SUZY AMIS CAMERON
Let’s Create the World We Want to Live In
For 25 years, I’ve dedicated myself to learning all I can about the environment and its health. The more I discover, the more I realize that my health and actions are intimately intertwined with the biosphere. This has led me to want to do everything in my power to understand and champion sustainable values, from what we wear, to how we teach our children, to the food we eat.
3 High-Impact Actions that Can Cut Your “Foodprint” in Half!
1. Eat, cook, grow and buy plant-based foods often for a healthy planet, healthy body.
2. Support local farmers and community-based garden programs at farmers’ markets, community farms, and plant-based restaurants.
3. Raise your voice and vote for leadership that supports food systems that avoid damage to the environment, depletion of natural resources and instead promote sustainable, whole foods for all.
About
A noted environmental advocate, founder and mother of five, Suzy Amis Cameron is committed to the principles of sustainability in all aspects of our lives, with an emphasis on plant-based solutions to address climate change. She is the author of OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet (Simon & Schuster/Atria) and the founder of the OMD Movement, a multi-pronged effort to transform eating habits and the food system. She is also a Founder of Plant Power Task Force, focused on showing the impact of animal agriculture on climate change and the environment, founded in 2012 with her husband James Cameron and Craig McCaw. In 2005, she founded MUSE School CA, with her sister, Rebecca Amis. MUSE is the first school in the country to be 100% solar powered, zero waste, and with a 100% organic, plant-based lunch program. Based on the engaging and relevant MUSE values and curriculum, they aim to franchise the model worldwide through MUSE Global. Additionally, Suzy is a founder of the plant-based initiatives, Verdient Foods, Cameron Family Farms, and Food Forest Organics, with her husband. In 2009, she launched Red Carpet Green Dress, showcasing socially and environmentally responsible fashions. Suzy has produced documentaries and serves on several nonprofit boards. As an actor she was featured in more than 25 films, including The Usual Suspects and Titanic.
Projects
“Change the world by changing one meal a day” is the promise behind Suzy Amis Cameron’s first book, OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet, published in Fall 2018 by Simon & Schuster’s Atria division. In OMD, Suzy explains how we can live healthier and heal the planet, starting with swapping at least one meat- and dairy-based meal to one plant-based meal a day. Developed at MUSE School, the first plant-based school in the country, OMD makes it possible for anyone to reverse climate change while embracing a healthier lifestyle—supported by the latest nutrition research and environmental science. This one simple step helps you lose weight, reverse chronic health concerns, improve overall wellbeing, and slash your carbon “foodprint” in half. Featuring over 50 delicious recipes and complete with inspiring success stories, shopping lists and meal plans, OMD is an all-in-one resource for anyone who wants to take care of their body and our beautiful plant at the same time, without giving up the foods they love and enjoy. With a foreword by Dr. Dean Ornish.
The OMD Movement is ambitious–and that’s because we believe in (and desperately need) big, exciting change. For the OMD Movement, that opportunity for change is at the intersection of food, health and the environment. From heart disease to climate change, there’s no shortage of research and science that shows us how devastating meat and dairy is for our bodies and the Earth. The OMD Movement is about resourcing individuals — with tools, encouragement and real talk — to migrate to climate-friendly, plant-based diets. The OMD Movement is also about system change — about expanding access and making a great case for schools, businesses, restaurants and communities to move towards more plant-based options. Take our OMD Pledge, download our healthy school lunch or restaurant toolkits, check out our pilot program in North Carolina, or peruse our blogs for recipes, tips, stories of food justice movers and shakers, health advice and more—all at the OMD website.
Born out of OMD, Suzy set her sights on food production—and creating delicious and convenient food to help people everywhere. Suzy initiated a seed-to-fork approach, which led to the formation of a vertically-integrated food company, from the development of seeds, the farming of ingredients, the processing of proteins and the advent of a holistic, new food company: OMD Foods.
MUSE SCHOOL, CA Founded in 2006 by Suzy Amis Cameron and Rebecca Amis, MUSE School CA’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to live consciously with themselves, one another and the planet, from early childhood through high school. Fostering individual and passion-based learning, MUSE students achieve academic excellence, learn self-efficacy, practice the values of sustainability, and become compassionate global champions. As one of the greenest schools in the United States, MUSE was the first school in the country to have a plant-based lunch program, designated one of the “Greenest Restaurants in the World,” with 100% plant-based cuisine, 100% solar power and near zero waste. “MUSE School’s Kitchen has pushed the edge of sustainability from vision to reality,” said Michael Oshman, CEO of the Green Restaurant Association. “I applaud MUSE’s leadership in providing a successful foodservice operation that is in concert with the oft-used word sustainability.”
Based on the success and relevance of MUSE School CA’s environmental values and passion-based learning, MUSE Global was launched as a way to spread the MUSE curriculum around the world through a franchise model. MUSE School includes two thriving, fully accredited campuses and 12 years of curriculum development. The MUSE values are practiced through solar power, zero waste, over 100 garden beds, a climate-friendly, plant-based lunch program based on OMD, and more. Ultimately, MUSE inspires and prepares young people to live consciously with themselves, one another, and the planet. MUSE Global provides opportunities for Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood, Early Kindergarten and Kinder. For more information, visit the MUSE Global website.
