J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy.

Praise for the 4Leaf Guide

Dr. Kerry Graff contacted me in April of 2014 after finding our 4Leaf materials online. She had seen Forks Over Knives a few months earlier, then concluded that she had been shortchanging her patients during her twenty years of practicing medicine.

After deciding to convert her  family medical practice from “sick-care” to true “health care,” she began searching online for tools that would help her share her newfound knowledge with her patients.

And that’s when she found me, J. Morris Hicks, and the 4Leaf Program website that featured the kind of handy tools she was seeking. Since that time, she and I have developed new tools together, rebuilt the 4Leaf website and are about to publish our first book. Pictured here are “working” images of the front and back cover, along with the book’s Introduction.

INTRODUCTION

This 4Leaf Guide contains everything you need to get started down the road to vibrant health. It also addresses the most important issue in the history of humankind—our food choices in the 21^st century. In the pages ahead, you’ll learn all about why that issue is so important and why you should be eating a more optimal diet, for reasons that go far beyond your own health.

In the first chapter, Dr. Graff tells the gripping story of her own enlightenment when it comes to the critical task of simply choosing what to eat. She then explains how she leveraged that newly gained knowledge to begin the joyful process of “making good” on the incredible failures of her profession.

In later chapters, she grants you a rare peek inside the physician’s office as she gently guides her patients down the pathway to vibrant health. Throughout the book, we strived to tell you everything you need to know in as few words as possible, such as: “A near optimal diet = mostly whole, plant-based foods.”

You’ll learn all about the simple 4Leaf approach to healthy eating and how to explain it to others. Importantly, you’ll learn how to get started when it comes to things like figuring out what you’re going to eat, getting all of the unhealthy stuff out of your kitchen and tips to remember while shopping. We’ll also provide you with some starter recipes and will steer you to some great online resources for many more.

Most of the chapters are less than five pages with descriptive titles so that you’ll have no trouble finding what you need. In addition to valuable tips for integrating this healthy way of eating into your busy lifestyle, you’ll also learn how to deal with the plethora of questions, criticisms and unsolicited advice you’ll be receiving from your friends, family and colleagues–as many of them may think that you have lost your mind.

Throughout the book, you’ll enjoy reading a number of success stories as told by Dr. Kerry Graff. Finally, you will appreciate the Epilog by J. Morris Hicks, as he chronicles how we got into such a mess in the first place, when it comes to the staggering global consequences of our poor dietary choices.

Now it’s time for you to meet Dr. Kerry Graff, who wrote half of the chapters, including the final one, “Calling All Doctors.” That title refers to a letter (included in the chapter) to medical practitioners everywhere–imploring them to learn, understand and embrace the incredible health benefits of whole-food, plant-based nutrition and, in turn, enthusiastically promote it to all of their patients. Given the mountain of evidence supporting its efficacy, for physicians to not share this life-saving, plant-based message with their patients is simply unconscionable. Here is Dr. Graff’s background summary that appears on our 4leafprogram.com website.

Dr. Kerry Graff, Chief Medical Officer, 4Leaf Global, LLC

The owner of Lake Country Family Medicine in Canandaigua, New York, Dr. Graff is the first medical doctor to make extensive use of all 4Leaf materials, while helping her 800 patients take charge of their health. In her own words:

I spent the first half of my career treating patients’ diseases with medication. I am dedicating the second half of my career to treating what causes the disease in the first place–primarily the woeful, typical Western diet. I am having a ball helping patients regain their health and get off their medications!

Dr. Graff graduated from Cornell University summa cum laude as a biology major in 1990.  After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center cum laude in 1994, she completed a three-year Family Practice Residency at UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh, PA.  Following completion of her residency in 1997, she relocated to Canandaigua, NY and was employed by Thompson Health, providing primary care including obstetrics at the Honeoye Family Practice.

In 2006, she opened her own practice in Canandaigua that allowed her more flexibility in the way she practiced medicine. After watching Forks Over Knives in 2013, she adopted a whole food, plant-based diet and experienced huge improvements in her personal health. She then earned her certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and began incorporating the 4Leaf Survey as a teaching tool to help patients transition to a healthier diet.

The results have been absolutely amazing. 4Leaf for Life has become an integral part of the way she practices medicine today, as the future of medicine has begun. You can read more about Kerry in this blog that I posted about her in October, 2014. The Future of Medicine Starts Here—Canandaigua, NY.

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The following five books and one DVD can be purchased on Amazon for a grand total of less than $60—and will enable you to understand the overwhelming challenges we face—along with the single most-powerful solution of all.

Six-Pack from Hicks—for health, hope & harmony on planet Earth

1. Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
2. A life changer for millions, including James Cameron. Forks Over Knives DVD 
3. An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell; the primary book that influenced Bill Clinton to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet.
4. What have we done to our planet? Full Planet, Empty Plates by Lester Brown
5. A horrifying wake-up call for leaders. TEN BILLION by Dr. Stephen Emmott
6. Food choices are the primary cause of our environmental problems, yet our world leaders, scientists & experts are Comfortably Unaware, by Richard Oppenlander.

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes. eCornell is now using our survey in their plant-based nutrition course. Check it out on your smartphone at eCornell.com/4Leaf-Survey.

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf Program and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

World population topped 7.3 billion earlier this year.

I was born in Memphis, TN, during the WW2 Battle of Iwo Jima (maybe that’s why they named me Jim).

Just to put it into perspective, when we add 1/10th of a billion in a little over a year, it’s a number equal to the combined population of our four most populous states: California, Texas, New York and Florida.

