"Forks over Knives" movie

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to catch a pre-screening of "Forks Over Knives," which promotes (and provides proof) of plant-based diet+exercise=prevention and even reversal of health issues that plague many Americans.

It was a bit commercialized (sponsored by Whole Foods; i got a WF gift bag as I entered the theatre) but its heart is in the right place and it will do a lot to convince SADers to take a long hard look at what their "favorite meals" are doing to them. I took a SAD friend who has since been eating about 95% plant-based (but still enjoying many "junk food vegan treats").

Author of the Engine 2 Diet book (and son of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn) Rip Esselstyn was there, and gave a Q&A session after the show. He was a pro athlete and a firefighter, and just seemed to be an all-around great guy. I think he is a great spokesperson for a plant-based diet; he really seemed to appeal to even the SADers in the audience. He even talked about how olive oil is NOT the great healthy food that everyone seems to think it is !

Sure, he is selling a book but other than that I don't think he has a line of supplements or anything else. The movie doesn't mention raw, but its a great start, especially for those who seem to see no connection between their nightly barbecue burger and their obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

I hope his book does well so people get over the carb-phobic attitudes brought on by Dr Sears and Dr Gullo and Dr Atkins and "Dr Eat-a-ton-of-fake-chemical-sugars-but-the-only-fruit-allowed-is-berries-and-only-in-stage-3".

Has anyone else seen a pre-screening, or even a preview? I think it will be released in a couple weeks...anyone plan to take a friend or family member?

Tags: disease, esselstyn, forks, heart, knives, movies, over, rip

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Permalink Reply by coco on February 24, 2011 at 2:10pm

Forgot to mention...one of my favorite parts was where they brought up the fact that many people would ask "isn't cutting out all animal products a bit extreme?" The response is great--he brings up the hundreds of thousands of people who have open-heart surgery each year to "correct" or "prevent" problems that can be prevented or corrected with a plant-based diet, and says, "now I think that's extreme." Love it!

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Permalink Reply by Amy Jakubeit on February 25, 2011 at 3:55am

I saw a pre-screening in Vancouver, and it was awesome. It was right around the time I went 100% vegan, as I had been transitioning for several months.

It is a little commercialized, but is great for SADers because it is very medical and factual and less opinion (which they never seem to believe).

I will be taking my parents to see it when it comes out in March in hopes that they will 'see the light'.

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Permalink Reply by ednshell on February 25, 2011 at 4:34am

coco said:

took a SAD friend who has since been eating about 95% plant-based

Wow! That says so much! :D

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Permalink Reply by Brian W. on February 25, 2011 at 4:49am

Coco,

Thank you for posting this, and I'm so glad you enjoyed Forks.

I'm a longtime friend of Doug Graham, mostly 811er--and created and executive produced the film.

Please know that the film was made without an iota of organizational or commercial influence. While Whole Foods and others may sponsor events to create a national buzz, the film is the craft of myself and a small group of dedicated filmmakers.

Thank you again for your support.

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Permalink Reply by coco on February 25, 2011 at 4:54am

Yikes, I'm ashame of myself as a writer...I didn't clarify that the pre-screening went, not the movie, may not have appealed to some of the more hard-core anti-consumers out there. Oops:)
I can't say much since most of my fruit right now comes from WF, but I was kind of preparing for an attack on my support of a "big business".
For clarification: I saw no evidence of commercial influence in the actual movie.