Program

Joel Fuhrman, MD

Dr. Fuhrman is a board-certified family physician, New York Times best-selling author and nutritional researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. Dr. Fuhrman is an internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing, and has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows including The Dr. Oz show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly. Dr. Fuhrman's own hugely successful PBS television shows, 3 Steps to Incredible Health and Dr. Fuhrman's Immunity Solution bring nutritional science to homes all across America. www.drfuhrman.com

Caroline Trapp, MSN, APN-BC, CDE, FAANP

Caroline is committed to changing the way diabetes is treated. Pills, injections, finger sticks, portion control, going hungry, carb-ophobia - there is a better way! Ms. Trapp is the diabetes nurse practitioner with Premier Internists of Southfield, Michigan, and the director of diabetes education and care for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Ms. Trapp has been a certified diabetes educator since 1994 and an adult primary care NP specializing in the care of people with diabetes since 1998. pcrm.org

"Food for Life: The Power to Heal Diabetes" Documentary - Health has been lost as diets changed, but there is hope. Meet three Native Americans and their families who reconnect with ancestral wisdom to reclaim their health. Attendees will receive the DVD, which features Dr. Neal Barnard of PCRM and cooking lessons by award-winning chef, Dr. Lois Ellen Frank. Executive Producer Caroline Trapp will discuss the making of the documentary.

Food as Medicine - A New Approach to Type 2 Diabetes - Welcome to the "Diabetes Diner!" My name is Caroline, and I'll be your waitress. What's on the menu? Lots of choices. Some are great. Some are very expensive. Some have side effects. Some have safety concerns. It can be a bit overwhelming. How can you decide what treatment(s) are the best option for you to prevent or treat diabetes?

Ellen Jaffe Jones

Ellen is "The Veg Coach," aka "The Broccoli Rep." Because as she says, "Who else IS the broccoli rep?" An inspiring motivational speaker, she is also a personal trainer, running coach, author, and exceptional cooking instructor. Ellen's best-selling book, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day, rapidly became one of her publisher's best-sellers due to Ellen's use of social media. Her next release, Kitchen Divided, was written for vegans who are sharing a kitchen with an omnivore. For her latest book, Paleo Vegan (co-authored with Alan Roettinger), Ellen researched different versions of paleo diets on the market and was able to combine the essence of paleo diets with vegan principles. vegcoach.com

Paleo Vegan - Join athlete/certified personal trainer/cookbook author Ellen Jaffe Jones for a zippy, visual look at "The REAL Paleo Diet." She'll slice and dice the current paleo fad and look at what was real and what was not during ancient times and what it means for vegans. What gave meat-eaters the exclusive rights to define the current Paleo fad? It's time for vegans to reclaim and redefine the term. Surprisingly, minus the meat and dairy, there is much common ground between the two ways of eating. Find out how they got married.

Kitchen Divided: Coping When Others Don't Eat the Way You Do - As more people go vegan for health and animal rights reasons, often friends and relatives don't quite "get it" just yet. If you live in a divided household, or in a world that doesn't eat the way you do, come find food samples to streamline your life and make you less like a short-order chef. Ellen will be demoing and sampling out a Composed Tomato and Millet Salad.

Lifelong Routine to Keep You Injury Free - Age is just a number as certified personal trainer and running coach Ellen Jaffe Jones will demonstrate. 7th in her age group in the US in the 1500 meters, 10th in the 400 meters and an age group winner in 71 5K or longer races since '06 'just' on plants, Ellen has been a high school volunteer cross-country and track coach. Her sprint times are just seconds slower than NCAA college girls. It is rare for anyone with her sprint times to have ever finished a marathon. But she's done that twice, as recently as January. She runs faster now than she did at 28. Come watch/join Ellen as she demonstrates what warm-up/cool-down routine has kept her injury-free (mostly) over 34 joyous years of running on plants. You can do this too!

