Forks Over Knives

source: Forks Over Knives

This may be a spoiler for some, so I'm playing it safe and saying this is a spoiler. The producers obviously entered the production of this movie to promote, at best, a vegetarian philosophy, and possibly at the worse, an animal rights agenda because the science data does not support the message of the movie, which is eating meat is bad, Bad, BAD! The most damning evidence is when one of the activist doctor stars of the movie shows how he raised and lowered the protein of meat in lab rats. In his test, he had the mice at 5% protein, then raised it to 20% animal protein. When it was at 5% there were no tumors, but when he raised it to 20%, there were tumors, then the tumors decreased when he lowered it to 5% again. He repeated this process over a series of months. Remember, the message of the movie is that eating ANY meat is bad, Bad, BAD, A DEATH SENTENCE according to this movie. So, if they were fed 5% and they were fine and EVEN GOT BETTER from after eating 20% protein, the conclusion, then, is that 5% animal protein IS GOOD FOR YOU, not that ANY MEAT AT ALL is bad, Bad, BAD!! like they kept on pushing in the movie. This brings up another flaw of the movie. The producers of this movie are obviously horrendous researchers. Again, the movie used 5% and 20% protein tests on rats. If they wanted to prove that NO animal protein is good, then they would have had a control group that had NO animal protein, but there was NO SUCH TEST to compare between the 5% and the 20%. SO HOW CAN THEY SAY THAT ANY MEAT PROTEIN IS BAD FOR YOU or that NO ANIMAL PROTEIN (MEAT) IS BETTER THAN 5% meat protein in your diet?!?!?! The movie PRESENTS NO SUCH EVIDENCE!! So, it is a LIE that ANY meat is bad for you because 5% protein in your diet CURES TUMORS AND MAKES YOU HEALTHY according to the scientific evidence in the movie. DON'T LET THIS MOVIE SCAM YOU LIKE SO MANY REVIEWERS HERE HAVE BEEN!!! If they were truly scientists, that would be the conclusion, that 5% animal protein and up to a certain percentage (which was never researched) is GOOD FOR YOU and would have taken it one step further and researched to find out the EXACT POINT in between 5% and 20% when it gets to be unhealthy, and to promote that max percentage that it is good for you. But obviously, they were not out to discover the truth through science, but were out to promote a political agenda. That can be the only conclusion. Don't be taken in by this windbag of a movie goes on and on and on, not refuting the claims of the critics, such as meat has critical enzymes we need, but IGNORE THAT and return to the mantra, based on flawed leaps of illogic, bereft of serious critical thinking, that meat, not just meat, but ANY MEAT, ANY Animal based product, is bad, Bad, BAD!!! That is why this is nothing more than propaganda to put up the straw man that ALL MEAT IS BAD BAD BAD!!!

Two years ago, I was lucky enough to have the position as the Program Director for the Alternative to Meds Center in San Francisco who specialized in getting people off non-prescription and prescription meds, and a diet with no sugar and white flour (meat was still included) had a huge effect on our patients. I can say I've seen this simple change to people's diets along with supplying appropriate amino acids the right way completely change their attitude along with their physical health being given back to them. Thank you so much for making this excellent documentary! It's not all or nothing, and simply shifting or reducing one piece like no caffeine or cutting down white flower or sugar by 50% can make a huge difference.

Forks Over Knives confirms several things we've all suspected for years, but most of us haven't wanted to face: The Standard American Diet and most of its variations are killing us by the millions; Several of America's most prevalent diseases can be halted or reversed by changes in diet; This fact has been understood for many years, but is avoided by doctors and other health care professionals; The diet recommended to us by our government is designed to benefit the food industry, not to benefit people's nutrition; The health care and pharmaceutical industries benefit by keeping Americans in a continual state of controlled disease symptoms rather than in a state of optimal health. In a nutshell, "Forks Over Knives" can be interpreted as "Eat A Great Diet In Order To Avoid Surgery." This isn't some startling new concept; over two thousand years ago Hippocrates, "the father of modern medicine" and writer of the original Hippocratic Oath, said "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." The film explains how some common foods are killing us and how other common foods can cure us. The film's lesson is staggeringly simple, the scientific evidence is staggering, and the personal stories are compelling. This documentary is entirely about health; the mantra repeated throughout the film is "a whole foods, plant-based diet." Although the word "vegan" was used a few times there is essentially no mention at all of either the environmental or compassion benefits of this diet. The focus is squarely on eliminating disease, primarily heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - three of this country's most urgent health issues. Most of the people excited about this film have been those already familiar with the issues discussed. For example, my wife and I have copies of The China Study, The Pleasure Trap, and several books by both Neal Barnard and John McDougall, so the film didn't offer new information to us. Happily though the film isn't written for the vegan one percent of America, it's written for the vast majority of Americans eating a poor diet and facing increased risks of a variety of health issues. For them the information presented in this film will be a wake-up call, and let's hope it will be compelling enough that they take appropriate action and change their diet.

