Healthy eating advocate making stop in SLO

[Guest guest]

By Sarah Arnquist sarnquist A Montana cowboy-turned-vegan who travels the world extolling the benefits of healthy living and eating is in San Luis Obispo this weekend. Howard Lyman shot to instant fame in 1996 when he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss what he says are the negative health consequences of antibiotics and growth hormone in meat and pesticides in produce. Texas cattle ranchers subsequently sued Lyman and Oprah for libel. The case was dismissed, but not before it gained national attention and cost millions in legal fees. Lyman stuck to his guns and continues to tell hundreds of thousands of people annually that his former lifestyle of farming with pesticides and eating giant steaks and potatoes slathered in butter caused a tumor on his spine that nearly put him permanently in a wheelchair. In 1983, Lyman sold his farm and became a closet vegetarian. He lobbied for organic farming on Capitol Hill. But he was still overweight with sky-high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Then he decided to go all the way. "I became a vegan, and I lost 135 pounds," he said in a phone interview from his home in Ellensburg, Wash. The 68-year-old said he weighs the same as he did when he graduated from high school and feels full of energy. Today he hopes to convince people in San Luis Obispo County that by changing their diets, they can improve their chances of escaping chronic, debilitating diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. "I try to get people to look at who produces their food and what they’re doing to it and what it might do to their health, the environment and the animals," he said. Not all farms in the cattle industry use antibiotics and growth hormones in their production, and

organic grass-fed beef — such as beef from Nick Ranch in Pozo — is becoming more popular, said Juanell Hepburn, whose family has owned the ranch for about 90 years. "It’s not for everyone, just as being a vegan is not for everyone," Hepburn said. "It’s a lifestyle choice." The local nonprofit New Choices Integrative Health invited Lyman to San Luis Obispo to begin its speaker series called "Shutting Down Cancer." Stephen Mulder, a Templeton physician and founder of New Choices, said there is a proven link between cancer and nutrition. "We will bring the best and brightest national speakers to San Luis Obispo County to provide this important information to the community," he said. The next speaker, Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," is scheduled to visit in February.Peter H

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