The Unhealthy Truth with Robyn O’Brien

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All right, welcome to the podcast. So today I've got Robin o' Brien on, and I became aware of her, gosh, years and years ago. And when you hear her story, you'll really get why. Because she is a driving force behind what's going on with our food supply, food allergies, Monsanto. And she is truly a warrior mom. I met her, I think I reached out to her like five years ago as I was coming out with the Virgin Diet and we became friends. And then I actually got to meet her in person last year. I didn't even know she was going to be an event I was at. And she told her story again and it just was like, oh, my gosh, wait till you hear this. So let me tell you a little bit about her. She is an author, an analyst, and a mother of four.

Four.

She had four kids under five. At one point, she began her career in finance in the food industry. You're going to hear about that. And then she had issues with her youngest child and discovered that her child had extreme food allergies. What she didn't know was what her child was allergic to. And that's going to be the biggest aha. In this interview, what came out of that was she became kind of the reluctant hero. Didn't want to do what she was called to do. Finally was like, okay, I have to do this. Wrote the book the Unhealthy Truth. She's got a podcast takeout with Ashley and Robin, and she is really out there fighting for, you know, information on food, better food supplies, organic food, et cetera. And we're going to give you some great resources in the show notes. So if you go to jjvirgin.com the unhealthy truth, you'll be able to get her guide to. It's kind of a 101 on organic food. Everything you need to know. All right, let's do it. Welcome to the show. Robin, I'm so glad you're here with me today.

Oh, jj, thanks so much for having me.

Well, we finally had to stop. I mean, just for everybody listening. We were talking so much offline. I'm like, okay, see you.

I know. Save it. Save it.

Yes. Save it. Stop talking. So I had the good fortune. I, I. When did I get introduced to you? Like, four or five years ago.

Yeah, it's been a while.

Yeah. Because you were my hero. Still are. And then last year, I finally got to meet you in person and, and got to hear you. I knew your story, but I got to hear you tell it in person. And that is really where I want to start, because it is just like such a, an inspiring warrior mom story. So, you know, you came from corporate America. You were in finance. You're from Texas. You were working on a team that managed 20 billion in assets, and you're doing pretty different yet to this big shift. So what happened?

Well, exactly. So I grew up in Texas in a really conservative family. I'd gone to business school on a full scholarship. I was actually recruited by Exxon and Enron out of business school and, and wasn't at all dialed into anything food or anything environmental. I took a job on the equity desk, and our team managed 20 billion in assets. And it was with this just absolutely amazing team of guys, and I loved them. And they said, you're the only woman on the team. You're going to cover food. And I thought, you guys, I drink Diet Coke. I am not the right person for this. Totally not a good idea. I burn noodles. I can't do this. And they were like, you're covering food? And so they had me cover the food industry. And a lot of the companies that would come through our offices where they're pitching and I IPO or they were looking for additional investment capital. And so I would sit in these meetings listening to these management teams talk about their business models. And it was very, very black and white. And I liked it that way. You know, at that point, it was business school. It was analytical. I hadn't had kids yet, and black and white was really safe. And I could kind of hide behind these five computer terminals that we sat behind every day and just do the analysis. And so, you know, as I did, I saw how these companies were driving profitability by taking the real ingredients out, swapping in the artificial ingredients. Everybod believed that everything was safe. You know, after all, we have an fda, and we just assumed that everything had been tested and regulated and tested for kids and everything else. And so I just learned These models, these business models, and these management teams. And then kind of fast forward a couple of years. We were pregnant with our first child, and I grew up in Houston, and my husband's from Seattle. And we thought, you know, like, we want to be somewhere that's ours, that is new to both of us. And we ended up landing in Colorado. And so, you know, as we got out here 17 years ago, you know, Colorado has been ahead of the curve on a lot of this stuff, and I truly felt like I had landed on another planet. Everybody was talking about organic, you know, and I just thought, this has to be some hippie thing or some hobby thing or, you know, it just.

Careful, Robin. I grew up in Berkeley.

