Saturday, October 17, 2026
Second Floor, Reggie Lewis Athletic Center
11:30 🥕 Jo-Anne McArthurÂ
Seeing Animals: The Evolving Role of Photojournalism in Advocacy & Culture Change
Jo-Anne McArthur is an award-winning photojournalist, sought-after speaker, photo editor, and the founder of We Animals, which advocates for animals through photojournalism to expose, educate, and empower. She has visited over sixty countries to document our fraught relationship with animals, and is the author of three books: We Animals (2014), Captive (2017), and HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene (2020). Jo-Anne is the subject of the acclaimed Canadian documentary, The Ghosts in Our Machine, and her photographs have received accolades from Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature Photographer of the Year, Big Picture, Picture of the Year International, the Global Peace Award, and others. Jo-Anne comes to us from Toronto, Canada.
Join Jo-Anne for a global, visually rich journey into the emerging world of Animal Photojournalism (APJ). Sharing powerful stories from We Animals photographers around the world, McArthur offers a rare glimpse into the lives of diverse species, capturing moments of sentience, vulnerability, resilience, and hope. This engaging talk explores how APJ operates on the frontlines of advocacy, detailing the unique opportunities, challenges, and future of this evolving genre. Packed with practical insights on using photography as a tool for compassionate communication, McArthur highlights heartening, real-world examples of how visual storytelling can inspire empathy and drive meaningful change for animals around the globe.
The talk will be followed by a short Q&A, and a book-signing.
12:30 🥕 Irana Hawkins, PhD, MPH, RDN
In Service to Nature with Nutrition
Dr. Irana Hawkins is an internationally recognized Registered Dietitian and a Planetary Health Specialist. She is a Certified Naturalist, a Native Plant Steward, and a Master Recycler Composter. Dr. Hawkins comes to us from California.
The multifaceted assault on the living beings and systems of the planet requires immediate intervention where the power of individual and collective action is overlooked and underutilized. This presentation will discern the critical importance of creating nutrition security (the continuous availability of nutritious foods) for all living beings and living systems, so to reverse the destruction by the industrialized food system, which is the major driver of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, chronic disease, and other global public health threats.
Solutions abound, including whole plant foods nutrition as the foundational dietary pattern; bolstering biodiversity and restoring ecosystems with native plants/native plant foods; utilizing traditional wisdom; and becoming a community scientist. Inspiring vignettes will demonstrate the power of novel actions in advancing planetary health where service to nature can blossom from our plate.
Dr. Hawkins’s presentation will be followed by Q&A, then a book signing.
Look for her Nature’s Dietitian table in the exhibitor room, where she will answer your questions about environmental care. Bring your questions about native plants, beneficial insects, composting, soil health, community science, reducing your environmental footprint, and regenerative ecosystem transformation.
1:30 🥕 Gene BaurÂ
From One Rescue to a Global Movement
Gene Baur is an activist, author, and pioneer in the field of undercover investigations and farm animal rescue. He co-founded Farm Sanctuary in 1986, the first and most influential farmed animal rescue organization in the United States. Through his efforts, Baur has helped raise awareness of factory farming cruelties and has educated millions about the plight of modern farmed animals. His rescue work inspired an international farm sanctuary movement. His contribution to passing the first U.S. laws prohibiting inhumane animal confinement has lessened the cruelty of factory farming. He espouses the benefits of compassionate, vegan living.
Baur has written two best-selling books and numerous op-eds and articles, testified before Congress and other legislative bodies, appeared in documentaries, and has garnered mainstream national and international media coverage across the political spectrum. Baur has a pragmatic, open-minded approach to engaging diverse audiences, from policymakers and pundits to consumers and farmers. Baur has been called “the conscience of the food movement” by TIME magazine, and was recognized by Oprah for his pioneering work to create a healthier, more humane, and sustainable food system.
Following his talk, Gene will do a book signing of his just-released book, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Farm Sanctuary.
2:30 🥕 Sandra Musial, MD
Food is Medicine: The Hidden Power of Plants
Discover how everyday plant foods can do far more than simply provide calories and nutrients. In this engaging, science-based talk, Sandra Musial, MD, will bring the concept of Food is Medicine to life in clear, easy-to-understand terms. We’ll take a closer look at some particularly powerful foods and uncover how they work in the body to influence blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, immune function, weight, cancer risk, and more. You’ll leave with a greater understanding of how the foods you eat every day can become powerful tools for better health.
