about the Sacred Cow Project
Sacred Cow: an idea, custom, or institution held, especially unreasonably, to be above criticism.
It’s commonplace today to blame meat for everything from cancer to global warming. We’re rightly scared about our health and our world. But are cattle being unfairly scapegoated? At Sacred Cow, we question the following:
• Should we eat meat at all?
• Is there a “best” diet for humans? Or is there a spectrum of optimal human nutrition?
• Can meat be part of a sustainable food system?
• Can a sustainable food system exist without meat and animal contributions, both nutritionally and environmentally?
• How important are ethics in the story of human nutrition and sustainability?
In our increasingly polarized world, where it’s all or nothing, this book is here to introduce some much-needed nuance. If you’re an ethical omnivore concerned about the environmental impact of your food choices, this site is for you. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan but are considering eating meat again, this site is for you. If you’re familiar with how cattle can be part of a regenerative food system, but still worried red meat will kill you, this site is for you. If you’re open to science, then this site is definitely for you.
The Sacred Cow Project explores our relationship to the food we eat, and offers a different view on the future of food production. We publish a blog, produce podcasts featuring food producers and health experts, and run insightful social media posts. The book, Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat and the documentary film will launch in 2020. Our hope is to create a new dialogue examining our cultural bias against cattle, pointing out the importance of red meat to our food system and how well managed grazing animals are one of our best solutions to repair the damages of our industrial agricultural system.
Who’s involved
Diana Rodgers
Director, Producer, Co-Author
Diana Rodgers, RD, is a “real food” nutritionist, author and sustainability advocate. She runs a clinical nutrition practice, hosts the Sustainable Dish Podcast, and speaks internationally about human nutrition, sustainability, animal welfare and social justice. She’s written two books and helped to produce the short film, Soft Slaughter, which won a real food media award. Her work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Edible Boston and To Market. She’s the producer and director of the film Sacred Cow and co-author of the book Sacred Cow.
Her new project, the Global Food Justice Alliance, advocates for all people to access nutrient dense animal sourced foods.
For speaking requests or to inquire about nutrition consults, please click here.
James Connolly
Producer
James Connolly is an artist, chef, non-profit founder and documentary film producer with Archer Gray Productions. He co-founded The Bubble Foundation, a non-profit focused on issues of wellness and food insecurity in inner-city public schools. The documentary film production team at Archer Gray Productions has produced films from Transmilitary, a film that explores equal opportunity and discrimination for the over fifteen thousand active duty transgender soldiers serving in the military to Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Where to Invade Next, where Moore explores issues like mass incarceration, school food, criminal justice and student debt.
Robb Wolf
Executive Producer, Co-Author
Robb Wolf, a former research biochemist, is the New York Times Best Selling author of The Paleo Solution – The Original Human Diet and Wired to Eat. Robb has functioned as a review editor for the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, is co-founder of the nutrition and athletic training journal, The Performance Menu, co-owner of NorCal Strength & Conditioning, one of the Men’s Health “top 30 gyms in America”. He has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world via his top ranked iTunes podcast, book and seminars.
Robb is also co-author of the film’s companion book, Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat, along with Diana Rodgers.
Callie Taintor Wiser
Writer
Callie Taintor Wiser is a writer, director and producer. Twice nominated for a Primetime Emmy award in the category of Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, her passion lies in telling stories that inform our collective history through the experiences of individuals. Her films for the American Experience series on PBS include: The Amish, The Amish: Shunned, Klansville, U.S.A., Blackout, George H.W. Bush and God in America. She began her career in documentary journalism working on a number of films for FRONTLINE, including documentaries about American politics as well as Storm Over Everest—an investigation of the 1996 Everest tragedy.
Jon Neuburger
Editor
Jon Neuburger has worked on a wide range of award-winning, nonfiction programming for series as diverse as NOVA, Frontline, American Experience, Design Squad, and Lidia celebrates America, as well as many independent productions. His many films for American Experience include the four-hour mini-series Walt Disney; the Primetime Emmy-winning JFK, and Fidel Castro. His many projects for the PBS current events series Frontline include Sick Around the World, a comparison of universal healthcare systems; The Brotherhood, an exploration of the Muslim brotherhood’s role in the Egyptian revolution; and The Age of AIDS. His independent productions include The Ghost Army and Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street.
Lauren Manning
Web Content Editor, Podcast Co-Host
Lauren Manning, Esq., LL.M., is an attorney and professor of agriculture law at the University of Arkansas School of Law where she teaches courses in farm animal welfare, farm succession planning, food safety law, and agricultural cooperatives. As a journalist, she has covered the food and agriculture space for four years with an emphasis on agriculture technology and venture capital investment, changing consumer preferences, livestock production, and regenerative agriculture. As a first-generation farmer, Lauren raises and direct markets grass-fed, pasture-raised beef, lamb, and goat meat in Northwest Arkansas. Follow Lauren on Instagram @WhiteHoofAcres
James Cooper
Designer
James Cooper is a graphic designer, brand strategist and owner of ONIC Design. Much of his work focusses around sustainability; assisting clients from small businesses, all the way to large NGO organisations. Currently based in Tasmania, James has a keen interest in using design to help educate others on topics such as regenerative animal agriculture and human nutrition.
Meg Chatham
Production Assistant & Marketing Manager
Meg Chatham is a brand strategist, community developer, and digital content marketer. She creates, designs, and manages all social media, web, and newsletter content for Sacred Cow and Sustainable Dish. She is currently based in Texas, where she enjoys running and hiking in between sips of espresso. Learn more here.
Rondi Lightmark
Writer
Rondi Lightmark has had multiple careers as a freelance writer, educator, grief counselor, photographer, and entrepreneur. After a life-changing meeting with Allan Savory six years ago, she began to focus on sharing his message. She lives on Vashon Island, Washington, where she created “The Whole Vashon Project,” an arts and education-based effort dedicated to showing island children that the community is visibly working to address the climate crisis. She strongly believes that the earth and her creatures are not machines to be manipulated, but teachers revealed through biological mysteries that we may never fully understand—but which we ignore at our peril.