Library talk: Change your diet, improve our planet

Thursday, June 6, 6 p.m., Orcas Library Reading Room

— from Mary Pugh for Orcas Library —

Join nutrition educator Gigi Carter and learn how changing your diet can improve your health and save our planet.

EAT^® is a global, non-profit dedicated to transforming our global food system. On January 16, a group of 37 scientists published a report on sustainable food production for a population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. The EAT-Lancet Commission Report provides the first ever scientific targets for a healthy diet and sustainable food production within planetary boundaries.

Carter will provide highlights from this report documenting growing evidence of the impact animal agriculture has on the environment, including greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water depletion and threats to biodiversity. “We are already feeling the effects of a warming planet here locally, and it is within our ability to change course through our daily decisions, including our diet,” says Carter.

Using the report as a guide, Carter will offer examples of what specific meal plans would look like. In her own wellness journey, Gigi Carter adopted a plant-based diet, reversed dietary damage, and restored her physical health.

Carter’s Bio: Gigi Carter, Nutritionist and author of The Plant-Based Workplace was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and currently resides in the San Juan Islands of Washington state. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from John Carroll University and a master’s in business administration from Cleveland State University. Over the last 24 years, Gigi’s career has been mostly with Fortune 500 companies in financial services and manufacturing leading and driving change. She’s held management and leadership positions in finance and accounting, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, post-merger integration, operations management, project and program management, and operational and business process excellence.

Gigi made a career change in 2016 to pursue her master’s in nutrition sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she graduated with honors, and launched a wellness coaching and consulting practice, My True Self, PLLC (mytrueself.com). Gigi is a licensed Nutritionist and certified personal trainer. Her focus area is in chronic disease prevention using plant-based nutrition and other lifestyle management concepts. When she is not working, Gigi enjoys spending time with her husband, Kevin, three rescued dogs, and cycling.