All language subtitles for Food.Choices.2016

- Our planet
faces a lot of problems.

But in some parts of the world,

people live in a time
of over-consumption,

abundance of food, and an
eagerness to be fit and healthy.

The supermarket is
overflowing with options.

But despite that, we are
poorly advised in nutrition,

and easily vulnerable
to misinformation,

and unreliable slogans,
inaccurate health promises,

and colorful tempting packages

are cluttering our
relationship with food,

and risking our well-being.

We are bombarded by
conflicting information

about food, diets
and supplements.

So how can we know
what's best for us?

Which foods improve
health, and which ones

can potentially promote disease.

I have struggled with these
questions for a long time.

And it has been a
challenge to find a diet

that would help me
achieve my health goals.

After trying several new
diets over the years,

I decided to change
my lifestyle,

by simply incorporating
lots of plant-based

foods into my diet.

So far, it has worked for me.

I lost 50 pounds, brought
my blood pressure,

blood sugar and
cholesterol under control,

and overall, felt really good.

But it was a work in progress,

and I still had many
questions and concerns

about nutrition and living
this plant-based lifestyle

for the long run,
especially now with a recent

addition to our family, i
felt that I really needed

to find answers.

So I decided to go on a journey,

to search for the
truth, and to uncover

many of the myths
surrounding food.

For three years, I traveled
across the country,

and interviewed the
world's top authorities

on the subject, as well as
people that had experienced

amazing, life changing benefits
through healthy eating.

All to explore the idea
of what is the healthiest

and most sustainable
diet for ourselves,

future generations,
and our planet.

So join me on this journey
of shocking discoveries,

and buckle up, because
what you're about to learn

might forever change the
way you look at the food

on your plate.

- Well, there's a lot
of difference of opinion

about it, and there's
a faction of people

who insist that there
are different diets

for different people.

But I think that the
evidence is fairly clear that

that's not true,
and there really is

an appropriate diet for humans,

just like there's a best
diet for cats, dogs,

elephants, and any other mammal.

And the best diet for humans
is one that is plant-based,

almost all calories
coming from four principle

food groups, fruit,
vegetables, whole grains

and legumes.

It's low in fat, high in fiber.

Not very much processed
food, none is great,

but in today's world, I don't
know how realistic that is.

- What we have seen in
nutrition for many, many years,

I must say, is a
lot of confusion.

You go and survey
people, you know,

outside of the science,
and ask them what do

they think that nutrition is,

and you can hear all
kinds of comments.

I eat this, and I eat that,

and this is good,
and this is not good.

There's also confusion
in the professions.

You know, medical
doctors are not trained

in this field.

And there's confusion
in my own field.

You know, about
medical research.

We don't get an opportunity,
to tell, you know,

the real science I think,
the way it should be told.

Because we're overwhelmed,

with the corporate sector
trying to sell stuff.

- We are living
in extreme times.

Where we have 27% of people
dying of heart disease,

25% of cancer, 10% of stroke,

four or five percent
from diabetes,

the same number for Alzheimer's.

I mean, these are,
in many, many cases,

diseases of
nutritional ignorance,

and diseases that are all
based on our lifestyle choices.

- There are a lot of
different dietary theories

out there, but I think one
fact is kind of indisputable.

Having a diet that is rich
in whole plant-based foods,

is truly a great way to
get you to good health.

- Everywhere I go
around the world,

there's not a single person
I've met that doesn't

know that fruits and
vegetables are good for them.

We all know it.

It's not about the knowing,
it's about the doing.

- There was a time when
there was no heart disease.

No colon cancer, no breast
cancer, no multiple sclerosis,

no inflammatory arthritis.

Of course these days, in
Asia, the middle east,

in central America,
and around the world,

people have become rich.

They have given up
much of their starch,

and they replaced it
with meat and dairy.

Throughout history, rich
people, the royalty,

the pharaohs, the
queens and the kings,

the priests, the
priestesses, the people

that could afford
to eat the meat.

They had artery disease,
they had obesity,

they were sick.

Nothing's changed
except for the number

of kings and queens
living in the world.

- A question
kept coming to my mind.

If plant foods are
so good for us,

and the consumption
of animal products

in excess appears to do us harm,

how about the ancient
populations of people

that survived on
diets based off mostly

meat, eggs and dairy,

and appeared to be healthy?

After all, aren't we known
for being hunter-gatherers?

- All large, successful
populations of people

have gotten the bulk
of their calories

from starch, rice,
corn, potatoes,

and other starches,
breads and so on.

Particularly when you
live near the equator,

as you move north and
south in latitude,

then you end up eating
more animal foods.

And if you get far
north, like for example,

the inuit eskimos, they
are largely carnivores,

because that's what's available.

But that's a small
population of people

that exists on the extremes
of the environment.

That's the exception,

not the rule.

- We have become
the most successful

species on this planet.

No one comes close to us.

We share it with animals,
and insects, and microbes,

and plants, but
we're number one.

And the way we got to number one

was all about survival.

We see in color, i
believe, because fruits

and vegetables are colorful.

Our hand is perfectly
designed to pick,

forge, grab and dig,
peel, and feed ourselves

fruits and vegetables,
nuts, beans and seeds,

plant food, food made
by mother nature.

- This idea that we're
hunter-gatherers,

is true, we're hunter-gatherers.

But mostly, we've
been gatherers.

One of the problems
has to do with sexism.

It has to do with the
fact that the gatherers

were grandparents,
women, and children.

The hunters were men,
and they got the glory.

The people who really
provided the bulk

of the calories, for most
of the civilizations,

through all verifiable
human history,

have been the women,
children and grandparents.

- Even when i
began considering the idea

of eating mostly a
plant-based diet,

I was still hounded
with many questions.

How was I going
to be able to live

without animal foods?

I didn't want to become
nutrient deficient.

And how about things
like protein, calcium,

and omega 3's?

In my head, I always
associated these nutrients

with animal foods.

I needed to find out
if those were valid

concerns, or simply myths.

- It's almost
impossible to design

a protein deficient diet

surrounding, you know, a variety

of whole plant foods.

- What people need to know

is there's never been a
case of protein deficiency

ever described in
the world literature,

on any natural diet,

that met the sufficient
amount of calories.

- You know, back to
1839 when protein

was discovered, it had
this incredible reverence

associated with it, and
it just gained traction.

But the evidence is
very clear that humans

do not need to eat
a lot of protein,

and when they do, they get
a lot of health problems

as a result.

I mean human protein needs
are just a tiny percentage

of calories, maybe two
and a half, three percent

of calories.

And if you were to
eat the lowest protein

foods, in the plant world,

which would be foods like rice,

you're at eight or
nine percent protein.

So you're not going to
become protein deficient.

But, the promoters of
the low-carb diets,

the promoters of
the sports drinks,

and the food bars, and
all these kinds of things,

insist and market to
the public that they

absolutely must
have more protein.

It's just not true.

In practical sense,
and in reality,

the way we humans operate,

we get ideal loads of
protein if we just get it

from plants.

When we consume animal foods,

to get that protein,
if you will,

what we're actually
doing, we're displacing,

the consumption of
those foods that matter.

And foods that
matter are plants.

- The amount of
animal protein we eat

is the problem.

You know, in rural China,

and Japanese populations,

and healthier
places in the world,

people eat a little
bit of animal protein,

but for economic reasons,
it's very, very, very tiny.

They use one little
piece of meat,

they slice it up,
and it seasons a dish

for eight people.

Here in this country,
we have one gargantuan

piece of meat, we
put it on a plate,

with a tiny little
bit of vegetables,

we call that a meal.

The problem is that when
you eat too much protein,

of any type, you
stress your kidneys,

you stress your liver, and
when it's animal protein,

you increase your
risk of cancer.

And we see cancer is
geographically distributed.

The more animal food
consumed in a society,

the more cancer, more
heart disease, you get.

- And it's amazing all
the animals that we choose

in this country to eat
for protein and calcium,

are vegetarian animals.

Where's the logic in that?

And I always like
to remind you, also,

when you're eating your garbage,

you never ask , "where
am I getting my protein,

"and my calcium."

It's only when you come
into the healthy world

that all of a sudden
you're concerned

with where it's coming from.

- We're in the midst of
this amazing protein push.

Everywhere you look,
the message is clear.

Protein, protein, protein.

This idea that you
need massive amounts

of protein, to
simply breathe air

in and out of your lungs,

you know, and to be healthy,

or to perform as an athlete.

- Prior to making
this dietary change,

like my main nutritional
strategy in a day

was to see how many
grams of protein

I could get in, like about that,

the only calculations
i ever really did,

I didn't count calories,
i didn't count anything,

was just like trying to
get in exorbitant amounts

of grams of protein in my day.

