The world’s population is getting sicker. Diet-related chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension are on the rise, and over 1.9 billion adults (World Health Organisation) are considered overweight. Zoonotic diseases are unleashing at an unprecedented rate – more than tripling in the last decade – and as the world slowly starts to recover from the Coronavirus, the threat of an even more deadly virus is waiting in the wings.
Now more than ever we are plagued with eco or climate anxiety. A recent study conducted by Avaaz found that in every country, anxiety about the planetary crisis is at an all-time high, with nearly half of the global survey (45%) of 10,000 people in 10 countries saying that climate anxiety is affecting their daily lives.

“We can be a part of the solution on planet Earth,” says Ocean Robbins, an entrepreneur, professor, and author, best known for co-founding Food Revolution Network, Inc. – a California-based company that advocates for a whole foods plant-based diet. Robbins is one of the speakers at the first ever Plant-Based Asia Summit, which will take place virtually from 1-3 November 2021 to inspire a healthier and more sustainable Asia Pacific.

“We can make food choices that will contribute to reversing climate change, that will contribute to future generations having water and soil and healthy air and environment. That contribute to living healthier lives,” he says.

The Plant-Based Asia Summit will feature 30 speakers who are experts in health and nutrition, sustainability, food tech and fitness. Also speaking at the Summit is Dr. Joel Fuhrman – a board-certified family physician, seven-time New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing. He will be discussing the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle to extend our lifespan:

“Studies show that people who eat a carnivore, keto or paleo diet have early life deaths than eating a diet largely and predominantly of nutritionally rich plants, which is going to extend human lifespan in almost every person,” Fuhrman says.

Dr Neal D. Barnard is the Founding President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit research and advocacy organization, which promotes a plant-based diet, preventive medicine, and encourages higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research. At the Plant-Based Asia Summit, he will share ways of reversing diabetes, one of the diseases linked with higher mortality rates in Covid-19 patients:

“The risk of dying from Covid-19 is much higher in those with diabetes than in those without it. But it isn’t just a question of whether you have diabetes, it is also a question of whether your diabetes is under control. If it is under poor control, with a hemoglobin A1c of 8.1%, the risk of dying of COVID-19 is 11%. But if it is under good control with an A1c of 7.3%, mortality cuts to 1%. If we’re able to avoid diabetes or get it under the best control with easy to implement lifestyle changes, we’re stronger against Covid-19.”