Sharon Palmer, RD

Sharon has created an award-winning profession based on combining her two great loves--food and writing. As a registered dietitian with 16 years of health care experience, she channeled her nutrition experience into writing features covering health, wellness, nutrition, and cuisine. Sharon is also a passionate writer about food and environmental issues. Her book, The Plant-Powered Diet: The Lifelong Eating Plan for Achieving Optimal Health Beginning Today was published in June 2012. Sharon is also the editor of the acclaimed health newsletter, Environmental Nutrition and writes every day for her popular Plant-Powered Blog. www.sharonpalmer.com

Danny Houghton

His business card says Vice-President for Marketing and Sales, but you'll find Danny playing many roles at One Degree Organic Foods. A Founding Partner, he works directly with President Stan Smith to develop strategy. A key player in supply and procurement, he leads ingredient expeditions around the world, in search of pure veganic harvests. As head of the media team, he coordinates video production at each location and manages print, design, web, public relations and social media functions. And as someone with a lifelong love for technology, he oversees the software innovations that bring the brand's famous transparency to life.

Rebecca Gilbert

Rebecca is the founder of the Yummy Plants vegan lifestyle website and the author of It's Easy to Start Eating Vegan!, a step-by-step plan to help you start eating vegan today. A former competitive figure skater, Rebecca healed from chronic joint pain by switching to a vegan diet. She has been a featured speaker at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival, Paris Vegan Day, and Vegetarian Summerfest. yummyplants.com

It's Easy to Start Eating Vegan! - Health and ethical concerns are encouraging more and more Americans to switch to a plant-based diet. Rebecca's talk will include information on easy egg and dairy substitutions, vegan protein sources, how to stock your vegan pantry, and tips on how to make a vegan diet workable both inside and outside your home.

Cooking Demo: YUMMY PLANTS 101! - Join Rebecca for a fun demo to help you make yummy meals that are meat-free, dairy-free, and easy to prepare! Rebecca will be making No Chicken Salad and S'more Pudding, two delicious recipes from her new book It's Easy to Start Eating Vegan! During the demo she'll also be sharing tips to turn your favorite traditional recipes into vegan delights!

Hope Bohanec

Hope has been active in animal protection and environmental activism for over 20 years and recently published the book The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat? She is a nationally recognized leader and speaker in the animal protection movement, and is currently serving as Projects Manager for United Poultry Concerns. Before this, Hope offered her organizational talents as the Campaigns Director at In Defense of Animals. www.the-ultimate-betrayal.com

Chickens - Exploitation of the Innocent - Chickens are arguably the most abused and exploited animal on the planet. We will explore the life of a chicken in the food industry, both in large and small scale production, exposing the truth behind "free-range", "cage-free" and other new labels. We will discuss the pros and cons of backyard chicken-keeping and raising chickens in urban areas.

The Ultimate Betrayal - Is There Happy Meat? - This presentation lifts the veil of secrecy surrounding alternative animal farming. Drawing on peer-reviewed research, worker testimony and meeting the animals themselves, this presentation explores the recent shift in labeling animals processed for food. Is free-range better for the environment? Is organic humane? This presentation offers answers to these critical questions.

Kent Thornburg, PhD

Kent, director of the OHSU Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition & Wellness, and professor of medicine at OHSU, is an internationally recognized leader in research on the developmental origins of health and disease. He has published more than 125 papers on pregnancy and fetal development. His studies show the vital connection between maternal diet, the quality of fetal growth and epigenetics - how adult onset diseases are "programmed" in the womb, and how vulnerabilities to disease can be passed from one generation to the next. www.ohsu.edu

Katie Cantrell

Katie is the founder and executive director of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (FFAC). After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2009, she founded FFAC and has since given over 150 presentations about factory farming at venues such as Stanford, Yale, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Her presentations have been used as a resource by food justice activists across the country.

Why Veg: The Surprising Power of Our Food Choices - From social justice to climate change to health care costs, our food choices have huge impacts. Learn about the effects of factory farming, and why our diet is one of the single most effective ways that we can help the world. This presentation is a must-see for people who care about food, for people who care about people, and for people who like seeing cute animal pictures.

