On Running Across America For A GMO-Free USA

What do you do when your twelve-year-old son announces he’s going to run across America?

That's the dilemma Brett & Kris Wilcox faced, hoping that in time their son David would simply forget about his crazy idea —

“it's a phase….he'll grow out of this fantasy eventually……right?”

Well, David refused to let up. In fact, he doubled down. On the heels of becoming the fastest freshman cross country runner in his region of Alaska, David became more determined than ever to become the 2nd 15-year old ever to complete a transcontinental run.

Needless to say, his parents had a decision to make – quash their son's dream, or dig deep to help make it happen. I am happy to say they chose the latter. And on January 18, 2014, David and his father — supported by his mother Kris and 13-year old sister Olivia — began their coast-to-coast attempt, launching from Huntington Beach, CA en route to Washington, D.C.

David has his motivations. But in order to run alongside his son, Brett needed his own.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Brett has spent his career helping people heal from the poison and pain they’ve endured at the hands of bullies and batterers. Now, he's turned his attention to global bullies—bullies like the giant chemical companies that poison the Earth, our political processes and our agricultural system. The author of We're Monsanto: Feeding the World Lie After Lie*, Brett knows a thing or two about GMO's, the ills of factory farming, the depletion of our soil, and the future of food.

So Brett — and David — are running across America to say enough is enough. And during the course of our conversation we dig deep into these issues — what exactly these companies are doing to our food system, why we should care, and what we can do about it.

It's a fascinating conversation and one I am proud to share with you. What this humble family has set out to accomplish is extraordinary. But they can't do it alone. Every great accomplishment requires the support of a great team. They need all the help they can get. So let's be that team for them. Towards that end, I implore you to visit their Indiegogo fundraising page and — if it feels right to you — consider contributing to their mission and advocacy — a cause that affects us all, irrespective of dietary preference, geographical location or political prediliction.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Rich

NOTE: Unfortunately we did experience some audio quality issues with the recording. Just when I think I have this whole thing figured out! Something about my mic being too hot and the others lower. I don't know. Tyler worked really hard to clean it up, but it's not perfect. Hope it's not too distracting, and all I can say is that I will continue to try harder, learn and do better. Give Tyler a shoutout in the comments below, he's doing a great job as my producer. And all the music cues are his own original compositions.