“Forks Over Knives,” both the documentary and companion book, appeared on the scene in 2011 with an astonishing but simple claim: Following a fully plant-based
The bestselling author and internationally celebrated physician and expert on nutrition offers an appealing, approachable health solution—eat the foods you love to lose weight and
From Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM, the physician behind the trusted and wildly popular website Nutritionfacts.org, and author of the New York Times bestselling book How Not to Die, comes
"Fighting for change until change happens."
Animal rights activist, educator and lecturer.
Co-founder and co-director of Surge (creators of Official Animal Rights March, Land of Hope and Glory documentary and The Big Vegan Activism Van).
Justice for the A16 Pigs (2017)
Viva! Leaflet Challenge (2016)
"Going vegan is not the most we can, it's the least we can do."
Animal rights activists, lecturers, educators, YouTubers and podcasters.
Natacha and Luca have been a great influence on our family adopting a vegan lifestyle. They first inspired Anna who shared their story and YouTube videos with us. Their influence continues to spread through our family and friends. We had the honor of meeting them in person in Detroit on their American tour. They are truly passionate and genuine in their activism.
"I‘m here to educate you about veganism in a fun, spunky sarcastic way!"
Animal rights activist, lecturer, educator and YouTuber.
Created BiteSizeVegan.org.
The earth’s human population is booming at already over 7 billion people and expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Food production will have to increase by 70% in the world and 100% in developing countries, to satisfy global food demands. Agricultural systems across the world are at risk, bringing into serious question our ability to feed our growing population. One in eight of the world's population (almost 805 million people) do not have enough food for the day and suffer from chronic undernourishment. There are 160 million children under the age of five who are affected by stunted growth. This is completely unacceptable in a world in which resources and opportunities have never been more abundant. The continuing increase in the consumption of animal products threatens the sustainability of human existence on the planet. A global shift towards consumption of plant based foods and away from consumption of meat & dairy products, would free up significant food resources that can be used to feed the millions dying of hunger and malnutrition every year.
We are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people (world population is currently 7.6 billion).
- Cornell Chronicle
Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock, enough grain to feed up to 3.5 billion people.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization>
Globally 77% percent of all coarse grains (corn, oats, sorghum, barley) and over 90% of all soy grown in the world was fed to livestock.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Food by the Numbers: Feeding Our Hungry Planet (1:42) - National Geographic
Earth has been nearly wiped out 5 times, by climate change, ice age, volcanoes, and an asteroid that obliterated the dinosaurs. These are known as the “Big Five” mass extinctions. We are now on the verge of a sixth. This time humans will be the ones to blame. The current extinction rate could be more than 100 times higher than normal. The Earth’s oceans and forests are home to an untold number of species, many of which will likely disappear before we even get to know they exist. One of the most serious aspect of the environmental crisis is the loss of biodiversity (the other living things with which we share Earth). Loss of biodiversity affects human well-being by interfering with delicate ecosystem services such as crop pollination, water purification and most importantly by destroying other living species. Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in many ways. Habitat destruction is caused by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops for livestock and grazing. Predator species are often unnecessarily targeted and hunted due to a perceived threat to livestock. The widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers in the production of feed crops interferes with the reproductive systems of animals and poison waterways. The over-exploitation of wild species through commercial fishing and trophy hunting all contribute to global depletion of species and resources.
Up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction.
- United Nations Economic Programme
As many as 30 to 50% of all species possibly heading toward extinction by 2050.
- Extinction risk from climate change
99% of currently threatened species are at risk due to human activities.
- Encyclopedia Britannica
Earth's population of wild vertebrates (all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish) declined 58% from 1970 to 2012.
- World Wildlife Fund
Wildlife population continues to decline by 2% annually.
