Remember how in 2009 everybody was buzzing about Food Inc? And a few years before that, Supersize Me? Well, there's a new must-see food documentary hitting theaters, called Forks Over Knives. The film asserts that Western epidemics such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure are caused by our diet—which, of course, is old news, but what's new about this film is how it fingers animal protein as the culprit. And not just animal protein that's high in saturated fat, like juicy steaks or ice cream, but all animal protein. The film asserts that a plant-based diet of whole foods prevents and even cures these diseases (which, not incidentally, cost Americans $120 billion every year).
I haven't seen the film yet, because it isn't in theaters until March, though some Whole Foods stores are screening it before then. However, I'm pretty familiar with the work of the two men the film mainly profiles, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Both are long-time advocates of a plant-based diet and the idea of "food as medicine," and I've written about Campbell before because Bill Clinton is following his program in hopes of extending his life.
I should point out that there's a significant camp of pro-protein, anti-vegetarian health experts out there who say that Campbell and Esselstyn's research and theories are flawed (think the people behind the Atkins diet and the Primal and Paleo diets, Dr. Mercola, and others I'm sure). But this trailer for Forks Over Knives is pretty compelling, and I'm looking forward to seeing the entire film.