Wow. Well, yeah. So, you know, the stereotypes around these cultures. Exactly. And so, you know, I came into it and I was thinking, you know, okay, if I have to put cloth napkins in the lunchbox, you know, there were a lot of rules, and I kind of had to fall in line because we lived here. But still, you know, there was probably a lot of smack talk on the side that was going on. And I thought, I want to go back into finance. You know, we were relocating, and we had just had our first baby. And so, you know, typical me, which is, you know, type A and going after what you want to achieve, I thought, if I'm going to stay home and have kids, then I want to do this really fast. And we knew we wanted a big family, so we had our four kids in five years, which is complete. And it's just total insanity. But as any mom listening to this knows, like, you really, at that point, don't want anybody telling you what to feed your kids because you just. You. It's enough. I mean, you're so wiped most of the time, literally just trying to get them to bed, fed, safe, you know, not cracking their heads on the side of something. You know, you really are just, like, in this survival mode. And so I really was not at all sensitive to anybody that was suggesting certain dietary things for these kids. And then, you know, as life tends to do, it knocks you down and brings you to your knees so that you can bow your head and learn a lesson. And that's exactly what happened. My youngest child, one morning over breakfast was. Was just getting fussy, and I had made scrambled eggs, Lego my egg waffles, and these tubes of blue yogurt. And, you know, when I'd been on the equity desk, we'd actually had the privilege of meeting Martha Stewart when she took her company public. And it was Sort of funny to me, because I thought, you know, like, making scrambled eggs was about as Martha Stewart as I could get. I just didn't have that attribute in my DNA. And so, you know, that morning I was sort of whipping up these scrambled eggs because it's kind of the extent of what I could do. And she got really fussy, and I thought she was just tired. I put her down for a nap, and for some reason, I still don't know why, I went up and checked on her that morning, and her face was full and shut. And so I turned to the older three kids, who were still, you know, three, four, and five at the time. And I just asked what they put in her face, because I thought they might have sprayed something at her or done something. And they were so blank in their stares. And that's when I got really scared because it was obvious something systemic was happening. So I raced her to the emergency room, and the pediatrician starts going on about these food allergies, and she's having an allergic reaction, and what did I feed the kids for breakfast? And the analyst in me, she's starting to sort of rattle off these numbers. And I'm just kind of thinking, like, since when? When did this? When we were kids, we all had PB&J and carton of milk, and it wasn't some death sentence sitting on a cafeteria lunchroom table. You know, those weren't loaded weapons. And here we were, you know, flash forward, you know, all of a sudden, all these kids, and she's rattling off these statistics. And in that moment, I still remember so clearly standing in the pediatrician's office thinking, how am I going to be a mom? How can I protect my child if she can't eat? How can I protect this child from these three older siblings that aren't even old enough to read, who may accidentally hand her something, not knowing that the ingredients said that this contained something that could cause her harm. And so it was just this moment of absolute terror and panic and fear and inadequacy and everything that I thought motherhood was going to look like on that day changed. And I realized that the kind of this carefree thought that I had, that was going to be part of what motherhood had been up until that point would be gone. And so, you know, we got her under control. I came home that afternoon, and I sat down to try to learn everything about food allergies that I could learn. And as I started pulling that data, I mean, it was shocking, JJ, how pervasive this has become. And now, you know, 12 years later, I mean, we know, you know, we see the skyrocketing price of EpiPen and we know the fact that that's a billion dollar brand. You know, we know the CDC has now reported in a 10 year period a 265% increase in the rates of hospitalization. So we know this now, we have the data now. But at that point in time, you know, people are still dismissing it or saying moms are making it up. And I thought, right, how are you going to keep my kids safe?

So you have this realization. And I still remember when I first started to find out about food intolerance, which wasn't called that at the time. No telling you what it was. And literally people were like, thought I was making this up. And I'm like, I, you know, I keep seeing this over and over again. At the time we were doing testing, but everyone thought it was an outright food allergy. They didn't understand the difference between an allergy and intolerance or sensitivity. I mean, we've learned so much just over the last, even five years, just in the languaging. But I'm sure back then, I mean, first you had to realize yourself that it was a real thing, but then, and fortunately, honestly that you were in Colorado. So there you were. What, what did you do next as you start to dig into this? Because your whole background was, yeah, so.

You know, I mean, I was just so stunned by the statistics and the numbers. You know, back in 2006 when it happened, they were saying it's 1 in 17 kids. Well, now they're saying 1 in 13 and maybe 1 in 11. It's two kids in every classroom, you know, and I'm thinking, this is an epidemic and genetics don't change this quickly. So what's changed?

And, and here's the thing, Robin, that's just the outright allergy. What about all the intolerances?

