A classically trained chef and seasonal, local, organic and whole foods expert, Laura Stec is the co-author of Cool Cuisine: Taking The Bite Out of Global Warming. Founder of the pioneering Environmental Eating Action Team, she teaches nutrition in health-care settings and advises major corporate clients on greening their food services.

Stec ran LifeLong Inc., a multidisciplinary weight-loss program at Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto and O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, and she is now Culinary Health Instructor for Kaiser-Permanente Medical Centers. In addition to helping individuals make better food choices, she has advised large organizations, including Loews Hotels, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Oracle, and the Palo Alto Unified School District, in transitioning to more sustainable and local food procurement.

Building on long experience at restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Stec heads her own catering and events service business specializing in planet-friendly cuisines.

Sometimes incorporating cooking demonstrations and tastings, Stec speaks on the role of what we eat in personal and planetary health, covering sustainable eating, organic and natural food and cooking, including the vegetarian option, and the power of food choices to combat global warming.

Food & Beverage, Farm To Table Chef, Food industry, Natural Foods, Sustainability,