Just because there
are grams of protein

on the nutritional
content of something,

doesn't mean that
your body can actually

process all of those grams.

- Protein does
some other things.

It elevates blood
cholesterol levels,

which most people
have not heard of.

But that's about 100
years old, that idea.

And then repeated several times,

but always ignored.

Animal protein
starts heart disease.

It increases things
like the production

of so called free radicals,

which are those highly
reactive molecules

that actually stimulate aging,

and encourages cancer formation.

It also stimulates the
production of the wrong

kind of hormones.

It tends to increase
the level of estrogens,

for example, and
one, which in turn,

is associated with
breast cancer.

It changes the microflora
in our intestine

when we're consuming
too much protein.

I mean, it does
all these things.

- There's lots of things
we have to worry about

in the American diet.

Fiber, 97% of Americans
don't reach the daily

minimum intake of fiber,

98% of Americans don't
reach the daily minimum

intake of potassium,
for example.

The nutrients of concern
for most Americans

are the ones that are
found in plant foods.

Mostly fruits and vegetables,

and the ones that we're
getting too much of,

in excess, whether
it's calorie, sodium,

cholesterol, saturated
fat, are found

in processed foods and
animal foods in general.

- Many people
decide they want to improve

their health, by staying
away from red meat.

And instead, they begin
consuming more white meats,

like chicken, Turkey, and fish.

I always wondered if
certain types of meats

were really better than others.

- People think that
they're going to be healthy

by giving up red meat,

and instead, eating
poulty and fish.

Stop and think about
this for a minute.

What are meat, poultry and fish?

They're muscles of animals.

In one case, they
have to move a limb,

another case, they flap a wing,

in another case,
they wiggle a tail.

They're the same.

High fat, high protein,

high cholesterol,
no dietary fiber,

high in the food chain,
so heavily polluted.

- From the standpoint of
the effect of the protein

and fat in those foods,
and their effect on health,

it really doesn't matter.

It's dose dependent,
not type dependent.

So fish is not
healthier, in many cases,

it has more fat, than
chicken and pork.

But you have other
issues with fish, too.

In the ocean, you have
this whole hierarchy

of things eating things, that
eat things, that eat things.

And so you concentrate all
the pollutants in the ocean

including Mercury,
in fish like tuna,

that are some of the
favorite that we like to eat.

So fish is really not healthier.

Don't kid yourself in
thinking that if you're eating

fish and chicken you
can eat more of it.

Because one thing
in common with these

healthy populations
around the world that

do eat a little
bit of animal food,

whatever type they're choosing,

it's really a tiny,
tiny percentage

of what they're
eating in their diet.

So fish doesn't get a free pass.

A lot of people are
being told to eat fish,

by cardiologists,
or to take fish oil.

That's the other thing.

By cardiologists who
say that if you do that,

you'll increase your
hdl cholesterol,

and here's the
problem with that.

It's true, by the way.

It just doesn't
make any difference.

Studies are pretty clear
that in populations with very

low incidence of heart
disease, total cholesterol,

ldl cholesterol,
and hdl cholesterol

are very, very low.

So that's the wrong
reason to eat fish,

or take fish oil capsules,
is to increase your

hdl cholesterol.

Work on getting all
your cholesterol low.

- Since I was a
kid, I always heard that milk

was a very important food.

And I consumed a lot of it.

I also loved all kinds
of dairy products,

cheeses, butters,
ice creams, yogurts,

you name it, I had it all.

It took me many years
to begin realizing

that perhaps that was
not such a great idea.

But I still wondered.

How about calcium?

Would I be able to get
enough of it from plants?

- Well, we have a lot
of calcium in dairy.

But it's never been a
problem to have too low

calcium in a diet.

- An orange has a 110
milligrams of calcium.

Alright, so if you're trying
to take in 1500 milligrams

a day, that doesn't
sound like so much,

but when you're only
trying to get 500,

it sounds pretty
good as a percentage

of your daily intake.

- Milk is healthy food,

for calves.

For baby cows.

I mean, milk is for
babies, literally.

I mean, we're the only
species that drinks milk

of another species, and then
the only species that drinks

milk after weaning
into adulthood.

Why is milk associated
with increased prostate

cancer risk, for example.

Well, what is milk?

Milk is a cocktail
of growth hormones

to get a little bovine animal,

who's you know, who's
susceptible to predation

out on the African Savannah,

to, you know, put on
a few hundred pounds

in a few months, right,
because they don't

want to get eaten by a lion.

And so it's engineered
as this growth food

for rapid growth, which is
great if you're a little

baby cow, but if
you're an adult person,

that extra growth hormones
is not a good thing.

You know, one of the
hardest things for people

to give up is dairy,
and they're sometimes

really resistant to it, so
one of the things I tell

people is, "well, why don't
you look at the evidence

"and then decide."

Because I've always said
taking control of your health,

is not doing what I say
instead of what other

people say, taking
control of your health is

looking at the information
and making a conscious

choice, about what
you want to do.

- Dairy products i
describe as liquid meat.

They're basically
just like red meat.

High fat, high
cholesterol, no fiber,

in fact, they may
be worse than meat.

- The casein that they
use to bind the cheese

is so full of chemicals.

The chemicals are as
addictive as heroin,

that we don't have four
stomachs like a baby

calf, and unfortunately,
it is in everything.

They put cow secretions, i
know you have other names

for it, dairy, butter,
ice cream, cheese.

But it's really breast
milk from a cow.

- The only reason
people think we need

extra calcium is
because two decades ago

scientists, they raised
the bar on how much

calcium we needed.

That in turn was influenced
by the dairy industry.

What they're really saying
is, "we're not drinking

"enough milk."

Because that's what the dairy
industry wants us to say.

When in reality, if you
look at the relationship

between how much calcium
that people consume,

in different societies,
as it relates to,

let's say, osteoporosis,
the bone disease,

the higher the calcium intake,

the higher the risk
of osteoporosis.

No one wants to hear that.

But that's what the datas show.

- What goes on
inside an egg during incubation?

Well, after a week, the
eye shows up clearly

in the embryo, as the first
external organ to develop.

Gestation is much further
advanced at ten days.

The chick's outline
is more pronounced

as other organs begin to form.

At 14 days, you can see
the shape of the chick.

The contents of the
egg provide nourishment

during the incubation period.

- Most people
can't imagine starting

their day without eggs.

It's the favorite breakfast
option around the world.

And eggs make their
way everywhere,

in breads, cakes,
candies, dressings,

and even drinks.

Eggs have played an important
role in our foraging

ancestors creation and survival.

Overall, eggs are regarded
as a healthy food,

rich in protein,
minerals and fats.

But in today's world, are eggs
really a good food choice?

I was shocked to discover
the mounting amount

of scientific evidence
showing that eggs

and especially commercial
eggs might not be

the healthy food that we
all once thought it to be.

- Eggs are the most
concentrated source

of dietary cholesterol,

in the average person's diet.

And dietary cholesterol
can lead to an increase

in blood cholesterol
levels, which is the leading

risk factor for our
number one killer

of men and women, heart disease.

- Eggs have kind of
the same issue as dairy

in some ways, because
commercial eggs

are from chickens that
are commercially raised,

so, if you ever knew
how they were raised,

it's horrible, you would
never go near it once.

So, it's disgusting, but aside

from the disgustingness
of it, commercial

chickens are fed
antibiotics, to keep them

bigger, it makes them
bigger, cephalosporin,

to be specific.

They are fed feed that's
usually corn and soy,

genetically modified,
so bt toxin, corn,

roundup ready corn,
roundup ready soy.

So those are effecting
again the bacteria

and the microbiome
of the chicken,

and then, of you, because
you're ingesting it,

it's bio-accumulative.

A commercial chicken
leg is mostly omega 6,

it's not omega 3, so it's
a horrible polyetceteric

profile, and that's you know,
the least of the problems.

Because, like I said,
you've got the residue

from glyphosate and bt
toxin, and pesticides.

- The next
nutrients on my list were

omega 3 fatty acids.

Who hasn't heard about
fish oil capsules?

And their supposedly
great health benefits.

There seems to be a
lot of controversy

on this topic.

I was curious to find out
how much of these fats

we needed to stay healthy.

And how would someone get them,

if they didn't eat fish.

- A lot of these silly dietary
fads become an industry.

There's a lot of money to
be made, making products

that cater to them,
and that sort of thing,

and I'm convinced that's
the omega 3 thing.

Okay, so here's the deal.

There are two
essential fatty acids.

Omega 3's and 6's.

All the rest of them,
your body synthesizes,

essential means
must come from food.

