Sometimes you just get lucky in life -- as did Forrest Gump in the 1994 movie. Now, maybe it's time for billions of children to get lucky. And we can take steps to help ensure that they will.

First, we must assess the situation in which we humans find ourselves. The solution to our situation could be much simpler than most people realize.

The theme for today's SOS is APPLE -- as exemplified by the beautiful blue apple associated with healthy eating in the banner above. We return to that "apple" theme after examining the situation in which we find ourselves.

Once enough people understand the situation in which we find ourselves -- hopefully, one or more exceptional leaders will eventually step forward and figure out a way to ensure that the billions of innocent children will be able to enjoy a pleasant and meaningful life on this marvelous planet.

And those leaders will almost certainly not be elected officials. They will be women and men of integrity who are committed to doing what's right when it comes to preventing the demise of humanity.

Here's where we stand. In case you disagree with any of my conclusions, I encourage you to visit the "Big Picture Data and Info Section" following my signature below.

Here are six bullet points describing our dilemma:

You may be asking yourself a few questions:

"Why are the environmental NGOs not alerting everyone in the world about the need to urgently shift to 100% plant-based eating?"

It's because people enjoy what they are now eating and, if the NGOs were perceived as being anti-meat, it would seriously hurt their fundraising and their organizations would soon disappear.

"Why are government agencies and elected officials not alerting their constituents to the urgent need to switch 100% to plant-based eating?"

The short answer is that they may very well be ignorant of those six bullet points describing our dilemma. But, even if they are enlightened relative to what is happening -- admitting that fact would probably prevent them from ever being elected again. What a mess we have created!

This is the apple that has appeared at the top of hundreds of my SOS Memos over the past few years.

It also graces the cover of the book that my son, Jason, and I wrote in 2011. The book's title tells the story behind the image:

Here's the deal. If most humans in the developed world were to shift quickly toward eating the natural diet for our species (mostly whole plants) -- a plethora of incredibly rewarding benefits would begin to occur rapidly on our beautiful blue apple:

As alluded to earlier, why are we not hearing that powerful message from the scores of environmental NGOs around the world? Why are we not hearing that message from all leaders everywhere?

Reason #1. It's all about money and their fundraising. Such a move would be very unpopular at first. Because privileged people all over the world will resist giving up their favorite foods -- and they will raise hell when we try to force that change.

Reason #2. Initially, the global economy will suffer as the world starts to transition quickly from eating tons of animal-based foods to eating nothing but plants. The good news is that such a dietary shift would reduce the average family's food budget by 50% or more.

Reason #3. Because of the first two reasons, elected officials all over the world will finally agree on something. They will all violently and loudly oppose such a dietary shift.

Reason #4. The global economy will continue to suffer due to another diet-related development -- as the mighty healthcare (disease management) industry shrinks to less than 40% of its current size.

Reading the above facts about why we're not hearing about the most crucial situation in the history of humanity is depressing -- and makes us wonder how we ever got into such a mess and how we'll ever get out of it.

And, just when you're feeling about as low as you can get...

Up until the Russian invasion in February, I was beginning to think that this might be the year when the world finally begins to get serious about acknowledging -- maybe even addressing -- the largest driver of climate change: animal agriculture.

But then along came trouble. On February 24, all hell broke loose in Ukraine -- and that story has dominated ALL front-page news ever since.

That is big trouble for many reasons -- all of which lower the likelihood that we will EVER get around to talking about the most important topic in the history of humanity: the direct connection between animal agriculture, climate change and our future.

Here's where we stand in April of 2022:

Hardly anyone is even talking about the leading driver of climate change -- much less working desperately to sharply reduce it around the globe

We clearly need many great leaders -- but we can start with just one. If we were to launch an executive search assignment to identify such a leader, this would be the list of "specs" that we might generate for this unprecedented role:

Totally new kind of NGO/Media Organization

One that is primarily committed to deep, immediate reductions in the primary drivers of climate change -- beginning with animal agriculture that drives more climate change than all other drivers combined.

Here are the specs for that search:

How do we identify those great, truth-seeking leaders and then convince them to start focusing 100% of their time on rapidly spreading the truth about the simple solution to climate change that most third-graders could understand?

We first define the kind of leader we need and then we conduct a formal executive search. As a former search consultant during the final trimester of my business career, I have to admit that my list of qualified candidates is very small for this envisioned role.

That's because there just aren't that many people on the planet that can clear the five hurdles listed above. With my executive hat on, I would emphasize the following three traits:

In a nutshell, we are looking for proven leaders with integrity, problem-solving experience and global recognition.

