Before we recorded, Marni humbly said what she did wasn't that big of a deal, just a bit more than she normally did. She wondered the point of sharing it. So this second conversation with Marni was short and we talked as much about the podcast as about what she did. Which is to say, the episode narrated itself.

I look forward to where it's mainstream for stewardship to feel second-nature, for people not just to say they care but act that way naturally. I don't feel that everyone doing little things adds up. I don't argue that it won't, but I believe that if leaders don't, then most others will follow their inaction with inaction of their own. Actually, I think I described the past 50 years or more since global warming was predicted. Plus plastic, deforestation, mercury, and nearly every other form of pollution.

The exciting part of Marni and my conversation, for those interested in dating, attraction between men and women, and my past, is referring to my appearing on her podcast, The Ask Women Podcast: Dating Advice For Men.

I can't mention here what I mentioned there, but you might be able to figure it out from the title. Here's the description:

Ep. 326 How To Be A Leader With Women | The BJ Technique

Want to know the most attractive thing you can be with women? A LEADER. Now I don't mean a man that bosses women around and tells them what to do. Leading women means gently guiding them towards something and requires the man to know who he is and what he wants.  Being a real leader with women is easier than you think and doesn't require you to be a jerk. Guest: Joshua Spodek PhD MBA http://www.joshuaspodek.com.

By doing what others don't, Marni is swimming upstream so everyone else can swim downstream

Environmental action doesn't have to be a big deal. On the contrary, one day it won't be a deal at all.

Sometimes I think of the first women to wear pants. Can you imagine the vitriol and scorn they may have faced? Now it's normal. Soon stewardship will be too. The sooner each of us acts, the more people will see us as leaders of the movement we create.

I got a taste of what I believe leads people to tell me they can't avoid packaging or buying fresh, local produce.

Living in a semi-rural area led me to shop in a large supermarket for the first time in a year or two. They carried only doof and stuff shipped from across the country and world.

I share the story and the uplifting results.

Here are the notes I read from:

• When I talk about taking over a year to fill a load of trash, people often say "You can but I can't."
• I'm staying outside the city and shopped with my stepfather in a supermarket for the first time in at least a year
• Onions
• Everything packaged, almost nothing loose
• Produce out of season, can't tell from where
• Pears from Argentina
• Bulk food section
• All doof
• Realized why people say they can't do it
• But I don't accept
• Plan to talk to manager about bulk foods
• Researched farmers market
  • June start
  • Emailed people, they responded
  • Mom and stepfather knew one
  • Visited
  • Learned about Hub
  • Ordered Hub yesterday
• Living by environmental values always leads to joy, community, connection
• If you just accept what they offer, you're bull with ring in nose
• Result is obesity, dependence,

Food is fundamental to our environmental problems.

Most of what American restaurants and supermarkets sell looks like food but isn't by my definition. It makes us obese, diseased, fatigued, poor, dependent, and such, whereas food, like fruits and vegetables, bring us together. Many of us are addicted to salt, sugar, fat, and convenience.

Yet people addicted to salt, sugar, fat, and convenience can point to addicts to other things, like alcohol or cocaine, and say, "they don't need their thing but we need to eat." But no one confuses Doritos with broccoli. But the terms "junk food," "fast food," and even "frankenfood" have the term food in them, leading people to confuse them with food.

I introduced the term doof---food backward---to distinguish between doof and food. Doof is all the stuff sold to go in your mouth refined from food, usually designed and engineered to cause you to crave more of it, usually through salt, sugar, fat, convenience, or other engineering.

Here are my notes I read from:

• What motivated the problem: reading about food, nutrition, health, and the environment
• My favorite food writers, and podcast guests, Drs. Joel Fuhrman and Michael Greger
  • Their books Eat to Live, Junk Food Genocide, How Not To Die, and How Not To Diet
  • Their videos
• The problem: the term "food" in junk food, fast food. Other addictions, like tobacco or alcohol, people say you don't need them, but they need food.
  • Beer versus water versus Doritos versus broccoli
• Solution: New term
• One that isn't sticking as well: craving-oriented mouth filler
• One that people like: doof
• Sounds like doofus. Helps you not confuse doof with food, like you don't confuse poppy seeds with heroin.
• Next episode I'll share my story of shopping in a supermarket for the first time in years, nearly all doof.
• Michael Pollan's "Eat food, mostly plants, not too much." Doof clarifies.
• Won't confuse McDonald's, Gatorade, Starbucks with food since they don't serve it.
• Enjoy food. Avoid doof.
• Spread the word!