Exactly. And so then as I started learning about all of that, I mean, I don't talk about this often, but I do remember in that very, very early stage, as I was learning about the chronic inflammation of food allergies and what that kind of the alarm systems that are going off in the immune system, I remember thinking to myself, before I had really started to dive into it, I remember thinking, is this an early indicator for something? And what happens if a child's body lives in this constant state of inflammation? What happens? I remember thinking that. And those are still a lot of big questions that are still out there in the scientific community. What is chronic low lying inflammation doing to us? And we really are starting to understand it can be very severe. And so that fear, again, that gripping fear of this, how do I take care of this? How do I protect my child not only from these acute food allergies that could literally send her into anaphylaxis where her body system shut down, but how do I protect her from this kind of chronic, silent, low lying inflammation too? And so at that point, the first act was, how do I protect my child? And just as any warrior mom knows, you go deep on that. Everything in you goes after those answers. What you can do, the teams you need to be with, the allies you need to find. And so it was still early on in this whole food allergy thing, and there were not very many groups or organizations. And there was one based in Washington, D.C. and so, you know, I reached out to them and they were a little bit hands off. And I just thought, oh, I'm sure they probably get approached by a lot of moms all the time and are probably tired of hearing all of our stories. So I didn't, I sort of dismissed it. And then I kept reaching out, kind of trying to say, hey, can we start something here in Colorado? What can we be doing? Because the awareness is not where it needs to be, the education is not where it needs to be. And I kept getting this weird pushback from this organization. And as I started speaking with other mothers, I realized they were getting it too. So I was like, you know, that doesn't, that doesn't feel right. This doesn't feel right. These should be their foot soldiers. We are their foot soldiers. Why are they holding us at arm's length? And so I did what I knew how to do, coming from this finance world, and I pulled their financial statements and that's when the next chapter happened. I learned that this Nonprofit based in D.C. was funded by Kraft and its medical advisors were working for a company I had never heard of at that point called Monsanto. So I'm thinking, okay, what was this.

Nonprofit supposed to be about?

It was supposed to be about food allergy awareness. And, you know, they've since sort of gone through a name change and a bunch of other stuff. And they, they do a good job still of food allergy awareness and really making sure that Everybody has an EpiPen. It's, you know, I kind of look at it as a marketing arm for some of these pharmaceutical companies and making sure we all have EpiPens and things like that. Which, which is fine. And that is needed. But there were so many other voices and so many other places where organizations were needed, and I thought, they're not covering this whole thing. And so as I started looking into why Kraft would fund their website and what their allergists were doing with a company like Monsanto, which I had never heard of, I set up the same system I'd had when I'd been a financial analyst where I was capturing headlines and capturing data every single day. And you were able to sort of pull these filters. So every morning I'd wake up and I'd have a list of emails in my inbox that were related to food allergies and food sensitivities, you know, kind of leading researchers, anything that was going on at the government, you know, in the agencies with the research. And in October 2006, an email came through, and the EPA had just issued a very small grant of just over $440,000 to a university in Michigan. And the title of the article was, Do Genetically Engineered Foods Cause Food Allergies? And honestly, jj, at that point, I'm thinking, what's a genetically engineered food? I mean, we hadn't talked about it when I covered the food industry. What is this? I started diving into that, and I actually called the researcher at Michigan State University and I said, you know, I'm new to this space and here because of my child. What do I need to know? And I remember him saying, we haven't developed the animal testing models to know whether or not the novel proteins not, you know, they're not knowingly going to insert some allergen into a food, but in the process of that, that insertion process, the genetic disruption that can occur can create things that they didn't even have names for. And he said, those are the things we don't know. We just don't know. And I just remember thinking, are you kidding me? This stuff has been in our food supply at this point, I knew, for 10 years. You know, the first GMOs were introduced in the mid-1990s. This was by the end of 2006. And they were only just starting to ask these questions because the animal testing model hadn't existed. So, you know, here it had been in our food.

Isn't that mind blowing?

Totally. You know, and so mind blowing that even, even JJ In Boulder, people were like, what? You know, they knew they were eating organic food, but the fact that we had been eating this genetically engineered food for a decade and no one really knew was so mind blowing that people didn't want to believe it, they just, they really did not want to believe it. And so, you know, as I started looking into other countries around the world and I am so fortunate in my work and research to travel, especially before we had kids. You know, I'm realizing, you know, a, other countries either never allowed these ingredients into their food system in the first place or they labeled them so that consumers could make an informed choice on food.