Spec #1. Integrity. As stated earlier, qualified candidates must possess an unusually high level of integrity -- a key attribute that cannot be learned on the job.

Spec #2. Problem Solvers. All candidates must have a background that identifies them as being excellent problem solvers; the kind of executive that wants to first gather all the data before brainstorming solutions and taking steps to commence implementation.

Spec #3. Global Recognition. All candidates must be well-known and highly regarded throughout the world. We simply don't have time to wait the many years it might take for a relatively unknown person to get up-to-speed enough to make a difference in the world's collective ability to begin disabling the leading driver of climate change: animal agriculture.

Last month, in March of 2022, I posted an SOS Memo that began with these words.

The general consensus around the world is that climate change is the greatest single threat to our civilization and our future as a species.

Yet, not a single, globally-recognized leader has talked openly about the fact that its proven #1 driver -- is animal agriculture. That fact was hardly even mentioned at the COP26 in Glasgow late last year.

It is entirely possible that very few globally-recognized leaders actually know the truth about the primary driver of climate change -- yet, those who do know the truth, apparently lack the courage to share that truth with the world.

But don't give up yet. I am confident that if Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple since 2011, were to learn the whole truth about what is driving climate change -- I believe that he would move quickly to leverage his global fame as the leader of the world's most valuable company -- to urgently share that news with the entire world.

I believe that scenario is possible because of my conviction that Mr. Cook is a man of rare integrity. As such, I believe that he cares more about the future of billions of innocent children than he cares about basking in the glory of running the world's most valuable company for another decade or two.

Obviously, he would need to step down from Apple if he chose to take on the crucial role we are envisioning. Dr. Sailesh Rao and I believe that, once Mr. Cook (an engineer by training like Dr. Rao and myself) learns what we know to be true about climate change -- that he will want to pursue its possible reversal on a full-time basis.

If he took that courageous step, he could quickly attract a host of other powerful leaders and celebrities to join him in his world-saving efforts.

The SOS Memo that I alluded to earlier was entitled: Trillion $$$ Tim Cook & Climate Change and included a letter from me to Mr. Cook that I have been e-mailing to his office several times a week. Here's a portion of that letter.

If I get the chance, I would ask Mr. Cook one question -- similar to the question that Steve Jobs asked John Sculley when he was trying to hire him to replace himself as the CEO of Apple:

Here's the question that I would ask:

I reached out to Mr. Cook in the SOS Memo provided below and I've been trying to get an audience with him ever since. In this SOS Memo on March 8, 2022, I make the initial case for him to meet with us. Trillion $$$ Tim Cook & Climate Change.

Should we be able to schedule that first meeting with this very busy executive, I will be inviting Dr. Sailesh Rao, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Mayor Eric Adams of NYC to join me.

Those three experts provide the braintrust necessary for covering all of the compelling reasons we must shift rapidly to a plant-based way of eating for humans -- from nutritional science to engineering to the leader of the most influential city in the world.

Here's a portion of that initial letter to Mr. Cook on 3-8-22:

To: Mr. Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Subject: Engineers Can Solve Climate Change

Dear Mr. Cook,

I begin with nine things we have in common:

Since then, I have enjoyed a career in business — including over fifteen years as the president of an executive search firm that I founded in Atlanta in 1999.

You've already led Apple in the process of becoming the world's first trillion dollar company. Now you've got the chance to top that feat -- by being the primary leader that drives the awakening of environmentalists all over the world -- a crucial intervention that will likely prevent our near-term extinction.

When we meet, we’re going to request that you resign from Apple and begin working ASAP to launch, build and lead a brand new kind of environmental NGO -- one dedicated to bringing the absolute truth about sustainability to the entire world.

We're not talking about the typical kind of NGO that is fearful of talking about the leading driver of climate change -- because it wouldn’t be good for their fund-raising. Instead, we envision you leading a fully-independent kind of NGO that is focused 100% on the truth — and the leveraging of that truth — for the future of all of the world's children.

Some of the truths that your new NGO will promote -- won't be what people want to hear at first -- but our future as a species may depend on us grasping those truths now.

In closing, be sure to check out the "Big Picture Data and Info Section" below. It now begins with five powerful films about healthy eating.

Finally. Please share today's timely SOS widely. It is #153 on this list of all of my SOS Memos.

jmorrishicks@me.com  

PS: To clarify, we're not trying to preserve "civilization as we know it." Because what we have now is an extremely wasteful and harmful civilization that is threatening our very existence as a species.