The Biggest Impact: How to Advocate to All Types of People - The founder of the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition will share her experiences reaching out to environmental, social justice, and religious groups. By strategically framing the issue of factory farming, we can reach broader audiences and build a powerful coalition.

PlantBuilt

PlantBuilt is a 501c3 non profit organization and a collaboration of vegan strength based athletes who compete annually to dispel the myths that vegans are weak and scrawny. PlantBuilt also raises much needed funds for farm sanctuaries and vegan outreach. Meet several team members from this years squad of bodybuilders, cross fitters, and powerlifters and find out why they believe that a message of compassion in athletics and competition is so important. www.plantbuilt.com - Giacomo Marchese, Dani Taylor, Christian Garcia, Jason Morris, Ashlee Harrison, Sara Russert, Kelly Green

Vegan Muscle Team, Boot Camp - Kick your metabolism into full gear w/ this high intensity interval training! Our Metabolic Circuits utilize plyometrics, calisthenics & speed intervals, designed take your normal routine to a whole other level... PlantBuilt Style!

Fran Costigan

Fran is a pastry chef, culinary instructor, cookbook author, and such an international authority on vegan desserts and baking she is known as the "Queen of Vegan Desserts." Those desserts - captured in her cookbooks, More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally, and her latest: Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy-Free Desserts, as well as numerous magazines and television programs - are sophisticated and delicious enough to satisfy anyone who loves dessert, whether vegan, omnivore, or somewhere in between. Fran lives, teaches, and lectures in New York City, where she runs the Costigan Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive®, and at conferences throughout North America and Europe. www.francostigan.com

Simple and Scrumptious Triple Coconut, Chocolate & Fruit Parfaits - Layered in fancy parfait glasses or simply spooned into a dish, the recipes for a blender-made Magic Coconut Cream, a Coconut-Chocolate Mousse, and Candied Coconut are so good, you'll find it hard not to taste and taste until there is nothing left to serve. In this demo, Chef Fran will make, and you will taste, a super sensational super easy, gorgeous dessert that is infinitely customizable.

Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Vegan Chocolate Desserts! - Learn to make incredibly versatile, super silken vegan ganache, and then truffles, chocolate crostini, ice cream sundaes, chocolate beverages, and the best cake glaze ever--the one Chef Fran uses to make her renowned Chocolate Torte to Live For, is yours in a flash. Prepare to dazzle friends, families and vegan doubters.

Alan Roettinger

Alan is a writer, food designer, blogger, and public speaker. As a private chef for twenty-five years, he has served clients (including a president and a prime minister) in the United States, Europe, and Australia. His cookbooks, Omega-3 Cuisine, Speed Vegan, Extraordinary Vegan and Paleo Vegan (with Ellen Jaffe Jones) showcase his ability to bring health and pleasure together in a wide range of dishes that are simultaneously sophisticated and accessible for the home cook. Alan is dedicated to encouraging and empowering people to make smart choices in what they eat. alanroettinger.com

Paleo Vegan - Just as it's possible (and for several reasons, preferable) to choose vegan in our time, it was possible to choose vegan in the Paleolithic period. Most educated guesses indicate that our ancient, pre-agricultural ancestors gathered far more than they hunted. Fortunately for us, eating well is now quite easy and enjoyable, as you will see. Alan will be demoing and sampling out: Arugula with Grapefruit Reduction and Hazelnuts and Pee Wee Potatoes with Olives and Rosemary.