Alright, so we find
omega 3 fatty acids

in foods like seafood,
walnuts, flax seeds,

some soy, alright.

And then we find
omega 6 fatty acids

in land animals, chicken, pork,

beef, and polyunsaturated
vegetable oils.

And so you can see
what our problem is,

we eat a lot of
omega 6 fatty acids.

And in fact the ratio
of omega 3 to omega 6

fatty acids used to
be between one to one,

and one to four.

You know what it is today?

Between one to twenty
five, and one to thirty.

So this has led a
lot of people to say,

"my gosh, this is
so out of whack.

"Omega 6 is up here, and
omega 3 is down here.

"Maybe what we
ought to do is take

"omega 3 fatty acid
pills, fish oil pills,

"and encourage fish
eating to get that

"omega 3 back up to
that ratio that we have

"been accustomed to
as a population."

Okay, there's no
evidence that it works,

in fact a large
meta-analysis that looked

at 89 studies showed that it
didn't make any difference

in health outcomes,
but besides that,

wouldn't it be better
to lower the omega 6

fatty acid in the diet,
stop eating all those

land animals, stop
consuming all that

plant oil, and the ratio
goes back to normal.

So let's not supplement
with omega 3,

let's ratchet down
omega 6, and we end up

where we need to be.

There's no money in
the decreasing omega 6.

There's a lot of money in
selling people omega 3 pills.

And getting them to eat fish.

- In fact, when you take
a supplement omega 3's,

we've got some really
good evidence now.

Summarizing a lot of studies.

The higher the use of omeg
3's, the higher is the risk

for type ii diabetes.

And even there's evidence
that cancer goes up, too.

It does exactly the opposite
of what people think it does.

It's disgusting.

It's one of those
ridiculous things.

- Early on, there
was data suggesting

that it might be
beneficial, but now,

the preponderance
of evidence is that

fish oil is useless, so
there's this billion dollar

industry that's
basically selling people

fish oil as snake oil.

- For many guys,
eating a diet rich in meat

is seen as a reflection
of their manhood,

and associated with
being strong and manly.

I felt the same way
for most of my life.

So I was really surprised
to come across studies

that showed that such
a diet might actually

have the contrary
effect in the long run.

- Here they are eating
the meat that's going

to make them macho, right?

It has the opposite effect.

That's not being very macho
to have erectile dysfunction.

- It's all about blood
flow, they even say it

in the Cialis, and
Viagra commercials.

So, if your arteries
are clogged,

with cheese and dairy and meat,

and bacon and all this bullshit,

what's the main vein?

Come on, it's
simple science, man.

- It's unquestionable that
men think that they have

to eat a lot of
protein and that eating

a plant-based diet may
not be really masculine.

But I'll tell you what's
really not masculine,

is erectile dysfunction.

If you want to be virile,
if you want to have

a great masculine life,
eat a plant-based diet.

There is a great deal of
evidence that erectile

dysfunction is caused by
diet in many instances.

And the reason is, that if
you have coronary artery

disease, in one
area of the body,

you have it everywhere.

So those very tiny blood vessels

that lead to the penis,
are some of the first

to get effected, and
so erectile dysfunction

has been referred
to as the canary

in the coal mine.

It's the sign that
something is terribly wrong,

and you need to fix
it, and at that stage,

it's much more fixable
than if you've already

had the heart attack,
or the stroke,

or something really
serious happen.

- Obesity
is linked to more

than 60 chronic diseases,

and it is common knowledge
that there is an epidemic

of obesity around the world.

Today, two thirds of
adults, and nearly one third

of children in America
struggle with it.

It seems like in
the last 30 years,

human waist lines
have simply grown

out of proportion.

And if obesity rates
stay consistent,

by 2030, 51% of the
American population

could potentially be obese.

- As far as dieting,
or losing weight,

people take two
approaches that don't work

for the long term.

And so of course they
say diets don't work.

One approach is they try
and starve themselves,

and be hungry all the time.

These are portion controlled
diets, typical diets

that people follow.

They don't work because
you're hungry all the time,

you can't tolerate
that kind of pain.

The alternative is the
make yourself sick diets.

And those are the high
protein, high fat,

low carbohydrate diets.

- Over
the last few decades,

there has been an explosion
of commercial diets

in the U.S.

Most of them revolving
around the idea

that eating few carbs,
and lots of animal protein

helps with weight loss,

all orchestrated by
multi-million dollar,

ingenious advertising campaigns

and celebrity endorsements.

As a result, nowadays,
most people associate

carbs with weight gain.

For many years, I worked
really hard to cut my carbs,

without any long term
results, and without fully

understanding why
i was doing it.

I wanted to find out
what the latest science

had to say about
these low carb diets.

- Rob atkins, some
years ago, in 1973,

published his first book,

in which he argued that
it's not the problem

with the fat, it's not the
problem with the protein,

but mostly fat, he said
that's not the problem,

the problem is we consume
too much carbohydrate.

And he made that point,
we should be consuming

low carb diet, he said.

And then many other people
wrote the same thing.

The south beach diet,
is only a copycat,

for the most part,
of the atkins diet.

The zone diet is basically
a copycat, different name.

The blood type diet in many
regards is also a copycat.

Good calories bad calories,
dairy 12, same thing.

Even Marco paleo, and I have
to say, omnivore's dilemma.

And the paleo diet
in this day and time

is a copycat.

They may give it
different names,

they may try to throw out
you know, different types

of arguments for
why that's right,

they're all wrong.

- Everybody wants
to hear good news

about their bad habits.

So when you tell
people you can eat all

the lobster you want,
you can have steak,

and eggs, and you know,
some include dairy,

some don't include dairy,
but that's sounds good

to people, because it
sounds less restrictive.

- This is written by
people, I should tell you,

who don't have
experience in this field

of nutrition research, period.

Most of them have
never even published

a single paper into
scientific literature.

- Some of the people
who are talking

about low carb diets
are little better than

news reporters, and that's
not to take anything away

from their skill at
investigating things,
but they cannot

don't have the skills to
evaluate scientific information.

- Low carb diets,
they make you sick.

And as a result, your
whole body gets sick,

with artery disease,
and kidney damage,

liver damage and so on.

They increase mortality,
that's been shown

over and over again
in major studies.

But they also make
you sick in a way

that you lose your appetite.

The dieter goes, "oh,
I've finally found it."

And then you go into
ketosis, you lost your

appetite, as a result,
you're able to sustain

yourself without thinking
about food all the time.

Because you're sick.

These diets are dangerous,

and people should
not be on them.

- Well, you know, the
biggest lies in the world

are the ones that
have a little truth.

We all know that.

It's a great tactic.

It's true, I happen to agree,
that we should cut down

on simple carbohydrates.

You see, that's out of
context to the whole.

You know, sugar, white flour.

That makes sense.

So in that sense,
there's a little truth.

But they don't always
point that out.

They just say, low carb,
low carb, low carb.

- Listen, forget about
what you like and dislike,

think about what
your objective is.

Alright, let's just
acknowledge we all like eating

junk food.

If you put chocolate in front
of me today, I'll have some,

right, but that
doesn't lead to health.

- I personally
knew several people

who experienced amazing
healing and health

benefits after
adopting some kind

some kind of a plant-based
diet, including myself.

But at the same time,
i had also met others

who are still experiencing
health issues,

or were struggling
with their weight,

after adopting this lifestyle,
some for many years.

So it made me wonder.

Was there a flaw in this diet?

- First vegetarian
that I knew well

about 40 years ago,
was actually a vegan

he was a very strict vegetarian,

he lived on Coca cola
and potato chips.

He was fat, greasy,
and unhealthy.

So being a vegetarian
means really nothing to me.

- 90% of the vegetarians
are still consuming dairy.

90%.

And they also consume
sometimes some fish,

and sometimes some chicken,
and eggs, and so forth.

The nutrient composition
of the vegetarian diet

is not very different
from the non-vegetarian.

So, as a result, if you compare
the health of vegetarians,

with non-vegetarians, you
can't expect to see very much.

- But somebody's decided
they're going to be vegan,

in other words eat no
animal foods, they've made

a declaration as to
their physical and mental

strength, and their interest,
and their willingness

to work hard.

After all, if you become vegan,

you have to stand up
to your mother-in-law,

and your doctor or your
dietitian, you have to,

quote, risk protein
and calcium deficiency,

even though that's not true.

But the problem is
that too many vegans

they don't look good.

They're overweight,
they're unhealthy looking.

- I don't really like
to use the words vegan

and vegetarian because,

that's not describing
the kind of science

I'm talking about.

