The Compassionate Road: Recent Episodes
Gemma Davis
Gemma Davis, Naturopath, author and Ambassador from Voiceless, The Animal Protection Institute, explores all things around healthy and conscious living, with the intention to help her listeners make empowered, conscious choices that match their values.
Philip Lymbery is Global CEO of, Compassion in World Farming, and an award winning author, of the incredible books that have received worldwide acclaim, Farmageddon and Dead Zones. His investigative writing is full of narrative threads that take you with him on adventures around the world, combined with throughly researched facts, that together, sometimes require you to take pause to digest for the gravity of the consequences of our broken food system…effecting local communities, our climate and food security. Philip highlights the necessity for us all to know - so we can change and build back better . I loved speaking with Philip, because as well as enlightening us on some horrific truths, he is also a brilliant thought leader and helps make concrete improvements in farming policies, already playing a leading roles in major reforms.
Simon hill, founder of the widely popular podcast and online resource, Plant Proof, is shedding the light on plant-based diets – how to do them well, and why they are preferable from a health and environmental standpoint. He does it in non-judgmental, and inspiring way, by finding sturdy scientific reports and sharing them in a way everyone can understand. By studying his Master’s in nutrition and writing a much-anticipated book, Simon knows his stuff & when we know this information, it is extremely compelling to get it out to others as it is potent to help heal our bodies and address some of the major collective hurdles we are facing. I am super thankful Simon does what he does so well.
In episode 29 I speak with Emma Hurst who represents the Animal Justice Party in Australian parliament on why it is imperative to have animals rights be considered at government level to make systemic changes. Emma shares how she is currently working on seeing an end to puppy farming and bringing in bans for animal entertainment and why these are important issues.
Damien’s journey from snipper to conservationist is an interesting one, that saw him put his life savings into setting up the International Anti-Poaching Foundation in Africa, which is now what he dedicates his life to. He uses his skills to train rangers to be the last line of defence to protect the incredible animals such as lions, rhinos and elephants that poachers target.
A few years ago he tried a new tactic, by beginning to train an all woman anti-poaching combat unit which they called Akashinga which means, The Brave Ones. "In doing so, we completely deescalated local tension, brought conservation and community together, while cutting our operational costs by two thirds. The remaining third, invested mostly into women, becomes the most effective form of community development, while our core business of conservation is more successful than ever. If this is possible here, what is possible beyond Zimbabwe? What is possible beyond conservation?”
Once a banker, Sonia then lived on animal farms around the world and witnessed the inner workings to modern day animal agriculture. She shares these stories in her book Project Animal Farm, along with the characters she met, in a way that draws you in and you learn along the way. It is no wonder her fiction book, An Oysters Thief was enthralling too. As an observer, a critical thinker and a creative, I was so excited for Sonia to share some of her stories and insights with us.
In episode 26 I speak with young animal rights activist, Bailey from Warrior For Animals. I was so impressed by his commitment and courage to speak out for animal exploitation, especially how he brought world wide media attention to the dolphins in captivity with his protests at Sea World, Gold Coast. With his first protest at 12, now still only 18 years old he is communicating the language of our youth who are happy to speak out about their desire for a more fair and just world, and personally I think there is such power coming through in the young generations! Bailey and I discuss what he has seen and learnt through his many protests, with a big emphasis in a cause close to his heart - which is dolphin captivity. In Australia we have only two parks left where they are kept and it is through public pressure, that has come from relentless protests like those Bailey is involved in, that one of them has committed to stopping breeding dolphins in captivity. Many countries world wide already have banned keeping these animals in captivity for good reason which we discuss. I believe the public is ready for Australia to stop these circus acts too. Listen to find out why.
Celebrated yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn shares some of her personal and powerful stories that interweave yoga teachings and our human experience with potency. We speak about how our system is sustained by our habits, and that we need to see something to change it. Seane also comes back again and again to the importance of coming from love for transformation, its what binds us and bonds us and keeps us in unity.