Extraordinary Vegan - In food and cooking, it's really not very far from ordinary to extraordinary. And since life is much shorter than we like to think, why not make every meal extraordinary? Discover an uncomplicated, highly gratifying nutritious snack with layers of flavor and texture. Learn how to make a simple slaw into a delicious treat, and then turn it into a stunning presentation - and see how easy that actually is! Alan will be demoing and sampling out: Quick Spicy Slaw and Nutty Chocolate Protein Bars with Chia Seeds

Talya Lutzker

A certified Ayurvedic practitioner, Talya is also a nutritionist, professional chef, yoga teacher and founder of Talya's Kitchen Catering Company. Talya's passion for holistic medicine and innovative, healthy food sparkles through in her intelligent, warm, fun and inspiring teaching style. Through cleansing programs, cooking classes and one-on-one consultations, Talya helps people learn to love cooking, self-care and eating well. She co-runs the Santa Cruz Aushadi Health Foundation, an Ayurveda-By-Donation clinic that originated in her teacher's panchakarma treatment center, the dhyana Center. She is the author of The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen. www.talyaskitchen.com

Vegan Ayurveda: The Sweet and Sour Rasas - Join Talya Lutzker, certified Ayurvedic practitioner, nutritionist, and author of "The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen", for this inspiring and enlightening food demo that highlights the sweet and sour tastes (rasas) of Ayurvedic medicine. You will learn basic Ayurvedic cooking techniques - and the incredible health benefits Ayurveda lends to food preparation - using all plant-based ingredients. Dadus and Vegan Mango Lassi will be demoed and sampled.

Vegan Ayurveda: The Pungent, Astringent and Salty Rasas - Talya Lutzker, certified Ayurvedic practitioner, nutritionist, and author of "The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen", lights up our kitchens again with a food demo highlighting the pungent, astringent and salty tastes (rasas) of Ayurvedic medicine. Talya will teach the benefits of cooking with spices and how to approach food preparation with a long-term healing perspective and an emphasis on delicious results - using all plant-based ingredients. Yummus, Tridoshic Spice Mix, and Oil and Vinegar Potato Chips will be demoed and sampled.

R.J. Dannemiller, MA

R.J. is a minimalist lifestyle expert, sociologist and founder of Simple Savvy Holistic Living-- "The Voice of The Minimalist Lifestyle". At the Ask The Experts table, he'll answer questions about living, traveling and snacking from a vegan minimalist perspective.

Wendy Gabbe Day

Wendy is a vegan cooking instructor, author of a whole-food cookbook, Scatter Vegan Sweets, NW VEG board member and former coordinator for the organization. She attended University of California, Irvine and played Division 1 college basketball. Wendy has been a vegetarian since birth and a vegan since the age of 5. Wendy and her husband, Eric, are proud parents of a vegan toddler and are expecting another little one in December. livelydays.com

Erin Lehn Floresca

Fellow veghead Erin has been a writer and editor in the healthy living realm for over 10 years. Several years ago, this avid baker began exploring the gluten-free lifestyle for digestive health reasons. However, she didn't want to give up the flavor or texture of her favorite baked goods. After much trial and error, she finally learned the secrets behind what constituted a good gluten-free flour blend. Stop by and chat with her about how to ensure your homemade vegan/gluten-free baked goods taste amazing! Connect at erinlehnfloresca.com

Kathy Peterman, RN, MA

As an RN for 33 years, Kathy has explored nutrition and how to be the healthiest we can be. One way to supercharge nutrition and healing is through juicing and a high raw vegan diet. If you have considered doing juicing, a raw cleanse, or trying a raw diet, drop by to ask questions, discuss how to ensure your success and increase your intake of healing fruits and vegetables.

Stephanie Lucas, RN, MS, MPA

As an RN for over 25 years, Stephanie has seen first-hand how our Standard American Diet has contributed to dramatically increased rates of obesity and chronic illnesses. As a parent with a vegan teenager, she can share practical advice on motivating healthy eating. Stephanie is also a member of NW VEG's, Veganic Gardening Group, and she is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about gardening without the need for animal by-products.