When I was born in 1945, there were less than 2.5 billion people on this planet. During my lifetime, our population has tripled. And, if I live long enough, it may even quadruple during my watch.

Let’s take a look at population growth numbers since humans emerged as a species 200,000 years ago:

• It took us 199,800 years to reach one billion in 1804.
• But only 123 years to reach two billion in 1927; then, we needed just:
• 32 years to reach 3 billion in 1959
• 15 years to reach 4 billion in 1974
• 13 years to reach 5 billion in 1987
• 12 years to reach 6 billion in 1999
• 12 years to reach 7 billion in 2011
•  4 years to reach 7.3 billion in 2015

The good news is that the number of years it takes to add one billion people appears to have stabilized at twelve or thirteen. The bad news is that, if we continue adding one billion every 13 years, we’ll reach TWELVE BILLION in 2076, when the average age of my grandchildren will be 70, which is my age today.

April 12, 2015, after surviving my first and LAST pond-skimming experience of my life. Wachusett Mountain, MA.

To celebrate my 70th this year, I skied down a mountain and across a pond; well, partway across a pond (See video below). I wonder what my grandkids will be doing when they turn 70? What kind of world are we leaving for them? I say “we” because most of the damage inflicted by humans on this planet’s fragile ecosystem has occurred during my lifetime.

To clarify, I am not just talking about population growth. That is just part of the problem. The other part is the way we live–as millions of people start to eat meat, drive cars, fly in jet airplanes, use air conditioning and live in big homes–the rate of depletion of finite natural resources keeps rising. In a recent blog, I posted some of those numbers from Emmott’s book, TEN BILLION:

• In 1960, we flew 62 billion passenger miles. In 1980, we flew 620 billion miles, and in 2012, the number was 4 trillion.
• As for automobiles. In 1960, there were 100 million on the road. In 1980, there were 300 million. Now there are one billion.
• It gets worse, we’re currently on track to produce four billion cars in the next forty years–after it took us 112 years to produce the first two billion.
• We’ll also need to produce more food in those forty years than we have produced in the past 10,000 years combined.

Time out for one minute. Enjoy!

Meanwhile, back to the harsh reality of the 21st century on planet Earth.

Doom and Gloom? NO! Sometimes, I feel like I am repeating the same message with every article or chapter that I write. But I am not a “doom and gloom” kind of guy. I am generally an optimist, but first and foremost, I am a realist.

And the REAL DEAL about all of the above is there is no way that we can support 12 billion people on this planet–without radically changing the way we live. Stephen Emmott summed it this way in his book:

Deforestation. Desertification. Species extinction. Global warming. Growing threats to food and water. These driving issues of our times are the result of one huge problem: Us.

And since he doesn’t see any urgent move in the direction of “radical” change, he has concluded that the human civilization as we know it is now in its last century. But I think there is still hope.

And that hope hinges on figuring out a way to “radically” change our food choices. By simply taking the animal out of the equation, we can easily feed the world’s 7.3 billion with 75% less land and water, while reducing energy consumption by up to 30 percent. Just think about the ecological impact of those three things.

As all of that land (formerly used for growing food animals) is returned to nature, we take a big step in the right direction when it comes to healing our fragile ecosystem. We also buy ourselves enough time to solve the more difficult challenges of overpopulation, overconsumption and over-dependence on fossil fuels. Even Stephen Emmott agrees that moving toward a plant-based diet for humans would result in a HUGE positive impact on our environment.

The beauty about changing our food choices is twofold. First, it would have a greater positive ecological impact of ALL other possible initiatives combined. Second, since any person can change their food choices overnight, this powerful initiative can happen very quickly. Other challenges, like curbing overpopulation or overconsumption, will take many decades, if not centuries to resolve.

What can you do? You can start by getting the “animal out of the equation” in your own diet. You can also become a part of this discussion. You can ask other people to look at the simple arithmetic that any 3rd grader could understand. You can challenge the “leaders” that you know about the unsustainable nature of our lifestyle. You can ask them why no one in power ANYWHERE is talking about this crucial topic. Finally, you can invite me to speak at your company, church, university or club.

For more information, take a look at a few of my earlier blogs on this topic. Let’s not let our entire “world” go the way of Easter Island (second article below). The first article is about my grandchildren’s lives–in the last half of this century.

Coming Soon, Our New Book: 4Leaf Guide to Vibrant Health

• 2-5-14. Solitude of the cemetery; a place for soul-searching
• 8-9-13. Were humans the “infestation” of Easter Island?
• 1-25-14. NOTHING is more Important than Sustainability!
• 10-23-13. Tearing down the single biggest roadblock to sustainability

The following five books and one DVD can be purchased on Amazon for a grand total of less than $60—and will enable you to understand the overwhelming challenges we face—along with the single most-powerful solution of all.

Six-Pack from Hicks—for health, hope & harmony on planet Earth

1. Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
2. A life changer for millions, including James Cameron. Forks Over Knives DVD 
3. An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell; the primary book that influenced Bill Clinton to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet.
4. What have we done to our planet? Full Planet, Empty Plates by Lester Brown
5. A horrifying wake-up call for leaders. TEN BILLION by Dr. Stephen Emmott
6. Food choices are the primary cause of our environmental problems, yet our world leaders, scientists & experts are Comfortably Unaware, by Richard Oppenlander.

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes. eCornell is now using our survey in their plant-based nutrition course. Check it out on your smartphone at eCornell.com/4Leaf-Survey.

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf Program and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info: