Our People
Dr Mandy Bergstrom
I am Mandy, a doctor based in Ivercargil. I have a passion for preventative medicine, which involves addressing the risk factors that contribute significantly to our leading causes of death and disease (not just throwing pills at a patient once a disease has already occurred).
Diet is the number one risk factor for early deaths worldwide, yet it is often not sufficiently addressed in our hospitals, practices or even medical schools. We owe it to our patients to provide them with accurate and up-to-date knowledge to help prevent and potentially reverse chronic diseases, which is why I am promoting a whole-food, plant-based diet.
Ginny McArthur
I have worked as a nutritionist, fitness coach and life coach in New Zealad for over 25 years.
I live in Waihi, I love the beach, my dogs, the outdoors, and growing my own vegetables. I am obsessed with educating women to live long and healthy lives through nutrition, movement and mindset.
I believe that a whole food plant based diet is the way forward for weight control, reducing lifestyle diseases and controlling climate change.
When it comes to improving human and planetary health, I believe we can make a difference one meal at a time.
Rajaraman Venkateswaran – Treasurer
Rajaram is an IT professional who has been in the industry since 1983, having spent 14 years in India, 20 years in the UK and the rest here in NZ. His experience covers project management of the IT aspects of bank acquisitions & mergers, change management, ERP, LAN, building automation, etc.
He moved to NZ in 2018. He and his family were brought up as vegetarians and he switched to a plant based diet in 2017. He was the treasurer at the Northland Woodturners & Woodworkers club between 2019 and 2023. His hobbies include wood turning, carving and playing the tenor saxophone.
Tania Archer – Secretary
Growing up on a New Zealand dairy farm Tania was raised on a standard kiwi diet. She had a very active sport focused childhood which lead her to become a gym and aerobic instructor in her early 20’s.
Watching her mother struggle with her weight throughout her life coupled with her exercise driven background motivated Tania’s interest in nutrition and healthy living. She owned a café for 4 years with a focus on healthy options but only became educated in veganism and then WFPB (whole food plant based) at the beginning of lockdown 2020 with Netflix documentaries such as What the Health, Cowspiracy and The Game Changers.
Tania is a passionate advocate for plant based health and education on the prevention of chronic diseases. She holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from eCornell University.
Grant Dixon – Chairperson
Grant is a film producer who in the past worked as a producer/director for the National Film Unit in Lower Hutt. More recently Grant worked as a Conferences Producer for EMA and an Event Manager for Massey University in Albany, Auckland.
Grant has made documentaries for TVNZ and TV3 and recently made the whole food plant-based feature length documentary; ‘The Big FAT Lie’ which currently is available for rent on iTunes and Vimeo On Demand. Grant holds a Master in Communications degree from Victoria University, and is actively involved in community issues in Hobsonville Point where he lives.
Grant co-founded Evidence Based Eating in 2019 following the NZ Lifestyle Medicine Conference in Gisborne.
Tracey Scott
Dr Mark Craig
Mark’s main passion in medicine is the prevention and reversal of our most common diseases in patients using the astonishing power of whole food plant-based nutrition and lifestyle changes.
After attending Edinburgh Medical School, Mark trained in surgery and then General Practice in the UK, having published several peer-reviewed medical papers in various specialities.
He moved with his family to Auckland in 2010 and is raising two plant based boys age 8 and 10. He enjoys the New Zealand outdoors and competes in endurance swim, bike and run events, representing New Zealand age group teams on several occasions.
Mark is also a founding member and former vice chairman of EBE. He regularly speaks at lifestyle and nutrition conferences and events.
Dr Martyn Williamson
Martyn Williamson moved to New Zealand from the UK in 1986. He has spent the last 35 years in rural general practice, mixing this with a teaching and research role at Dunedin School of Medicine.
He has always been passionate about helping people thrive, and over the last 5 years has turned his focus on helping people prevent, reverse and cure their chronic illnesses.
He and his wife Liz were nominated ‘Plant Based Practitioners of the Year’ for 2019, and in 2020 they both obtained an international certification in Lifestyle Medicine.
Martyn is committed to raising awareness about the power of whole food plant-based nutrition to treat disease so that people have a choice to regain some control over their health.
THE EBE CONSTITUTION
Evidence Based Eating New Zealand Incorporated
is a registered charitable organisation. It is governed by its own constitution.
EBE was incorporated on April 15, 2020.
To view the full document:
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Our Mission
To raise awareness of Whole Food
Plant-Based nutritional benefits in New Zealand by educating and inspiring the general public, health professionals, private organisations and government institutions using evidence-based research.
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Disclaimer: The medical and/or nutritional information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek medical advice before using diet to treat disease.