Christy Morgan

Christy, known as The Blissful (& Fit) Chef, has been tantalizing taste buds for years as a vegan chef, cooking instructor, food writer, and cookbook author. Her mission is to show that a whole foods vegan diet can be delicious, easy and will bring more energy and bliss into your life! It wasn't until 2013 that she became obsessed with fitness and is now a certified personal trainer spreading the message that you can be strong with a plant-based diet. She can show you how to reach all your health and fitness goals to reach optimal health! Christy has been seen on VegNews.com, One Green Planet, Daily Candy, Fox Good Day, From A to Vegan, and is a guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts including Martha Stewart Living Radio, Vegan World Radio, and the Dr. Don Show. Check out her new online magazine for plant-powered women, Definition Magazine. theblissfulchef.com

Full Body Workout You Can Take Anywhere - Don't have time to get to the gym or don't have the space for tons of equipment at home? Get a full body workout with just a resistance band! This demo will show you great exercises for all parts of the body you can do with only one resistance band. And you'll get to try them out! It's also great for traveling when you don't have access to a gym.

Didi Jayagiita

Jayagiita entered into a life changing practice of yoga and meditation 15 years ago when she was studying in college. Inspired by her own personal transformation it brought, she began sharing practices of yoga and meditation with both children and adults for the past 12 years. In 2009, Jayagiita began an intensive training in the Ananda Marga tradition and has recently taken vows as a yogic nun and meditation teacher. Jayagiita is a teacher of the New Day Ananda Marga School of Portland, a Neo-Humanist school in SE Portland which uses yoga, meditation, vegan diet, art and nature study as the base of its learning curriculum. She is also co-founder of KALA a non-profit organization founded to promote art and education for service and the spiritual upliftment of society.

Suman Barkhas

Suman has traveled as a yoga monk throughout more than forty countries and currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, working as a holistic wellness coach. Suman has been teaching MindBody classes locally focusing in yoga, meditation, tai chi, qigong, spiritual life option, and yoga therapy. He and his wife Peony (author of two vegan cookbooks) are co-directors of the Yoga school, 200/300 hours by National Yoga Alliance "Spiritual Yoga Teacher Training" 200 hours and "Yoga Therapy" 300 hours certification programs in Eugene area. He is also involved with the Tai Chi - Moving for Better Balance fidelity workgroup for the Oregon Health Authority and is responsible for all new instructors trainings and update trainings. Now he teaches "Holistic Health" program at Oregon Heart and Vascular Institute affiliated with Peace Health Northwest. taichiyogacenter.com

Andrea Bell

Andrea is a 1st Degree Nia Blackbelt instructor and Animal Rights Activist dedicated to facilitating experience through the body that brings people alive, not only to themselves, but to their world. Nia in Swahili means "with purpose" and that is exactly what Andreas mission is... facilitation of purpose. Empowerment of not just body, but mind, emotion and spirit, through Joy. Andrea asks the question, "What are you standing for?" Come dance, explore and use your voice in playful ways to find out! Nia blends choreography with the unique expression of each individual. movementasmettaphor.com

Nia - A mind/body approach to fitness and personal discovery. If you like Zumba, you'll love Nia.

Sarah Russert

Sara Russert is a long time vegan, Food Network Challenge winner, member of the Plant Built Vegan Muscle Team, competitive bodybuilder, and Washington State record holding powerlifter. She works in Seattle as a personal trainer for Golds Gym where she educates clients about nutrition and physical fitness. Her lifestyle stems from a passion to share knowledge about how a plant based diet can be advantageous to athletes and those wanting to increase their physical fitness.

Protein! Breaking Down the Myths - Where do you get your protein? Come learn more about this macronutrient that is so seemingly elusive in a plant based diet. Learn to sort the facts from the myths and determine how much protein you actually need for optimal health and athletic recovery. Learn the best sources of protein in a plant based diet and why supplementation might be right for you.

Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart

Leanne is the founder of VAUTE (said like "Vote"), named the "Rebel of Fashion Week" (CNN), 1 of 40 Redefining Green (Grist.org), and runs 1 of the most innovative businesses in NYC (BusinessInsider). She spent her life savings and quit a Ford modeling contract & full ride MBA to develop the first winter dress coat that's warmer than wool, without investors or a background in fashion. She's also the Fashion Expert at Alicia Silverstone's theKindLife.com, and Mazda 6's female Gamechanger, opposite Bre Pettis (Makerbot). vautecouture.com

Starting & Growing a Business for the Animals - Leanne shares how she started VAUTE, the fashion label that "broke runway history" (CNN) for vegan fashion, and featured by US News & World Report, BusinessInsider, Oprah, and WWD, by bootstrapping and creating tools out of her life, with no formal background in fashion. She shares the challenges, lessons, and the mission of starting a business to create a better world for the animals.

