I love documentaries – the more information the better. That is not meant to assume I don’t use my Netflix subscription to binge watch Dexter, American Horror Story, or Blacklist, or adding shows like The Fall or Broadchurch to “my must watch when I have time” list. But, I digress. I love, love, love vegan/food-related documentaries.
Some of my favorites:
- Forks over Knifes
- Fed Up
- Food Inc.
- Vegucated
- Chow Down
- Uprooting
- Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
- Food Matters
- Supersize Me
- King Corn
- GMO OMG
I know the atrocities of factory farming and how animals are treated to feed the Standard American Diet, I can’t watch documentaries that actually show this. I understand the mistreatment, I just can’t bear to actually see it. I know a lot of people like Earthlings, and Blackfish keeps showing up on my recommended list, but, I just can’t. I get teary and angry just thinking about this, I fast forward through the ASPCA commercials because, I just want to take every single dog and cat home.
I love these documentaries because I feel like it gives me more power and strength of conviction. I get giddy when inundated with facts of why a plant-based diet is so key in eliminating and/or greatly reducing the top killers in the U.S., such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer.
I like to think that the reason more people are not plant-based is because they don’t know any better. It is hard to be raised one way and then go against everything you were taught and everything that the mainstream media tells you. There are beef commercials, milk ads, chain restaurant commercials, and of course a myriad of processed food advertisements. Unhealthy lifestyles start at home and then grow into addiction when kids go to school and the unhealthy food choices are everywhere.
Don’t just listen to me. Sit down with a healthy snack (popcorn with a little Earth Balance and nutritional yeast or some dehydrated apples are my current favorites) and watch a documentary. Listen to what actual health professionals and statistics say. Make informed decisions. Think and learn, because we are our choices.
I love the scripture…”My people die for lack of knowledge”. Much of our society has stopped questioning the reliability of our food sources. New products are specifically designed to pander to food cravings.As a nurse, it breaks my heart to see so many suffering the health consequences of the “manufactured” food industry. I find many people simply not interested in learning! How sad.