Stuart Waldner is an activist and an author who invites readers to take the red pill as they Escape the Meatrix.
Escape the Meatrix, Waldner’s debut nonfiction book, was written after he transitioned to a plant-based diet in 2008. His health improved, he felt better, and the more he learned about the statistical connections between our dietary choices and the worldwide climate crises we face, the more he felt an urgency to wake people up—for our health and for the planet.
Waldner spent nearly two decades exploring Earth’s greatest wonders and connecting with sacred sites around the globe. When he’s not advocating for the health of people and our planet, he spends time playing with his dogs, cooking plant-based foods, running, and restoring is 128-year-old Victorian home.
Hello author Stuart Waldner, welcome to BrandEducation! What’s your favorite word and why?
Doodlebug. We have two standard poodles, and they have a lot of nicknames, but we often refer to them collectively as the Doodlebugs and it always makes me smile.
What’s the latest book you read?
DeTours—A Decolonial Guide to Hawai’i
What makes you laugh the most?
That would be my two dogs Finn and Cullen. They’re such sweet boys and they’re hysterical to watch play games with each other like keep away.
If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?
It would be amazing to have the superpower of increasing empathy in the world. I think that all the biases, beliefs, and fears about others that we carry around with us would melt away if we just had more empathy, and that would help heal the world.
What inspired you to start writing?
I never considered myself a writer and still don’t. We’re experiencing a five-alarm fire right now on the planet with climate change, emerging infectious diseases, biodiversity loss, mass extinction rates, environmental degradation, our declining health, to the horrible return on investment of animal agriculture, the signs are all around us. What I learned from my research is that all these things and more are connected to the food on our plates and choices we make in the grocery aisle. It seemed mainstream media wasn’t reporting on this, so I decided to make these topics the focus of my book.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I have so many! Currently, I really enjoy eating a plant-based version of peanut M&M’s made by a company called, Unreal. They’re satisfying on so many levels. There’s the crunchiness of the candied outer shell, the fat of the chocolate, and saltiness of the peanut (which adds more crunch)! It’s a like a party in my mouth!
What’s the first step to becoming more self-aware?
Of course, self-awareness is a never-ending process. But for me, the first step was meditating. It’s sad to say, but I think meditating was the first time ever did much self-reflection and just sat with my own thoughts.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
During the lock-down phase of the pandemic I taught myself to restore windows. So far, I completely restored fourteen in my house. It’s tedious work, but the end product is so rewarding.
Who are your cheerleaders?
My chosen family and friends are my biggest supporters. When something positive happens in my life they celebrate it with me, and when I’m down then help lift me back up. I’m so fortunate to have such wonderful, loving, supportive people in my life!
What’s the key lesson you want everyone to take away from your work?
My book exposes some unpleasant facts. The way we’re feeding the world is broken and not sustainable. The science in my book invites the reader to see our world from another perspective and I hope this will inspire others to make what science says are better choices starting with the food on their plates.
Below you can listen to Stuart’s interview on The Relatable Voice Podcast.
Find out more at Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084725122965
Website – https://stuartwaldner.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/stuartwaldner/