Let's Give A Damn – Max La Manna: Low-Waste Living, Hunger Strike for Gaza, and Collective Liberation

Podcast: Let's Give A Damn
Host: Nick Laparra
Guest: Max La Manna
Date: September 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This powerful episode features a heartfelt conversation between host Nick Laparra and Max La Manna, an award-winning author, low-waste chef, digital creator, and outspoken campaigner for Palestinian liberation. Together, they explore Max’s upbringing, philosophy on low-waste and plant-based cooking, his unique approach to activism, and his recent hunger strike in solidarity with Gaza. The discussion weaves together themes of gratitude, harm reduction, collective action, and the importance of using personal platforms for social impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Reflections and Gratitude for Privilege

• Both Nick and Max open with a candid discussion on global despair—military crackdowns in the U.S., famine and genocide in Gaza, and mass shootings (00:00–08:00).
• Max emphasizes the importance of daily gratitude, born of recognizing global injustice:

  "Every morning I'm waking up and just remembering to be grateful...I have it good, no matter how much shit is thrown my way." – Max (09:19)

• Nick echoes this, highlighting the luck inherent in their Western privileges and the responsibility it invokes (10:12).

From Family Roots to Food Justice

• Max’s journey began in a family steeped in food—Italian and French heritage, home gardens, and memories of large communal meals (13:42).
• Early exposure to poverty (neighbors queuing for soup kitchens) and necessity-driven low-waste habits deeply influenced his worldview.
• Max describes his move to New York, surviving on little, and translating necessity into a passion for using every ingredient and minimizing waste—leading to his social media presence (13:42–19:08).
• He credits his father’s advice (“Do you give a damn?”) for igniting his drive to inspire others.

Building a Platform with Purpose

• Nick asks about the transition from necessity-driven low-waste living to public advocacy (21:17–24:54).
• Max details his leap into content creation: starting Instagram seven years ago, breakthrough recipe videos in 2020, and being among the first creators to be featured on Meta/Instagram (24:54–27:45).

  "I just tell myself that I'm the only one who can tell my story and I'm the only one who could do the way, do the things that I do... so I just kept the blinders on." – Max (24:54)

• He reveals the tension between algorithm-driven growth and staying true to his values, refusing to be formulaic or fear losing followers for activism (27:45–32:16):

  "If I had 5 followers or however many I have now... I care that I’m using my platform and speaking up about an issue that is deep in my heart." – Max (29:27)

The Plant-Based Journey & “Food Is Food” Philosophy

• The conversation moves to Max’s culinary ethos and distance from the label “vegan” (35:08–39:34):

  "I don't even consider myself vegan because I don't like using the word... I'm almost ready to remove plant-based as well, because I want to just normalize. What I eat is food." – Max (35:48)

• He contextualizes his motivation: health, cost, and waste reduction, rather than strict ideology. He emphasizes using the whole ingredient, especially vegetables, and rejects purist in-fighting, urging focus on systemic issues.
• On Eleven Madison Park returning to animal products:

  "Their job is to survive and pay your staff a fair living wage... I understand their reasoning and I wish them the best." – Max (38:21)

Advocacy Philosophy: Collective Action > Individual Shame

• Max and Nick critique the toxicity of “shouting at each other” about individual choices while the powerful maintain destructive systems (44:31–48:30):

  "We should all center our frustration... at our government, our officials... ask for better, ask for more." – Max (45:18)

• Max stresses targeting the policy-makers, not everyday people. He champions collective campaigns and the unifying power of food to bring people together (47:53–49:48).

Standing with Palestine: Direct Action, Hunger Strike, Boycott Campaigns

• Max discusses his decision to publicly support Gaza, despite losing brand partnerships and receiving threats (57:36):

  “It’s been hugely heartwarming and positive with the occasional death threats. It’s so crazy that I’m on a hunger strike and you want me to die.”

