The documentary, "What the Health" is a film that is likely to change your perspective on almost every aspect of the American food industry.
Tench Phillips, co-owner of the NARO Cinema in Norfolk, VA, where I saw the documentary recently, notes in his VEER magazine article that Cowpocalypse filmmakers, "Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn, have just completed their new film, What The Health. It explores personal health, the health industry, pharmaceuticals, and government collusion within the food industry. It's a film about the power of special interest groups to drive unhealthy consumer spending habits. It's about environmental racism and the impact of animal agriculture on community health in rural areas. And it's about why you need to rethink for yourself everything you've ever been told about the relationship between business and food."
Phillips notes that the NARO has shown similar documentaries including Eating You Alive, Forks and Knives, Plant Pure Nation, Supersize Me, Fed Up, and Food, Inc., and that "the consistent message of all these films is that Americans are being led down the road to ruin by the food industry through their mass marketing and their engineering of foods to make them addictive."
Critical Care Physician, Dr. Milton Mills, calls the U.S. Dietary Guidelines "a fundamental form of institutionalized racism," noting that 73% of Americans are lactose intolerant. This includes "up to 95 percent of adult Asians, 74 percent of Native Americans, 70 percent of African Americans, and 53 percent of Mexican Americans." He also noted the connection between dairy consumption and MS and type 2 diabetes.
The Standard American Diet is indeed SAD to behold. And what are the results? America's leading causes of death include heart disease and cancer. Fifty percent of our population is diabetic or pre-diabetic. What are we doing wrong? What if there was a way that individuals could have more control over their health? This documentary says they can.
"There are two kinds of cardiologists: vegans and those who haven't read the data."
-Dr. Kim Williams, President of the American College of Cardiology
Oddly enough, the current trends toward exclusive or absent health insurance options are likely to result in quests toward healthier eating. I became vegetarian during a several-decades-long period when I had no health insurance. Partly inspired by a desperate need to stay healthy, I went into a John Robbins lecture in 1990 as a meat-eater, and came out a vegetarian. It's the best thing I have done to enhance my health, and it's nice to know that my personal choice is also the best choice for the survival of our planet.
And according to "What the Health," people with debilitating health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, have regained their health in a short time just by changing their diets. Several people in this movie experienced what they considered to be miraculous results after just two weeks on a plant-strong diet.
On the drive home from seeing What the Health I called my friend Cara to tell her about it. She didn't say too much but she called me a couple of days later to tell me that she had watched it online - as well as Forks over Knives" and asked, "What am I going to do for lunches, now?" Yep, another convert.
Luckily, I had an answer, I had just discovered Veestro, a "healthy, heat-and-eat meals for busy people" -- plant-based, organic, preservative-free meals. They offered me a few samples and I was so impressed with them that I ordered a full box of meals. I'm on a budget, and at up to $11 per meal, they can feel pricey, but they come out on top in my casual cost analysis. Considering the cost of either eating out or shopping for and preparing a lunch to bring to work, or even the cost of obtaining take-out, the Veestro meals compare pretty well -- especially with their regularly-offered coupons for up to 20% off. (Keep reading, OpEdNews readers get a special offer below.)
Of course, the hidden costs involved with poor eating habits are a factor, too. Even those of us who know better, often slip off the path due to conflicts of time or convenience. Veestro offers a solution to both of those issues.
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