Lincoln Lewis
MEET OUR AWARENESS MONTH AMBASSADOR
Popular Australian actor Lincoln Lewis is today a picture of health, but that wasn’t always the case. The star of House Husbands, Home and Away and Underbelly went through a period of depression in 2018 which led him to comfort eating and a dramatic weight gain.
“The COVID-19 restrictions this year have actually given me a chance to focus more on myself, count my blessings, slow down and decompress. I even took up a new hobby of bee-keeping which has been really rewarding. Becoming an ambassador for Australian Organic and all the industry stands for has just been -the icing on the cake.”
However, last year, determined to get back on track, he began a concerted health kick by totally overhauling his diet and fitness regime. That renewed plan included incorporating more wholesome organic food into his daily eating. “I used to absolutely hate vegetables growing up, but now I eat lots of organic vegies every day and other organic products,” he explained. “I feel it’s helped turn my life around and I love knowing that I’m eating such clean produce. I also always look for the Bud logo to make sure a product is certified organic because choosing sustainably produced items is really important to me as I’m a big supporter of the environment. “I now eat less carbs, more vegetables and more protein. I’m feeling really energized and on top of things physically and mentally.” As a passionate advocate for organic products, the 32-year-old has enthusiastically embarked on his role as 2020 Australian Organic ambassador. Lincoln recently visited organic farms and producers across his home state of Queensland to learn more about the organic journey and the incredible work producers are doing whilst filming videos for Australian Organic. The actor said that visiting the producers has been one of the highlights of his year given that many acting productions have been in hiatus. “The passion organic producers have and the quality of certified organic products that are now available is just phenomenal and has really impressed me,” he said. Lincoln will now be spreading the word about the importance of consumers always looking out for organic certification marks on organic products during Australian Organic Awareness Month, before hitting the acting trail again.
We asked Lincoln to tell us more about what he’s learnt on his organic journey so far. What did you learn from Quentin Kennedy, Managing Director at Kialla Pure Foods, about their certified organic grain and flour milling operation? After speaking with Quentin and hearing his passion combined with his personal reasons for wanting to eat, live and produce organic foods, I was actually left pretty speechless. His want for every consumer to enjoy the same healthy organic foods that his own family does is the driving force behind that passion and I find that so admirable. You also heard about organic grain milling and some of the challenges Kialla has faced over recent years, did anything surprise you? Learning about all the challenges of an organic operation combined with the difficulties every farm and producer goes through such as the drought. That was a big eye opener as it adds another layer of complexity to everything. I think that makes me appreciate all the hurdles they’ve had to jump over to ensure what they produce and what we are eating is as natural and healthy as it can possibly be. At Cleaver’s Organic Meats you spoke to Marketing Manager Paul Da Silva and had a go at cooking up some organic hotdogs in their iconic hotdog van. What was that like? It was a lot of fun and the hotdogs were delicious! I loved hearing Paul talk about “taking things back old school” – speaking about how things were 100 years ago, when organic was just the norm, but nowadays things are being relabeled as “organic”. Story continues on the next page...
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AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