In episode 24, I speak with Nina, who is the most wonderful travel writer, a deep thinker and embodies a life of creativity. Her book, Making a Living Living shares stories of inspiring individuals, from a vegan chocolatier to a nomadic photographer and a tiny-house builder as well as set of practical exercises helps readers learn how to trust themselves, take risks and develop the skills needed to achieve their ideal life.
Nina shares some of these stories and tools she uses personally. We also talk about the antidotes to the environmental and cultural costs of the travel industry and what we both do to practice resilience in our lives.
Michael and Masa from the very popular blog and podcast, The Minimalist Vegan share with us practical tips on living with intentionality and how less stuff can equate to more contentment. We speak about where to start, the intersectionality between vegan and ethical fashion and products, how food can be such a wonderful way to make change, as well as their personal journey that has taken them to living on a permaculture farm in remote Tasmania.
Dr. Melissa Mondala is double boarded in family medicine and lifestyle medicine. She currently sits on the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Board of Directors and is a Lifestyle & Integrative Medicine specialist who serves as Preventive Medicine Faculty member of Loma Linda University, which is located in the only Blue Zone in America. We chat all about what she deals with every day - how we can impact our health AND disease with what we eat and our lifestyle, with a deep discussion around the in's and out's of a plant-based diet.
The United Nations report on Industrial Livestock Production and Global Health Risks shows that industrial livestock production plays an important part in the emergence of highly pathogenic influenza and other diseases. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), shared that 75% of emerging diseases start in animal populations. How we raise our animals has and will continue to spread pathogens within animal AND human communities...
I believe this pandemic needs to be a time we reconsider if we want to keep such high risks of further outbreaks. I discuss in this short podcast reasons why.
Now more than ever, we need to make sure we do not fall into the anxious thoughts of the mind. Being informed and doing what we can is important, but spiralling into panic is not. With millions of us isolating at home, with the biggest lesson that the future is really unknown, when better to find the connection to the divine, to meditate - but also to find humour and connection! Jac from The Broad Place, helps teach all of these things. The Broad Place is a school for creativity, consciousness and clarity to help us find our highest grade self through applied ancient knowledge and meditation for your modern life. While we recorded this before corona hit hard, the lessons are more relevant than ever.
As a Naturopath and yoga teacher, I know keeping a calm nervous system is important to remain healthy and also to make critical decisions in times of unknown BIG changes and challenges. These are some of my thoughts with a small guided meditation to keep us coming back to present awareness throughout this time.
Farmed salmon is now one of the most popular fish eaten, yet many consumers are not aware that it is even farmed, and at the greater cost of farming this fish. I speak with Don Staniford, an award-winning campaigner, author and Director of Scottish Salmon Watch. He has travelled to salmon farms around the world and has media coverage globally about issues ranging from escapes, environmental pollution, deaths of wildlife, diseases, health issues of added chemicals and welfare... and these are just to name a few. If you eat salmon, these are issues you want to be educated about...
In Episode 17, Erin Lovell Verinder, herbalist, nutritionist, energetic healer and I chat all about how we can access plants in our lives for healing and reconnecting to nature. Erin has walked the plant path for almost 20 years, working with natural medicine to promote health in her clinic, yet she shares how even with no prior knowledge we can access herbs in our lives as well as the impact of technology on our wellbeing, and the importance of small changes we can make to find more calm in our lives.
Sami Bloom is a clinical nutritionist, certified in plant-based nutrition, wellness coach, yoga teacher, writer, presenter & the creative mind behind Health & Bloom. Her own health complications prompted her to make positive life changes, revitalising her health & leading to a drastic career change from corporate to Nutritional Medicine and plant-based nutrition. She shares her journey, with lots of tips to stay healthy and present on the podcast.