- World Wildlife Fund
Stanford researcher Warns Sixth Mass Extinction Is Here (2:30)
- Stanford
The Sixth Extinction (9:11)
- PBS Digital Studios
Vanishing: The extinction crisis is worse than you think (23:02)
- CNN
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption, pollution, greenhouse gases emissions, rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones", and virtually every other environmental issue. Our planet’s groundwater is being pumped out much faster than it can be replenished. Animal agriculture is responsible for consumption of nearly 1/3 of the global freshwater supply. Usages include, watering the feed crops, providing drinking water, and cleaning away filth for the billions of animals on factory farms.
Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption.
- USDA: Economic Research Service
Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US.
- Center for Science in the Public Interest
2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.
- Environmental Working Group
477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs.
- Environmental Working Group
Nearly 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.
- Environmental Working Group
1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.
- Water for Food
Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.
- Water Resources and Industry
Animal Agriculture and Water (4:41) - Victoria Martini
A century ago obesity was a rare condition. Obesity rates have more than tripled in the last 50 years. Much of the variation in how easily we gain weight is coded in genes and passed down through families. The global epidemic of obesity has grown too rapidly in recent years for variations in genetics to be the cause. The food industry has helped promote the message that inactivity, rather than high consumption of manufactured, calorie-rich, nutrient-poor foods, is the cause of obesity. Calorie over consumption is proven to be more important than physical activity in weight maintenance and loss. In fact, the level of physical activity over the last few decades has actually been increasing. The increase in calories per person has risen by about 350 calories per day in children and about 500 calories per day in adults in the last 50 years. To burn off just these additional calories, we’d have to walk two hours a day, seven days a week. Studies show that exercise, despite all its benefits, cannot compensate for poor eating habits when it comes to weight loss. The bulk of these extra calories are coming from meat, eggs, dairy products, and added fats. We consume 60 more pounds of meat per person each year and 30 more pounds of cheese per person per year than we did a century ago. We’re eating meat and dairy products in quantities that our grandparents would have never imagined. Meat and dairy are the primary cause of the obesity epidemic, and setting them aside will help solve it.
Research shows that animal protein consumption is directly contributing to the global obesity epidemic. Carbohydrates, in the forms of starch, sugar and fiber, are your body's preferred energy source and are digested first. Animal protein puts pressure on the body’s digestive system and are digested much slower. The lack of dietary fiber in dairy products and meats disrupt the digestive tract and lead to constipation. Water is pulled from the colon to aid the kidneys in diluting the ammonia byproduct in the body caused by the breaking down of animal proteins. Most people on a standard diet will get enough energy from carbohydrates and fats to meet their daily energy requirements. This makes the energy we receive from the animal protein surplus, which is then converted and stored as fat. On average, we consume anywhere from 3 to 5 times more protein than they need for optimal health. Consuming 40-50% more protein than we need or can utilize causes the body unnatural stress. Eating a diet high in animal protein and low in carbohydrates, forces the body look for another source of energy (glucose). Muscle mass is broken down to liberate the glucose storage. Loss of muscle limits the body’s ability to burn calories (primarily from fat) while you are sleeping, working etc.
70% of the U.S. population is now either clinically overweight or obese.
- Centers for Disease Control
10% of preschoolers (age 2-5), 20% of children (age 6-11) and 20% of teenagers (age 12-19) are now clinically obese.
- Centers for Disease Control
The annual cost attributable to obesity among full-time U.S. employees is estimated at $70 billion.
- Centers for Disease Control
Medical Message About: Obesity (3:09) - Dr. John McDougall
Can Morbid Obesity Be Reversed Through Diet? (5:35) - Dr. Michael Greger
Large industrial farms produce far more waste than can be recycled as fertilizer or absorbed on nearby land. The enormous amount of pollution generated from these large industrial farms can threaten the quality of the soil, water, air, biodiversity and ultimately public health. Massive quantities of animal waste are most often stored in waste “lagoons” or cesspools. These cesspools often stretch the length of several football fields. Factory farms skirt water pollution limits by spraying liquid manure from these cesspools into the air over fields, creating a mist that gets carried away by the wind. Runoff from factory farms and livestock grazing is one of the leading causes of pollution in our rivers and lakes. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, these factory farms are largely exempt from standard air and water pollution regulations.
