Oops! Sorry!!


This site doesn't support Internet Explorer. Please use a modern browser like Chrome, Firefox or Edge.

Buy Your Ticket!
Visit MGI's Website

Conference Schedule

(please note that the schedule may change as plans are finalized)

MGI Food as Medicine Conference

Schedule (all times EDT)

(click on the speakers to read their bios!)

Saturday, October 26, 2024

9:00 a.m.

Why Whole Plant-based Foods Are Good For Your Health

Dr. Campbell will share research on why choosing to eat organic, whole, plant-based foods are healing to the body.

10:00 a.m.

Tips for Implementing and Sustaining a Whole-Food, Plant-based Diet

Patricio has been practicing a whole food plant-based diet since a kid and for most of life has been promoting it as a way to maintain our health and improved quality of life. In this talk he will provide practical advice for those wishing to transition to a well- balanced whole food plant-based diet and successfully maintain it. Emphasis on the importance of food proportions and variety along with tips on food selection will be given.

11:00 a.m.

Power Up Your Whole Foods Plant Based Diet to Macrobiotics: Food Ingredients and Menu Planning

Adopting healthy cooking into your daily routine takes time and discipline. Planning is key! To help you along your way, Sheri will review some of the major ingredients used in macrobiotic cooking, where to find them and how to incorporate them into a weekly menu plan. She will then lead attendees through the steps of planning a week-long, meal calendar (a worksheet will be provided).

12:00 p.m.

Networking/Open Q&A/Break

Connect with like-minded people during this time, or just take a break from your computer! But be ready to go by 1:00 p.m. for the next great session!

1:00 p.m.

Mechanisms of Healing Foods in Macrobiotics and How They Work in the Body

What makes macrobiotic healing unique is the energetic dimension of food. We need to live in harmony with nature's order and we strengthen the body's self-healing power by balancing the opposing energetic tendencies of this order. We call these yang and yin, meaning contractive and expansive, warming and cooling. The energetic balance comes from what we eat and how we live.

The other aspect of self-healing is the bio-chemical balance, the basis of life. The body needs specific nutrients to thrive, and in even greater amounts to heal itself. It is just as crucial to avoid harmful food and drink, as well as negative lifestyle choices, which undermine the self-healing process.

The energetic realm reflects the yin and the bio- chemical the yang. This is a truly holistic approach.

2:00 p.m.

Bountiful Autumn Dish:

Millet and Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash

Eric will be demonstrating how to create this incredible autumn dish featuring millet and butternut squash.  You will receive the recipe as well!

3:00 p.m.

Unleashing the Power of Plant-based Diets

According to the World Health Organization noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 74% of all deaths globally. Yet, an estimated 90% of type 2 diabetes, 80-90% of heart disease, and 40-70% of cancers are considered entirely preventable. The lowest rates of NCDs are in populations living healthy lifestyles and eating unprocessed, plant-based diets. In this presentation, Brenda Davis, RD, plant-based trailblazer, author, and internationally acclaimed speaker, will review the evidence supporting the use of plant-based diets for the prevention and treatment of NCDs. She will share her experiences using a plant-based diet and lifestyle protocol in a type 2 diabetes clinical trial in the Marshall Islands, and in a lifestyle medicine demonstration project in Lithuania. Brenda will discuss the reasons why plant- based diets afford protection and provide practical guidelines for designing an optimal plant-based diet for disease prevention, treatment, and reversal.

4:00 p.m.

Cooking Class: Fermented Foods

Alice will talk about the benefits of fermented foods and demonstrate how to make sauerkraut and a quick and easy cucumber ferment (for those who are intimidated by long ferments!).

Sunday, October 27, 2024

9:00 a.m.

The Ecology of Eating

Volumes of words are written each year about the damage being done to nature by human actions. Since the natural world is the source of our lives, it is critical that we heal the damage done. The irony is this healing is really simple. It requires no new technologies, no great expense and can have immediate effect. The most powerful solution is changing the food web.