Katie Remis

Katie became vegan for the animals, for her health, and for the planet. After a couple years, she wanted to help spread the word about veganism in one of the most opposing of states - Texas. Katie then sought to create her dream to fulfill that need to inspire and educate. She decided that one of the best ways to do that was through design & color in the form of organic cotton made as close to home as possible. Creating V Apparel gave her the outlet she needed to inspire and encourage others to join the path of a cruelty-free world. veganapparel.bigcartel.com

Global Ethics of Modern Clothing Production - Katie Remis, owner of V Apparel, will be speaking about her journey putting together her fair trade & organic clothing line down in Texas. She will share her knowledge about the environmental and ethical challenges that she has faced in this growing industry.

Vanessa Huntley

Vanessa is a vegan hair stylist; massage therapist and esthetician. She has been practicing massage for over eight years, graduating from East West College of Healing Arts. And styling hair for two years, graduating from Aveda Institute of Portland. Vanessa's highest priority is helping her clients meet their personal beauty and wellness goals. Vanessa has been vegan for over eight years and is extremely dedicated to this lifestyle. She has done extensive research on many professional products and found most are either tested on animals or have animal ingredients. During her search she discovered a small list of vegan products that now play a huge part in the success of her business. The products she uses are: Davines: A New Colour, ColorProof, Hanz de Fuko, ACURE Organics and Cirepil. veganhairandskin.com

Vegan Beauty - Demo 1: Men's Cut: Polished Fade and Blend using Hanz de Fuko vegan products to style. Demo 2: Fishtail Up-Do: Using ColorProof styling products and discussing how color can add texture to any style. Using Davines, A New Colour line.

Michelle Schwegmann

Michelle is co-owner of The Herbivore Clothing Company. For twelve years Herbivore has made clothing for people who like to fashionably proclaim their compassionate beliefs. Herbivore is a vegan lifestyle brand that sells clothing, bags, wallets, belts, books and more, all right in SE PDX. Herbivore has also published several books, including Yellow Rose Recipes and The Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide. When she's not at Herbivore, Michelle can be found hanging out with her 9 year old daughter, Ruby Bird, or cooking and working on a cookbook for new ethical vegans called Eat Like You Give a Damn, coming out in 2015. www.herbivoreclothing.com

The T-Shirt: A brief History of how Underwear Became Political Fashion The shirt you wear is one of the most popular and accessible ways to express your personality, fashion, politics and ethics. Who invented the t-shirt and why do people love them? And how does one company, Herbivore Clothing, illustrate the vegan lifestyle via shirt?

Josh Hooten

Josh is the co-owner and Art Director of The Herbivore Clothing Company, the vegan clothing, cookbook and lifestyle store in Portland's own Vegan Mini-Mall. Josh founded and ran Herbivore Magazine for five years, and is the co-founder of the Let Live Animal Rights Conference, which ran for three years. He is the author of 600 Miles to Goat, A Book About A Bike Ride, which chronicles his 600 mile journey via bicycle from Portland to Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA. That ride celebrated his first 10 years of veganism and raised more than $13,000. Josh then co-founded the Sanctuary Century 100 mile bike ride which is in it's 6th year, and has raised more than $125,000 dollars for animal sanctuaries. Always ready to use his designs skills to help animals, he has designed for groups like Mercy for Animals and The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Andy Tabar

Andy is a vegan animal rights activist and owner of Compassion Co, a clothing line providing vegan message-wear that strictly adheres to the standards of being organic, USA made and sweat shop free. Compassion Co was started in 2011 as a means to provide clothing that maintained the vegan ethic throughout the entire chain of production, not only for the animals but also for the environment and humans that are affected by our clothing purchases. Andy has also worked for Farm Animal Rights Movement, spending thirteen months traveling the country with the 10 Billion Lives tour educating the public about the inherent cruelty in animal agriculture with the goal of moving them towards a vegan diet.

