THE MARSHALL PLAN, Solving America’s Health Crisis – The Transformation of a Small Town in Texas

by Jennie Richards · Published October 10, 2016 · Updated August 25, 2017

When Marshall, Texas Mayor Ed Smith III was diagnosed with prostate cancer with an alarmingly high PSA test level, instead of opting for radiation and surgery that can have debilitating long-term results, he joined a clinical trial in Florida where people with cancer are treated by transitioning to an all plant-based, vegan diet. No meat, no dairy, no eggs, no sweets and no processed foods. Dining out for Mayor Smith became a thing of the past, because no restaurants in rural Marshall, Texas served vegan/vegetarian food. The small town located in the heart of cattle country, with a population of 25,000, loved their plates of fried chicken, greasy omelets and sirloin tip steak, so Mayor Smith and his wife learned to prepare meals that were 100 percent plant-based.

As Mayor Smith became healthier, lost weight, and his PSA tests returned to normal again—his cancer disappeared. Moved and changed by this experience, he and his wife went on a mission to help their town and community become healthier too. They began to spread the plant-based diet word by educating people about the health benefits of eating a vegan diet, and how to make the transition. Today, Marshall has seven vegan/vegetarian restaurants, thousands of vegan residents, and hundreds of personal stories of people who have become disease-free and prescription-free. Many residents have lost weight, no longer have heart-disease or auto-immune disorders, are not dependent on taking multiple medicines, and are healthier and happier.

The filmmakers are a Switzerland-based film team that were so moved and impressed with the article published in the New York Times about the story of Marshall, Texas, they decided to use their medical and PR/marketing backgrounds to make a film telling the inspiring story.

If the people of Marshall, Texas, located in the heart of cattle country can do it—you can do it too! This movie carries a truly inspiring message: Each of us can take our health into our own hands and out of the influences of the meat and dairy industry, the government, and marketing hype, by making food choices that will actually promote excellent health, prevent disease, treat and even reverse disease—all by eating a plant-based, whole foods diet and transitioning to a healthy vegan lifestyle.

More about the Get Healthy Campaign for Marshall, Texas.

Length of Film: 61 Minutes

Launched: Screening tour in the U.S. was in early 2016