Elijah Joy (born Erik C. Nedd) is an American

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

, green living advocate, emcee, television host, singer, and writer. He is the founder of Organic Soul, Incorporated, a vegan lifestyle and multimedia company based in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...

, and the creator of Go-Go Greens, a

raw food Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include ...

vegan deli product. Organic Soul was a sponsor of

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

's 2009 Green Inaugural Ball. Joy was the personal chef for Isaac Hayes and became a semi-regular feature on

WRKS WRKS (105.9 FM, "The Zone") is a radio station licensed to Pickens, Mississippi, although its studio is located in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Launched on July 2, 2009, the station's format is sports, with programming from ESPN Radio. WRKS is own ...

' ''The Isaac Hayes and Friends Show'' in 1997. He would later become a live emcee at

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

's Blues Club and Grill and debuted Go-Go Greens at Moby's

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

eatery and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

shop Teany, both in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Joy was a featured voice-over artist on singer Mýa Harrison's album ''Fear of Flying''. His work has also been featured on ''

The Wendy Williams Show ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show is distributed by Debmar- ...

,''

E! Entertainment Television E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUnivers ...

, Bravo, and MTV. In 2010, Joy mass-produced Go-Go Greens for wider distribution to coincide with the publication of vegan nutritionist

Tracye McQuirter Tracye McQuirter is an African-American public health nutritionist and a Vegan/Plant-based author who appears in the 2024 documentary, ''You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment''. Background McQuirter grew up in Washington D.C. and graduated from ...

's book ''By Any Greens Necessary''. That year he also opened Organic Soul's first retail outlet in

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, as a vegan pop-up store. In 2012 he opened his second vegan pop-up retail location in Oakland's Chinatown. On October 28, 2011, Joy appeared on Oprah's Lifeclass speaking about lessons of forgiveness and joy in the wake of his parents' death by murder-suicide. Since moving back to his hometown of Washington, D.C., Joy has been partnering with civic and nonprofit organizations to provide culturally focused farm-to-table food solutions to food-insecure areas in the city's Ward 8. His work in cooperative development was featured in the October 2016 issue of '' Yes! Magazine'' and has been documented in a short film series by students from American University's Center for Media and Social Impact.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, Elijah Living people American chefs American male chefs American male writers 1985 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers

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