Forks Over Knives(2011) has been on my list to watch for a while since it was another movie about our food system and I finally got around to watching it recently. I had not read about it much, so I honestly didn’t know what the movie was going to discuss. This movie was focusing on veganism and how it is better for your health, because eating a whole food plant based diet causes fewer health issues/diseases than eating animal products.
The story focuses on one man who decides to change his diet, and follow a plant based diet for 12 weeks. At the beginning of the movie he takes some test (BP, cholesterol, etc.) to see how his health is prior to this change and he is shocked to find high cholesterol levels in his blood. He is pleased to find out that his new diet does help his health issues and makes him feel better overall. Following a plant based diet means cutting out all processed foods, sugar, and animal products. In today’s world of “food” it would be hard to accomplish this, but if you only shop in the produce section and buy some whole grains it would be possible.
The movie reiterates many facts I already knew but still find fascinating. For example, sugar, meat, and dairy consumption has drastically increased since the 1950’s (or the birth of our modern food system). Also, obesity is on the rise from eating calorie dense foods or unnaturally dense foods (processed foods). This happens because calorie dense foods trick stomach receptors into thinking it is not full, so you end up consuming more.
This movie also discussed some interesting research I had not heard before. A biochemist named T. Colin Campbell found that in rats, eating animal protein caused cancer genes to turn on versus eating a plant based diet. This was shocking research to me, and explains why our society has such major health issues. If we are concerned with the sustainability of our healthcare system and individual health, we would take this research into consideration.
This movie was interesting but used the normal scare tactics that documentaries often use to get their point across. While I don’t think I will become vegan anytime soon, since cheese is one of the best things ever, it is interesting to see veganism from this point of view.
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