7 million pounds of excrement per minute are produced by animals raised for food in the US.
- USDA: Natural Resources Conservation Service
A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.
- Environmental Protection Agency
130 times more animal waste is produced in the U.S. by livestock than human waste.
- United States General Accounting Office
116,000 lbs of animal waste per second is produced in the U.S. by livestock.
USDA: Natural Resources Conservation Service
Factory farming facilities pollute the air and release over 400 separate gases, mostly due to the large amounts of manure they produce.
- Farm Safety Association
A River of Waste The Hazardous Truth About Factory Farms (2:33) - UMakeTheConnection
Heart disease and strokes occur when a plaque buildup, known as atherosclerosis, accumulates inside arteries and blood vessels. This plaque is made up of pockets of cholesterol-rich fatty material that builds up beneath the inner linings of the blood vessels. This process begins with damage to the endothelium (the thin layer of cells that line the inner walls of our arteries). Endothelial cell injury can be caused by bacterial or viral infection, oxidative stress, turbulent blood flow, stress or dietary intake. Endothelial cells produce nitric oxide which is essential to protecting our blood vessels. It keeps our blood flowing smoothly. It is the strongest dilator (widener) of our blood vessels. It inhibits the formation of blockages (plaques) and it inhibits inflammation. Fewer functioning endothelial cells results in less production of the protective nitric oxide. Without enough nitric oxide the plaque blockages build up and grow creating eventually heart disease and strokes.
A Standard American diet heavy in saturated animal and dairy fats injures these endothelial cells and elevates LDL cholesterol that collects in the walls of your blood vessels. Most heart disease is diet-related and caused by diets high in animal products. Our bodies make plenty of cholesterol, we have no need for dietary cholesterol. Cholesterol is found in all foods that come from animals (red meat, poultry, fish, chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products). Animal products, including meat, eggs and dairy products, are high in cholesterol and saturated fat. Saturated fat causes the liver to produce more cholesterol.
A whole food plant-based diet consisting of grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits is the best way to avoid cholesterol completely and keep saturated fat intake low. No foods from plants contain cholesterol. Heart disease can be prevented and even reversed using an aggressive plant-based diet and lifestyle approach. Soluble fiber from oats, barley, beans, and some fruits and vegetables slow the absorption of cholesterol and reduce the amount of cholesterol the liver produces. Unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and soybeans do not cause the liver to produce more cholesterol.
Heart Disease is the number 1 cause of death globally.
- World Health Organization
An estimated 17.7 million people died from heart disease in 2016.
- World Health Organization
Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol using population-wide strategies.
- World Health Organization
Often, there are no symptoms of the underlying disease of the blood vessels. A heart attack or stroke may be the first warning of underlying disease.
- World Health Organization
Globally, there were an estimated 422.7 million prevalent cases of cardiovascular disease in 2015.
- World Health Organization
About 85.7 million (34% of the U.S. population) adults have high blood pressure.
- American Heart Association
Nearly half of people with high blood pressure (45.6%) do not have it under control.
- American Heart Association
It’s estimated that Cardiovascular disease costs the U.S. around $555 billion dollars in 2016.
- American Heart Association
100% of children eating a standard American diet have visible aortic fatty streaks by age 10 , which is the first stage of heart disease.