That's the craziest part at least.

And you know, I think if you're, if you're kind of approaching this from a legal angle, you know, if you wanted to have traceability, liability and accountability, you would definitely label these things. If you're approaching it from a legal angle and you do not want traceability, you do not want accountability, and you do not want liability, then you fight really hard not to label them because there is no post market surveillance. There's no way, once these things are entered into the marketplace if they are not labeled, for us to know conclusively, yes, that triggered a food allergy. They can always say it could be a host of things. There's no label on that, there's no way to know conclusively. And so as a business model, what I was realizing was that these guys were just insanely brilliant. And so, you know, by not labeling these new ingredients, it didn't, it didn't, no alarm sounded, you know, no consumers kind of said, hey, I'm not sure I want to eat that stuff. And then on top of that, you know, they're what they had been selling up until that point, their signature product was this Roundup weed killer. And so by genetically engineering the seeds and giving them these new attributes, the first kind of generation of these GMO crops enabled, they called them Roundup Ready crops, Roundup Ready soy and Roundup Ready corn. And it enabled an increased application of this, this weed killer, this, this herbicide known as Roundup. So I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, wow, you know, as an analyst, that top line growth just went off the charts because they've introduced seeds where they can spray more and more and more of their signature product, Roundup. I mean, that is so smart as a business model. The board would have all been just giving each other high fives. And then on top of that, you now have these seeds that contain this patented trait. So instead of farmers simply buying the seeds, they also have to sign these, what are called technology stewardship agreements where they are licensing the use of that trait and they're licensing the use of that technology. And I'm thinking this is absolutely genius as a business model because you have suddenly created a whole bunch more revenue lines. And that's exactly what they did. And so as I was starting to pull the data at that point, we were 10 years into this in the US and the USDA was reporting on the adoption of genetically engineered crops just off the charts. And then the same the application of glyphosate, which is the signature ingredient in their Roundup products, off the charts. And I'm thinking we have absolutely done this on the backs of our country and nobody knows now.

We're just starting to really hear about it.

And I think, I mean, you think about how long it took for the tobacco industry to be exposed for what they did. And it's very similar. The tobacco science that the industry funded, telling everybody, telling our grandmothers that cigarettes were safe. We see the same thing here where it's industry funded science and industry funded scientists. And a fascinating way to sort of noodle into it is to really go to the US Patent and Trademark Office. And that was really sort of the clincher because you know, the companies like Monsanto are saying these are substantially equivalent. They use that term to basically suggest that their genetically engineered Roundup ready soy is substantially equivalent, more or less the same to any soy that's already been out there in the food system for hundreds of years. That's their argument, consumer facing. And yet at the US Patent and Trademark Office, they are issued patents because of the distinct characteristics of that round of ready soy product. And those patents are what protect the revenue stream because of the novelty of that invention. So they're speaking out of both sides of their mouth.

So you find all this out and you're putting two and two together about what's going on with your daughter. What do you.

A lot of our worlds kind of come together. So I froze. And I remember feeling like I was in the bottom of a well, curled up in a fetal position. At that point. My husband and my kids knew and understood because they were seeing me go through this research day in and day out.

And how old were your kids?

