Editor’s Letter: Issue 23, Vani Hari

Dear Best Selfers,

No Mud, No Lotus

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Vani Hari is no stranger to mud…being the recipient of her fair share of mud-slinging that is!

I first became aware of her long before there was a Best Self Magazine, long before I was connecting my own life dots; body, mind and spirit. When my friend Lysa, a RN, nutritionist and my resident go-to for healthy living advice introduced me to this spunky, gorgeous food activist who was certainly shaking up the food industry and ruffling lots of feather — I knew there was no turning back…mud and all.

Mud? Yes, ever since she began blogging about her food findings — Big Food, lobbyists, ‘front groups’ and many others started to line up to discredit her in any way possible.

They gave it a valiant effort, but Vani Hari, aka The Food Babe, is quite resilient and so is her ‘Food Babe Army’ (which btw, has grown to 1M+).

I first met her a few years ago at a book event at the beautiful Deepak Homespace in NYC for Best Selfer, Congressman Tim Ryan, who was leading a food revolution and bringing mindfulness to the Capitol. When I had a few quick moments with her after the event, I remarked how ironic it was that when she stood to speak at the event, she was standing before a piece of artwork by Thich Nhat Hanh that read, “No Mud, No Lotus.”

We both laughed at the synchronicity, almost as if we ‘got’ an inside joke. And here I was a few years later standing in her living room when I recognized the same piece of art. When I mentioned it, she said, “You know, you were the one that pointed it out to me.” When asked what she wanted by her husband for an upcoming birthday…she was reminded of that piece of art.

It struck me that she remembered our brief conversation and that piece of artwork from that space and that time. How beautiful is that invisible thread that connects us all. Nothing is random or without meaning.

I’m honored to celebrate the work of this incredible woman — her journey of tirelessly calling out the Big Food corporations and advocating for truth and transparency. She’s a woman on a mission — and we are certainly all the better for it. No mud, no lotus.

~ Kristen

---

Return to Issue 23