If you had access to all resources how would you deal with "the global crisis in diet"?

I can hear Mary (our OM theory teacher) telling us that getting patients to change their dietary practices is beyond challenging, and that the best we can do is provide education and help bring their bodies back into balance with acupuncture, herbs, massage, and qi kung. I believe that schooling around healthy food choices needs to happen when people are young, and that the modeling of conscious eating needs to happen in the home. So if I had all the resources I would target parents and children with dietary education. I would set up a program that would come into every family's home and provide lectures and cooking classes on healthy eating. I would make sure that the foods given to children in school are of the highest quality and that the meals are well-rounded. I would also eradicate all of the fast food chains and the makers of toxic foods, such as Pepsi, Kraft, etc. I would make organic foods cheap to buy, and unhealthy foods really expensive. Shopping at Whole Foods would be the norm! The possibilities are endless.

Would you expect "carbon offsets" to work effectively?

This article was my first introduction to carbon offsets, and it seems that they would be effective in theory. People need to take responsibility and give back to the environment if they are particularly increasing the rate of carbon emissions. It would certainly make people more aware of the environmental damage they are causing with aviation. But the system seems to be more about symptom management and checks and balances than about solving the actual problem. We need to focus our efforts on creating technology/transportation that is environmentally supportive. It's happening with cars, so I see no reason why it can't happen with planes. That may be a naive thing to say, but I'm optimistic and I believe in the limitless potential of the human mind when it's used for goodness.

Do you agree that "Laughter really is the best medicine"?

I certainly agree that laughter is great therapy, and I appreciate that the scientific community is providing the physiological facts to support the obvious. For me, it is not necessarily to act of laughing that is the medicine, but more so that laughter is a key component in an overall healthy, fulfilling lifestyle. I see that living a life of joy and gratitude is the best preventative and restorative healthcare, and laughter is a beautiful expression of these feelings.
I was proud that a Western medical doctor said this in the article: "It may sound corny, but we in health care medical sciences need to get serious about happiness and the lifestyle that produces it, relative to mind, body and spirit." Holistic indeed! And it's with these MDs who are open to holistic medicine that the integration of Eastern and Western practices can occur.