They were 1, 3, 4 and 5. And it was an incredibly isolating time. I can remember the first scientist that I spoke with who said, I have research on the impact of genetically engineered seeds on the butterflies. And I can remember when I like they were lifelines to realize that there were scientists that have been covering this. And when I was saying this food allergy nonprofit was funded by Kraft in Monsanto, I cannot tell you how many of the scientists were like, oh, my gosh, now it makes sense. And so it was just this missing piece of a story that a lot of people were experiencing, but it hadn't pulled together. And I remember meeting with different people, thinking, who can I find to tell the story? Who can I find to tell the story? I don't want to tell the story. You know, again, from a very conservative upbringing, not extroverted. I really didn't want to tell the story. I wanted to go back to the safety of finance. And I met with a lot of different people. I remember meeting with a businessman here in Boulder. He was in the tech world. His son had a really severe peanut allergy. And I was sitting in his office one day, just an absolute. Just shell of who. Who I am. Because it had been so draining and so terrifying, and I really just looked like a shell of who I am. And I remember he walked me to the elevator, and he said, the faster you get your head around the fact that this is your story to tell, the better off we're all going to be. And I just. In, like, the elevator door shut, you know, and it was so powerful. But I didn't want to own my own story. I didn't want to own my own story. And people were saying, reach out to Aaron Brockovich. You should reach out to Aaron Brockovich. And I'm thinking, you know, half the world at this point thinks this is just crazy talk. Like, why would Aaron Brockovich believe this? And, you know, you send some random email through a website like, that's going to work, but, you know, being Super Taipei, and. And because I. Yeah, exactly. To protect our children is something that. The company that figures out how to harness, that, man, they're off the charts because it is. You can't stop it. And there were times where I really wished that I could have. I remember standing at the kitchen sink, looking out into the backyard at the kids and thinking, if I don't do this, who will? And so I sat down. It was right at Christmas time, and I spent two weeks trying to draft this email to Erin Brockovich, because I was like, I come from a really credible background, and this is going to sound totally unbelievable, and how do I present this in a way that she understands and given her experience? You know, I knew that if anybody was going to understand, it was going to be Erin Brockovich. But, like, it just was such a shot in the dark. And so I. You know, I ended up just kind of iterating and iterating and iterating on this email until I got it to a place where I felt like it was digestible. And I sent it off. And I, you know, you send those emails, you don't know if somebody's going to reply. And she did reply a few days later, and she said, you know, at this point, I thought I could give it to her and she could use her platform to get the story out. In her reply, she said, I'm so glad someone has finally taken this on. I lost my brother when he was 37 years old to a food allergic reaction. And I thought, you know, I remember sitting at the dining room table and I looked at my husband. I'm like, how do you explain this? You know, that I suddenly had somebody saying, you know, thank you for taking this on. Somebody like Erin, who.

Yeah, like, wait a minute.

And she had given so much, you know, to so many. And I also realized at that point, like, we all have to do our part and that I did have to do this, you know, and only I could tell that story that had happened to me. And so, you know, at that point, I started pulling together the research. I can remember the first time I hit send on an email blast thinking, you know, people are going to think this is crazy. And then I spent about a month pulling it together for Robert Kennedy because he has children with asthma and food allergies. The concern I had was that his allergist was one of the men who had worked for Monsanto. And I knew that he didn't know that because he had sued them on different issues environmentally. And so I literally bound an entire presentation, you know, business school style, at FedEx Kinko's, and I mailed it off to Kennedy, thinking, you know, at least I can get sort of a legal perspective on this and also that of a dad. And we went to Texas to see my family for spring break, and I said, I'll be home April 2nd. And sure enough, the phone rang, and it was his office and it was his chief of staff. And she had me on speakerphone. And to this day, I don't even know who was in the room that day. And they just said, this is absolutely incredible. This is an unbelievable story. Will you come on the radio show Ring of Fire? And, you know, I was terrified. And I thought, you know, we have to be brave enough to tell these stories. Our kids don't have the platform. And so I went on that radio show, and for those that know Kennedy there, he has a speech, you know, something wrong with. With his vocal cords and his speech. And I didn't know that until he started to talk. And in that moment I thought, this is just a dad. This is just a guy who's had to overcome his own things, no matter if the Kennedy, but like he's still just a dad. And in that moment, you know, I was like, this is going to be fine. And so we had this conversation and then that sort of catalyzed and launched the next thing, which was speaking at an event in Chicago. And from there it just started, it just started to gain traction and people started to hear the story. And I think a huge part of it is I have this finance background and so to kind of understand the cost benefit analysis of what was done, any business model. And they were just particularly brilliant at it. You know, the first generation of these genetically engineered crops are proving to be a disaster across so many different fields. You know, the farmers now have crops that no longer respond to glyphosate and roundup. So they're having to up level the chemical doses that they're applying to these crops. You know, we're worried now about runoff and I mean, there's so many things that are starting to happen. And you know, as I was coming through that first year or the first year and a half, I just remember, I remember thinking, I'll get back to finance. You know, I just, if I can get this out enough, I'm going back to managing money because I loved it and that's what I want to do. And you know, as it kept going, even by the time I wrote my book and that was published in 2009 and they pushed out in paperback in 2010, I still at that point thought, I've given my research, like I've done the work, I'll go back to what I had planned. And there was just this pull for what had happened personally, you know, combined with the professional experience I'd had in finance and the way that I was able to talk about it, and we talk a lot about, and I talk a lot about this, you know, as mothers, that old airplane thing where you have to put your oxygen mask on first before you can help others. And I think, you know, when we get out of the hospital with that newborn baby, you know, they need to hand you a debit card for guilt because you just, you're constantly jockeying mentally, you know, on the guilt between, you know, the time you need to take care of yourself and the time that you need to devote to take care of the well being of your children. And in those first early years, it was so stripping to give and give and Give. It's like that old story, the giving tree stump, you know, And I did that and it absolutely stripped me in so many ways physically. And I remember this is where Boulder is just so supremely great. A friend of mine at the gym happens to be a six time Ironman and he pulled me aside one day and he said, are you okay? And I said, I don't think so and I don't know what to do. And so he literally got me going on a nutrition program. And it had been his best friend who was the scientist, the very first scientist that I spoke to. So he had just been this guardian angel the whole way through. And he got me kind of paying attention. He's like, Robin, if you really want to do this, you have to take care of yourself the way any athlete would. And it was such an obvious aha moment, but it meant so much coming from somebody who had just conquered a sport and done so much. So, you know, really at that point I realized that part of my job was to take care of myself because this is not something that we could fix in five years or 10 years, that it was probably going to take a generation and that if I was really going to be in it to win it, you know, part of my job every day would be self care. And so I started to look for models of people who have been in their work for decades like that. And the woman who came to mind was Jane Goodall. And I thought, you know, when she started her work in her 20s with monkeys and apes, people would have thought she was absolutely bananas. And yet she went back and got her PhD in her 50s. And now you look at her as just this gracious, eloquent, incredible woman who has devoted her life to her work and to that cause. And so I'm a big believer in finding people that can be role models across all different areas of your life. And so, you know, Jane Goodall was definitely one of those people where I thought she's taken extraordinary care of herself so that she can take care of that work. And it was a huge lesson that I learned in the early years.