- I would call myself a
fat vegan when I first

started out, that's
exactly what I was, and I

was trying to tell
everyone how great this

lifestyle is, and it
saved me, and it reversed

my heart disease.

But yet, I was still walking
around, about 75 pounds

to a hundred pounds overweight.

- Now why is
somebody a fat vegan?

Not because they give
up the animal foods.

That's a good thing, you need
to give up the animal foods.

But what they haven't
given up is the oil.

The olive oil, the
other vegetable oils,

the fat you eat is the
fat you wear, whether

it comes from a
plant, or an animal.

- So, I made the change.

I removed the foods
in my diet that were

empty calories, the
oils and the fats,

the sugars, the processed foods,

the food additives
that kept me coming

back for more, those
companies add those

things purposely to
get us to not eat

just one potato chip.

We need the whole bag.

There's millions of overweight
people in this country,

and they're all struggling,
trying this diet,

or that diet, and they
try this diet for a week,

or that diet for a week,
and they're spending

a lot of money on all these
different diet programs,

and pills, and supplements,
and adding things

to their diet to lose
weight, or to get healthy,

and that's where we need to
realize that a whole foods

plant-based diet is
free, there's no shakes,

there's no bars,
there's no powders,

there's no counting
calories, we eat until

we're full and
satisfied, and stop.

And that's it.

- As much as
i liked the idea of eating

exclusively a plant-based diet,

especially since it
had worked for me,

I wanted this film
to be very accurate

with the latest science on food.

So I wondered, if realistically,

from a scientific perspective,

could every person
in this day and age

eat a plant-based
diet 100% of the time?

- I can't say, and I don't
thing science can say,

that everybody has to be 100%.

You know, all the time.

I can argue the case, i
think, for the vast majority

of people, we ought
to be at least 90,

probably 95%, we've got
good science for that.

And in many cases, if
people already have

a disease, it's a good idea

they should be
100% all the time.

So that's my
scientific argument.

I have another practical
argument, though

on this question, concerning
how far do you go.

And that is that if
we're going to adopt

this dietary lifestyle,

it's really important that
we become accustomed to it.

And we should go
probably 100% if we can.

And stay there.

And don't tease ourselves
with the other things.

Because what happens, we
never become accustomed

to this, where our taste
preferences change.

- If you do it right,
there are no health issues.

In fact, the side effects are
you're going to lose weight,

you're going to look
better, you're going to have

more energy, you're going
to avoid most of the common

degenerative conditions,
most of the time,

you're going to have a
longer life, and a healthier,

and a better life.

You know, that's
about what happens

when you do this.

So there isn't a downside.

- We often hear
that the key to good health

is moderation, and
it makes sense.

But why then does
it not seem to work

for most people?

- You know for some people,

that's a really
easy thing to do.

But unfortunately for most,

finding moderation is
like finding a needle

in a haystack.

And, because others can do it,

they feel lost, and they
feel like an absolute

failure because they can't.

And the truth be
told, most people

can't find moderation,
so they're actually

in the majority and
not the minority.

But this minority few
that are on television,

that have never, ever been fat,

never, ever been sick,

have genetics very
much on their way,

they're out there saying,
"it's all about this,

"and all about that."

I mean, how are
they going to relate

to that poor person
sitting at home,

that's 350 pounds,
that feels like their

world is over?

Now, I know what they feel like.

I was 310 pounds.

I was loaded up on
medication for eight years.

I understand, I can relate.

I won't tell anybody
that moderation's easy.

Moderation's damn hard.

Really hard.

I still haven't mastered it.

I'm a work in progress when
it comes to moderation.

But what I'm finding
is that I'm away

from an extreme now,

of 93% of my energy
coming from this processed

and fun part of
town, animal fat,

I've now got this moderation up,

I've now moved it
up, and it's working.

- So how are
people supposed to get

all this information?

Since everyday we're
bombarded with TV ads,

infomercials, news talking
about the new food trends.

How can we know who's
telling the truth,

and has honest and
unbiased science

behind their products?

- The media always approaches
things with the idea

that if we're going
to interview somebody

about diet, we have to let
somebody with a different

opinion give their opinion.

Alright, so here's what happens.

Someone like Colin Campbell,
at Cornell university

writes this book,
the China study.

It has hundreds and
hundreds and hundreds

of references, it
represents decades of very

meticulous research,
work that he did, right?

And so they're going to
interview him, well then

they go find somebody that's
promoting a paleo diet,

or a low carb diet
because we have to have

the contrary opinion.

That person may have
written a terrible book,

that's a little more
than a storybook,

it's not referenced,
it has no credibility,

but in the eyes of the
public, now those two

are equal, Colin has an opinion,

and this other person
has an opinion.

So it confuses people, and
it gains traction that way.

- We tend to look
at the fast food industry

as the big villain,
responsible for all the havoc

surrounding food choices.

But these same companies
that are contributing

to the problem may
also hold the key

to the solution.

It is a supply and demand issue,

so if enough people
begin demanding healthy,

plant-based options, perhaps
that could be a good approach.

After all, it is us the
consumers who should dictate

what the market has to offer.

And not the other way around.

- You can make better,
cleaner, healthier products

by incorporating more
plant-based foods

into your products, and
not to shy away from that.

So, I don't take a
negative approach like down

with these fast foods.

We need to make them understand

that they can still
make money, and they

can still have a
sustainable business,

because there are
people out there

that want this food.

We just have to make
it available to them.

- Most people
rely on their doctors

for information about
diet and nutrition.

But several medical
school programs

show that doctors get very
little training on nutrition.

Sometimes, none at all.

- As I went through
medical school,

and I went through
residency, and I started

after that, working on
my own as a physician,

after awhile, I became kind
of a little bit frustrated

with my inability to
really, really help people.

Because what i
thought was happening,

was that, I was just
basically seeing patients,

asked to see them very quickly,

and was really left
with limited options

as far as what I could do.

I really felt what i
needed to do with the time

that I had, was left to
do, was just basically

treat symptoms, instead of
trying to get to the root cause

of the problem, or the root
cause of their disease.

So, it left me basically
practicing I think the kind

of medicine that the
majority of people are

practicing in the U.S.,
which is pharmaceutical based

medicine, and I don't have
a problem with medication.

I think medications are
wonderful, medications

are great, they're necessary
for a lot of people,

they are really the only option.

For many people
they're a good option.

But I think what we're
missing is that there's

something else that's out there.

- I was outsourcing my
health, to somebody else.

I was coming along saying,
"here's some money,

"will you fix me,
I'm busy over here."

And when are you
going to come up

with a drug that's
going to like, cure me?

- By using more
chemicals to correct

the imbalance, we're
actually causing

the imbalances to
be even stronger.

I found that people
who've been on medications

for a long time, are developing
a lot of side effects

from those medications,
where then are causing

other organs in their
bodies to become diseased,

their functioning is
weakening, their overall health

is weakening, their
immune system is getting

deficient, if
something is destroying

you really need to infuse
that with something

that's going help rebuild it.

- So, if somebody
comes along and says,

"you know, doctor, I can take
this patient, and by doing

"these simple things, you
know changing their diet,

"getting them to eat a
little bit differently,

"more plant-based,
getting them to exercise

"a little more, do you
realize that I could make

"this diabetes
essentially, if you were

"to test them again,
virtually go away?"

And a lot of doctors
in this country,

some may be familiar
with the idea,

but a lot of them,
even to this day,

would still say, "no,
you know, I don't think

"that would be possible."

- The cause of most of
our diseases and the cure

is within anybody's reach
who gets the knowledge.

The problem is, is they
have to make some change.

That's a small problem.

The real problem is
there is no money

in doing the right thing.

There's money in
selling you statins,

and blood pressure pills,
and powerful arthritis drugs,

and laxatives, and antacids,
that's where the money is.

So that's where
the education goes.

- We have to shift the dollars,

from expensive procedures,

and shift it more
towards education,

teaching people, showing
them about their disease,

and why it's there, and
teaching them the things

that they can do
day in and day out

that would positively
impact that disease,

and possibly even get
it certainly improved,

and maybe even
reversed in some cases.

- You can expect artery disease,
to stabilize and reverse,

and the symptoms to go away,

you can expect the type ii
diabetes, if it's really

type ii diabetes, to be
cured 100% of the time

with diet change and
associated weight loss.

You can expect the
arthritis' to improve,

and go away and be
cured, many times,

with your inflammatory
arthritis'.

The bowel problems, all
the way from indigestion,

to constipation, to
colitus, you can expect

to cure when you direct
your attention to the cause

of the problem and you fix it.

- On the
supplement aisle is where

things get really crazy.

It seems like every product
can improve our health,

in one way or another.

Some support each of
our different organs,

others give us energy,
stimulate our immune system,

prevent colds, reduce appetite,
or promote weight loss.

