Weekend Cooking: Review of Food Choices (a Documentary)
We all know how difficult it is to sort out the nutritional information we are bombarded with on a daily basis. Eat meat, don't eat meat? Eat carbs or shun them like the devil? How is the regular person supposed to determine what is best for her health and well-being?
When filmaker Michal Siewierski became a father, he set out to discover the best human diet by talking with food experts. His 2016 documentary, Food Choices, sums up what he learned at the end of a three-year journey of talking to experts in the nutritional and wellness fields.
If you follow the nutritional literature, you won't find many surprises in Food Choices. But the film is interesting nonetheless. Siewierski talked mostly to scientists, though we also hear from athletes and people in the general wellness lifestyle community.
The film takes a vegan stance, and blames meat eating for most of our health issues and for many aspects of climate change. On the other hand, Siewierski also made the point that just becoming a vegetarian or vegan alone will not guarantee good health. If you consume sweetened soft drinks and fatty and processed plant-based foods, you'll still risk obesity and will fail to achieve optimal health.
The end of the film moves away from talking about the human diet to focus on climate change, animal activist issues, and the ethics of eating other creatures.
Food Choices presents several perspectives of the vegan argument: nutritional, environmental, medical, and ethical. As I mentioned, Michal Siewierski doesn't reveal much new information for those of us who are fairly well informed, but the documentary makes a strong argument.
Unfortunately, we don't see much about the other side of things, and we end up with a single message: all animal products and fats = bad. All fruits and veggies = good. The documentary takes single-minded stance and rejects the idea of moderation, although I think at least one expert reluctantly admitted that a person could incorporate some animal products into her diet and still be healthy.
For more on the documentary Food Choices visit the official website, and take a look at the trailer (which is essentially the opening of the film).
12 comments:
Still, it would be interesting to hear his point of view. Some valid arguments can be made to go vegan or mostly very, I'm sure. I know I feel better when we are on a mostly vegetarian diet. Less in the way of fats to process.
This does sound like an interesting doc that I will check out. Thank you for enlightening me on the nature of the film as it pertains to the vegan side of things. I am interested in the vegan culture, but I am definitely not one who will ever be able to give up meat products. ;)
Sometimes I wonder about sources of this type of popularization. Vegan diets, if you read the nutrition literature, are inadequate for human well-being. So I wonder what this filmmaker has been doing. But I haven't watched the film, so maybe I don't get it.
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
It's too bad it wasn't a more balanced view of things. Eating vegan and getting a balanced diet isn't always easy.
I don't eat a huge amount of meat at a meal, however, I do enjoy it on my plate. I don't often order a steak out because it is a waste as I don't want much more than four ounces in a serving.
I have friends/family who are vegetarians and it is always a struggle on what to serve them.
It sounds like an interesting film and one I'll add to my Netflix list. I like hearing different perspectives on diet and nutrition. Although I stopped eating meat and poultry several years ago and have gone through vegan periods in my life, I now supplement my diet with fish and eggs and find it works better for me. Thanks for sharing. ;-)
I think if you go by human history, we have been omnivores, of course, but with varied diets that included smaller amounts of meat, a lot less frequently. More recently that has been lopsided - in both directions, which is where health issues show up, especially considering how meat is now largely raised.
My son and his family are vegan and I've always worried about them not getting all the nutrients they need.
I guess bacon is vegetarian???? cheers and thanks for hosting
This sounds like a very timely documentary for Earth Day weekend.
We have been watching many documentaries on food and food choices of late. While they have not changed our minds on what to eat, they have reinforced the quantity of what we eat, and have inspired us to choose more plant-based foods to fill in the gaps. All in all, a very happy household here on the peninsula. Thanks for hosting.
And yet the human species has managed to survive thousands of years on an omnivore diet that includes such things as eggs and animal fat. Weird.
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