“The fork is your most powerful tool to change your health and the planet.” ~Mark Hyman, M.D.
As we forge ahead into another New Year, we have a chance to choose again who we want to be. Every action has an effect that 
ripples in the world. Many of us are looking for the actions we can take to cause change this year. Whether your cause is personal or global, know that the real revolution starts on your plate.
In a lecture at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Geneen Roth, best-selling author of ‘Women, Food and God,’ said (and I’m paraphrasing), that everything we believe about the world, our bodies, and God, shows up in microcosm on our plate.
On a personal level, deciding to put healthy food into our body is an act of self love. The food we eat gets broken down and becomes the building blocks for our cells, organs, blood, hormones, and the chemicals of our emotions. Who we are as human beings starts with what we eat on a daily basis. There is nothing more revolutionary than choosing to nourish ourselves with real, whole food these days, when we are surrounded by anything but. It requires awareness, attention to ingredients, the willingness to prioritize our health, and the belief that we deserve to take care of ourselves in this way. It also requires eyes wide open when it comes to the food industry, advertisements, and labeling on packages. Food has the power to enliven us, to make us vibrant and full of energy, but it also has the power to numb us out, drug us, make us sick. Are you ready to take responsibility for who you show up in the world to be every day?
On a global level, as a consumer, you take a stand about your beliefs with every bite you take. Animal cruelty is a cold, hard fact within the meat industry, corporate greed puts the ‘bottom line’ above people’s health and well-being every day, and the environment suffers due to unsustainable and harmful food production practices. Who will you be this year? Who will you support? You can take your power back by understanding the impact of what you eat on your own health, psyche, and the world around you.
To begin, first decide what you believe, what you want to change, then align your food choices to support your values. For instance, if you want to help end animal cruelty, start by only buying humanely raised meat, or better yet, become vegetarian. If you want to be a kinder person to others this year, stop ingesting chemicals that screw with your hormones and emotions.
Food shouldn’t be political, an act of aggression, or an act of self-hate, but the truth is, it often is. Mark Hyman, M.D. says, “When it becomes a revolutionary act to eat real food, we are in trouble.” This is our current reality. So choose wisely, and know that the real power to change the world starts with what’s on the end of your fork.
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