vegan author Victoria Moran joins Climate Diet to reveal why animal agriculture — not cars — is driving climate change, and what a plant-based diet can actually do about it.
I'm Jane DeMarines, founder and executive director of Climate Diet, and in this episode I sit down with Victoria Moran — bestselling author of 14 books, founder of Main Street Vegan Academy, and one of VegNews' Top 10 Living Vegetarian Authors — to talk about the real link between what's on our plates and the climate crisis.
We get into the climate data behind animal agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions, why the word "vegan" still scares people away from plant-based eating (and what to say instead), the surprising blind-taste-test bias that proves plant-based food already tastes just as good as meat, the truth about vegan protein, and the strategy Victoria calls "attraction activism" — living in a way that draws people toward veganism instead of pushing them away.
Whether you're vegan-curious, already plant-based, or just here for the climate science, this conversation will change how you think about your next meal — and your carbon footprint.
🔗 RESOURCES & SOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Victoria Moran (official site): https://victoriamoran.com/ Main Street Vegan Academy: https://mainstreetvegan.com/ Victoria Moran, PETA's Sexiest Vegan Over 50 (2016): https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/detroit-cardiologist-petas-sexiest-vegan-50/ Victoria Moran's 2024 Vegan Hall of Fame induction: https://www.compassionconsortium.org/victoriamoran 
🎓 Want to become a certified vegan lifestyle coach or educator? Main Street Vegan Academy's 39th cohort runs this fall (October–November 2026). Use code VEGCOACH250 for $250 off, or email victoria@mainstreetvegan.com to ask about scholarships — tuition should never be the reason someone can't train.
#VictoriaMoran #VeganDiet #ClimateChange #PlantBasedDiet #AnimalAgriculture

They use beagles for animal testing because beagles don't fight back. Ella Magers is walking 207 miles to end that.
In this episode of the Climate Diet Podcast, host Erin DeMarines sits down with animal advocate Ella Magers, MSW — vegan for 31 years and campaign co-director of the March to Abolish Animal Testing (MAAT) — to expose what really happens inside America's largest beagle breeding facility, Marshall BioResources, and the grassroots movement fighting to shut it down.
Ella shares the moment as a 7-year-old that turned her vegan for life, her role in the open rescue that freed 2,000 beagles from Ridglan Farms, and why she's now walking from Albany, NY all the way to Marshall BioResources's front gate this September — a 207-mile, 14-day march to end dog experimentation in the United States for good.
WHAT WE COVER:- Why researchers specifically choose beagles for lab testing- The staggering 92% failure rate of drugs that pass animal trials- Inside the Ridglan Farms open rescue — tear gas, rubber bullets, and 2,000 lives saved- How public pressure got Chewy to drop Marshall's pet product line- What it actually takes to organize a 207-mile march for animal rights- How you can get involved — even if you only have one hour
GET INVOLVED:🐾 Sign up, volunteer, or donate: https://www.marchforanimals.org 🐾 Follow the march: @marchforanimals🐾 Follow Ella Magers: @sexyfitvegan🐾 March dates: September 12–26, 2026 | Albany, NY → Marshall BioResources

She's a trauma surgeon who's spent 12 years fixing bodies in the ER — and hasn't touched meat once in that time. 
In this episode, host Erin DeMarines sits down with Dr. Sandra Farach (aka "The Plantiful Surgeon"), a Tampa-based trauma surgeon, to talk about the factory farming footage that changed her life, the biggest protein myths doctors still believe, and what it's really like pushing plant-based options inside a hospital.
Growing up in a Cuban household built around meat-heavy dishes like picadillo and ropa vieja, Dr. Farach never questioned where her food came from — until she stumbled on factory farming videos during her medical residency. She quit meat cold turkey that day and has been whole-food plant-based ever since.
In this conversation, Erin and Dr. Farach get into:- The video that made her go vegan overnight — and why she couldn't unsee it- How her Cuban family reacted, and how their diet has changed since- What it's like being a plant-based trauma surgeon in a hospital full of meat-eaters- Her "Chief Talk" on plant-based nutrition to an entire Department of Surgery, using Dr. Dean Ornish's research on reversing heart disease- Why medical schools barely teach nutrition, and the rise of lifestyle medicine and obesity medicine as new specialties- The truth about the "where do you get your protein?" question (hint: where do cows and elephants get theirs?)- Why studies show plant-based meat is actually healthier than regular processed meat- Carnivore diet trends, social media misinformation, and separating fact from fear- What vegan food in a hospital cafeteria actually looks like- Vegan-friendly restaurants in Tampa — including a surprising steakhouse
Whether you're plant-based, vegan-curious, or just skeptical, this episode is packed with real data, real hospital stories, and a doctor's-eye view of why plant-based living matters for your health, animals, and the planet.
🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONEDDr. Dean Ornish's research on reversing heart disease: https://ornish.com Bern's Steak House (Tampa) — the "surprising steakhouse" with vegan options: https://bernssteakhouse.com 
🎙️ ABOUT THE GUESTDr. Sandra Farach is a trauma surgeon based in Tampa, Florida, and a member of her hospital's medical staff wellness committee. She's been whole-food plant-based for 12 years and is currently completing her lifestyle medicine certification. Follow her as "The Plantiful Surgeon":Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plantifulsurgeon/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@plantifulsurgeon YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlantifulSurgeon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plantifulsurgeon/ X: https://x.com/plantifulsurg Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/PlantifulSurgeon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-m-farach-md/ 

