Forks over Knives - a documentary
 

It won't be released until March, but I thought I'd mention it anyway :) There will be some advance screenings around the country which are listed on their website.

Check out the trailer:

http://forksoverknives.com/

Interesting, the cast and crew is pretty full of the people who have studied vegetarianism (actually more veganism) and health for many years:
http://forksoverknives.com/about/cast-and-crew/

Although it is kind of hard to separate everything out. Our animal products are tainted as far as I'm concerned. Between the hormones, unnatural/stressful environment and unnatural diet and the high consumption of these products, it is hard to tell what is what. The China Study is pretty interesting and I'm guessing a lot of the data for this movie came from that.

For me personally, I am glad I went vegan a few years ago. I can't imagine going back.

Looks like a powerful documentary. My husband didn't want to watch it but then, after he saw the trailer, he's interested.

I am definitely going to have to go see this. It looks interesting as well as informative.

I'm very excited about this movie. I wish everyone taking medication for diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, etc., would go see it.

They've pushed back the release date to May. :(

http://www.forksoverknives.com/

I saw this movie tonight and it was great!!!

There were several people showcased who were able to both lose weight and reverse their high blood pressure/diabetes/high cholesterol through a whole foods vegan diet. And they presented a lot of good arguments for adopting a plant based whole foods diet.

Anyone else see it yet?

Lucky you! I doubt it will come to my area and will probably have to wait until it's on DVD.

I want to see this movie! Were there any parts of the movie that showed mistreatment of animals? I'm really sensitive to that :^:

I've very sensitive to this myself. Since I'm already vegan, I can't stand watching. I already think about the abuse of animals as it is. I think if I watched Earthlings, I'd go out of my mind.

But I think anyone who isn't vegan should watch these movies.

Forks Over Knives DVD will be available for pre-order on the FOK website next week, for shipment in August. The DVD includes 6 bonus features and will be available through their online store before they hit retail outlets.

- I found this on their facebook page.

I don't think it has any animal abuse stuff in it, it focuses on health.

I watched Earthlings after I became vegan and some of the images are burned into my brain. I liked it in the sense that it is well researched and isn't trying to have shock value. It is shocking because the facts are shocking. It is also very highly acclaimed.

I am looking forward to seeing this movie, too. Like many of you - it isn't coming to my city, so I will have to wait for the DVD. I would like to know if there are any animal abuse scenes, too. Very sensitive to disturbing images.

QD

As an omnivore who is genuinely curious in hearing about research regarding vegetarian health benefits (I'm already convinced that meat consumption is, overall, pretty bad for the planet) I'm interested in seeing this. A question: while I'm sure the documentary has an established POV, is it fair to the "other side"? I guess what I mean is, is it a reasoned, fair portrayal of veganism vs. omnivorism, or does it come off more as a propaganda film (for lack of a better term)?

This might help you understand the movie:
http://www.forksoverknives.com/about/synopsis/

So basically it is based on the studies of researchers and the results of putting their research into practice. I don't think of the film as propaganda but I haven't seen it. If saying, when researching diet and health, we found this, then we put it into practice and the results were repeatable, etc. It would seem to follow the accepted scientific method of developing a hypothesis and testing that hypothesis.

I don't think the film is a contrast and comparison but the again research doesn't tend to be.

And one thing I'd add is that if it was a compare and contrast type film, it'd be much longer than it is. I've read some of the research of both the doctors in the film and it fills hundreds if not thousands of pages. Being able to present it in a small chunk of a film is quite impressive. You'd need 20 hours or more of documentary to do a complete compare/contrast.

Also, I think we are bombarded with lots of messages for animal based diets that a fairly short film on the benefits of plant based diets wouldn't need to present the other side as the other side already presents itself pretty well.

Nelie - Thanks, and I agree that it would be nearly impossible to be comprehensive. I suppose I'm asking more about tone, I think (you can probably tell I don't even know what I'm asking!). Many of the recent health-related movies I've seen or books I've read seem to take the approach of, "This is absolutely what is the best for everyone and if you don't agree you're stupid." I would much rather watch or read something that presents its material in a calm, reasoned fashion.

Oh, based on the books, I'd say it is calm and reasonable. Again, I can't say for certain but from what I've read it isn't 'you must do this or die' but rather 'here is what we found when we did our research and here is what happened when we put it into practice'.