Those who know me know that I am a meat eater. I love a good steak, well cooked chicken, or moist tasty chops, so to find myself watching a film about the advantages of a vegetarian diet was quite surprising.
The premise of the film is that the Western diet, heavy in animal material, is bad in terms of health outcomes for people, leading to diabetes, heart disease, and cancers, and that a diet based on plants yields better outcomes. To support the premise the filmmakers utilized a number of lines of evidence.Primarily two medical doctors who have been researching this line of thought for years, the doctor’s patient’s as case studies, and large population studies, particularly in the east as diet there has changed from one based on traditional meals heavy in plants to one more like the west and heavy in meats, and dairy.
None of the argument were couched in ethical tones, nothing about animal rights, animal suffering, or even the effect on global populations, but entirely on the health effects of the person eating this diet. I found the scientific arguments strong and interesting. I am not saying that you’re going to see your host sudden become a Vegan, but I am thinking seriously about the issues presented.
This is the difference between an argument built upon lines, multiple lines, of evidence, and one built upon opinion as in mini-review 1. Even though the Vegan diet is not something I am sympathetic to by my nature, given such strong evidence it is one I cannot lightly dismiss.
One thing that is very difficult to tease out of “Forks over Knives” is if the changes are solely due to the predominance of meat OR if instead it is meat (in the current way it is produced – with feed lots, growth hormones, and excessive, routine antibiotics) combined with the ready availability of cheap, simple, government subsidized carbohydrates. We did Adkins in this house for a while and it was really good for Arthur. Problem is we really LIKE bread. (It did get us off sugar soda, so this is not bad. I am also able to minimize diet soda, though A. not so much.) I haven’t seen the film yet, though I want to do so. I could manage vegetarian but not vegan. (Once I discovered chocolate was vegetarian, it looked a LOT better to me!!) Forgive me if by not seeing the film I am off topic or addressing something already mentioned in the film. One of the challenges I see with films about diet in general is that it is very difficult to control for all aspects of life style. The farm workers of several generations ago did well on a more meat dominant diet – but the exercised like mad doing the work of farming. We (the vast majority of us) are much more sedentary than our parents and grandparents and when we do exercise it is typically artificial rather than being connected to a task. Can artificial exercise make up for real work? Anyway, thanks to your review, I am looking forward to seeing “Fork over Knives”.
I was a vegetarian (not a vegan, though) for several months; unfortunately it made my bipolar go completely out of whack. But some people do well on vegetarian diets.
From what I’ve read, there are very few traditional diets that are actually vegetarian in the modern sense. Instead, small quantities of meat are used as a flavoring ingredient in a plant-based dish, or a meat dish is one of many dishes, rather than being the focus of the meal. That kind of diet seems like a sensible solution for someone who is unwilling or unable to go completely vegetarian.
And of course, the occasional steak won’t kill you. Well, unless you choke on it, or something like that.