Is animal agriculture the #1 cause of climate change — not fossil fuels? In this episode I sit down with Dr. Sailesh Rao (Climate Healers) to unpack how the food on our plates is driving the climate crisis — and how a plant-based diet could heal the planet.
Dr. Sailesh Rao is a Stanford-trained systems engineer turned climate activist, founder of Climate Healers, and author of the Planet B books. He's worked on the documentaries Cowspiracy, What the Health, and A Prayer for Compassion. In this conversation we go deep on why animal agriculture deserves far more attention in the climate conversation than it gets — and what every one of us can actually do about it.
We talk about the staggering inefficiency of our food system: animals eat 5x as much food as humans, 87% of the world's farmland is used for animal agriculture yet it produces only a fraction of our calories, and how shifting to plant-based eating could reverse biodiversity loss, chemical pollution, and climate change all at once. Dr. Rao breaks down the 7 planetary boundaries, why healthy food should be a basic human right, and how his community food project in Washington State is feeding people whole-food plant-based meals for free.
And don't miss the moment that changed everything for him — the "pinky promise" he made to his 5-year-old granddaughter that the world would go vegan, and why she told him "do your job." It's one of the most moving stories we've ever shared on this podcast.
Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, plant-curious, or just trying to understand the real link between food and climate change, this episode will shift how you see your next meal. 🌱
🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES🌍 Climate Healers: https://climatehealers.org 📚 Dr. Rao's books — Planet B series, Carbon Dharma & Carbon Yoga: https://climatehealers.org/for-you/books/ 🥗 Learn more about our work at Climate Diet: https://climatediet.org/ 

He built the world's largest 100% plant-based marketplace — and it started with a pair of shoes.
In this episode of Climate in Cuisine, host Erin DeMarines sits down with Jonathan Faran, founder of Vegan America — the fastest-growing vegan marketplace in the US with 400+ vetted sellers across food, fashion, cosmetics, and home products.
Jonathan shares how a University of Chicago MBA student turned a frustrating shopping moment into a mission-driven startup that is making plant-based living accessible and affordable for everyone.
🌱 In this episode:
* Why Jonathan went vegetarian at age 4 and vegan for the last 10 years* The hidden animal ingredients in your toothpaste, laundry detergent & supplements* Why the plant-based movement is NOT dying — it's maturing* The real difference between "vegan" vs "plant-based"* How Vegan America vets every single product so YOU don't have to* Why plant-based consumers might need a therapist who understands them* How small vegan brands can sell on Vegan America for free* The future of ethical, cruelty-free shopping in America
🛒 Shop plant-based: http://vegan-america.com/ 📲 Follow Vegan America: @veganamerica on Instagram & Facebook
Whether you're fully vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, or just starting your plant-based journey — this conversation will change the way you shop, eat, and think.

Discover how vegan directory founder Kiana Melvin is transforming how people find plant-based restaurants, vegan businesses, and cruelty-free brands across America.
In this episode of Climate and Cuisine, host Jane DeMarines (Executive Director of Climate Diet) sits down with Kiana Melvin, the 26-year-old CEO and founder of Plant Plate Map — a nationwide vegan directory with over 1,700 listings, including 1,500+ vegan restaurants, plant-based food trucks, vegan caterers, private chefs, and cruelty-free businesses.
Kiana shares her vegan journey from pescatarian to vegetarian to fully vegan during COVID, why so many vegan restaurants are closing, and how her ad-free directory helps users filter by gluten-free, women-owned, and vegan-owned businesses. We also dig into the climate impact of animal agriculture, deforestation, and why plant-based eating matters more than ever in 2026.
🌱 Visit Plant Plate Map: www.plantplatemap.com 
🌎 Learn more about Climate Diet: https://climatediet.org/ 
If you're looking for vegan food near you, want to support vegan-owned businesses, or are curious about plant-based living, this conversation is for you.