• He describes his viral “invisible food” videos and daily posts during his six-day hunger strike—using his body and platform to highlight famine in Gaza (57:36–62:03).
• Max explains the purpose and mechanics of his hunger strike (63:10–63:56), and the practical activism of calling supermarkets, launching boycott campaigns, and mobilizing thousands to pressure retailers to remove Israeli goods (66:05–73:08):

  "We vote with our money... I was encouraging people to not buy Israeli goods or products." "I think it was a little bit of pressure that we built and put on."—Max on Co-Op’s decision to remove Israeli goods (68:39–72:32)

Actionable Hope & Everyday Agency

• Both emphasize the power of simple, repeated actions—phone calls, small protests, visible symbols—over paralysis by complexity (73:08–77:49).

  “It doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be huge... Just start doing it.” – Nick (74:27)

• Max shares his own daily practice:

  "I have this reminder. One big action and one small action every day. What's one big thing that I could do... what's one small thing too, that will make an impact?" (76:05)

Harm Reduction & Walking Each Other Home

• The episode closes with a reflection on harm reduction as the unifying theme—from plant-based eating to anti-genocide work (77:49–80:40):

  “It is about reducing harm and caring and love... what kind of example are you sharing with the world?” – Max (79:25)

• Nick invokes Ram Dass’ teaching that "we're all just walking each other home," raising questions about collective redemption, acceptance, and the radical invitation to keep giving a damn (80:40–83:57).

The Legacy Max Hopes to Leave

• Max, asked what he hopes will be said about him at his funeral:

  "Hopefully you wouldn't have to say anything because you would have seen and heard and felt the impact and everything [I] left behind... hopefully it's a day of celebration... I don't care what people say, but hopefully what I've left behind, the legacy I've built, can speak for itself." (83:57–85:05)

• He and Nick agree—true legacy is written in lives touched, more than words spoken.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On privilege & empathy: "It's just pure luck that we are who we are, doing the things that we do... and not the kids in Palestine or Congo or Sudan." – Nick (10:12)
• On family roots & food: "Food and memories of food really play an important role in my life." – Max (13:42)
• On content creation: "I just kept the blinders on...if I have something to say, I'll post what I want to say." – Max (27:45)
• On not using the word vegan: "I'm almost ready to remove plant-based as well... What I eat is food." – Max (35:48)
• On activism's focus: "We should be really going at our government, our officials, the people that we elected... and ask for more." – Max (45:18)
• On food as resistance: "I never want to see food being used as a weapon of war... as a chef and as a human, seeing food weaponized wasn't anything I ever want to see." – Max (58:15)
• On giving a damn: "Just give a damn... God damn. Just give a damn." – Max (74:29)
• On harm reduction: "It is about reducing harm and caring and love... we'll all pass and lead to the, go to the next life, whatever you believe in. But what you do today and what kind of impact are you leaving and what kind of example are you sharing with the world?" – Max (79:25)
• On legacy: "Hopefully you wouldn't have to say anything... the legacy I've built, can speak for itself." – Max (83:57)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00–08:04 – Nick’s opening reflections: global crises and intro to Max
• 08:04–13:42 – Gratitude, privilege, and upbringing
• 13:42–19:08 – Childhood memories, family, and roots of low-waste living
• 19:08–24:54 – Moving to NYC, necessity-driven habits, personal evolution
• 24:54–32:16 – Consistency in content creation, platform growth, and activism trade-offs
• 32:16–39:34 – Food ethics, "plant-based" vs “vegan”, Eleven Madison Park
• 39:34–49:48 – Activism focus, community, and systems vs individuals
• 49:48–62:03 – Advocacy for Palestine, weaponization of food, personal hunger strike
• 62:03–73:08 – Boycotts, supermarket campaigns, practical activism
• 73:08–80:40 – Taking action, agency, harm reduction
• 80:40–83:57 – Ram Dass, walking each other home, spiritual reflections
• 83:57–End – Legacy, celebration, and closing thoughts

Final Takeaways

• Give a damn: You don’t need millions of followers or a perfect plan. Find your unique contribution and start today.
• Food is a unifier and a battleground: Low-waste and plant-forward eating is both planetary care and a form of resistance.
• Speak up, even when it costs you: True activism may repel some, attract others—but silence is the greater loss.
• Focus upward: Hold power structures accountable, build coalitions, and don’t let activism devolve into individual shaming.
• Harm reduction is everything: Whether in food, justice, or politics, minimizing suffering is a universal, radical act.

For further episodes, resources, or to support Let's Give A Damn, visit letsgivadam.com.