February 14, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Contact:  Danny Vierra
Phone: (209) 334-3868
Night Phone: (209) 333-2344
Email: dvierra@modernmanna.org
 
 
8th Annual Health Crusade Returns to Lodi Grape Festival—Presents Top Health Experts & Expo
 
The tenth annual Health and Healing Crusade will be held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 24-27 at the Lodi Grape Festival grounds, 413 E. Lockeford St. in Lodi. This anticipated yearly event is sponsored by Modern Manna, a Lodi-based, non-profit Christian ministry, which promotes the healing properties of a natural, vegetarian diet and lifestyle, and the resultant benefits to the body, mind and spirit.
 
This year's event promises to draw 10-thousand plus people from every state west of the Rockies, and beyond! With more and more people taking responsibility for their health and discovering that "an ounce of prevention [really] is worth a pound of cure", health crusades such as Modern Manna's are in high demand. It appears that the good word about healthy living is spreading, as people from all walks of life and from every community are coming to realize that it's not about what you "don't eat"—it's about how you live. It's about education, too! Most people really don't know much about their bodies and just how they work and how best to maintain them. We go to great lengths to take the best of care of our automobiles and the like, but our bodies . . . well, we just let them run on auto-pilot, until . . . we get a "wake-up call" in the form of a warning from our physicians, or worse.

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. holds an endowed professorship at Cornell University and is world-renowned for his research of chronic degenerative diseases, particularly as they relate to nutrition. He has published more than 300 scientific articles; the research that is most often cited pertains to an ongoing, 16 year research collaboration in China, "The China Project", focusing on the effects of nutrition and other lifestyle factors on the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. Dr. Campbell is also co-founder of Biomar and Chairman of its Science Advisory Board. Dr. Campbell received a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from Cornell University and currently resides in Ithaca, NY.

"Few people understand health and nutrition as well as Dr. John McDougall. Like my father, Nathan, he has helped shape current trends and the range of tools that make a low-fat [vegetarian] diet, exercise, and stress management work in the real world."—Robert Pritikin                                
 
Any discussion of natural health and nutrition will inevitably bring up the name of one of the pioneers and foremost respected authorities on the subject, John McDougall, M.D. Dr. McDougall, one of this year's keynote speakers, has been studying, writing and speaking out about the effects of nutrition on disease for over 20 years. He believes that people should look and feel great, and enjoy optimal health for a lifetime.
 
Dr. McDougall is the founder and medical director of the internationally renowned McDougall Program, a twelve-day, live-in plan at the McDougall Wellness Cen ter in Santa Rosa, Calirornia. The author of several national bestsellers including: The McDougall Plan: 12 Days to Dynamic Health , The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart and his latest ground breaking work, The McDougall Program for Women . He has appeared multiple times on 60 Minutes , Nightline , and Larry King Live , as well as received coverage in the national journals of Time and Newsweek .

Another wonderful lecturer, Robert Cohen, performed research in the1970's on the hormonal effects on the brain and behavior. Twenty-five years later, this father of three became concerned about the most controversial drug approved in FDA history, the genetically engineered hormone that is now in our milk supply. Mr. Cohen's single-minded pursuit is to expose the truth about milk and this hormone, which is implicated in causing breast cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease and other chronic childhood illnesses. His discovered truths and the dangers of milk can be seen on his website at http://www.notmilk.com.
 
Much has been written about the Crusade's other prominent speakers as well—which includes: Dr. Lorrine Day , former internationally acclaimed surgeon, former Chief of Orthopedic Surgery in San Francisco and cancer survivor; Dr. Alan Goldhamer , an osteopathic physician currently evaluating the treatment of diabetes and high blood pressure; Charlotte Gerson, internationally recognized health educator, lecturer and founder of The Gerson Institute; Howard Lyman , former cattle rancher and author of The Mad Cowboy , well known for his appearance on The Oprah Winfreh Show in 1996; and Danny Vierra , the event's host, author, radio host and health educator.
 
Danny Vierra, director of Modern Manna since 1993 and owner of Lodi Health Foods and Artesian Health Food in Tracy, California, says the four-day event is expected to attract 10,000-15,000 participants this year. Phone calls and e-mails started flooding into the ministry offices at 517 S. Central Avenue, Lodi, California, in January and they haven't stopped since. The interest has been phenomenal! 
 
The admission is free for the event, with free tent spaces. Over 200 RV hookups are available for a nominal fee. Hotel accommodations are also available. There is much information available here.
 
Each week for more than eleven years Vierra hosted on his own live radio program called Healthline, focusing on “how to get well in a sick world"—that is, nutrition and natural therapy for disease.
 
Involved with health issues for 15 years, Vierra notes that he and his wife, Charise, and their five children practice what they teach by adhering to a vegetarian diet free of animal and dairy products. The natural diet, he points out, is based on the biblical precepts stated in Gen. 1:29, Ezekiel 47:13 and Rev. 22:1 of the Bible.  When followed steadfastly, the diet reduces one's chances of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, many forms of cancer, obesity, arthritis, heart disease and other maladies, while lengthening one's life span and quality of life.
 
The Vierras have taught their vegetarian cooking lifestyle to thousands of people through programs at churches and hospitals, as well as at San Joaquin Delta College and the University of the Pacific. During their presentations, they share their recipes for a wholesome, tasty vegetarian fare, among other things, non-dairy cheesecake, ice cream and delicious lasagna.
 
In addition to providing unparalleled nutrition information at no charge to the public, this year health professionals may be able to receive CEU Nursing Credits for attending this exclusive event. For more information and CME credit fees, please contact Modern Manna Ministries.

Thousands have gladly paid $25.00-$50.00 to hear any one of these acclaimed experts speak around the world. But Modern Manna will present four packed-to-the-brim days, featuring not just one of these dynamic health experts—but all of them at one event and under one roof! 
 
Another feature at the Health and Healing Crusade beside the speakers and the delicious vegetarian food served daily , is the "Expo", featuring up to 100 exhibitors in Chardonnay and Zinfandel Halls at Lodi's Grape Festival grounds. The hall will be brimming with activity during the four-day event, as exhibitors from Orion Publications, "The Raw Gourmet" - Nomi Shannon, Mannatech Incorporated, Nature's Plus, Modern Manna, Butler Foods, Dr. John McDougall, Weimar Institute, Cellerciser, Amazing Facts, Foothill Organic Growers, Kitchen Kraft, and many more will be demonstrating vegetarian cooking and detoxifying, offering cholesterol and blood sugar testing, and presenting juicers, water distillers, herbal and vitamin supplements, massages, exercise equipment, books, videos and music, and much more.
 
For more information, call (209) 334-3868.