- Journal of Atherosclerosis Research
Endothelial Cells & Nitric Oxide (2:17) - Forks Over Knives
Save Your Endothelial Cells [animated] (5:15)
- Dr. T and The Plantrician Project
Heart Disease Starts in Childhood (5:50) - Dr. Michael Greger
Heart Disease and Nazi Germany Invasion of Norway (3:33) - Forks Over Knives
How Not to Die from Heart Disease (5:24) - Dr. Michael Greger
Digestive diseases include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticulosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gallstones, celiac disease and ulcers. Many different factors cause digestive diseases, including bacterial infection, viral infection, inflammation, lactase deficiency, poor circulation, ruptured or perforated organs, muscle dysfunction, gallstones, stress, side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs and diet. A diet high in fatty foods and low in fiber can cause slow movement of stool through the colon. Inadequate water intake can also lead to constipation, and can contribute to other digestive disorders.
Digestion of animal products high in saturated fats and cholesterol in the stomach can result in the oxidation of fat in our stomachs. The fat found in animal products can increase the growth of potentially harmful gut bacteria. Gallstones can form when there’s too much cholesterol or waste in your bile. A diet that includes too many animal proteins can cause acidity in your urine that can lead to the formation of uric acid stones in your kidney.
Plant-based diets are high fiber so your body can process what you eat more efficiently. This keeps your digestive system healthy and reduces your risk of intestinal diseases. High fiber intake is associated with decreased risk of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, constipation and diverticulitis. Dark leafy greens lower inflammation, provide fiber, amazing nutrients, and are easy to digest. Fibrous fruits and vegetables feed the good bacteria in your gut. Your gut is meant to eat simple, unprocessed plant foods in their whole form.
Diverticulosis: When Our Most Common Gut Disorder Hardly Existed (4:13) - Dr. Michael Greger
Preventing Crohn’s Disease with Diet (5:43) - Dr. Michael Greger
Microbiome: We Are What They Eat (5:40) - Dr. Michael Greger
Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are caused by insulin resistance, brought about by the buildup of fat inside our muscle cells (intramyocellular lipid). As resistance increases, glucose (sugar) can't get into the body's cells and builds up in the bloodstream. To overcome the fat-induced insulin resistance in the muscles, the pancreas pumps out more and more insulin. These high insulin levels lead to the accumulation of fat in the liver (fatty liver disease). As fat builds up in our liver, it no longer responds to insulin signals and continues to pump out blood sugar. Creating a vicious cycle of the pancreas pumping out more insulin to deal with the high sugars, and our liver getting fatter and pumping out more blood sugar. The liver begins dumping fat back into the bloodstream (VLDL cholesterol) which starts building up in the beta cells of the pancreas. Insulin production starts to fail as beta cells in the pancreas are killed off by the fatty buildup. Type 2 diabetes is a condition of fatty muscles which leads to a fatty liver, which leads to a fatty pancreas. The myth that “eating sugar causes diabetes” is inaccurate. High blood sugar is a symptom of diabetes, not the cause.
The standard American diet emphasizing meat and dairy products rich with saturated fats, aided by sugary foods and beverages, cause fat-induced insulin resistance. A diet heavy in animal products and other acidic foods can also cause an acid load in the body resulting in reduced insulin sensitivity. Saturated fats not only cause insulin resistance, but they can also cause the death of pancreatic beta cells.
A whole food plant-based helps prevent and actually reverse diabetes while also promoting weight loss. A diet emphasizing vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes lower blood sugar levels and raise insulin sensitivity. Plant-based monounsaturated fats (from nuts, olives, and avocados) can improve insulin sensitivity. The high fiber content of leafy green vegetables helps to regulate blood sugar levels. Green leafy vegetables also contain antioxidants that help to protect the beta cells of the pancreas. Several studies report that a vegan diet may be able to provide complete relief of systemic distal polyneuropathy symptoms (a condition that causes sharp, burning pain).
Diabetes is the number 6 cause of death globally.
- World Health Organization
An estimated 3.7 million deaths related to diabetes and blood glucose levels in 2012.
- World Health Organization
In 2014, 422 million people in the world had diabetes (8.5% of the adult population) compared to 108 million in 1980.
- World Health Organization
If diabetes was a country, it would have a bigger population than the United States!
- World Health Organization
30.3 million people have diabetes (9.4% of the U.S. population). Up to 60% of people with diabetes are undiagnosed and untreated.