What we eat on a daily basis is the key to establishing balance with the environment. Without changing food the environmental crisis in soil, air, waterways and oceans will continue to deteriorate. The good news is that an earth friendly diet can also help health the body, mind and spirit of humankind. The future is in our hands.

10:00 a.m.

The Macrobiotic Dietary and Lifestyle Approach to Healing

Following the remarkable recovery of his mother’s health through macrobiotics, Patricio became inspired to help and guide others towards better health. In this talk he will share some of the basic aspects of the macrobiotic approach to health, including a unique blend of Eastern and Western influences that regard life in a holistic way and enhances our innate self-healing ability.

11:00 a.m.

Cooking with Traditionally Fermented Soy Products

The most healthy sources of protein for our bodies is found in traditionally fermented soy products such as tofu, tempeh, natto and miso. Sheri will demonstrate some simple ways to prepare these products in a variety of dishes.

12:00 p.m.

Networking/Open Q&A/Break

Connect with like-minded people during this time, or just take a break from your computer! But be ready to go by 1:00 p.m. for the next great session!

1:00 p.m.

MGI is proud to present Sjon and Elysha Welters, Owners of Rhapsody Natural Foods, with the
2024 MGI Sustainability Award

In addition to being presented with the 2024 MGI Sustainability Award, Sjon and Elysha, owners of Rhapsody Natural Foods, will share their journey and vision for producing organic foods that build healthier soil, healthier food, and healthier people.

2:00 p.m.

The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health

Hormonal problems are widespread. Diabetes, hot flashes, menstrual pain, fertility issues, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and many other conditions are driven to a great extent by hormonal issues—hormone levels that are too high, too low, or shifting too much. Surprisingly, studies show that hormones can be altered by simple diet changes, often leading to life-changing benefits. A case in point: Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance. Once one understands how insulin function can be altered, diabetes itself can be greatly improved and sometimes eliminated by diet changes alone.

A second example: As many as 80% of postmenopausal women in North America have hot flashes. A growing understanding of how foods alter hormone function has led to clinical trials putting simple diet interventions to the test, yielding remarkable relief.

Nutrition research is giving clinicians new insights into the role of diet in other hormone-related conditions. This session will empower participants with new tools for altering hormones naturally and improving health.

3:00 p.m.

The Soybean Solution:  MGI's Answer to Adequate Protein When Choosing to Eat Organic, Whole, Plant-based Foods

Sheri, along with MGI co-founder, Lorraine McCamley will share the latest on MGI's project, The Soybean Solution, and why now is the time to pay attention to soy and naturally fermented soy foods.

4:00 p.m.

Healing Your Body, Mind, and Life by Healing Your Microbiome

If you are looking for definitive proof that your body depends on a plant-based diet to function optimally, look no further than your own microbiome. 

The microbiome is a vast population of microorganisms that exist on your skin and inside your entire body, especially concentrated in your digestive tract. The gut-microbiome is a living intelligence that essentially directs the health and vitality of your immune, digestive, endocrine, and central nervous systems. It determines the clarity and function of your brain, memory, and emotional and mental health. It prevents and, in many cases, can reverse depression, anxiety, and various forms of learning disabilities, including as ADHD. A healthy microbiome also has been shown to prevent serious illnesses, including common cancers, heart disease, and diabetes. 

Eighty percent of your immune lives in your gut and is dependent upon microorganisms that are themselves survive on plant-foods in order to thrive. 

As we will see in this talk by Tom Monte, the quality of your microbiome — that is to say, the balance between health- promoting flora and pathogenic bacteria — is determined by the food you eat each day. 

Your microbiome thrives on a diet of whole grains, fresh vegetables, beans, sea vegetables, and fruit. The macrobiotic diet can improve your microbiome — and your overall health and well being — within two weeks; and from there, it can gradually transform your life. In this talk, Tom Monte will show you how to restore your microbiome, and in the process revitalize your physical, emotional, and mental health.

© Macrobiotic Global Institute 2024