In Episode 15, I speak with respected yoga teachers, Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco. Together they weave native traditional ceremony with asana, song and nutrition, as offerings world wide for pathways to healing. We speak about their journeys, how we can make choices to stay above our demons, their committed views on how what we eat can heal the world and ourselves, their spirit pledge to Mend The Hoop of the People, what Walking in Beauty means. If you have read Ana's book, Fierce Medicine or practised yoga with them, you will know they are raw and refreshingly real that speaks right to our heart to motivate real action.
Nat Kelley is a well-known and loved actress from shows & films such as Fast and The Furious, Dynasty and Beauty and The Baker. Nat is radiating with passion to share her renewed deep connection to our home, our one and only planet, and to motivate action to tread mindfully, gently and live more sustainably. Going through this journey of discovery herself, she approaches and shares about this transformation from a place of love, humility and honest vulnerability that we all can relate to and be inspired by. We chat about moving towards a plant-based diet and why this is so important to her, what helped heal her and her thoughts on true beauty.
In Episode 13, I speak with Dr Leila Masson who is an integrative paediatrician who combines allopathic medicine with a nutritional and environmental approach to children’s health issues. Leila is the author of Children’s Health A-Z, has worked around the globe, helping thousands of families. As well as treating children, she lectures internationally about the interactive approach to autism spectrum disorders, ADHD and other behavioural issues, allergies, recurrent infections, and autoimmune diseases. In the episode we discuss the importance of gut, nutritional and environmental health, tips to help your child thrive and also talk about how to raise a child in a healthy manner on a plant-based diet.
In episode 12, I speak to James Aspey, who became known globally when he went silent for a year to raise awareness for the voiceless, the billions of animals who suffer and are killed every year for our taste - in food and clothing.
Since he has dedicated his life to continue this plight and his speeches have been seen millions of times, and he has the incredible ability to speak the sometimes uncomfortable truth - and get people to hear what he is saying, when often they would instead turn away. We speak about his journey, his why's and how's of living vegan - his passion is contagious but it is backed up by important facts we all need to know and consider.
With 13 million acres burnt to a crisp, a billion sentient animals dead, human lives lost and our home - all of our home - burning still, there is much grief. There is anger. And there is a the desire to act to make change.
I reflect on allowing ourselves space to feel it all, to acknowledge the sensations and sadness in our body. To feel it all and allow it to form deeper connection with our fellow human and non-human animals and with this empathy how we can move it to make choices that are positive for all of us.
Australia kills millions of kangaroos every year, as "pest" management and as a "harvest" they call sustainable for commercial purposes.
Australia also has one of the worst extinction rates on the planet of our wildlife. Animals we once thought to be abundant, are now gone or endangered. And when we look at history around the globe of putting a price on the head of wildlife, more often than not, they end with the same fate. Are we risking the future of our kangaroos by doing the same? Perhaps not to extinction according to Ray, but already the size of the ones shot are getting smaller. Already we have complete annihilations of populations in areas.
The research Ray has done also leads him to believe that there is definitely an issue with kangaroo management – particularly the counting and we talk about the key issues with the population monitoring of data being reported and why this is of concern.
Fahima Zard is well known for her steady inversions, creating and sharing Flowave and her brilliant online courses, that are used by her students in countries all over the world. Fee has also completed a B. Psych, so her teaching is deeply inspired by how the brain functions & the impacts yoga can have on our mental processing & emotional capacity. We talk about her journey to yoga, transforming suffering into healing and sharing these learnings, how shaming never inspires change rather how we need to be empowered. We discuss the practical actions we can take in our life to live with softer footprints and how this journey of consciousness is one that lasts a lifetime.
In Episode 8, I speak with fellow Naturopath Kirsten Shanks, from "Wellness" Hub, Orchard Street. Kirsten shares the magic power of plants with Australians through Orchard Street juice cleanses, elixir bars, tinctures, herbs and teas. Plants have been used for eons to heal in their many forms, and they can bring us back a daily connection to the power of our land and our relationship with it.