That is the biggest takeaway, that is the biggest takeaway for everyone. If we want to go out there and be the best for our kids, the best thing we can do for our kids, the amazing role model, right? I mean, and people, people talk about they want their kids to be healthy and then they're not eating healthy, they're not exercising, they won't have healthy kids. And if you really want to be the best for your Kids and you want to go out there and make a difference in the world. The first place you've got to start is with yourself. When my son was in the hospital, I remember looking at the situation, here he is in a coma. I've got to make my book work. I'm the financial support for my family. And my thought was my self care has to be 110%. I have to put myself above everything else. That oxygen mask has to go on first. And you know, that was the first four and a half months in the hospital, but it's been five years since and for all of us, it's not a sprint like, you know, you initially were in this and I'm sure your adrenaline was going crazy as you're starting to discover all this. And then there's that shift realization where you go, oh my gosh, this isn't, this isn't what I'm going to do now. This is, this is not going away.

Yeah. And I think, you know, the first thing that we think need to do is sacrifice ourselves. But you know, in the end that doesn't serve the mission. It doesn't serve the work and it doesn't serve the children. And so I had to really shift in my mindset to realize that self care was in the best interest of the mission, the work, my family, my children, and to put it into my day as any important meeting. And that that shift happened. And I think, you know, to truly be honest with yourself and know I had to be really honest and say, I can't fix this in 5 years. I can't fix it by myself. You know, I'm going to have to build out a team and this is going to take generations to convert our farmland. Less than 1% of the farmland in the US is organic. We're not going to be able to change that overnight, but it is very fixable because it only takes three years to convert that farmland. But you're going to need a lot of allies and a lot of organizations, a lot of businesses, a lot of people talking about this. And I think what extraordinary right now is that, you know, you and I, when we were talking about this a decade ago, it was still pretty fringy. And now I know, and now, you know, 82% of households are buying organic. And you have companies like Kroger whose highlight in their earnings model is that simple truth, you know, free from organic, private label brand that they're rolling out in all their stores. I mean, that is absolutely the highlight. Every single earnings call that's the highlight. And so the business community is responding, the corporations are starting to respond. We're seeing massive acquisitions just of these just jaw dropping numbers. You know, whether It's Annie's for 800 million, Applegate for 775 million, but it's companies like General Mills and Hormel that were really not on board with this message a decade ago that are now saying, you know what? We missed it. Yeah, we're buying in, we're buying in. And so they have to be. It's fascinating. The pivot that's happening is, is truly fascinating. And I think the opportunity as a country is how do we, how do we shift our supply chain fast enough to really kind of keep up with this demand? Because right now we're importing all of this. You know, we're importing it from China and Uruguay and Australia. And I look at that and I think, you know, food security is national security and food security is so much more than just calories, is nutrition. So how do we build out a nutritious food supply here in the US and treat it like a national security issue? Which it is, because, I mean, you know better than anybody, it's like the statistics of drug use in America, Pharmaceutical drug use is absolutely off the charts. And I think, you know, as we learn that the greatest form of healthcare is what we choose to put on our fork, you start to realize, I mean, I think back to who I was and that mom that was like, you know, I had all these antacids in the cupboard and all these, you know, headache medicine and all this stuff and my, I know my skin was a disaster and it's like, you don't know. And I think if you can open that up, you know, if somebody can realize, you know, yeah, maybe you don't have an acute milk allergy, but that sensitivity that you have to milk is maybe contributing to your chronic acne or chronic indigestion or stomach issues or whatever. You know, I think I was so afraid of change and, and now I look at it and I'm like, you know, that is truly where the magic happens. Whether it's your own health to try it on, see how it is for a couple weeks to not have gluten and dairy, see how you feel. And at the end of those two weeks, if you want to go back, no one's going to make you stay. You can always go back. But I think there's so many simple little things that we can do.

