Rethinking Our Relationship with Food for a Better World
Our Vision
Rethink Your Food Inc envisions a world where accessible, culturally appropriate, nutritious food from plant sources is essential in an equitable and sustainable food system.
What We Do
We create public awareness content about the benefits of a plant-focused food system, and action-focused initiatives to inspire people to increase their consumption of nutritious plant-based food, while celebrating our Caribbean food culture. We collaborate with community leaders, other non-profit organizations (NGOs), institutions and food service companies that are committed to investing in nutrition security in their communities.
Why It Matters
Well-documented research suggests that switching to a more sustainable, plant-focused food system can help to reduce some of the problems that plague us today.
Good for Health and Wellness
A healthy plant-focused diet have been shown to reduce one’s risk for health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, dementia, and also Type II Diabetes, which is now detected in children. This is why an increasing number of health professionals are promoting plant-based nutrition.
Good for Communities
Excess quantities of nitrogen and chemical run-off from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), are toxic to the soil, the air and water in nearby communities. Transitioning towards a healthy, sustainable, plant-focused food system can help to drive the demand for CAFOs down, so that we can provide a pathway for healthier soil, and cleaner water and air that those communities deserve.
Good for Animal Welfare
Over 90 billion land animals are artificially bred and slaughtered every year. 99% are raised in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Most are subjected to routine antibiotics due to bacterial infections, live in their own feces, and can endure extreme suffering while fully conscious. Increasing your consumption of plant foods can help to drastically decrease the demand that drives CAFOs.
Good for The Ecosystems
As our global population increases, by 2050, feeding populations on the current meat- and dairy-heavy diet would require clearing much of the remaining rainforests. These large ecosystems are necessary for our survival. Shifting to a plant-focused diet can help to counter deforestation caused by the need to feed and raise more animals farmed for food.
Good for Climate Solutions
According to experts, the industrial animal agriculture industry is the cause of over 14% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. If this remains constant, our levels of GHG emissions will exceed the warming targets in the Paris Agreement, even if we eliminate all other human-caused emissions. Shifting to a plant-focused diet can help to mitigate some of the effects of global warming. Global warming is connected to sea-level rise, ocean acidification and erosion of its ecosystems, as well as extreme hurricanes, storms and flooding that damage businesses, homes and crops that impact the economy and increase the mental stress of those affected by it.
Our Team
Liz Ross
Liz RossFounder and Executive Director
Liz is the Founder and Executive Director of Rethink Your Food Inc. She is also a recipe developer who created over 90 recipes for the Vegan Caribbean Kickstart program of Rethink Your Food (see our programs section).
Liz worked in the real estate sector for 15 years for multinational companies – as Regional Manager at Newmark Knight Frank and as Research Analyst at Cushman and Wakefield. Prior to her real estate career, Liz worked as a law enforcement officer in the U.S., which made an impact on her life. After leaving law enforcement, Liz volunteered her time with nonprofit organizations that provide services to formerly incarcerated individuals to rebuild their lives, and provide scholarships to high school students who are the first in their family to attend college.
Liz was born raised in Trinidad and Tobago and comes from a lineage of farmers and gardeners. Her family owns and operates 300-acres of agricultural land within a rainforest in the Caribbean. Liz completed the regenerative farming and food systems farmer apprenticeship program at the University of California Santa Cruz, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, on their 30-acre organic farm and intentional community. She received her Bachelor in Science degree from James Madison University, her plant-based nutrition certificate from Cornell University and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, and completed the plant-based professional culinary program at Rouxbe Culinary School.
Liz currently sits on the Board of Directors of Plant Based Foods Institute.
Gwenna Hunter
Gwenna HunterBoard Director
Gwenna is the Founding Director of Vegans of LA Food Bank, a grassroots organization that provides fresh, nutritious produce and plant-based meals to communities that experience challenges with access to healthy food. Through her Food-Aid program, Gwenna collaborates with other community organizations, including Hope on Union United University Church and with the University of Southern California, Office of Religious & Spiritual Life. Gwenna has over 12 years of experience working directly with the public in sales, recruiting, social media marketing, event planning and public speaking. She also has significant hands-on experience in grassroots organizing and outreach.
Gwenna was a news reporter for Jane Valez Mitchell’s Jane Unchained News Network. She is a contributing writer to “Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers”, and speaks about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle at events and on social media platforms.
Cheryl Roberts
Cheryl RobertsBoard Director
Cheryl manages a division of a Florida county Economic and Small Business Development Agency. Cheryl holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. As an adjunct professor, Cheryl taught courses in African Diaspora Studies and in Critical Thinking at Florida International University for 6 years. Cheryl is one of the founding members of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, a non-partisan grass-roots organization dedicated to election reform, where she worked to ensure that voter registration materials and instructions were provided in Spanish and Haitian Creole, and on other projects that focused on fair elections in Florida. Cheryl also worked for the ACLU on their Voter Rights Restoration initiative and spearheaded the “Know Your Rights” project for middle school and high school youth. She has family roots in Bermuda.
Carissa Achat
Carissa AchatProgram Officer & Culinary Consultant
Carissa Achat is the founder of Ital Food Fest TT in Trinidad and Tobago. Ital Food Fest TT showcases local organic produce and plant-based cuisine, to promote and celebrate Caribbean plant-based food culture and local small businesses.
As a stakeholder and Business Development Coordinator at Ital is Vital and Rivers Organic Goods food companies, Carissa significantly enhanced brand visibility and boosted sales of value-added products and prepared meals.
While pursuing her MBA at the Australian Institute of Business, Carissa conducted research and market analysis to assess the demand for locally grown organic produce in Trinidad and Tobago. She also developed strategies for effectively disseminating agricultural information across both islands.
Carissa is passionate about personal and holistic development, organic farming, plant-based cuisine, and community development. In addition, she volunteers her time as a Speech/Language Aid, working with differently-abled children in her community in speech therapy.
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