Cowspiracy

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today - and investigates why the world's leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean "dead zones," and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged. As Andersen approaches leaders in the environmental movement, he increasingly uncovers what appears to be an intentional refusal to discuss the issue of animal agriculture, while industry whistle blowers and watchdogs warn him of the risks to his freedom and even his life if he dares to persist. www.cowspiracy.com

The Ghosts in Our Machine

With the exception of our companion animals and a few wild and stray species within our urban environments, we experience animals daily only as the food, clothing, animal-tested goods and entertainment we make of them. This moral dilemma is often hidden from our view. This multi-award winning documentary gently removes our blinders by illuminating the lives of individual animals living within and rescued from the machine of our modern world. Through the heart and photographic lens of acclaimed photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, we become intimately familiar with a cast of non-human animals. The film follows Jo-Anne over the course of a year as she photographs animal stories in North America and in Europe. Each story is a window into global animal industries: Food, Fashion, Entertainment and Research. THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE charts McArthur's efforts to bring wider attention to a topic that most of humankind strives hard to avoid. Are non-human animals property to be owned and used, or are they sentient beings deserving of rights? National Volunteer Coordinator at Mercy For Animals, Mikael Roldsgaard Nielsen, will be introducing the film and host a post screening Q & A. www.theghostsinourmachine.com

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

While talking to more than 500 Americans about food, health and longevity, it's at a truck stop in Arizona where Joe meets a truck driver who suffers from the same rare condition. Phil Staples is morbidly obese weighing in at 429 lbs; a cheeseburger away from a heart-attack. As Joe is recovering his health, Phil begins his own epic journey to get well. What emerges is nothing short of amazing - an inspiring tale of healing and human connection. Part road trip, part self-help manifesto, FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD defies the traditional documentary format to present an unconventional and uplifting story of two men from different worlds who each realize that the only person who can save them is themselves. Mia T. Rex will be introducing the film and host a post screening Q & A. www.fatsickandnearlydead.com

Free Willy

The film stars Jason James Richter (Jesse) as a delinquent boy who becomes attached to a captive orca, the film's eponymous "Willy." When Jesse learns that Willy is to be killed by the aquarium owners, Jesse risks everything to free the whale. Free Willy features a star performance by a killer whale named Keiko, and spawned two sequels. Filmmaker Theresa Demarest will be introducing the film and host a post screening Q & A.

Keiko: The Untold Story of the Star of Free Willy

Giving an astonishing performance, Keiko swam straight into the hearts of millions upon the debut of Free Willy in 1993. So it was quite a jolt when his fans discovered that, unlike his fictional counterpart, Keiko was not free. This is the amazing story of what actually happened with Keiko. The film takes the viewer on Keiko's journey, explores his strong will to survive, and enjoys his enormous embrace of his own freedom. Filmmaker, Theresa Demarest will be introducing the film and host a post screening Q & A. www.keikotheuntoldstory.com

Fowl Play

National surveys show that the majority of Americans are opposed to the inhumane treatment of farm animals. In fact, Americans are in opposition to the very treatment animals face every day on factory farms. This disconnect that people have between the food they buy and the industries they support is exactly what agribusiness counts on to maintain its bottom line. Fowl Play illuminates the plight of factory-farmed laying hens through interviews with people who are fighting diligently to save them. A story of hope emerges as footage recorded inside battery cage and other facilities is balanced with personal accounts of the individuals working to protect the often-forgotten victims of the egg industry. Former undercover investigator, T.J. Tumasse, will be introducing the film and host a post screening Q & A with Projects Manager for United Poultry Concerns, Hope Bohanec. www.fowlplaymovie.com