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In Defense of What The Health Documentary: an Open Letter to Progressive Vegans

If you’re interested in veganism and/or plant-based diets, you’ve probably heard about the new documentary called What The Health.

It’s created by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn – the same people who had previously authored Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.

While this documentary was officially released a few months ago, recently it’s been one of the top things discussed in the vegan community after it was added to Netflix.

In defense of What The Health documentary: an open letter to progressive vegans

(Please note: in case you haven’t seen What the Health or Cowspiracy, my post below contains some spoilers.)

While Cowspiracy focuses on the environmental impact of animal agriculture and points at plant-based diets as the possible solution, What The Health investigates the connection between the standard American diet and poor health. Once again, plant-based diets are portrayed as the remedy.

I’ve been loosely following the online discussions about this new documentary.

Interestingly, it seems like people who have watched What The Health are now divided into two camps:

1. Those who think the movie has had a positive impact – there are quite a few stories from people whose staunch non-vegan friends or relatives finally decided to give this whole plant-based diet thing a go after watching What The Health;

2. Those who think the movie does more harm than good –  there are negative opinions voiced by progressive-leaning vegans, particularly about the message that going plant-based will cure all of our diseases and make us resistant to getting sick in the future.

A lot of people bring up the fact that some health improvement stories pictured in this documentary were a bit extreme.

Also, it doesn’t help that the movie seems to play on our fears at times, and that fat-shaming messages are plentiful.

While I mostly identify with the progressive/liberal line of thought in my opinions on life, politics, and the choices I make (including my food choices), I have to stand up to the negativity I’ve been seeing from my fellow ‘woke’ vegans when it comes to this new documentary.

Okay, I admit: this documentary isn’t perfect. But hear me out.

First off, vegan/plant-based people are not the target audience of What The Health.

There are LOTS of people who have never heard about how the standard American diet affects their health, and this is who this movie is meant for.

I’m thrilled about every example I hear of people who finally decided to ditch meat and dairy after watching What The Health.

Even though I was already aware of most of the facts brought up in this documentary, I’m still going to talk about it for the benefit of those who aren’t.

Second, in search of perfection we the progressive types often dismiss the ‘good enough’.

Yes, there are issues, and I’ve rolled my eyes a few times as I watched What The Health (for example, I wish there were a disclaimer that the health improvements depicted in some of the people’s stories were not a typical result).

But at the same time, I don’t believe it’s fair to dismiss the whole movie because of a few snafus.

(By the way, the website for What The Health features an extensive list of references on a minute-by-minute basis for all the health claims brought up in the movie.)

I’m going to say something that won’t gain me any popularity in the liberal circles: this is why democrats lost the presidential election in the US last year.

We the left-leaning folk were so busy arguing whether or not ‘our’ candidate was good enough to vote for that we got completely blindsided when ‘their guy’ trumped (no pun intended) all expectations and got to the top.

Of course, there isn’t an imminent election coming up in which we’d have to decide if we want to continue eating meat or not.

But my point is, can we please stop the in-fighting because it’s not doing us any favors?! If you think that vegan documentaries can be better, please reach out to filmmakers and collaborate with them on a new one.

Third, there are a lot of good points brought up in What The Health.

In addition to talking about the connection between our food choices and our well-being – something most Americans are still unaware of – there’s plenty of useful info that this documentary brings up.

Here are a few points that come to mind:

1. The connection between the large-scale agribusinesses, their lobbying power, and the medical system in the Western society;

2. The lack of nutritional training doctors go through in medical school;

3. How the meat and dairy industry employs tactics similar to those used by the tobacco industry when talking about its products and public health;

4. Why organic meat, dairy and eggs are not necessarily better for us than their conventional counterparts;

5. The devastating impact of animal agriculture on the underprivileged communities of color, as shown in the example of Duplin County, North Carolina.

6. The role of USDA checkoff programs in promoting meat and dairy to the public;

7. How our obsession with animal-based protein is harming us, etc.

Once again, for people who have never heard of these things, this information can be life-changing.

For this reason I will recommend What The Health to anyone who expresses any interest in going vegan/plant-based, followed with Cowspiracy to round out the picture.

Yes, some points in these documentaries may not align with my opinions 100%, but if I want a movie that fits my beliefs completely, I’ll have to make it myself.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on What The Health? Did you find this documentary problematic, or do you think it does more good than bad? Let me know in the comments!

UPDATE 7/25/2017. This documentary has been getting a lot of attention in the non-vegan circles, including lots of negative reviews from various ‘big name’ gurus of the meat-eating world.

I feel like it’s only fair to address this negativity.

If this is the first time you ever hear about the negative health impacts of eating a meat-heavy diet, the connection between our society’s insatiable appetite for things like bacon and how this appetite affects communities living near large-scale animal farming operations, etc. – don’t brush it all off until you do your own research.

Just because something sounds shocking doesn’t mean it’s nonsense. Yes, I may be a bit biased here, but keeping an open mind and doing the research goes a long way in all areas of life and knowledge.

UPDATE 8/23/2017. For people accusing doctors featured in the documentary of being biased, here’s a great response from Dr. Garth Davis, MD, on ForksOverKnives.com. Also, see my review of Dr. Davis’s book, Proteinaholic, over here.

(Images courtesy of WhatTheHealthFilm.com)

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Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats
Alina first made a switch to a vegan diet in 2013 to optimize her athletic performance as a marathon runner. Eventually she embraced veganism as a way to be kinder to fellow living beings and the environment. Alina hopes that this blog helps its readers on their path to becoming vegan and making this world a better place.