It makes me really confused.

If they're all so good for
us, should we even have

to worry about eating healthy?

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- There's some products
out there that could

be beneficial to our health,

and there's nothing
wrong with them,

but I think the problem
comes when people

overdo or overuse
that one product,

and look at is as you
know, the silver bullet,

the thing that's going
to cure all my ills.

When people go to that extreme,

I don't think there's a
product out there like that.

- I discourage supplements,

most of the time.

For most people.

And part of the problem
with supplements

is that supplements,
drugs, procedures,

they all have application
for specific populations.

So, the whole pitch,
if you will, is based

on the idea that you can't
get enough nutrients,

from food, you don't
eat the right diet,

so you can somehow,
make up for it,

by taking these
dietary supplements.

So it's become a 40
billion dollar industry.

The sales pitches worked,
people are doing it.

They're buying this stuff.

And the people who sell
it, they're hanging

on for dear life, and
they're not about to give

into the scientific truth.

But the reality is that
all of the nutrients

that you need are in
food, and they're in food

- in very specific and
complex combinations

that we don't really
even understand

all of yet.

And so when you extract
a single nutrient

and purify it, and
put it in a pill,

you're overloading your
system with something

that it's never seen
before, and is really not

adapted to deal with.

Much better to eat
smaller amounts of it,

in the food, and again,
I'll Grant that there

are exceptions,
and in my office,

I recommend
supplements sometimes,

but not to the
general population.

And that's the problem
in medicine, too,

we want to take
everything, and sell it

to everybody, because
that's how you make money.

- A lot of people have
done a lot of disservice

to many, many people,

trying to offer them a
magic pill, or a magic this,

or a solution in five days,

that's going to
change your life.

And the simple reality
is, is that you can't do

20 years of damage, by
ignoring mother nature's best,

the fruits, the vegetables,
the nuts, the beans,

the seeds.

You can't spend 20
years saying no to that,

and then expect
people in white coats

to come up with
something that's going

to solve that, in five days.

So what we have to
do is we have to see

the error of our ways,
which was turning our back

on mother nature,
and we have to turn

towards her, for a solution.

- Vitamin supplements
for example,

we've got a lot of data
that, when you take them

out of context, like that,
and use them that way,

in the short run, yeah, it
looks sort of interesting,

maybe they're looking
good for a little while,

especially in people
that may be really low

on them, but in
the long run, no.

You know, they don't work

and yet we're spending
32 billion dollars a year

on nutrient supplements.

- The most important
supplement for those

eating plant-based diets, is

a vitamin b12, a
regular reliable source

of vitamin b12, it doesn't
have to be supplements,

but they have b12
fortified foods.

This is very important,
it's critical

for everyone eating
a plant-based diet

to get a regular reliable
source of vitamin b12.

There's only two vitamins
not created by plants.

One is vitamin d,
created by animals,

such as yourself when you
walk out into the sun,

and the other is vitamin
b12, not made by plants,

not made by animals either,
it's made by little microbes

that blanket the
earth, so, you know,

it might've gotten enough

from drinking out of a
mountain stream, or well water,

but now we chlorinate
the water supply to kill

off any bacteria, so we
don't get a lot of you know,

b12 in our water anymore,
don't get alot of cholera

either, that's a good thing.

But because of the way we live

you know, in our, you know
sanitized, modern world,

got to get b12 from somewhere.

Our fellow great apes get
it from you know, bugs

during feces, but I prefer
a more sanitary route,

which is one 2500 microamps
of it once a week,

cost less than
five bucks a year,

or vitamin b12 fortified
foods everyday.

- We spend
more money on healthcare

than any other
country in the world.

Yet we have some of
the highest rates

of chronic disease
on the planet.

Fortunately, it seems
that some health insurance

providers including
medicare, are beginning

to embrace the concept
of disease prevention

through diet.

Instead of spending
millions of dollars

trying to simply
manage the problem,

when it might
already be too late.

- So medicare now
accepts for reimbursement

both the Dean ornish program,
for reversing heart disease

as well as the pritikin program.

And this is out of a
recognition that it's not only

safer, it's not only
cheaper, but actually

more effective than
kind of the traditional

approach, which is
very costly surgery,

and a lifetime of drugs.

And so,

I mean this is
great, from a whole,

I mean, the most
important things,

is reducing suffering
and saving lives,

but from kind of a
fiscal responsibility,

I mean, it's so much,
cheaper, so much more

cost effective, that, and
who's footing the bill?

Well, if it's medicare,
it's taxpayer,

so they're saving money by
making people healthier.

- For most
people, it is hard to imagine

that anybody could perform
well as an athlete,

without consuming
any animal products.

Not to mention being
a world class athlete,

or even a world champion.

- I am a professional
triathelete,

specializing in the
iron man distance.

I'm also the ultraman
world champion.

I have been racing for
triathlon professionally

for 10 years, I've
finished 66 iron man races,

and I love to train,
and race all the time.

- I'm an ultra-endurance
athelete,

most people have
heard of an iron man,

if you haven't, an iron man
is a very long triathlon,

during which, over the
course of a one day period,

you swim 2.4 miles, you
ride your bike 112 miles,

and then you run a marathon.

While ultra man is essentially
double that distance,

and in 2009, I was
the fastest American

and 6th place
overall in this race.

- I do believe that last season,

on a plant-based diet
was my strongest.

Than I've ever been.

I did a couple of
iron man races,

that were among the top five,

best performances in my career,

and I was able to win the
ultra man world championship.

- What you're also
seeing are atheltes like

mma fighters, they're
realizing performance gains

they're recovering more quickly
in between their workouts,

you see nba players, NFL
players, NHL players,

olympic athletes, all
kinds of athletes who are

starting to experiment
and explore this way

of eating, and
getting good results.

I've been doing this
for over eight years

right now, I've never
had a problem building

lean muscle mass, i
continue to get stronger,

fitter and faster,
and it's fine.

- For me now, the proof
is in the pudding.

I know that I am like
stronger than I've ever been,

without animal products, and so

I proved it really, like,
to myself and I've hopefully

proved to other people
that it can be done.

- I'm a neurofibromatosis
patient,

I'm an ambassador for a couple

of organizations, that
do philanthropic work

for sick children.

I'm an npst cancer survivor.

Npst is a rare sarcoma,

it's one of the most
aggressive and fast,

infiltrating cancers that
there is on the planet.

I've had over 325 tumors
removed from my body.

I've lived a very, very
rigorous and painful last

three and a half years,
battling for my life,

and I had a decision to make.

I'm either going to
let this take me,

or I'm going to fight.

Like giving up wasn't an option,

I don't know what's
going to happen,

but I'm not going
to die sitting down,

or laying down, I'm going
to keep my hands up,

my head tucked, and
I'm not going to stop

swinging until it's over.

And without a plant-based diet,

I would not be here today.

It kind of kept
my cancer at bay,

and it's allowed me
to thrive in ways

I didn't know was possible.

The insane mindset that

animal protein is the key

to being very healthy,

you know, almost killed me.

I'm not saying plant-based diets

cure, or they're
the end-all, be-all,

but what I am saying
is that if you're

going through some
type of health crisis,

your odds are very,
very much greater

when you embrace a
plant-based lifestyle.

Those are just the facts.

And my life is the living proof.

- In 2006, I attempted suicide,

while I was on 250
milligrams of Zoloft,

for what the doctors
diagnosed as major

depressive disorder.

And I was told I'd
be most likely on it

for the rest of my life.

A week after that i
went into a personal

development course,
and changed my beliefs.

From there, I started
to look at what I was

putting into my body.

And I started to
look at nutrition,

and nutritional healing,
and what I could do.

And it led me to going within,

and back to nature.

I stripped away all
of the processed food,

I went back to just
eating raw fruits

and vegetables, and juicing,
and green smoothies,

and I started to have
a sense of a natural,

natural happy high started
to come into my body,

and I was feeling better

than I'd felt in many years.

The symptoms of depression
started to drop away,

the heavy, sluggish,
tired feelings

that I couldn't cope,
the chronic fatigue,

the aches, you know,
everything started to shift.

And I started to
feel my cells were

transforming on some level.

I'd made the decision
that I didn't want to put

ever again, the fear
of death and suffering

of another life, and eating
animals into my body.

And that translated to

a shift for me, I cured
my own depression.

And I've never looked back.

- Eating tasty
food is one of the biggest

pleasures in life.

So many people might
argue that even though

eating an unhealthy diet
is not good for them,

they don't want to jeopardize
the fun aspect of it.

And therefore, they continue
eating unhealthy things.