We're talking about replacing it with an entirely new, ultra-green civilization of the future -- and we do our best to paint a picture of that envisioned way of sustainable living in OUTCRY.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to deliver my latest talk to your group of any size via Zoom: “Food, protein, pandemics and the future of humanity.” (Click the link to view the 60 slides)

This section has been appearing at the end of my weekly SOS Memos for six months. It contains links to relevant information that form the foundation of what our options appear to be for responding quickly and appropriately to our global crises.

In order to respond appropriately, we must first grasp the all-important "big picture" regarding how we got to where we are in the first place. The various links below will help you do that.

This powerful summary by Dr. Sailesh Rao was added on February 4, 2022. The FACTS about animal agriculture being the leading cause of climate change.

Added to this section in April of 2022 is my list of five powerful videos that tell the whole story about the health AND the many environmental reasons we should be eating only plants.

In 2014, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn produced their first documentary film Cowspiracy. Executive producer is Leonardo DiCaprio, it runs 90 minutes and has been on Netflix since 2015. In 2020, I met Kip and Keegan in Sedona where I was honored to be able to speak at the same conference with them and other great leaders in this movement like Dr. Sailesh Rao and Dr. Michael Greger.

Also on Netflix, Kip and Keegan teamed up again in 2017 to produce What the Health, which is also on Netflix. It runs 92 minutes and may be the best documentary ever that focuses on the health reasons for choosing to eat plant-based. Click here to watch the short trailer. You can also watch the full movie for free on Vimeo.

Film #3 in 2021

In 2021, Kip Anderson teamed up with British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi, to produce Seaspiracy, an 89-minute film that vividly and alarmingly reveals what is at stake when it comes to the crucial importance of our oceans to our future as a species. Most people have no idea regarding the environmental horrors of commercial fishing -- a disgusting industry that kills dolphins by the thousands and tosses them back into the ocean. It runs 90 minutes on Netflix. Click here to view the trailer.

As our situation becomes more desperate, the documentary films become more terrifying. As alluded to earlier, we are literally Eating Our Way to Extinction, a process that is vividly covered in this 2021 film (81 minutes). Narrated and produced by Kate Winslet, you can watch this great film on Amazon Prime or on YouTube for $3.99. The great ocean scientist and former head of NOAA, Dr. Sylvia Earle lends powerful credibility to such a crucial topic.

This new film (89 minutes) features a young activist who travels around his country, New Zealand in an effort to find out the truth about the horrors of the dairy industry in his native land. The film uncovers alarming information about the environmental and health impacts of the industry -- leading up to the discovery that we are on the edge of the biggest global disruption of food and agriculture in history. This new film is now available for free at waterbear.com

Next is a half-hour video that was published in November of 2021. It was produced by Michael Dowd, a non-scientific researcher like me who does a very fine job of explaining the many facets of the obstacles standing between us and our survival as a species.

Dowd has a pretty good handle on most things, but he seems to be unaware of the simple weapon that we can all use to fight the leading driver of climate change. Our forks.

That said, he does a terrific job of describing our ever-worsening dilemma. Click the link below to view this very informative 33-minute video, published November 15, 2021.

This powerful film will certainly help more people grasp that all-important "big picture." Just click on the hourglass image.

I will continue sharing this TEN BILLION link in future weekly SOS Memos

More Data re Leading Driver of Climate Change.

What can you do? For starters, you can buy the new documentary -- Eating our way to Extinction for $6 on Netflix -- and watch it often with your friends and family.

A final word. Hopefully, the kind of crucially serious situations expressed in these SOS Memos will soon replace meaningless and trivial topics that dominate a ridiculously large percentage of all of the conversations in the world.

I volunteer to help you do that. For Free. Invite me to collaborate with you and your group via Zoom. To help you jump-start that all-important conversation, I will be happy to present and discuss this topic at length. Here's an advance link to my standard presentation: 65 slides.

Click on the image below to view the slides that I am currently using for those kinds of sessions:

Want to share some of my SOS Memos with others? Visit my SOS Memos page where the most recent ones are listed first.

Finally, I am confident that if a few million people carefully read and digested OUTCRY, that there might at least be a more robust conversation taking place about our grossly unsustainable way of living in the developed world -- and what it will take to get us focused on maximizing our chances of survival as a species.

To my knowledge, OUTCRY remains the only book ever published that features an envisioned, totally-green, ultra-sustainable, super-desirable, future way of living for humans -- along with ideas for how we might get there as quickly as possible.

Send me an email and let's get started.

Our book, for a host of environmental reasons, is only available as an e-book on Amazon. As such, it contains hyperlinks to hundreds of references and videos, is less expensive, does not kill any trees and does not have to be manufactured and delivered. 

You can join my mailing list and/or find all of my previous postings by visiting the SOS Memos page on my website. 

Want to see earlier SOS Memos? Click here

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