The reason fiber helps us control our weight is that it fills the belly yet yields few calories since fiber is, for the most part, not something that we can digest.

Whole foods like grains and beans release their sugar very, very slowly because of the fiber in them, and they don't give you a sugar rush. They feed your cells as needed, and as a result, you have loads of stable energy that powers you through the day.

The business of raising animals for food (with its continuous heavy waste stream of methane and nitrous oxide - leading global warming gases) is responsible for about 18% of global warming. Some scientists actually say the number is closer to 50%.

What you want is to rev up your metabolism so that you are burning fat and calories, not preserving fat and calories.

The goal is progress, not perfection!

I think that food ties us to our community and our traditions, and it's the thing that makes us feel good and connected.

And check this out: If every American had one meat-free day per week, it would be the same as taking eight million cars off American roads in a year.