But one thing that
i came to discover

is that when you
transition into a healthier

eating lifestyle, you do
not have to compromise

on taste.

Yes, you will go through
a transition period,

but once your taste buds,
and your body's chemistry

begins to change, you
will start to crave

and really enjoy these foods.

It is important to
find food you like,

and once you realize
that almost every dish

can be made plant-based,
you will see that

it is not that hard at all.

- There's such a stigma
with the word vegan,

I guess that people
just get automatically

turned off and just assume
that it's going to suck.

But it's like it doesn't.

If anything, to me, and
i mean, that was another

big thing, why I do it,
because it's better.

To me, I think food's
just way better this way.

I would say just try it.

You know, you'll
surprise yourself.

- When you're
becoming vegetarian,

and you've given up
the meat and the dairy

and the eggs, the only
thing you know for food,

you think you're going
to starve to death.

You have to understand that

marinara sauce, and
pasta, and lasagna,

and bean burritos, and oatmeal,
and hash-brown potatoes,

and so on, things you
love, that's where you get

your calories and your
protein and your vitamins

and your minerals.

- There are so many
beautiful, wonderful

amazing, delicious
plant-based foods out there.

In fact, when I started
to do this a whole world

opened up to me, and
when you begin to eat

these nutrient dense
foods that are actually

fuelling you, that are
actually nourishing you,

with all of these
amazing vital nutrients

and micronutrients,
you start to feel good,

your cravings change, and
your taste buds change.

You know, that cheeseburger,
that you couldn't

get out of your mind, suddenly,

you're not thinking
about that anymore,

and you're actually
craving that Kale smoothie.

And that's something
that happened to me

that I would have never
thought would have happened.

- People think that vegan
food just tastes like crap.

And that's not true.

I think that people
think that being vegan

might potentially be strange,

that people are weird, that
you have to be a hippie,

or you have to embrace
wearing hemp clothes,

or something.

- You want to have a burger,
you can have a burger.

You want to have
spaghetti and meatballs,

you can have spaghetti
and wheatballs.

You want to have fries,
you want to have chocolate

mousse, you want to
have pumpkin pie,

you want to have stuffing,
you want to have,

you know, even hotdogs.

- And so when you're looking at

the idea of taking the leap,

into this way of
eating and living,

don't look at what
you're going to be

not eating, embrace
and be excited

about the adventure
of all these new foods

you're going to be
bringing into your life.

- Eating
healthy will not do you

much good if you
can't afford it.

Or if it leaves a big
hole in your pocket.

So my next question
was is it possible

to eat healthy on
a tight budget?

- A common misconception
is that a whole

foods plant-based diet
is very expensive.

I routinely post pictures
of my grocery receipt,

and I take my whole
bounty that I bought

at the produce market, and
put it out on the table

so people can see, how
much I end up with,

and they're shocked.

Whole grains that
we buy in bulk,

are very inexpensive.

You're going to cut your
grocery bills in half,

from a typical
standard American diet,

in the beginning, it might
seem like a lot of effort,

but in the long run, you're
saving all this money

for all the new clothes
you're going to have to buy

for the new slim
you that is produced

from eating this whole
foods plant-based diet.

- It's easy to go into
those markets and say,

"there's no way
that I can do this."

But the truth of
the matter is that

it doesn't have to be expensive,

it doesn't have to
be inconvenient,

it doesn't have to be
difficult, it doesn't have

to be time consuming.

And my experience is
that it has actually

simplified my life,
and it's been cheaper

than eating the
other way around.

- At this
point of my journey,

I already had seen
enough evidence

about the benefits and
safety of a plant based diet

for adults, but was this
lifestyle also ideal

and safe for children?

- Not only can
children grow healthy

on a plant-based
diet, they'll grow

healthiest on a
plant-based diet.

I mean, we have an
epidemic of childhood

obesity, and children
raised plant-based,

actually grow taller
by about an inch,

they grow about an inch
taller than meat eating

incumbents, and
most importantly,

they grow less in a
horizontal direction, right?

They don't have
the same problems

with childhood obesity,
so Dr. Benjamin Spock,

the most esteemed
pediatrician of all time,

wrote one of the
bestselling books

in human history,
recommended in his final

edition, the 7th edition
of his book before he died

in his 90's, that all
children should be raised

with zero exposure
to meat and dairy.

And he did this
because he saw what

you know, the older
generations were dying

from, and wanted to get
them off on a good start.

I mean the leading
killers of our children

will eventually be, same thing.

Heart disease,
cancer, strokes, copd,

diabetes, hypertension.

These are diseases
that can be prevented

in many cases arrested,
or even reversed

with a healthy enough
plant-based diet.

- As a new
father, I wondered,

how could I get my
daughter to eat healthy?

Since getting her to
eat anything at all

can sometimes be a problem.

There's so much
junk being marketed

to kids out there, and
it is often difficult

for parents to
transition their children

to healthier food options.

- I would not be
surprised at all

that if in 15,
20, 25 years time,

people will look back at
the last 10 to 20 years,

and they'll say, "how did
those people give that food

"to their children?"

- A big question that
we get all the time

is, "how can I get my
kids to eat better?"

I think every parent
wants their kids to eat

healthy, and it's
difficult, especially when

everywhere you look, there's
a fast food restaurant,

or a processed food snack
that is being marketed

towards children.

And the first thing
that I always say is,

"you have to lead by example."

As a parent, you can't
be eating lousy foods,

and expect your
children to eat healthy,

because you tell them to.

So you have to walk your
walk, that's number one.

The second thing is, i
encourage all parents

to make the preparation
of meals and the shopping

of food inclusive
with their children.

The more you can bring
your kids into the fold,

the more they're going
to develop an emotional

attachment to where
their food comes from,

how it's prepared,
and the impact that

it's having on their health.

- Really get inside their heads,

and sort of think
how they would think.

Keep telling them what
is good, what is bad,

won't probably work, you
have to interact with them,

you have to show
them what's possible.

Get your hands dirty,
get the kids to help you,

and let them own
what they're doing.

If you always put
something in front of them

in a silver platter,
and let them consume

that information,
you know, it'll only

work for so long.

What you've got to do,
you've got to get them

involved, let them have
the responsibility.

The way I approach it
is that I try to make it

as fun as possible, use
colors, use flavors,

teach a little thing that
they never knew about,

use gadgets that,
normal people won't see,

but I want them to go
away with a feeling

of accomplishment,
and something that

they're eager to share
to their friends.

Hopefully their parents.

I think that's the best part.

It's like holding a bird.

You don't want to
hold it too tight,

you're going to hurt the bird.

You don't want to
hold it too loosely,

or it's going to fly away.

That's something that
each individual parent

has a specific
knowledge of their kid.

- I get the questions
all the time.

"What do I do, how do I start,

"how do I tell my kids,
oh, they're going to be

"so disappointed that
they're not having

"meat on their plates, that
they're not having dairy."

Try a vegan burger, it's
basically the same thing,

you just leave the meat out.

That's great for
kids, because why?

You're going to put
that burger on that bun,

you're going to put all
the fixings on that,

whatever your kids like, you
make it exactly the same,

that's a great way
to get started.

- When I think with
the younger generation,

what's so exciting is,
is that they get to start

young, I mean, I'm not
going to have any regrets,

but it sort of bums me
out a little bit that I'm

just now discovering
this in my 30's because

I wish I would have done
this when I was younger,

because just the thoughts
of like the energy,

that I would've had in college.

- I think the other
thing is to not have

hard and fast rules,
with your children,

you can't eat that, and you
know, you have to eat this.

And instead, respect them as
independent sentient beings,

who have you know,
the wherewithal

to make conscious
decisions for themselves.

So, at our home, we
serve plant based foods,

all the time, we don't
have any animal products

here, but when my 10
year old daughter goes

to a birthday party, she's
surrounded by you know,

chicken McNuggets, and
birthday cake and all of that,

and we don't say to her,
"you can't eat those foods."

We say, "have a great time
at the birthday party,

"and make the right
choice for you."

And that doesn't mean
that she always makes

the right choice, that
way you are empowering

them, this is a lifetime
we're talking about.

This is a long road ahead,
so it's about getting

your children to think
consciously about their

own choices, so that
when they reach the age

of maturity, they are
informed and educated

and prepared to be responsible
stewards of the planet,

and responsible stewards
of their own bodies.

- I could not
make a film about food choices

and not explore the
topic of organic,

versus non-organic.

It seems that
everybody's obssessed

with those words, and
it's becoming increasingly

adverse to foods that don't
carry an organic label.

Others fear that consuming
more plant based food

might be damaging
to their health,

due to the increase of
pesticides in those foods.

But should this really
be our biggest concern?