- American Diabetes Association
Diet and physical activity interventions are more effective than medication.
- World Health Organization327
It’s estimated that diabetes costs the U.S. around $245 billion dollars in 2017.
- American Diabetes Association
How Not to Die from Diabetes (3:40) - Dr. Michael Greger
Reversing Diabetes with Food (3:45) - Dr. Michael Greger
Diabetes Reversal: Is it the Calories or the Food? (6:26) - Dr. Michael Greger
The Cure for Type 2 Diabetes (2:25) - Dr. John McDougall
Diabetes (2:34) - Forks Over Knives
Cancer is the result of cells that uncontrollably grow and do not die. Genes control the process of cell growth, division, and death. Cancer begins to form when the programmed cell death process (apoptosis) breaks down. Gene mutations occur within the cell, causing the cell to no longer understand its instructions and it starts to grow out of control. Mutations can happen by chance when a cell is dividing or by things coming from environmental influences outside the body (carcinogens). Some people can inherit faults in particular genes that make them more likely for mutations to occur. Some genes get damaged every day and cells are very good at repairing them. Once cells start growing too fast the damage may build up and with further mutations cells are less likely to be able to repair the damaged genes.
In 1890, William Russell discovered that there are microbes inside and outside of cancer cells. A strongly evidenced theory is that cancer is caused by microbial invasion of cells as a result of weakened cell walls damaged by carcinogens in the body. Once inside the healthy cell, the microbe is able to disrupt its aerobic mitochondrial energy production (ATP energy), thus becoming a cancerous cell. In 1931, Otto Warburg discovered that the defining characteristic of cancer cells was low “ATP energy”. The microbe proliferates inside the cell, eventually altering DNA in the cell nucleus to cause the cell to multiply without control. Each of the new replicated daughter cells also carry microbial offspring. Certain types of cancer spread quickly when the cancer microbe exits the cell, travels through the blood and finds another normal cell (with a weakened cell wall) in another part of the body. In 1930, Dr. Royal Rife proved that if the microbes inside the cancer cells are killed, the cancer cells will REVERT into normal cells. Killing the microbes inside the cell allows the cell to restore its aerobic mitochondrial energy production (ATP energy) and become normal again.
There is convincing scientific evidence that red meat (beef, pork, or lamb), processed meat, saturated animal fat, and heavily cooked meat increased cancer risk. Some carcinogenic compounds, such as heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) can be formed during the processing or cooking of meats, including chicken, beef, pork and fish. The high fat content of meat and dairy products increases hormone production which encourages the growth of certain cancers. Animal products are devoid of fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other helpful nutrients that have a protective effect. All animal products contain elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The growth hormone IGF-1 exists in all animals to make them grow. Consuming animal products elevates the IGF-1 levels in your body and just as it makes animals grow it can make tumors grow. Animals raised for food are also given additional amounts of artificial hormones (like recombinant bovine growth hormone or rBGH) which can further increase IGF-1 levels in your blood. That's why in Asia where historically populations were raised on a vegetable-heavy diet are generally shorter than populations that have adopted a more animal-based diet.
Whole food plant-based diets and diets rich in high-fiber foods such as whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits offer a measure of protection. By increasing vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans can reduce hormone production and decrease the risk of certain cancers. Fiber greatly speeds the passage of food through digestive system, effectively removing carcinogens. Fiber actually changes the type of bacteria present in the intestine reducing the production of carcinogenic secondary bile acids. Plant foods are naturally low in fat and rich with antioxidants and other anti-cancer compounds. A truly therapeutic diet is 7% fat with no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, or oils. People who eat a whole foods plant-based diet historically live longer, have fewer instances of cancer, weigh less and have less heart disease. Plants contain various phytochemicals that enhance immune function, inhibit cancer cell growth and prevent carcinogens from forming. Plants also have antioxidant properties that can help maintain cellular health and reduce damage from environmental pollutants and contaminants. Studies suggest phytochemicals from plants may play a role in cancer prevention.
