What “An Inconvenient Truth’’ did for global warming, Lee Fulkerson’s persuasive documentary does for a vegan diet.
Despite the educational tone of the film, it’s not as dry as it sounds. Bolstered by two American doctors’ decades of separate research, “Forks Over Knives’’ offers compelling evidence that a diet heavy in animal protein and dairy leads to an increase in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other severe illnesses. The film delivers a concise history of Western eating habits, with graphs and charts punctuated by entertaining real-life experiences.
Fulkerson keeps the information viewer-friendly, including himself among the skeptics who are converted. He was a Red Bull-swilling, red meat-eating guy who believed himself healthy until he consulted with a pioneering doctor who urged him to alter his diet. Within a few months, Fulkerson’s cholesterol levels, weight, and blood pressure dropped. We also get testimony from Joey Aucoin who, when we meet him, is gobbling a host of medications to treat a rash of diseases including diabetes and hypertension, as he battles depression, fatigue, and allergies. After switching to a diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, and undertaking an exercise regimen, he’s medication-free and says he has never looked or felt better.
The film’s primary experts are nutritional scientist T. Colin Campbell, of Cornell University, and Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr., a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the Cleveland Clinic. Both became passionate advocates for a vegan diet separately after many years of research.
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