T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, is an author of The China Study. Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long Term Health (Campbell TC and Campbell, TM II, 2005).
With more than 70 grant-years of peer-reviewed research funding (mostly NIH), he has authored over 300 research papers on diet, nutrition and health derived from laboratory-based experimental research and large-scale human studies in China and the Philippines. He has been advisor to several government agencies, non-government organizations and corporate bodies. He has held senior adjunct professorial positions at the University of Oxford in England and Jiao Tong University in Shanghai.
Lectures for the 2011 Cruise
Keynote Lecture: Understanding the Scientific Evidence for Plant-based Nutrition
Understanding science is more than simply doing a laboratory experiment or a human study. In food and health research, it is more than focusing on the effects of a few foods on a few health or disease outcomes. It also is more than reviewing the scientific literature for the findings of others. Using a strategy such as this may be traditional, but it is too vulnerable to personally biased interpretation, because most scientific studies are very narrowly focused on specific hypotheses, thus making generalizations from the specifics a risky business. I acquired my worldview simply by following where our research led me, and it led me to a wide variety of experiments. I will simply trace that path and let listeners decide their own conclusions.
Lecture 1: Our Historic Journey into the Contemporary Dark Ages of Medicine
Much of the contemporary diet and health information has led us to an unhealthy diet lifestyle. It is a lifestyle that is laden with serious chronic degenerative disease like the cardiovascular diseases, the neoplastic diseases (cancers), auto-immune diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, etc.), as well as low-mortality ailments like flu, migraine headaches, acne, etc. The question that arises is how did we go down this path? Aside from the effects of socio-cultural factors and practices, there also are some very significant scientific trends that account for these effects. Two are (1) our long-time reverence for consuming adequate protein, especially high quality protein and (2) our fixation on the alleged health benefits of single chemicals (e.g., nutrient supplements and pharmaceuticals).
Lecture 2: Why has the Most Reliable Medical Evidence Been Denied to the Public?
One of the most common questions that I get as I lecture around the country is why haven't we heard before the message that I present? I will draw on my 20 years working on national policy projects (expert panels, public testimonies, etc.) to give the basis for my views. A companion question is why do some people find this message so challenging? I will share some ideas that I have experienced with various sectors of our society, including the media, academia, government and industry.