1/3 of all cancers can be prevented by factors within your control, including diet.
- World Health Organization
Dietary factors account for at least 30% of all cancers in Western countries and up to 20% in developing countries.
- World Health Organization
High meat intake increases cancer risk by 17% and high saturated fat intake increasing cancer risk by 19%.
- Ontario Cancer Institute
Processed meats such as bacon, sausages, hot dogs, pepperoni, prosciutto, beef jerky and salami are "Group 1" carcinogens and causes as much harm as smoking, asbestos and aflatoxins.
- World Health Organization
Casein (protein in cow's milk) is the most relevant chemical carcinogen that has ever been identified.
- Dr. Colin Campbell
The Answer to the Pritikin Puzzle (3:45) - Dr. Michael Greger
How Not to Die from Cancer (8:10) - Dr. Michael Greger
Animal Protein "Turns On" Cancer Genes (10:27) - Dr. Colin Campbell
Mammographies, Breast Cancer, Ductal Carcinoma (13:02) - Dr. Pamela Popper
There are over 80 types of autoimmune diseases, but all of them involve an immune response that leads your body to attack itself. No matter what type of autoimmune disease, the true problem (and solution) lies with the immune system. Your immune system produces antibodies to defend itself from dangerous intruders to your body, such as toxins, allergens, infections, or even a food. Autoimmune diseases are caused when your immune system fails to differentiate between the intruder and parts of your own body they were designed to protect. Your immune system turns antibodies against you, mistakenly attacking body tissues instead of invaders. Studies have shown that 75% of autoimmune disorders develop due to environmental factors and only about 25% due to genetic. By addressing the root cause (the environmental factors) you can not only prevent an autoimmune condition, but also REVERSE it. Once normal immune function has been restored your body will no longer attack itself and your symptoms will disappear.
Scientists have found a strong link between dairy intake and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, arthritis and lupus. Cow’s milk contains proteins that closely resemble (mimic) components of the body. Injuries to the lining of the small intestine caused by high-fat, high cholesterol diets, viruses, chemicals and medications can lead to a “leaky gut”. Undigested food particles, toxic waste products and bacteria are able to "leak" through the intestines and flood the blood stream. Once the cow’s milk proteins are absorbed into the bloodstream the body recognizes them as a foreign protein “triggering” an autoimmune process. Antibodies produced to attack the cow’s milk protein mistakenly find similar proteins in the body and destroy them. Diets high in animal fats contain pro-inflammatory fat (Arachidonic acid) that induces inflammatory conditions within the body, such as arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and others.
The best diet for autoimmune disease prevention and treatment is the one that minimizes the immune response and eliminates those foods that contribute to “leaky gut”. Plant-based diets decrease exposure to inflammatory compounds found in animal products. A whole food plant-based diet rich with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables and whole starches keep the intestinal barriers strong and the immune system in a fighting condition. Whole food plant-based diets nourish with real foods that deliver vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Specific plant foods may be so anti-inflammatory that they can be used to improve or even eliminate arthritis symptoms. The optimal diet is one that’s rich in whole plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds; is rich in healthful fat sources such as avocado and nuts; and includes foods such as tea, dark chocolate, spices and herbs.
20% of the US population (50 million) suffer from an autoimmune disease
- American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association
On average, patients see 5 doctors over 3 1/2 years before receiving a diagnosis.
- MilkenInstitute
Diet, Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Diseases (1:00:40) - Dr. John McDougall
Curing Leaky Gut Syndrome (8:46) - Dr. Michael Klaper
Deforestation was the first major type of environmental damage caused by the rise of civilization. Large areas of forest were cleared for agriculture, which included domestication of edible animals. Farmed animals require much more land than crops to produce a given amount of food. The conversion of natural habitats to pastures and land for feed crops has been rapidly increasing. From 1950 and 1980, more land was converted to feed crops than in the preceding 150 years. As developing countries move to a more western animal based diet, the demand to convert land will result in more deforestation and environmental degradation.