And I know we're going to. We are like way over the clock. And I just. I'm looking at this going, okay, we're definitely doing part two, Robin. We're setting it up, and I don't want to leave anyone hanging. I just. The story is so powerful, but it's also. It's like a story of courage, of being a warrior mom, of putting yourself first, of just keeping turning over the stones, and then once you know it, you can't unsee it. And then being brave enough to talk about it and share when you know what you're saying is opposite of everything that people are hearing. So now. Now it's getting to be more and more accepted, especially with the people we run with. But it's. It's getting out there. And so what I'd love to do now is definitely, definitely for everybody listening, we will. We will be doing part two of this, but I know that you're also going to be providing everyone in the show notes. We'll have some great show notes and cheat sheet, and we'll also have Robin's 101 primer on organic food. What you need to know so you'll get all of that, too, so you can start putting some of this into motion, because this does change everything. And I know we have a lot of moms listening, but, you know, people really wanting to change their health, and this is the single most critical thing you can do for your health, is obviously what you eat. It is. There's nothing more important. So we're going to give you access to all of that. And I want to thank you so much. Your story is so big, and every time I hear you, it's like, you know, it just gets bigger and more information. But also, I know that you've got a lot of actionable information, too, which is critical because there's no point in hearing this.

Totally. You know, one of the things that. Another lesson that was so important was as I was trying to sort of clean out the cabinets and clean out the kitchen, I also had to clean out some of the thoughts in my head. And, you know, I. My hashtag I use a lot is dump the junk. Well, you've also got to dump the junky thoughts out of your head that you're not worth it or you can't do it, or you're not the one who's going to be able to do something. You know, the scope of the system and the scope of the health issues that we're seeing in our country. I truly believe mothers have such extraordinary insight, and we all have skills and talents to lend and so to really, you know, remind yourself that you really do matter because I think if you're really going to take care of yourself, you have to believe that you matter and to know that, you know, the insight, the knowledge that you have in your own experience is absolutely going to help somebody else. And in some ways, you know, we do it kind of friend to friend, sister to sister, neighbor to neighbor. For some of us, we have these bigger platforms and I truly, truly believe that all of these voices matter right now as we really work to shift the system.

I'm glad you brought that up. The biggest challenge I had in my community when I asked them if they weren't as healthy as they wanted to be, why not? It was because they didn't feel worthy. And it's like if you have that for yourself, then, you know, if you don't feel worthy enough, extend it and say, would I do this for my kids? And you know, build, build it from there. Because again, you started all this because you wanted to help your kids. A lot of times we'll start there and then realize that you cannot go out and take care of kids without taking care of yourself. So that's where it all starts, just like you said. So I super appreciate that. Again, we're going to have and what we'll do is we'll put it@jj virgin.com the unhealthy truth, which is Robin's book, the unhealthy truth. So jjvirgin.com the unhealthy truth we're going to have the show notes, we'll have access to the 101 guide on organic food. Everything that you need to know. We'll find another time to continue the conversation. Consider this part one of a probably ten part series on what's going on with food and then what we can do about it. And Robin, thank you so much, so much for your time today. Super appreciate it. You're just amazing. Such a warrior, a role model.

