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PYP 121: Dr. Ron Weiss on the Healing Power of Farming

ron-weissAfter 7 years in the emergency room and 15 years running a traditional medical clinic in suburban New Jersey, Dr. Ronald Weiss decided to radically change his practice.

He moved to a centuries-old working farm in rural New Jersey and began treating his patients with fresh, organic, sustainably grown produce.

Today his practice, Ethos Health, is one of the most exciting, innovative, and lowest-tech “miracles” in medicine.

I learned about Dr. Weiss from a segment on the Today show.

I was so inspired by his story, his commitment, and his wholistic view of health, I knew I had to get Dr. Weiss on the Plant Yourself Podcast.

I called the number on his website, and got the following recorded message (I'm paraphrasing): “Press 1 for the doctor. Press 2 for the farmer.”

I was utterly enchanted.

Luckily for me (and you!), Dr. Weiss is a generous man, and agreed to what turned into an in-depth and fascinating interview. We covered:

  • Dr. Weiss's frustration with the limitations of the Emergency Room to treat end stage chronic disease
  • how Dr. Weiss's father's pancreatic cancer – and 100% plant-based treatment – changed his outlook on medicine
  • the lack of evidence in 1992 for plant-based treatment and prevention of disease – and the importance of anecdotal data and case studies to guide initial research
  • early plant-based successes: acne and rheumatoid arthritis
  • Dr. Weiss's initial reluctance to discuss his protocols with colleagues
  • key barriers to medical acceptance of plant-based treatments of disease
  • the medical bias toward sustaining the illness with medications vs removing root causes
  • one of the first things Dr. Weiss learned in med school: “Doctors rarely cure anything.”
  • our most common diseases are food-borne (so they can be stabilized, reversed, and even cured)
  • why medical practice needs to become “evidence-based” to embrace whole plant foods to prevent and remediate illness
  • what kinds of evidence Dr. Weiss regards as most convincing
  • the current debate over saturated fats and diabetes
  • how studies can be manipulated to produce any result the funders want
  • the importance of thinking in systems (for individual health, for soil fertility, for planetary wellbeing)
  • how Wendell Berry influenced Dr. Weiss's medical practice
  • why Dr. Weiss “bought the farm” – looking toward the future after having children
  • the connections between human health and land/soil health
  • the many problems with our current system of growing plants
  • conservation of matter (nutrients) in our food system
  • and much more…

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.

Links

Dr. Weiss's medical/farm practice: Ethos Health

The Mediterranean Diet Study

Dr Howie Jacobson

This podcast is a labor of love and a way to give back to the world that has given me so much. That's why there aren't any sponsors (except me :).

My day job is helping leaders and their teams master their mindsets to remove all obstacles to heart-centered high performance.

Here are three gigs that I do:

1. Executive and Senior Leadership Mentoring and Facilitation

I work with high performing executive teams in organizations — and executive teams that need to become high  performing. My focus is mindset mastery, because it’s our mindsets that either support high performance or get in the way.

At this level, everyone’s got the skills and experience to excel and contribute at the highest level. What holds people back is mindset stuff: specifically the triggers that get them out of creative engagement and into fight-or-flight defensiveness.

My practice is all about teaching people to respond differently to those triggers by updating old maps — essentially removing the glitches that the triggers grab onto.

2. Executive Coaching: Quick Wins for High Performance

I work with individual executives and leaders, one on one. The program is called Quick Wins for High Performance, and what we do is, we work strategically on one or two areas that are holding you back and keeping you from performing at your best.

We reverse engineer the presenting problems — too much work and not enough time, underperforming employees and teams, maddening organizational inefficiencies, etc — and identify and rewire the suboptimal mindsets that are behind those problems.

The work is all about updating your mental maps so your actions and responses are always appropriate, proportionate, and strategic.

3. High Stakes Conversations for Fast Growing Small Business Teams

I help small business teams have high stakes conversations with skill, humor, and grace. When people feel safe, they can do their best, most creative, most collaborative work.

So that's what I do. If you'd like any of those results, drop me a line and tell me about yourself.

You CAN Change Other People!

Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.

What we really mean is, you can bring out the best in the people around you. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.

Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.

 

Music

The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.

It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.

You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.

Gratitudes

Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.

Disclosure

This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive compensation from your actions on such links. It don't cost you a dime, tho.

1 comment on “PYP 121: Dr. Ron Weiss on the Healing Power of Farming

  1. Thank You says:

    Thank You

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