Animal Agriculture is the leading cause of global deforestation.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
The total area occupied by grazing is equivalent to 26% of the ice-free terrestrial surface of the planet.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
The total area occupied by feedcrop production is 33% of the agricultural land of the planet.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Livestock production accounts for 70% of all agricultural land and 30% of the land surface of the planet.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Expansion of livestock production is a key factor in deforestation, especially in Latin America.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
70% of previous forested land in the Amazon is occupied by pastures. Feed crops account for a large part of the remaining 30%.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Veganism Can Stop Deforestation! (0:37)
- Cowspiracy
Land Usage Vegan, Vegetarian, and Omnivore Diets (1:21)
- Cowspiracy
Climate change and global warming are not future threats to the planet they are already occurring. The Earth's climate has been through 7 cycles climate change in the last 650,000 years. The last ice age ending about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era, and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives. The current warming trend is proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in our planets history as a result of human activity.
Animal agriculture accounts for 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions influenced by human beings.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Animal agriculture accounts for 44% of methane emissions influenced by human beings, the primary driver of climate change related to livestock, as methane is 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 100 years.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Animal agriculture accounts for 44% of all nitrous oxide emissions influenced by human beings (the most potent greenhouse gas).
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Animal agriculture accounts for 75%-80% of total agricultural emissions.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Global greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector increased by 51% between 1961 and 2010.
- Dario Caro, Steven J. Davis, Simone Bastianoni, Ken Caldeira
If global consumption of meat and dairy continues to grow at the current pace, the agriculture sector could account for 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
- Dario Caro, Steven J. Davis, Simone Bastianoni, Ken Caldeira
Greenhouse gas emissions could be cut in half by adopting a plant-based diet.
- Martin C. Heller, Gregory A. Keoleian
Fight Climate Change, Eat Less Meat (3:50)
- The Daily Conversation
The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers (7:51) - Reveal
Animal Agriculture and Climate Change (7:51) - Bhuvan Kalra
Livestock Create a Major Methane Problem (2:07)
- Discovery
The meat industry is always striving to maximize profits by minimizing costs and always at the expense of the animals. Most production farms do this by squeezing as many animals as possible into tiny spaces. Thousands of animals spend their entire lives crammed into dark, windowless, waste-filled sheds. Some will be stuffed into wire cages or metal crates so small they cannot turn around. Not exactly the spacious pastures that are shown in advertisements and packaging for meat products. These animals will never root around in the soil, build nests, or most importantly raise their families. Most will never breathe fresh air, or feel the warmth of the sun until the day they’re loaded onto trucks headed for slaughterhouses. Farmed animals are subjected to painful mutilations like dehorning, debeaking, tail docking, branding and castration. They are bred to grow unnaturally fast and large for the purpose of maximizing production for profits. Their bodies develop debilitating deformities and painful conditions as a result of this rapid growth.
Global meat production has more than quadrupled since 1961.
Every minute of every day more than 2,805 cattle, 1,875 pigs, 2,274 sheep and 40,733 chickens are slaughtered for food.
U.S. Department of Agriculture spends $550 million each year on check-off programs urging us to buy more animal foods. Even though people in every age group already eat more animal protein than recommended.
- PETA
A $5 Big Mac would cost $13 if the retail price included hidden expenses that meat producers offload onto society through subsidies, healthcare costs and environmental damage.
- PETA
The U.S. government spends $38 billion each year to subsidize the meat and dairy industries.
- PETA
Approximately 80% of all antibiotics used in the United States are fed to farm animals. Contributing to the terrifying rise of superbugs (deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria.)
- U S Food and Drug Administration
Retailers treat packaged meats with carbon monoxide to keep the meat a deceptively fresh looking red color.
