raidatlanta
When you read this, please keep in mind that I, myself, am a vegan.This is not a documentary, it's well made propaganda. Propaganda for a good cause mind you, but propaganda none the less.For example, it gives false information. It starts off partially by the film maker / narrator explaining how he discovered that meat was carcinogenic. If that were the case, inuits would have been wiped out ages ago. In reality processed meats are carcinogenic because of the products they use to process them - mostly nitrates - but meat itself is not carcinogenic.It also tries to get you on an emotional note. For example it tries to consider the fact that the consumption of milk products are encouraged as part of a "healthy diet" while most black Americans are lactose intolerant as systemic racism. It's more likely that when the "four major food groups" thing was established, most people didn't even know there was such a thing as being "lactose intolerant". And what with white lactose intolerant people then? It's not racism, it's just a backwards vision of nutrition that still persists. It also tries to show poor black communities next to filthy, unregulated pig farms, creating an emotional link between meat consumption and poor black communities. If it were an oil well contaminating their drinking water instead of pig excraments, would it make a difference? Those people are there because they are poor, and as a result of racism, but the farm, meat factory - or oil well if it were an oil well - is not the cause of such racism. There is no link between meat or milk consumption and racism, but making you believe there is one is a good way to try to emotionally manipulate people.It also affirms or encourages false or pseudo-science. For example it claims that humans aren't supposed to eat meat because of their digestive track and teeth. What is the consequence of eating it for our digestive track? They don't say! But they don't either explain why we would have predator vision (eyes in front of our head) then. It doesn't explain either why we are ok after having consuming meat (and some communities - Inuits for example, again), massively, for millions of years. It also talks about a rice diet - that we can live off rice, sugar, and fruit juice. He doesn't mention that it's a medical died that has to be closely followed by a doctor, and that in reality, some people tried living off of it, and a bunch of them died (you may google it, and you will find info on this "rice diet"). Not eating meat and milk does not equal good nutrition, just like eating it does not equal bad nutrition de facto. The whole documentary also keeps on stating that there is no link between diabetes and sugar. Hmmm... no, that's not really the case; being obese and having clogged arteries will make it more likely that you will be diabetic, but if you consume a lot of sugar, you will be likely to be as well. There are skinny hypoglycemics. The movie ends with a montage of muscular athletes that are vegan. What's the link with facts about nutrition? None - anyone with a good diet who works out a lot will end up being a muscle-hunk-athlete. But showing them to you and saying "they are vegan" is a way to create a link in your head between being a big muscle athlete and being vegan.Another thing that really annoyed me, is that at the end, again, there is a montage of obese Americans, who switch to a vegan died and say "oh yes, I feel much better now". No wonder! If you just eat greasy processed foods, and you eat vegetables, you will feel good. Even if you eat steak, and a good dose of vegetables, you will feel much better than if you eat fried chicken and fries every day. They try to make a point about being vegan when in fact they just make a point about good nutrition. Yes, I am one of those that will argue that it's easier to have good nutrition while being vegan, or that it's healthier to be vegan, you don't need to be vegan to have good nutrition. And if you take an obese tub of lard and make them eat fresh vegetables instead of frozen pizza, they will feel good; but it has no clear link to being vegan.I can go on and on. I could criticize virtually everything in this movie, and it should be criticized, because these kind of emotionally aimed pseudo-science documentaries hurt both the movement, and the people who end up believing false facts. Documentaries are made to spread information. This does not; it spreads misinformation : it is propaganda, and you don't need to waste your time watching it. In all honesty, I do not see how this film can have a good note, other than having had a lot of high votes from super vegan activists who watched it to reinforce their own beliefs and pat themselves on the back.
