'Forks Over Knives' is an infomercial for veganism
The documentary "Forks Over Knives," which follows in the footsteps of "Food, Inc." from 2008 in showing how the average American diet is killing us, is basically a straightforward 90-minute infomercial for veganism. Aanyone looking for a critique of the fast-food lifestyle and factory farming from any other perspective is bound to be disappointed or angry.
The documentary "Forks Over Knives," which follows in the footsteps of "Food, Inc." from 2008 in showing how the average American diet is killing us, is basically a straightforward 90-minute infomercial for veganism. Aanyone looking for a critique of the fast-food lifestyle and factory farming from any other perspective is bound to be disappointed or angry.
Director Lee Fulkerson builds the film around two men: Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. and T. Colin Campbell, scientists who've long advocated a plant-based diet well before such ideas moved into the mainstream. Esselstyn saw the effects of unhealthy living that he had to repair as a surgeon, while nutrition academic Campbell is famous in food circles for "The China Study," a mammoth exploration of Chinese dietary habits.
Between the near-hagiographic treatment of these men and the hosannas of their supporters and patients who dropped pounds and cholesterol and blood pressure levels, "Forks Over Knives" makes you question that next burger.
It would have been nice to have one health-minded but nongovernment critique of Esselstyn and Campbell's approach. Yet, if "Forks Over Knives" gets viewers to think more deeply about what they put into their bodies, then it has done its job.
Produced by John Corry, written and directed by Lee Fulkerson, distributed by Monica Beach Media.