First things first. Forks Over Knives has been so successful, that it’s opening in a lot of new cities. Including San Antonio. June 3 at Bijou at Crossroads Cinema.
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I missed the premier of Forks Over Knives in Austin because I was sick. The irony! But I was better by the weekend, and excited the see the movie.
I had a few misgivings before I saw Forks Over Knives, but they ended up being mostly unwarranted. The movie shows a lot of evidence that eating lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes benefits health and so does reducing animal products. No shocker there. The USDA, the American Cancer Association, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (pdf) all recommend a plant-based diet.
The advantage of seeing Forks Over Knives is that it shows real life examples of people who have dramatically improved their health just by changing their diets. I know I’ve met many people like this in the vegan community. People whose type 2 diabetes or heart disease is now in remission. The documentary makes these stories tangible.
What I would have liked was a little more youth and health. I wanted to see young people adopting the diet before they got sick. I also would have liked to see more food preparation. My movie watching companion left the theater saying he was convinced he should eat a more plant-based diet, but couldn’t see himself actually cooking plant-based meals.
Overall, if you’re already up-to-date with the health benefits of a vegan diet, you probably won’t get much from this movie. But if you’re struggling with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, or have a family history of these diseases, it might just be eye opening.
I went to see it on my own on the first showing in Boston (I've been vegan since January) just to give money to a vegan documentary thing and because it looked interesting. I found it good, dragged my mom (who is a doctor and already eats a relatively healthy diet) who moaned and groaned about having to go see a vegan propaganda film.
…When she got out she was fairly convinced that going vegan was probably a very smart thing to do-even if she doesn't, she's trying to not use dairy as much in her baking and is thinking of chickens in the backyard rather than store-bought eggs. So glad the film was useful and well-done enough that it convinced my mother the skeptic.
My husband has noticeably changed his eating habits since seeing it, even if he's not ready to give up all meat.