I don't normally post other people's material, but 1) I found this video the most valuable I've seen on pandemics and 2) a previous guest, Dr. Michael Greger, created it.

It's an hour, so I summarize its highlights in this episode, but watch the whole video for the comprehensive view with full data and references. My summary covers

• What current media coverage includes---the urgent, important
• What it misses---the non-urgent, important
• Long-term pandemics trends
• Recent pandemics trends and why we are causing them to increase
• How we can decrease them

Attendees said my talks brought tears to their eyes.

Technically I spoke at the UN last week and UNICEF this week, but virtually not physically there, and to Toastmaster groups organized by UN and UNICEF workers.

Both talks were similar. I recorded the UNICEF talk. I spoke on

• A past New York City crisis---the 2003 blackout
• Lessons I learned from it
• How we risk not learning from the COVID-19 crisis
• How we can learn from it
• What I propose we learn from it

Talks were limited to 5--7 minutes, so I could go to that depth.

Joel talked so passionately about everything I look to bring out in other guests, I hardly spoke about his commitment with bringing bags. No problem, I loved hearing his views, history, and approach. I went with it.

He also approaches the environment from food, though from a medical background. I just kept learning from him. Sadly, we as a culture keep moving toward disease and pollution, however much we want to move toward health and cleanliness.

You and I can lead. This is our chance. Joel has been for decades. He's gotten results with the public through his books and his clients personally. You and I can build on what he started.

I can't say much more than Joel did, connecting food and the environment and the benefit to us. Who knows, maybe our conversation will result in a PBS show.

On a personal note, I'm glad to have heard his message of joy. Before these conversations I associated him mostly with medicine and nutrition. He covers those things, but with no lack of joy.

An article I read about research into diversity asked about levels where different groups felt occupations became "sufficiently diverse." It looked at positions at tech companies, for example.

I support diversity. I came across the article from the newsletter from Heterodox Academy, started by previous guest Jonathan Haidt, which promotes diversity, particularly of viewpoints. I would promote diversity in many places, yet there are many places I don't see diversity promoted or researched.

Living in Manhattan, I see many doormen, building superintendents, building porters, takeout food deliverymen, construction workers, and so on. I know there are many people who work mines, deep sea fishing, and so on. I understand mostly men work these fields. I never see whites or women delivering food in New York by bicycle. Have you?

Maybe I'm ignorant, but where is the push and research for diversity in these fields? I'm not asking rhetorically or to poke holes. I expect diversity in those fields would promote a healthier society for many reasons, including

• Physically dangerous fields dominated by men, when women entered them, became safer
• The more opportunities for whites in fields like delivering food, the more they'll be pulled from other roles and the more the roles where they're underrepresented will change to appeal to executives
• The more people promote equality in dangerous or low-paying fields, the more credibility they'll gain, so they don't just look like they're trying to help themselves only
  • They may receive support from groups from whom they don't, like manual laborers who likely feel slighted
• People and society will rethink relationships between different workers and classes

Martin Luther King, jr sought equality between all, not just to help some. Nelson Mandela learned Afrikaans to understand his captors. How much do people today seek equality across the board versus helping some groups but not others?

If you love hearing people at the peak of the human condition behind the scenes, you'll love this episode with Major League Baseball pitcher Brent Suter. I think you'll also hear the subtext of food connecting his family already and his teammates soon.

Sports and food

I love sports, competition, and athletics. I love food, meaning fresh vegetables and fruit. This conversation with Brent, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

This is one of the shortest times between episodes. As I mentioned at the end of last episode, Brent decided to commit to shopping at a farmers market after we stopped recording. He knew of places near him that he had meant to visit. He did the next day, then again the next weekend, and made some vegetable stews of his own, which he loved---the result, the process, the learning, and more.

The mental game of professional sports

Prepare yourself for the future of athletics---eating delicious and healthy for himself as an individual, an athlete, a husband, and a human.

He also indulged me in sharing about the mental side of professional sports, what facing a batter feels like, how he trains, how he handles success and failure.

I hope you enjoyed our conversation even half as much as I did.

Covid-19 note: Is it safe to eat produce from farmers markets? Yes and please do.

Previous guest Marion Nestle is one of the world's top food experts and these posts of hers compile useful information:

• Is it safe to eat produce from farmers markets?  Yes and please do.
• Is it safe to eat fresh produce? Yes (with caveats)

Enjoy farmers markets, enjoy vegetables, and enjoy banding together as a national and eventually global team