Meet Kyna Lee Willis of The Turnip in Grant Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyna Lee Willis.

Kyna Lee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am an African American woman advocate for plant-based living and women’s health. Though my journey seemed sudden and easy, it’s been in the making for more than 20 years.

I grew up in a household where my grandmother made soul food every single day and it was always a time for us to fellowship and express our love through food. In 1991, at the tender age of 15, I, along with my peers, decided to stop eating beef and pork as a result of reading “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. I was very disturbed when I discovered the unsanitary conditions of the meat industry and the digestion process in our bodies.

Fast forward to my twenties, I was introduced to plant-based living as a result of suffering from fibroids for more than a decade. I was gifted a book, “Sacred Woman,” by Queen Afua, however, I wasn’t emotionally and mentally mature enough to process the teachings in the book. As a result, I suffered in silence for years, in and out of hospitals due to severe anemia and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), all caused by these fibroids in my uterus. After consulting with several specialists, I still knew surgery wasn’t for me.

I learned through years of fasting that food affected the fibroids. During the times that I would eliminate meat (chicken and fish) and dairy, I would notice the fibroid would decrease in size and I would have so much energy. And researching that more than 70% of African American and Caribbean women will suffer from fibroids by the age of 50, I knew that a full plant-based diet would be the ONLY answer to my problem. With the help of Coach Gessie Thompson, Dr. Amsu and Dr. Amun from the HOPE Beyond Fibroid Elimination Program, I transitioned into a full plant-based/fruitarian diet in May of 2016. Since then, I have been able to eliminate most of my fibroids and have become a mentor and coach to other African American women seeking to transition to plant-based living due to fibroids or just a better quality of life.

My transparency with my journey led me to creating ‘The Turnip.” I wanted to feature African American owned vegan restaurants and provide resources for my community who may have been suffering like me. It allows me to show that plant-based living is all-inclusive and not exclusive to a certain group and dispel the myth of plant-based living is just tofu and salads.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Creating “The Turnip” has truly been a blessing and a relatively smooth process. From concept to execution took maybe two months. I shared my vision with my team of videographer, editor, restaurant owners and the talent and everyone was on board and excited.

If we’ve had one struggle, I would probably say resources for more exposure. To really make a major impact, we need to be able to reach the masses and tape in more markets outside of Atlanta. The build has been slow and steady but we have to understand the work that we are doing through “The Turnip” is a marathon and not a sprint.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Turnip – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
“The Turnip”, is a new, exciting yet insightful web series that focuses on plant-based living and features some of the most well respected African Americans restaurant owners in the plant-based & vegan community.  With entertainment, great eats and conversation, we tour and showcase Atlanta area vegan restaurants to educate our viewers on the benefits this healthy approach to eating provides.

We filmed our first season in February 2018 and have been releasing episodes for the past 12 months.

We were very proud to be able to have a vision and execute a solid project that was not only entertaining but insightful. It was an honor to work alongside so many elders in the vegan movement. Though veganism has become a part of our culture now, through “The Turnip” we have been able to develop meaningful relationships with individuals who have been vegan for 30 plus years.

I think what sets “The Turnip” apart from other vegan platforms is that we like to refer to ourselves as being plant-based versus vegan. We all had different health reasons for making the transition to plant-based living rather than doing it to lose weight or because it was popular and finally and most importantly, we meet individuals where they are in their journey. We don’t want to discourage individuals because of the perception of being vegan or having a label attached to them now. So we don’t advocate for only raw or only alkaline, we discuss the resources that are available for you whether you are transitioning, experimenting, or have a full plant-based diet.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are claiming 2019 the break out year for “The Turnip.” We are excited to introduce Season Two featuring some amazing new restaurants and chefs, our apparel line and our food journal, which can all be found at our website www.theturnipcrew.com.

We are positioning ourselves for more speaking engagements and to be picked up by a major media outlet.

And most importantly, we look forward to reaching more people and helping them on their journey to better health by connecting them with the resources they need.

It’s been an exciting 2019 so far and we look forward to how our plans will continue to unfold.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
J Marshell Photography

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