Marlene Watson-Tara and Bill Tara

Natural health educators and vegan activists Bill Tara and Marlene Watson-Tara discuss the ideas and actions to reclaim our physical, mental and spiritual health outlined in their new book.

The couple describe how the macrobiome traces a unique journey through the infinite feedback loops of energy and matter that flow through the environment and us. These pathways of information are the key to understanding the ecology and human health. They extend from the soil, air, water and food into the human microbiome. Through the millennia, we learned to understand the sounds, rhythms, textures and cycles of nature and bring ourselves into harmony with them, they say. We created a unique niche for ourselves, but we have become enamoured with our ingenuity and ignored our often-fatal errors. The dialogue is fading. Now we have arrived at a critical crossroads.

The Taras say we are attempting to adapt to a synthetic environment. This artifact of our own making is not designed to nourish human or non-human life. Adjusting to the modern physical and social environment ignores the wisdom of the past and creates disease, depression and environmental destruction. They say one simple yet surprising link to a better future lies in our primary relationship to the planet, the food we eat. The choices we make about the foods we eat define our health and our relationship with nature. They say our common choices are made for reasons of emotional habit, bad science, cultural myth and commercial hubris.

Bill Tara is a seminar leader, author and has been an activist for natural health care for 60 years. He has been invited to more than 25 countries to teach macrobiotic nutrition and human ecology. Tara has established health education centres in the USA and Europe. He and his wife, Marlene, are founders of the Human Ecology Project to promote the vision of a healthy world for humans and non-humans alike. His most recent book is How to Eat Right and Save the Planet.

Marlene Watson-Tara has been a lifelong voice for animals. From a young age, she established herself as a dynamic health counsellor, teacher and advocate for a wholefood plant-based vegan diet, yoga and vibrant health. She is a graduate of T Colin Campbell Centre for Nutrition Studies and an expert in her field on macrobiotics and plant-based nutrition. Her love of oriental philosophy and human ecology is her driving force. She is the author of several books, most recently Go Vegan. She has designed vegan menus for the festival’s gala evenings.