Shiftcon was amazing. Truth be told, it was a little hard to come back to the "real world" after being surrounded by people who are so in tune with the food movement and living a cleaner-greener life. From the amazing organic and non-GMO breakfasts and keynote speakers to the fabulous shindigs at night, it felt like living a glimpse of what the world can be like when we finally get the food supply cleaned up.
I'm going to give you a few snapshots of my time there, because if I gave you a play-by-play this would be a ridiculously long post. Consider this a pictorial of my attendance at the history-making first Shiftcon.
When I first arrived I was immediately greeted by a soothing cup of tea from
Traditional Medicinals tea. And let me tell you, after Los Angeles afternoon traffic a cup of chamomile was exactly what I needed. I also took a "hippie chick" picture with a flower wreath. I'd never worn a flower wreath before, as I'm more of a red lipstick kinda gal, but I tried!
And after visiting with Traditional Medicinals, I got to catch up with my favorite and most coveted brand,
Naturepedic. On my "to buy" list in the next six month is a new mattress for my son and a new mattress for myself (him first, of course). I've already made it clear to my husband that this is the ONLY mattress I will accept. Organic, non-toxic, and crazy comfortable. This WILL be in my home soon, mark my words. Here's my non-sleepy selfie.
There was a fantastic reception in the evening where I found a bunch of my friends and colleagues. We had delicious, organic, non-GMO foods and drinks mixed with kombucha! It doesn't count if it's kombucha, right? Kidding. I kept it to one drink because my dearest friend Coco at
Vida Coco and I were taking sunrise yoga in the morning. Let me tell you, this was about the worst time for me to have my period. Alas, I didn't have a choice in that. So, I worked my behind off in yoga the next morning, at 6:30AM to be exact, and then did my best to go on about my day. The savior of my morning was
Organic Valley Organic Fuel with 26 grams of protein. I was worried as me and protein drinks have a rather contentious relationship, as in, they set my stomach on fire. I was ridiculously happy to find that the Organic Valley protein shakes not only taste fantastic but they didn't hurt my tummy one bit!
Our keynote speaker that morning was Robyn O'Brien and holy cow did she break it down for us. Robyn is the reason I ended up a Food Warrior, her TED Talk changed my life (Before that I was only opposed to Monsanto for economic and patent law reasons). Luckily I got to tell her than in person after breakfast, and she also took a picture with me. Then it was off to the panels!
The endo, though, was pretty much ruining everything.
Boiron was there, and did their best to help me find comfort by graciously supplying me with these three homeopathic remedies, but the pain was too much to bear.
So, I put myself to bed. I missed a panel, but sometimes your well-being has to take precedence (I'm still working on that life lesson, Bombshells. The endo is forcing me to gain a better understanding.)
The next day, I regrouped and made it to the breakfast and all the panels. Best of all, I got to meet and learn more about all the brands at Shiftcon. Like
Health-Ade kombucha. I'm still new to the world of kombucha, but I really WANT to like it. The people from Health-Ade were so nice and actually let me try every single flavor they made. My favorite was the plum, but truth be told, they were all good. Try as I might, I couldn't convince my husband to start brewing our own kombucha at home, so I'll settle for buying more Health-Ade.
Most exciting for me, though, was getting to meet
Organic Pastures, on of the the raw milk dairies here in California. I spent all this time thinking raw milk was illegal here and was so thrilled to find out it is, in fact, legal. They sent me home with milk and cheese and lots of information to share with you all, so look forward to a post on raw milk in the near future.
And my most favorite piece of swag from Shiftcon, the piece de resistance, is this unbelievably hilarious shirt from
Stonyfield Organic. Really, it doesn't get any better than this.
In the end, as much as it is about sponsors, it's also about knowledge. There were many panels in which learned so much. From obesogens (which you'll also be getting a post on soon) to food waste, it was both enlightening and heavy to conquer these topics, and I can't wait to share everything I learned with all of you.
We've got our work cut out for us, Bomshells. But we can do it. The tide is turning. People want cleaner, safer lives. We will fight until we get them.
