Forks Over Knives.

I know this movie is old news. But I live in the conservative west so these sorts of movies don't get out here. They wait for Netflix and whenever we have a spare hour+ we feel like devoting to a documentary. Anyway. Holy crap.


I tend not to jump on fads. I'm a researcher and list maker. Some would say I think things to death. They would be right. But also, sometimes things make so damned much sense, the facts and data are so blatantly obvious, that it doesn't take much list making to get on board. Forks Over Knives made their case rather convincingly. Of course it helps that I am already skeptical of the organizations that poo-poo the idea of a Whole-Foods-Plant-Based-Diet (read: USDA, most conventional medicine, anyone in bed with Big Ag companies).

But seriously, the statistics (which I know as well as anyone can be skewed easier than you'd think) are incredible (the Chinese study had over 8,000 correlations that were statistically significant, that is EPIC) and the health factors like blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, the ability to stop taking pharmaceuticals, etc. shown in the patients was mind boggling. The fact that this "diet" caused actual reversal in patients with heart disease is almost more than my classically trained medical professional self can comprehend. In short, they got my attention.

I'm not saying we are going sans meat cold turkey. I still have a teenager in the house and need to get my husband on board. They are both very meat and veggies guys and it will take convincing that I can make hearty, filling, tasty meals that don't have to have meat in them. Thankfully I have two vegan friends who will point me in the right direction. But I digress. What I am saying is that this is such an easy change. Really. It is a matter of making different food. And if it doesn't do what they say it will, we certainly won't be any less healthy than we are now. But if it does? Wow, the upside is pretty epic.

Plus, there is a part of me that thinks that this sort of "diet" merges really well with our lifestyle. We are getting so into gardening. Why not make those foods a bigger part of our diet? Yes, we hunt, and a little bit of meat here and there isn't terrible. But do we really need goats and chickens on our homestead? Or can we get by with a huge veggie garden which would be so much cheaper and cost effective in the long run. It puts everything into a new light.

So, I am going to make a concerted effort to make most of our meals meat free for the next month. Meat Free Feburary. Loosing the dairy is going to be harder. But the statistics about cancer and osteoporosis (which runs in my family) are enough to make me want to try.

Have any of you seen this movie? Are any of you vegan/vegetarian? What recommendations and suggestions do you have for us as we try to tackle Meat Free February?