Forks Over Knives

What has happened to us Despite the most advanced
medical technology in the world, we are sicker
than ever by nearly every measure.
Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases
of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our
younger population. About half of us are taking at
least one prescription drug. Major medical
operations have become routine, helping to drive
health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart
disease, cancer and stroke are the country's three
leading causes of death, even though billions are
spent each year to 'battle these very conditions.
Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative
diseases.
Could it be there's a single solution to all of
these problems A solution so comprehensive but so
utterly straightforward, that it's mind-boggling
that more of us haven't taken it seriously?
FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that
most, if not all, of the so-called 'diseases of
affluence that afflict us can be controlled, or
even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of
animal-based and processed foods. The major
storyline in the film traces the personal journeys
of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated
researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr.
Caldwell Esselstyn.
Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell
University, was concerned in the late 1960's with
producing 'high quality animal protein to bring
to the poor and malnourished areas of the third
world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-
changing discovery: the country's wealthier
children, who were consuming relatively high
amounts of animal-based foods, were much more
likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top
surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force
at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that
many of the diseases he routinely treated were
virtually unknown in parts of the world where
animal-based foods were rarely consumed.
These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn,
who didn't know each other yet, to conduct several
groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in
China and is still among the most comprehensive
health-related investigations ever undertaken.
Their research led them to a startling conclusion:
degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2
diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could
almost always be prevented - and in many cases
reversed - by adopting a whole foods, plant-based
diet.