Forks Over Knives releases today

The documentary is based upon the China Study. Here is a good scientific counter view of the study.

http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/08/06/final-china-study-response-html/

Summary:

“If both whole-food vegan diets and non-Westernized omnivorous diets yield similar health benefits, this is a strong indication that the results achieved by McDougall, Esselstyn, Ornish, et al are not due to the avoidance of animal products but to the elimination of other health-harming items. Western diets involve far more than increased consumption of animal products, and for some groups—such as Alaskan Natives—a switch from a traditional diet to a Westernized one entails reduced animal food consumption, with the caloric void replaced by refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils, grains, sugar, and convenience foods. The fact that a dietary shift towards Western fare inevitably leads to proliferation of “diseases of affluence”—regardless of changes in animal food consumption—suggests that another factor, or lattice of factors, instigates this decline in health.

The success of the Chinese on plant-based diets does not invalidate the experiences of other populations who evade disease while consuming animal products. Nor does individual success on a vegan program nullify the disease reversal seen by those adhering to specific omnivorous diets. Rather than studying the dissimilarities between healthy populations, perhaps we should examine their areas of convergence—the shared lack of refined carbohydrates, the absence of refined sweeteners and hydrogenated oils, the emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods close to their natural state, and the consumption of nutritionally dense fare rather than empty calories or ingredients concocted in a lab setting. Modern foods, and the diseases they herald, have usurped the dietary seats once occupied by more wholesome fare. It is this commonality—the thread bonding healthy populations—that may offer the most meaningful insight into human health.

A theory as purportedly universal as Campbell’s should, by definition, unite the various health and disease patterns of global cultures without generating frequent anomalies. By naming animal products as the source of Western afflictions, Campbell has created a hypothesis valid only under hand-picked circumstances—one that cannot account for other epidemiological trends or even recent case-controlled studies. This is a symptom of a deficient theory, embodying only partial truths about broader diet-disease mechanisms.”

You can be right. Meat isn't so bad. However, before you dismiss plant-based nutrition and its benefits, I encourage you to look at the US department of food recall archives and decide if you or your family would want to increase your exposure to these terrible diseases. You don't have to look through each case, but look at the reason for recall and the amount recalled.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/Recall_Case_Archive/index.asp

I think the first line item on the table speaks for itself.

RNR-056-2011, Beef Products (E. coli O157:H7) | En Español PDF July 27, 2011 228,596 pound

Thanks

Here is a WHO article on PCB consumption and recall in the world's food chain also mostly found in meat, fish and dairy.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/

I buy grass-feed steroid/hormone free half sides of beef from a farmer that I know personally. Yes I buy other meats from stores, but beef accounts for much of our diet, so these recalls seldom apply to me. We will be adding a whole pig to this annual purchase as well, which will reduce our store bought meat consumption even further.

Like I said to you on your fish/mercury post, it is all about managing risk. And the benefits of meat outweigh the risks, given the statistical probability of exposure to e. coli, salmonella, etc…

If you want to avoid eating animals for ethical reasons, have at it. But for health reasons, the science doesn’t support it.

To be clear, I completely understand and acknowledge the benefits of a plant-based, whole foods diet, My argument is with the claim that animal products contribute to the so-called “diseases of affluence” as Forks over Knives and the China Study suggest.

To be clear, I completely understand and acknowledge the benefits of a plant-based, whole foods diet, My argument is with the claim that animal products contribute to the so-called “diseases of affluence” as Forks over Knives and the China Study suggest.

What irks me is that as consumers, we are told food products are safe (from a poison, toxic stand point), but there is such poor labeling. Why can't we decide to buy rGBH free cow's milk or how much mercury is in that fish? Let the consumer be informed so we can let the market decide. Otherwise, with so much recall due to diseases that can kill us, why would I want to eat foods that can potentially kill me at worst, make me sick at best?

You are very fortunate, and I envy you but you probably buy "safer" cows and "safer" food products because you can and you are also not confident in our food supply, or is more confident of the food supply in which you purchase from. This, to me, is the biggest travesty of America today. Instead, we quibble over macronutrients when we should be protecting our food supply.

Is that vegeterian propaganda???

No, I believe it is vegan propaganda.

Its a biased movie to try and get people to quit eating meat. Created by vegans so the study in this film is not fact based but more for the agenda they have to try and get people to not eat animals. Real scientific data will show you that a lean meats diet low carbs is the best diet and its safe to consume dairy and eggs. As for red meat twice a week is very healthy. So if you bought this film you waisted your money.