- Fear of pesticides
should never keep anyone

from maximizing their
fruit and vegetable intake.

There, you know, so there's
been like chemic computer

modeling studies that
suggest that, so for example,

if half of Americans ate
a single more serving

of fruits and vegetables
a day, we'd prevent

20,000 cancer deaths every year.

If just half the people,
just one more serving,

20,000 people would not
have died from cancer,

would normally have died
if they hadn't done that.

So that's how powerful
fruits and vegetables are.

But, because these
were conventional,

pesticide laden
fruits and vegetables,

they estimated that it
would, that the extra

pesticide burden from
all those extra fruits

and vegetables would cause 10

extra cancer deaths.

So in all it would only
prevent 19, 990 cancer deaths.

But that's what we're
looking at a year,

this tremendous benefit.

Then a tiny bump in risk.

So, okay, great, choose
organic whenever you can,

why accept any risk,
why not get all benefit?

Sure, but we should never
let concern about pesticides

in any way dissuade us
from stuffing our face

with as many healthy fruits
and vegetables as possible.

- If you're eating meat,
and you're eating commercial

meat, and you're worried
about switching to plant-based

diet, and worried about the
pesticides in the produce,

you're being ridiculous,
because you're getting

a fraction of the pesticides
by eating the vegetable,

that you can mostly wash it off.

Remember, you can
wash, you can soak your

vegetables and use a
wash to get pesticide

residue off.

You cannot wash the pesticide
off of the hamburger

meat you're about to prepare.

- I encourage people
just to go ahead and buy

whatever produce
they can afford,

whatever produce
looks the freshest

that week in the grocery store,

and whatever's on sale,

so that's where they're
going to save money,

is not worrying about,

"i have to buy
organic bell peppers,

"and they cost me
four dollars each."

That's not a
sustainable lifestyle.

- Besides
the health aspect related

to our food choices, I also
realized during the production

of this film, that there
was another very important

factor, that is
often overlooked,

ignored, or misunderstood.

The connection
between food choices,

and the environment.

I was really shocked after
reading the united nations

report on global warming.

After all, it is hard
to grasp the idea

that the burger, or
steak on our plates

might be contributing
to things such as

global warming, water scarcity,

species extinction,
the destruction of
the Amazon forest,

the depletion of our oceans,
and even world hunger.

I had a hard time
understanding it at first,

but once I began
digging a little deeper,

the connection became clear.

- Now, it's seven
billion people,

what we eat, determines
how the whole planet

is used, and what's
happening now

is that, as we run out of land,

to grow these
animals and the food

for the animals, we
burn down rain forests,

to aquire more land.

And the number one
cause of all of that

is our food choices.

- It's expected to have a
40% shortage in fresh water

supplies by the year 2030.

We have again, irreversible
loss of biodiversity,

ecosystems, and extinction
of species faster than

we've ever seen before, for
the past 65 million years.

We have a world hunger
issue with a little less

that a billion people on
earth suffering from hunger,

with about 350 children
dying from hunger each hour.

- You might
be asking yourself,

how is all that possible?

And I had the same questions,

because in fact,
many of these issues

are not only related
to our food choices.

Many are very complex problems,

with several social,
political, economic,

and cultural variables.

But here are some
intriguing facts.

70% of our arable land
is used to grow crops

for animals and not humans.

It takes on average
2400 gallons of water

and 12 pounds of grain to
make one pound of beef.

Five million acres of
rainforest are destroyed

every year, so companies
can graze animals

and grow food for these animals.

The excrements of 80
billion land animals

killed every year for
food are not treated.

And go back into
our water basins,

and our oceans, creating
a lot of pollution.

And these are just
a few examples.

So when you consider
these facts,

it all begins to
fall into place.

- We need to focus
more, and understand

more what the footprint
is, the complete

life cycle analysis, ecological
environmental depleting

footprint is of that
item is versus just how

close it is to you.

Or whether it's
even organic or not.

It's much less of a
footprint to eat something

that was grown 1500 miles away,

if it was plant-based,
than it is to eat

a food item that
was slaughtered,

that was an animal product,

by your next door neighbor.

And our largest footprint is,

you know, across all sectors,

our food choice
specifically as it relates

to eating animals.

- No matter
how green, or eco-friendly

we try to be, the truth
is that by nature,

we are a very
destructive species.

Almost everything
we do has a negative

impact on the environment.

So many people often try to
minimize their footprint,

by doing things like
switching to more effective

light bulbs, taking
short showers,

bicycling to work,
using solar energy,

or even buying an electric car.

And those are all great things.

But the question is,

are these actions
in fact the easiest

and most effective when
it comes to helping

protect our planet
and its' resources?

- You look at the
four major problems.

We've got overpopulation,

and we're adding about
a million people every

four days, net.

Then you get to the way we live,

and the way we consume stuff,

all that stuff is coming
from finite resources

which we are steadily depleting.

So those first two factors
the overpopulation,

and the way we live, are
driving the third one,

which is our dependence
on fossil fuels.

Look at the numbers.

Since 1950, the
line for consumption

of fossil fuels have
gone steadily up,

every year, and there's
no end in sight.

The fourth big driver,
of all of these

environmental issues,
particularly global warming,

is the way we eat,
is our consumption

of the meat, dairy,
eggs and fish,

and that keeps going up.

It requires, per calorie,
over 10 times as much

land, 10 times as much water,

and 10 times as much energy.

And it ranges.

But the average is
well over 10 times,

and that's a big number.

Now the good news
is, we can change

what we eat, any
individual over night.

People say, "wow, what
would happen if everybody

"changed at once?"

Well, that's not
going to happen.

The bad news is, those
first three items,

overpopulation,
over consumption,

and dependence on fossil
fuels, each one of those would

take decades, if not
centuries to fix.

- With more
and more people embracing

the idea of reducing their
intake of animal products,

or adopting some kind
of a plant-based diet,

it seems that things are
moving in the right direction.

But are they, really?

- You know, I hear people
saying, "things are

"are getting better.

"You know, we see
people putting solar

"panels up, and more
people are eating

"plant-based, and
there's vegan restaurants

"going in down the street,
things are getting better."

Well, not really.

And not even close.

For every individual,

that's moving in the direction

of a plant-based diet,

there's a hundred people moving

in the other direction.

We've got to double
our food production

in the next 40 years,
to feed the nine billion

that we'll have by 2050.

- When it
comes to global warming,

the production of
animals for food

currently contributes to
about 14.5% of the total

global warming effect.

A contribution larger
than the entire

global transportation
sector combined.

Livestock amounts to 53%
of nitrous oxide emissions,

44% of methane gas,

and 5% of the total
carbon dioxide

released in our atmosphere.

- Raising livestock
and eating fish,

and also producing dairy
is one of the largest

contributing factors
to climate change.

And the public
needs to know this,

and policies need to
be enacted to help

eliminate that.

It's one of the easiest
ways that we have

to not just adapt to, but
to mitigate climate change.

And it can be done as
easy as just changing

out what you have on your plate.

- Organic
grass fed beef

seems to be the new trend.

And the idea sounds
really appealing.

Cows that live off grass
don't take any antibiotics,

and therefore supposedly
provide a healthier

food source for us,
when compared to factory

farmed animals.

But is there a catch?

- It's a very large
movement today,

and I think what's
happening is that

there's been a shift
because of more and more

people being concerned
about the humane

raising of animals, and
moving away from factory

farms, they're moving
toward grass fed operations,

or pasture fed operations.

It's a complete fabrication
by the meat and dairy

industries to
continue perpetuating

the slaughtering of
animals, because even though

some animal might
be humane raised,

they're still not humane killed,

and all of the animals
that are still placed

on your plate have
to be slaughtered

in some manner, and
so there's still

a humane issue there,
but from an environmental

standpoint, in many aspects,
raising grass fed beef

is less sustainable than
factory fed animals,

and the reason is, because
it's so land intensive.

It may require eight
pounds of feed to produce

one pound of an animal
product, if it were beef,

but in a grass fed situation,
sometimes, it's 10 times

that much, it may be 70,
80 times from a grass fed

to a grain fed beef.

Additionally, from a
climate change standpoint,

grass fed cattle
produce 40 to 60%

more greenhouse gas
emissions, meaning methane,

carbon dioxide,
land use changes,

than a grain fed cow would.

- Another thing
often taken for granted

is the depletion of our oceans.

We often think of
fish as a never ending

self replenishing food source,

but the truth seems
to be quite different.

- Over 90% of all the
big fish in the oceans

are already gone.

80% of commercial fisheries
are over exploited,

or depleted.

The fishing fleets are
chasing the last of the fish.

