From Vegan Star Chef to Regenerative Rancher | Mollie Engelhart

American Thought Leaders

The Epoch Times

Government, News, Politics

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mollie Engelhart was once a celebrated vegan farm-to-table restaurateur in California. When she decided to put meat back on the menu, a targeted campaign forced her to close her business.

She ultimately decided to make the painful decision to uproot her entire life, sell her farm, and rebuild from scratch in Texas.

She’s the author of the new book “Debunked by Nature: How a Vegan-Chef-Turned-Regenerative-Farmer Discovered that Mother Nature Is a Conservative.”

“We’re treating the soil and our bodies like we can outsmart them, but we’re getting sicker,” she says.

Once an ardent believer in the vegan movement, Engelhart now questions much of what she once believed.

“Nature taught me my ideas were ridiculous. ... My cow isn’t the enemy,” she says.

Real environmentalism is “not to avoid nature, but to interact with her; not to try to out-science her, but to remember her wisdom,” she says.

How does the health of our soil shape the health of our bodies? In this episode, we dive into the roots of our health crisis and why real change often starts small, with curious consumers and courageous farmers.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Transcript

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0:00.0	We're in an existential crisis with chemical farming and with ultra-processed foods.
0:05.0	And all the statistics show that we're getting sicker and sicker and sicker,
0:09.0	so we must have an awakening around that.
0:11.0	Molly Englehart is a regenerative farmer and rancher at Sovereignty Ranch.
0:15.0	She's changing the conversation around health and sustainability
0:19.0	with her new book, Debunked by Nature.
0:21.6	And so to be an environmentalist is not to avoid nature, but to interact with her.
0:26.6	In this episode, we dive into Molly's journey, from being a star chef and media darling.
0:32.6	I had been a darling, like a, oh, let me do another piece.
0:35.6	To stepping away from veganism, a move that sparked controversy. And all of a sudden, like a, oh, let me do another piece. To stepping away from veganism, a move that sparked controversy.
0:40.3	And all of a sudden, like, regenerative agriculture is a lie.
0:43.3	We are constantly treating the symptoms.
0:47.3	And what I'm saying is moving closer to the soil,
0:51.3	moving closer to an agrarian society, being more related to God's design is going to have us be healthier.
1:00.4	This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Yanya Kellick.
1:05.4	Molly Englehart, so good to have you back on American Thought Leaders.
1:08.8	So happy to be back.
1:10.2	I've been on this little bit of a journey with you over the last several years.
1:15.3	You know, we first encountered each other in California where you had vegan restaurant chain
1:20.3	and the farm that fed those restaurants.
1:22.7	And then you had to move out to Texas where we visited as well.
1:30.5	But along the way, you actually switched from vegan to involving meat in these restaurants. And so what actually happened when you did that?
	...

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