We get our 'naturopath on', chatting all things from the potency of plants, juice cleanses, the power of mushrooms and what to look for in them. We also discuss the mindful practise of tea ceremonies, cultivating community, how Kirsten stays true to her values at the same time as running a successful business.
In Episode 7, I speak with Ondine Sherman. Ondine not only is the co-founder of Voiceless, she also is a published author of three books and an all-round incredible woman. We talk about her journey that led her to create Voiceless, their work with law and education and animal protection today as it stands. We also chat about balancing out working with hard issues yet staying positive, the power we each have as consumers and how she weaves advocacy through her art.
Lee weaves in her own journey with an auto-immune disorder and what she has learnt along the way through studies and working with experts, with the beautiful philosophy of Ayurveda. She is a best-selling author and has 9 beautiful books published, the most recent Supercharge Your Life. We discuss finding the balance of eating well for health, without losing the joy of food.
ABC aired The Final Race last month to public outcry, with undeniable footage of retired race horses being killed, ending up as dog food or exported for human consumption. Thousands are killed per year as "wastage". Hundred dies on the tracks. In the last 6 years at Melbourne Cup, 6 horses have been killed on the race track...
I speak with The Coalition For the Protection Of Racehorses, who helped get the footage for the ABC and have not only hard and horrible evidence of systemic cruelty to horses in the industry - they also have great suggestions to help make positive change - including why saying NUP TO THE CUP is powerful.
Passionate and extremely intelligent, Jeffrey Masson chats about his books, what he learnt through his research for them and how he now applies this to his thinking regarding animals and how he lives his life.
Jeffrey has written over 30 books and during writing one of these, The Pig Who Sang To The Moon became vegan through what he discovered. His book When Elephants Weep sold over 800,000 copies and was instrumental in helping open our eyes to the emotional lives of animals. His vibrant energy is contagious and I always love listening to him, and am sure you will too.
Professor Culum Brown has made a significant contribution to the study of behavioural ecology of fishes over his research career. His research niche lies in the study of fish behaviour and its application to fisheries science with his most significant contribution being enhancing our understanding of fish cognition and behaviour. Culum is a well-known champion of fish intelligence. Collectively he has 100+ publications which have been cited over 5000 times.
Gemma and Culum talk about how his and others research, on fish behaviour, memory and pain, might influence how we treat fish (fishes) going into the future. Currently we kill 2.3 trillion fish per year. More fish are taken from aquaculture than our oceans now... and many fish are critically endangered, and their survival or not affects the health of our oceans and rivers.
Have a listen and see if your perception of fish is matching what research is confirming...
Animal protection is a critical component of ethical fashion. Fashion owes a huge debt to animals but most brands and consumers don’t know much about animal welfare in their supply chains. But this is changing…Four Paws are raising awareness so we can make more conscious choice around fashion with their Wear It Kind Campaign. Listen to why numerous brands including Armani, Burberry, Gucci, Versace and Vivienne Westwood, have rid their collections of fur. Why Chanel and Victoria Beckham no longer craft bags and shoes in crocodile and snake skins and Elise and Gemma speak about the what to look for when choosing wool or down - or perhaps other options.
In Episode 1, I speak with Dr Renae Thomas, MD, B-BMed (nutrition and exercise physiology), MBBS (honours) about the power of lifestyle choices and optimal health. She has a passion for nutrition, physical activity, social connections, and stress reduction, and how these influence disease prevention, and often reversal, and ongoing maintenance of health.
Renae lives in the Blue Zone Loma Linda, California, and is currently a senior resident, and the lifestyle representative, in their Family and Preventive medicine residency combined program, which includes a masters in Public Health (population medicine). Renae is a published author on vegetarianism and cancer, an international speaker on nutrition and health, is creating a culinary curriculum and nutritional prescription program.
She shares her experience and knowledge on food as a way of healing and how she uses research to back up what she shares with patients to "be well".