After about 40 minutes I desperately wanted to turn this off. The whole thing starts to feel a little creepy like your being brainwashed or like a video trying to recruit you into a cult. I think in the whole video there is just one lady that gives opposing views. I have no doubt that a lot of what they said could have positive effects on you health however there is absolutely no evidence shown of any possible negative side effects to only eating plant based foods. After watching I decided to do some extra research and do feel this is made by two scientists who are overly excited about their research and needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, or a good steak ;)

I decided to watch this documentary a few days ago because I've recently watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "Foodmatters" and I loved them both. They were both inspiring on some level, but more than inspiring they were eye opening. It can't come as a surprise to anyone living in the west that we are clearly doing something wrong. We may not want to hear about it, or agree on what "it" is but I can tell you after you watch "Forks Over Knives" you will hear a convincing case against the consumption of meat and dairy. The documentary illustrates the findings of two different scientists who have spent more than 50 years each researching the link between nutrition and disease. Their findings are compelling to say the least. Not only does this documentary show tons of scientific evidence but it mixes in some personal stories for variety and entertainment. I eat tons of meat and tons of dairy so some of the science presented in "Forks over Knives" wasn't exactly music to my ears, but the evidence is hard to deny. Even if it's not what you want to hear, and you have no inclination to become vegan you will still find this documentary highly entertaining and memorable.

Warning this might have spoilers !! If anyone knows me they would say that I'm the biggest health advocate, so I really had high hopes for this movie. And while I don't hold any degrees in nutrition, I do have graduate studies and critical thinking in general, and I do know how to write/read scientific research on a topic. That being said, I thought this movie LACKED ESSENTIAL DETAILS ABOUT THE RESEARCH RESULTS shown. It's unfortunate but the way they presented the research was very biased (to prove their theory "animal produce bad, plant produce good") which is just wrong. I have a hard time believing a person that does research in this field at Cornel University would choose to ignore the whole research and present only parts of it for the sake of making this movie, so I am really baffled as to what these people actually think and how they could make such a one sided story. After I saw the movie I thought it was great but I couldn't help thinking how come the striking "scientific" discoveries and correlations between cancer tumors and plant/animal protein intake were not taken seriously by the medical community. Well I answered my questions just by doing a tiny bit of research. There are many blogs objectively discussing the misinformation in this movie (and there sure is a lot). So just google some critique, it is all there including "The curious case of Campbell's rats", or dig up the original research papers if you find the critique non objective. So that was a major disappointment, I can expect people to misinterpret and broadcast bad research but not "scholars" who have dedicated lives to it. The movie has the right intention, YES the western diet is killing you, YES people are uneducated when it comes to knowing what to eat, YES people don't know that food can be your medicine, YES your diet can save you from taking a fist of pills and having surgeries. But NO, there is no scientific proof that animal products cause cancer or reduce your life span while plant-based food reverses the cancer and guarantees longevity !!!! No such thing folks. There are so many many complex factors in determining what is cancer(and how different all types of cancer are), how it evolves and so on. Half of this movie is presenting some very biased and taken out of context evidence. That is unacceptable, and that's why I can't give it more than 3 stars. If you want to watch a documentary about food, watch FOOD INC.

Nice film, but some statistics either adjusted toward the desired result or just plain false. Please see http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/ for a rebuttal on many of Campbell's "scientific" claims. Or read a much more enjoyable summary of it at http://anthonycolpo.com/?p=2258 The film has some good intentions. Yes eat less, exercise, and stop taking pills for every ailment. Nobody likes to find out they've been lied to. The rat story is blatant. The truth is to eat your fruits and veggies, but eat red meat sparingly. Obviously biased from self-interest groups which warrants the low rating.

By now, there have been a number of documentaries about the health disaster that is the all-American diet. Lee Fulkerson's "Forks Over Knives" makes the case that simply switching from an animal-based diet to a plant-based one is the best thing that one can do not only for himself but also for the planet. Much of the documentary focuses on the work of Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn and Colin Campbell, who have researched the health effects of different foods over the years. It should come as no surprise that the increased processing of foods after WWII led to more heart disease and cancer. The documentary doesn't simply preach. It even has a disclaimer at the beginning noting that it should not be interpreted as a substitute for a doctor's recommendation. It's just a warning about the deleterious effects of the western diet, especially with all the chemicals and antibiotics pumped into the food nowadays. As Bill Maher says in some footage, "The answer is not another pill. The answer is spinach." I recommend the documentary. PS: Rush Limbaugh recently said that Michelle Obama's proposed diet doesn't sound like something healthy. Well, who knows more about unhealthy diets than El Rushbo?

If you are someone who is serious about your health, this documentary cannot be overlooked. Diet is so important to ones survival in this modern world that is so important to understand why people are getting sick, not just dismissing it as oh that person just got unlucky! There is a reason why people get serious illnesses and and that reason is most probably the abuse you have done to your body your whole life. I have healed myself with the help and wisdom of nutrition based on some of the knowledge in this documentary. Please try not to take it for granted just keep an open mind and try to emotionally detach yourself from what you think food is to you. It is far more than filling emotional voids, it is your health and your medicine. I hope people really get this documentary, I loved it!!