Plant Power Task Force (PPTF) is focused on showing the impact of animal agriculture on climate change and the environment. Founded in 2014 by Suzy Amis Cameron and James Cameron in partnership with the Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation, PPTF supported the first multi-country studies on global diets and climate change by the independent U.K.-based think tank, Chatham House: Livestock—Climate Change’s Forgotten Sector and Changing Climate, Changing Diets. PPTF also spearheaded the My Plate, My Planet initiative, representing over 200 leading environmental and health organizations, in support of the historic opportunity to link food and the environment in the 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Currently, Plant Power Task Force is supporting media and communications work to increase awareness on the impact of global meat consumption and promote plant-based food solutions to climate change. The Plant Power Task Force media library will be launched in Fall 2018.
Red Carpet Green Dress was founded in 2009 by Suzy Amis Cameron to raise awareness of the devastating impact of the fashion industry on the environment. Amis Cameron seized the moment, with the global success of the movie Avatar, created by her husband James Cameron, and chose the Academy Awards as a launch pad for Red Carpet Green Dress. For six years running, the positive fashion campaign and design contest has challenged designers and students worldwide to create an Oscar-worthy dress and tuxedo using environmentally and socially responsible fabrics. Since its inception, the winning designs have been worn by celebrities, graced the Academy Awards and been featured extensively in the international press.
Food Forest Organics, located in Greytown, New Zealand, is a people’s marketplace and cafe to taste, buy and learn about plant-based food. A one-stop shop for farm fresh produce, grocery items and café food, Food Forest Organics celebrates plant-based eating and health in all its forms. Their primary farm supplier is Cameron Family Farms in Wairarapa, providing a selection of seasonal produce and handcrafted foods, many featured in the café menu. In addition to seasonal fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, Food Forest Organics offer Manuka honey, olive oil, hemp oil, walnuts and more from Cameron Family Farms, even a juice bar. Grocery items include gluten-free baking supplies, nut milks and nut cheeses, dairy-free yogurts and sauces and specialty teas, fresh coffee beans, and gourmet chocolate. Ongoing events and classes will also be offered to the community.
Blog
Here’s How to Live a Healthy, Longer Life
Posted October 22, 2018
What’s the ultimate benefit of a life lived eating a plant-based diet?
A longer and healthier life.
Isn’t that what we’re all hoping for? A few more years with the grandkids. A few more adventures with our honey. A few more books read (or written!), movies watched (or made!). More of the essence of why we are all here.
And to know we could all get that by making small choices that also help the planet in a major way? No matter what balance sheet you’re looking at, OMD is a pretty good deal.
Blog
Animal agriculture is choking the Earth and making us sick. We must act now
Posted December 4, 2017 | 8:26 PM
Our collective minds are stuck on this idea that talking about food’s environmental impact risks taking something very intimate away from us. In fact it’s just the opposite. Reconsidering how we eat offers us hope, and empowers us with choice over what our future planet will look like. And we can ask our local leaders – from city mayors to school district boards to hospital management – to help, by widening our food options.
Blog
The Day My Food World Turned Upside Down
Posted July 9, 2015 | 10:00 AM
You might think you’ve reached the pinnacle of healthy, sustainable eating when you have your own small herd of goats. For 26 years, I’d paid close attention to what I was feeding myself and my family, on a mission to ensure that the people I loved the most had the best nutrition and healthiest food possible. We purchased grass-fed meat and free-range eggs, enjoyed plenty of fruits and vegetables from our organic garden, and even had fresh goat yogurt from our well-loved goats….
Blog
Fierce Love for the Planet? Step Up to Your Plate
Posted May 7, 2015 | 6:40 PM
I grew up in Oklahoma, in a big, raucous family, with dreams of being an equine veterinarian. Yet at age 17, opportunity took a dramatically different shape, and instead of saddling up horses, I was walking down fashion runways in Paris and traveling the world. Fast-forward several decades to today,…
Blog
Protecting Wildlife, One Bite at a Time
Posted August 19, 2015 | 6:40 PM
When my children were little, I began teaching them the roar of a lion, the trumpet of an elephant and the playful call of a monkey. Wild animals captivate children, and like many parents, I found picture books and stories of animals to give them a better understanding of the world around them. As my kids got older, we started learning about things such as habitat loss, endangered species and extinction.…
Blog
Take Back Your Plate
Posted January 27, 2016 | 2:40 PM
Shocked. Disappointed. Disgusted.
I’m still struggling to find the right words to describe my reaction to today’s release of the new Dietary Guidelines for America. Not only do these new dietary guidelines fail to move us forward toward healthier and more sustainable food choices, I believe they actually take us a step backward…..
Blog
Why I Only Wear Green on the Red Carpet
Posted March 16, 2016 | 2:40 PM
I only wear green to the Oscars. I’m not talking about gowns a fashion writer might describe as emerald, chartreuse or seafoam. No, my idea of a green dress is an ensemble that was created in a way that is as good for the planet as it is beautiful on the woman….
Blog
Calling All World Leaders! Please Help Us Change What is on the World’s Plate
Posted May 12, 2016 | 11:40 AM
It is no secret that I am empowered by choosing a plant-based diet. Every time I pass by the meat, eggs and dairy at the market, I say a quiet “No, thank you.” I feel a rush of satisfaction that my dollars that day will support a healthier world—and that every single meal is an opportunity to do less harm and more good (and, boy, do I love opportunities!)….
Press
Suzy is regularly featured in the media talking about the environment, plant-based eating, sustainable fashion, raising conscious children–and the projects and organizations that put these ideas and passions into practice.