Sandra Musial, MD, is a physician specializing in Food as Medicine who is dedicated to preserving health and preventing and reversing lifestyle-related chronic disease through whole, plant-based nutrition. She is triple board-certified in Pediatrics, Obesity Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine, holds a BS in Nutritional Sciences from the University of New Hampshire and an MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and has additional professional training in culinary medicine, plant-based nutrition, and health coaching.Â
Dr. Musial has worked in private practice and at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where she taught pediatric residents and medical students from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. While she has witnessed the healing power of conventional medicine, she has also seen its limitations—particularly with regard to disease prevention through healthy nutrition.
Sandy started the nonprofit Plant Docs as an avenue for people to learn and put into practice the power of plant-based nutrition to improve health. She now focuses exclusively on Food as Medicine through lifestyle medicine programs and consultations, culinary medicine education and cooking classes, and the development of engaging, evidence-based programs that help people use food as a powerful tool for better health. Visit the Plant Docs table in the exhibitor room.
3:30 🥕 Wheeler del Torro and Elizabeth DiLuzio
Cultural Diplomacy Through Food + Cooking Demo
Wheeler del Torro is a culinary anthropologist and cultural envoy whose work in culinary diplomacy explores how food can bridge divides and foster global dialogue. He strongly believes that conversation over food is the way we begin to break down cultural barriers. His career spans more than a hundred countries, from the spice markets of Marrakech to the tea houses of Kyoto. Wheeler has cultivated a deep belief that food is one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful instruments of diplomacy. He will demonstrate how to make a traditional Afghan dessert, pictured below, from his cookbook.
Wheeler’s newly-released masterpiece, The Peace Cookbook, offers a perspective centered on our shared humanity. It introduces ten nations through recipes and stories, and shows how shared meals support recovery and connection after conflict. The project demonstrates how the universal language of food can foster dialogue, preserve cultural heritage, and create connections across cultures, religions, and borders. Wheeler divides his time between the United States, Monaco, and the South of France.
Elizabeth DiLuzio is a Ph.D. candidate with master’s degrees in social work and public health. She is the Co-Founding Principal, along with Wheeler, of a boutique evaluation firm, Evaluation + Learning Consulting, and brings over two decades of experience across education, public health, social work, and evaluation. Elizabeth is an accomplished evaluator and strategist with extensive experience in the co-creation of data-informed systems for feedback, learning, strategic planning, and applied research. Her professional journey spans across notable clients such as Meetup, L’Oréal, Rockefeller Foundation, and the City of New York. Elizabeth is an adjunct professor at NYU and Simmons University.
Elizabeth’s presentation will explore the inspiration behind the book, the stories of its international contributors, and the role that plant-based cuisine can play in promoting cultural exchange and understanding. She will share insights from the publishing journey and discuss how food can serve as a bridge between communities in an increasingly divided world.
Visit Evaluation + Learning Consulting’s Principal Sponsor table in the exhibitor room for information about The Peace Cookbook and free spice samples!
Saturday and Sunday Table in the Exhibitor Room
Kumara Sidhartha MD, MPH
Ask the Nutrition Doctor
Bring your nutrition questions to an esteemed expert! Dr. Kumara Sidhartha completed Medical College in Salem, India, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency at Lincoln Medical Center, affiliated with Cornell University. He earned a Master of Public Health in Nutrition at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is certified in Plant-based Nutrition by e-Cornell University and T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Dr. Sidhartha currently practices Internal Medicine in southeastern Massachusetts.
Author of All My Secrets: Messages of Health from your Body, Decoded, the book stands on solid pillars of scientific evidence to connect the dots between food, the inner workings of the human body, and a superior state of health. Drawing from 30+ years of medical practice experience with a focus on nutrition, Dr. Sidhartha uses everyday examples and logic to break down the complex inner workings of the human body and the effect of food on these functions.
Dr. Sidhartha will take your nutrition questions for 30 minutes at the start of each hour on both days. His book will be available for purchase and signing.
On Sunday, our focus will be entirely on the exhibitor room, savoring flavors and cuisines, learning from nonprofit educators, exploring new vegan products and meeting their creators, and stocking up on favorites!
Archive
Food Fest Speaker Archive
See our speaker rosters going back to 2005!