Carrying the Metabolic Health Message to Our Grazing Lands Herdmates
Regenerating Public Health
The 9th National Grazing Lands Conference was held in Tuscon, Arizona December 4-6. The National Grazing Land Coalition was “… founded on the principles of voluntary action by those who own and manage grazing lands, and a respect for private property rights.”
“The mission of the National Grazing Lands Coalition (NatGLC) is dedicated to providing voluntarily ecologically and economically sound management of all grazing lands for their adaptive uses and multiple benefits to the environment and society through science-based technical assistance, research and education.”
They have lots of content on their YouTube channel.
I submitted proposals for a concurrent session (“Regenerating Public Health”) and a poster (“Insulin Resistance: What is it, why it matters, & what to do if you’re impacted”). Professor Benjamin Bikman, PhD and Dr. Brian Lenzkes, MD accepted my invitation to collaborate on both. Here's the link to our prerecorded panel presentation…
… and here’s a pdf of our poster.
We were very well received and there was a great deal of interest. I’m extremely grateful to Prof. Bikman and Dr. Lenzkes for their collaboration and the life-changing, life-saving knowledge that they shared. Many attendees were rightly impressed that a physician would give so much time, basically a full day, to be a part of this event. I’ve known and worked with many members of NatGLC during my career(s) and I’ve attended several of these conferences. Many of the people in attendance are more than colleagues, they’re mentors and friends.
The conference was a wonderful event. So many deep, meaningful conversations. Brian got to meet some of the best grazing land managers, and they got to visit with a metabolic health practitioner. I’ve spoken at prior conferences about metabolic health, but having a physician convey the same information is more impactful (and, let’s face it, gives me greater credibility!). I enjoyed watching Brian learn about virtual fencing from the Halter folks who were next to the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners’ table. I funded this as part of my “Operation Grassroots” campaign (I’ll write about this in a future post, and I’ll present a poster about it at the Symposium for Metabolic Health in Boca Raton, Florida January 24 - 26, 2025).
My representation of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners (SMHP) and support for the conference as a “vendor” (I wasn’t selling anything) was greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to hearing from all the folks Brian and I spoke with and the results of the possible collaborations that will mark this event as their origin. The #10NGLC will be in Louisville, KY in 2027. On the one hand, I'm sorry we have to wait so long. On the other, just think of what we can accomplish by then!
Congratulations to the National Grazing Lands Coalition on the success of this event!Thank you, National Grazing Lands Conference Program Committee for the opportunity to bring the message of Regenerating Public Health by focusing on restoring metabolic health to the the 9th National Grazing Lands Conference. Five hundred and fifty attendees were registered. Thirty six copies of Prof. Bikman's book "Why We Get Sick" (US Amazon link) were given to folks who promised to read it (and possibly pass it on), along with a free bookmark (that just happened to be Don Pedro's business card... ).
Congratulations, my friend! You have a unique gift for bringing folks together, which is only amplified by your position at the intersection of these two distinct but deeply related worlds. Keep spreading the good word!