Kasey Burlingham

Monday 18th of December 2017

I'm a vegetarian but the blatant use of scientific language to mislead people in this documentary is unacceptable. I only watched a couple minutes and had to turn it off. There are many reasons for people to consider a vegetarian or vegan diet, I believe it's irresponsible to make reasons up. For example it is true that carbohydrates are stored in the form of glycogen, however the human body can only store about 2,000 calories of glycogen plus the glycogen that is stored in the liver. Carbs in excess of what the body is able to store is turned into fat. This is why sugar leads to obesity. Fat and protein can also be converted and stored as glycogen. Fat can also help raise testosterone (boosting metabolism) levels, and is used for energy at low intensities. The healthiest diet in the world the Mediterranean diet is very high in fat for good reason. I am scared that the blatant lies in this documentary will make people dismiss very well done documentaries like Forks Over Knives and food Inc.

Josh Meckel

Wednesday 27th of September 2017

I love what you said! Thank you for standing up for this really great film :)

Michele

Sunday 17th of September 2017

I am plant based BUT I found some of the info in this documentary not believable or else all meat eaters would have been wiped from the earth long ago. In short, I do NOT try to convert others, nor do I condemn their choices. Everyone needs to be responsible for their own lives and no one else's. The movie was not completely truthful but hey, not many are.

Josh Meckel

Wednesday 27th of September 2017

Your comment does not make sense. At no point did the film make any claims that a meat diet would instantly kill meat eaters. It simply explained why people who eat meat and dairy deal with a much higher rate of disease. Vegans/plant-powered people are not completely immune but it sure does help a LOT.

JoEllen Cox

Sunday 3rd of September 2017

Hi Alina. Thanks for the great article. I'm not a vegetarian and straddle the fence on which way of eating is healthier; I.e., carnivore versus vegetarian. The topic has become so confusing as there are so many scientists and physicians with Phd's that have completely opposite opinions, Help! I am a female and weight train three times a week which I love and need to continue as I have osteoporosis. I also take great satisfaction in building visible muscle. There are many trainers and scientists that stand by their claims that one must consume animal protein to gain muscle mass and to maintain energy and health. I was a vegetarian for two years after trying to watch Earthlings and learning about the atrocities of the animal agriculture business. Over time I grew tired and leary of eating mock meat and somewhat processed vegetarian fare. After one last time reading the ingredient list on a package of tofurky versus an organic chicken breast, or plant based coffee creamer versus organic half and half, I caved and said, enough! I've went back to organic eggs and meat/poultry. I've also watched most of the food documentaries available on Netflix and find them fascinating. A book that also got me rethinking plant based is Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter (?). I found it frightening and started eliminating grains. As a side note, I also found cooking vegetarian meals somewhat difficult; my food just didn't taste that great! To summarize, I'm so confused and am truly seeking guidance and the best food direction to take! Thank you!

Alina

Tuesday 5th of September 2017

Hi JoEllen! I agree that there's so much information from both omnivore and veg-friendly camps that it's easy to get confused. One thing I can say for sure: if you ditch meat/dairy/eggs, it doesn't mean that you have to use their processed vegan substitutes! The plant-based dietary approach can be just as unprocessed/organic/wholesome as eating the way you seem to aspire to. Those processed vegan meats, etc. are a good 'crutch' for new vegans who still miss the flavors or textures of what they used to eat before they made the switch, but it doesn't mean that they have to eat them all the time from now on. As for protein, you probably know that it's built from amino acids, which in turn are abundant in plant foods - 'food' animals don't generate them, they get them from the plant-based foods they eat. By eating plants for protein, you're basically 'skipping the middleman'. If you eat a varied plant-based diet with plenty of calories to maintain your daily physical activities, you should be covered. There are lots of vegan athletes who are quite successful eating this way. As for making tasty vegan meals, I highly recommend experimenting with Pinterest, various cookbooks (see a list of my favorite tried-and-true cookbooks with easy and delicious plant-based recipes over here), etc. Hope this helps!

Kayla

Tuesday 15th of August 2017

Hi, I felt like sharing my new vegan life style story with you all. My mother and I sat and watched the documentary on July 9th and it really changed our life. At the time I was 196 pounds and on the verge of becoming diabetic, as of right now I am pre-diabetic and so is my mother. My doctor believes I was born with it, as a ten pound baby it seems possible. After watching the documentary my mother and I immediately went to the fridge and threw out everything that was non-vegan and went to the store at 10 pm and bought as much as we could from Safeway, which wasn't a lot. Since then, August 15th now, I have lost 14 pounds only a month and 4 days later weighing in at 182 pounds and I feel a heck of a lot better about myself. I'm not saying that becoming a vegan is curing me but it's sure as heck doing a lot better than I was before. Although I'm sure that I can't go on a raging sugar binge because supposedly "sugar doesn't cause diabetes." I feel more comfortable eating some sugary things without feeling like I'll lose my legs if I do. I would say this documentary is a blessing to my life. A lot of people have hated on my mother and I for believing one thing after one time. But I honestly think it was one of the best choices I've made. I'm definetly happy and suggest that many people watch the documentary, if they haven't already. Some people might hate and others might believe it's really up to them. But I certainly know now I feel much happier with the way my life is turning out and I hope if people learn something from the documentary it makes them happy too!

Alina

Tuesday 15th of August 2017

That's wonderful, Kayla, glad to hear that you and your mom are already seeing the benefits of going plant-based!Good luck on your journey to better health!