And have to travel
further and further away

from the land and deeper
and deeper into the ocean

to catch them.

I've seen illegal
fishing in Antarctica,

and that's as far away
from land as you can get.

- When someone sits
down at a table,

to eat fish or seafood
on their plate,

what they're really
doing is they're eating

a target fish that's becoming
depleted to the point

of near extinction,
but they're also eating

baggage comes with it,
and typically it requires

about five to twenty
times more other seafood,

as by-kill, and
by-kill is the term

that relates to all
those other sea life,

living in the ocean that
are killed in the process

of trying to get that
target fish to your plate,

whether it's with purse
seine type of fishing method,

or long line or bottom
trawling, or middle trawling,

our oceans are expected
to be completely

devoid of all fish
that we recognize

commercially today
by the year 2048.

- The oceans are
dying, and nobody wants

to know about it.

And if the oceans die, we die.

It's as simple as that.

And if you start
destroying them,

you're basically
killing out the crew,

and the life support
systems going to collapse,

and there won't be
any air to breathe,

and there won't be
any food to eat,

and the climate'll
be out of control,

and, not a good thing.

But we have to humble
ourselves and recognize

that we need this diversity,
we need these creatures,

we need this interdependence,
and if we don't see that,

then our chances of
survival are quite slim.

My big concern is not
that we're going to wipe

ourselves out, out of
sheer ecological stupidity,

but that we're going to
take so much with us.

- So much confusion,
and so much debate.

That it just boggles
my mind that we can't

think like third graders,
and say, "why not

"just address the
number one cause here."

You know, we got ten
holes in the boat,

the boat's sinking, which
hole do we fill first?

Go to the big hole.

Fill that big hole first.

- I mean, so often we're
looking at just what

we would like to eat,
because it satisfies

our taste preferences.

Well, we're at a point in time,

in order to save
humanity essentially,

save our species, which
is not an overstatement

at all, we need to start
looking outside of self,

and start looking at how
our choices are fully

effecting those around
us, those species

that we share this planet with,

and especially
future generations.

- A couple
years back, I saw

a documentary
called, earthlings,

that exposed the
conditions in which

farm animals are slaughtered.

It made a big impact on me.

I knew that animals
got killed for food,

but seeing how it
actually happened,

and seeing the suffering,
pain and terror

that these animals go through,

put things into a new
perspective for me.

I was already eating
mostly plant-based foods

at the time, but after
seeing those images,

I decided I could not
contribute to the killing

of innocent animals any longer.

So I became a 100% plant eater.

I was not in a position
to judge anybody,

after all, I ate animals for
over 30 years of my life.

But I wanted to understand,

how come in this day and age,

such a massive
genocide was allowed.

And how come us, the
general population,

government and
corporations allowed

for this to happen?

- We love some
animals, and eat others

because we have been
born into a invisible

belief system that conditions us

to compartmentalize when
it comes to animals.

It conditions us to
think of certain animals

as edible, and other
animals as inedible.

And the invisible belief
system that conditions

us to eat certain animals,
is what I call carnism.

One way carnism
remains invisible, is
by remaining unnamed.

If we don't name it, we
can't even think about it,

so we can't question it.

When we don't see
something, obviously,

it becomes much
easier to maintain

this mythology that
there is no problem,

there is no atrocity.

- This is not
just something to eat.

This is beautiful love,

joy, work, action.

This is life.

- You're think
they're just animals?

They have intelligence.

They have language signal.

They have love.

So when they are
about to face deaths,

in a death chamber,

they fear, and they
sad, and they anger.

- You know, everybody
talks about the holocaust,

what about the holocaust we're
creating for the animals?

Every year, we're killing
billions and billions

of animals, and you
want peace on earth?

Peace on earth is for
all living entities,

not just humans.

People just got
locked up in Utah

for photographing a
cafo, a concentrated

animal feeding operation.

These people keeping
the people ignorant,

and it's sick, to make money.

And if the truth gets
out, if people know

where their food came from,

or how their food was produced,

they wouldn't eat that shit.

- When you start to
threaten the dominant

paradigm of society,
you're going to become

a force to be reckoned
with, and they'll do

everything they
can to destroy you.

And that's exactly,
that's happening now.

- There are still
people who'll see that,

and they'll be resistant,
i mean, I was one

of those people, you
know, I grew up in Texas,

eating beef all the time,
and I loved animals,

I always loved the
companion animals

I grew up with, and
you know, I never

really thought much, i
thought I was eating healthy.

So I think a lot of the
resistance that people feel is

because we're so conditioned
to eat these things

all the time, we've
been conditioned from
a very young age.

- And even if we make the
intellectual connection,

even if we say, "yes,
I'm eating a cow."

We still don't make the
emotional connection,

because if we did, we
would feel the empathy

that would cause us
to feel disgusted

rather than appetized.

- I couldn't pretend anymore

that was, eating that
chunk of chicken breast

was the same as the
broccoli next to it,

it just didn't, I couldn't,
i couldn't fake it

to myself anymore.

- And there's a
reason why, you know,

slaughter houses,
and feed lots are not

located in densely
populated areas.

It's not for lack of
space, it's because people

don't want us to see it.

Then those animals
go on a long journey

to the slaughter house,
at night, usually.

So we don't see a lot of
that, and that's by design.

- Who's to say which
animals are to be tortured,

and killed?

We've decided in America,
in our part of the world,

cows and pigs, and
lambs are to be eaten,

but in some parts of
the world, they eat dogs

and cats, and in some
parts of the world

they eat snakes and monkeys.

- Yes, it's true that
people have eaten animals

for thousands of
years, but today,

for many people in the world,

there's absolutely no
need to eat animals.

You know, we are
causing, as human beings,

massive suffering, to
other sentient beings,

suffering that is
completely unnecessary.

When eating animals is
no longer a necessity

for survival, then
it becomes a choice.

And choices always
stem from beliefs.

- There is a
popular myth that perpetuates

the idea that fish
don't feel any pain.

That makes it easier for
people to consume it,

since it seems to
be more humane.

But, is it really true?

- Fish have proprioception,
they have feelings.

And so there are a
number of researchers

that would tell you very
clearly that it's a very

uncompassionate way to
eat, you're slaughtering

between one and three
trillion fish per year,

and all of those fish
have sensory reception,

they all have feelings.

- The industries
depend on keeping these

facts out of our consciousness.

So for example,
we learn to resist

taking in information
from those who

may help us begin
to question carnism.

If you shoot the
messenger, you don't have

to take seriously the
implications of their message.

- So we need to
educate our children

the true meaning of
what these animals

really are, by showing,
and by awareness about life

of the pig or chicken is
very much same as life

of cat and dog.

- Our time on
this planet is very short.

And change can
sometimes be difficult.

And slow.

But by taking the right steps,

we can point ourselves
into a better direction.

As for myself, this was
the most exciting journey

I ever took.

And I look forward
to continue living

a healthy, plant-based
lifestyle with my family.

And to keep empowering others

with this information.

- It's so important for us
to take care of ourselves.

For our own human
health standpoint,

but it really won't
matter how healthy we are

if our planet isn't healthy.

- You know what's
unique about us?

We are the only species
out of the millions

that does not live in
Harmony with nature.

- At least it's good
to educate yourself

and be aware, and
then you can make

the decision from there,

because ultimately,
it's your choice

to make, you know.

It's not like, "hey, you
know, you're the worse

"person if you don't do this."

No, it's not like that, but
at least educate yourself,

find out, you know, so
at least you just know.

I mean, you can make
the choices on your own.

- I don't believe there's
an evil cabal of doctors

and government people,

I believe there's
a system in place,

and the world is so asleep,

and they've
forgotten, intuitively

that people just
follow the system

without thinking,
without questioning,

and it's because they're asleep.

It's not because
they're stupid, it's not

because they're not motivated.

- I mean, it's really insanity
when you think about it.

That we are sitting
here, in the modern day,

and we've got to talk
about eating fruits

and vegetables.

You know, you go back
in any time in history,

past, say the last 100, 200
years, and it was just like

everyone was doing it.

- If you want to be a
responsible steward of our

precious planet, and
its' dwindling resources,

eating a plant-based
diet really is

the only solution.

And by voting with your dollar,

and eating a plant-based diet,

you are saying no to
animal agriculture,

and all the devastation,
all the havoc

that it's wreaking
on our planet.

- I think that every human being

wants to do good.

I think that every human being,

in their core, wants
to do what's right.

And I think that
if we look at it,

and we say, "you know what?

"What is it that I can do today,

"to make the environment better,

"to make my health better,

"and to have
compassion for animals,

"for our fellow creatures.

"What is it that I can do today?

"I can start on the path
to a plant-based diet."