I mean it's so mutual and I think we, you know, we really need each other and so to, if we can help, you know, create a place where other women feel safe to come forward and share their stories and share their vulnerabilities and then tap into that to start to move all of this forward. It's, it really, I think is an incredible opportunity for our generation of women. I love the warrior mom badge. 100% behind you on that. So thanks for everything you do.

Thank you. And everyone stay with me because after the break I'm going to be answering a Listener's Question.

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Welcome back. This is the time where I answer a listener's question. And today's question comes from Kara in Lexington. And Kara says, JJ, I'm trying to eat healthier and I know that I should be eating organic, but I am on a food budget. What do I do? So here's the deal, Kara, and I'm glad you brought this up. It's kind of one that whenever I see it, I always wanted to attack this question because I actually believe that you can eat healthy for less money, even if it was the same amount of money or slightly more still obviously worth it because of the long term savings and difference in your health, which is priceless. But there are so many tricks that you can do to be able to eat healthy on a budget. The first thing I'm going to recommend is that you go to ewg.org that's the environmental Working Group. And what they do is they publish each year the clean 15 and the dirty Dozen. So they tell you those foods that absolutely you must eat organic because they are really like Frankenfoods. They're the big GMO crops and the ones that are heavily sprayed and big pesticides. So that's the first place you're going to go is where do I need to spend my money? And then we've got all sorts of great resources. So the first thing I always say is go to your local farmer's market or join One of the CSAs, the collectives, where they will deliver food to you and find out, you know, who is doing food organically. Get to know your farmers because some of them are doing it, they're just not certified because that's a whole expensive thing to do. So get to know your farmers and see who's, who's farming correctly and see what you can do. And if you have room to do a garden and my gosh, my son has Become really good at hydroponics and vertical gardening. So it's amazing what you can do in a small amount of space to see if you can add some of the, you know, key things that you like to eat the most there. So I look at that, I look at what's on sale. I go to the local farmers markets. I also fill my freezer full of my buddies over at Butcherbox. I like to use them because, first of all, best deal, I haven't found a place to get pastured pork, chicken and beef and wild beef anywhere at the price point they do it. And so I just get a box that delivered each month and I put it in the freezer and then I pull out something from the freezer each night, either from them or Vital Choice, my wild fish resource. And then I've got my. Either my sweet potatoes or my squash or my wild rice, and then I make some veggies. And honestly, it's really quick to do these things and super inexpensive. The expensive food is having a bunch of food that goes bad. So you got to get really good at knowing how much you're going to use and then freezing the rest. Batch cook or processed food, that's where a lot of the expense goes. So again, find those resources. We've got a lot of great resources, Butcherbox being one of them. And then batch cook, buy things in bulk whenever possible. Use your freezer, watch for sales, and you'll be amazed at how inexpensive it can become to eat healthy. All right, thank you so much for that, Kara. I love when that question comes up. I'll probably always answer it whenever I hear it. And if you would like to submit a question, just head on over to my Facebook page. It is at JJ Virgin Official. Look for the blue check. That's me, moi. And also you can go over to Instagram. So we watch there. We, we answer questions when we see them. I do Facebook lives. I'm answering questions. And then we watch for great questions that we can pull onto the podcast too. Speaking of the podcast, this is the gratitude portion next. And I'll tell you what, we super appreciate the whole team when you you leave reviews. First of all, it helps other people decide to listen in. But also it's like how we get our grades. You know, we all go through it, makes us all feel really good. So I super appreciate you for leaving the reviews. And I just want to do a shout out today. We always feature one every podcast. This one's a shout out to Sandy Gascon from Canada. She says, love, love, love, five stars. JJ is an amazing podcast host. Love the guests and the wide range of topics. Such great information.

Cool.

Thank you Sandy and hopefully you'll see me. I'm going to be speaking in Canada with TD Jakes and Tony Robbins. I'm excited about that and if you would be so kind to submit a review it helps a bunch. You know social proof is everything. I would super appreciate that you just go over to itunes and while you're there leaving that review, go ahead and share to subscribe and share it with your pals. Thank you. This is how we get this thing out to the world. And you know knowledge is power out there. So the more we get out there the better. Alrighty. See you next week.

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This is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I tag all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.