- North American Meat Institute
The Most Important Speech You Will Ever Hear (1:09:24)
- Gary Yourofsky
If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls (13:04) - Paul McCartney
The Secret Reason We Eat Meat (18:02) - Dr. Melanie Joy
Dominion (2018)
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
Earthlings (2005)
Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives in confining, crowded, and filthy wire cages. Because fur farmers only care about keeping the pelts intact, they use the cheapest and cruelest killing methods. Which include suffocation, electrocution, gas, and poison. Wild trapped animals can suffer for days from shock, dehydration, blood loss, frostbite, drowning and attacks by predators. When the trappers finally arrive, they will often stomp or beat the animals to death. China is the world’s largest fur exporter, where millions of animals are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, and often skinned alive for their fur. Furs from China, including dog and cat, are often deliberately mislabeled as fur from other species. China supplies more than half of the fur in the United States.
50% of all animals raised for their fur are killed to satisfy the market for fur trim.
- Humane Society International
80% of the fur industry’s skins come from animals who were captive on fur factory farms.
-PETA
The Fur Industry in 60 Seconds (1:00)
-
ThePETAAsiaPacific
Exposing the Fur Industry (4:57)
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LUSH Cosmetics North America
Ocean ecosystems and the natural habitats of sea life are paying the price for the increased demand for seafood, including in pet products. From above, the oceans seem so vast and their resources limitless. Beneath the surface there are very real problems threatening wild fish populations and the health of our ocean. Overfishing, accidental catch of unwanted species (bycatch), lack of effective management, and our own consumption habits are a few contributing factors to a decline in wild fish populations. Globally we are removing fish from the oceans faster than they are able to reproduce. Huge gillnets (miles wide) catch anything that swims into them, including sharks, sea turtles and dolphins. Bottom trawls destroy anything in their paths, including coral, sponges, and plants. Decimating any sea life dependent on those habitat for shelter, food and places to breed. As fish species become more depleted, keeping undersized fish, fishing in territories without permission, catching fish off-season, failing to record catch information, and other illegal forms of fishing will increase.
3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
We could see fishless oceans by 2048.
- National Geographic News
90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.
- Oceana
Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.
- Oceana
Fish catch peaks at 85 million tons.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization
40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.
- Animal Welfare Institute
The Ocean Is Running Out of Fish (2:40)
- Smithsonian Channel
Cascading Effects of Eating Sea Animals (3:29)
- Dr. Richard Oppenlander
SEASPIRACY - What You Should Know About Fish & The Ocean (14:11)
- World Peace
Animals are not actors, circus clowns, athletes, slaves or spectacles to be imprisoned and gawked at. Yet humans confine thousands of animals to barren, boring and filthy enclosures. Living in captivity destroys the social and emotional relationships these animals need to thrive. Animals are crammed into boxcars or semi-trailers and carted across the country, all for the sake of human “entertainment”. Under threat of physical punishment, many animals are forced to perform against their will. Some of these animals even pay with their lives. All forms of entertainment in which animals are bred, raised, bought, sold, caught and used for human entertainment are wrong! Rodeos, horse racing, dog racing, circuses, zoos, aquariums, dog fighting, fishing, hunting and bullfighting are just some examples.
“No animals were harmed in the making of this film” certification comes from American Humane which is funded by the very industry (Screen Actors Guild) that it monitors.
– PETA
Every year, approximately 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights.
– International Humane Society
Bullfights are not "fair fights" between a bull and a matador, but highly staged forms of animal cruelty.
– International Humane Society
Since 2000, there have been more than 35 dangerous accidents in which elephants have escaped from circuses.
– PETA
71% of circus animals have suffered medical injuries.
– PETA
80% of captive dolphins die before they turn 20 (at SeaWorld, most die before 10). Dolphins usually live about 40-50 years.
– PETA
4,000 sea lions, seals, dolphins, and whales have died in captivity, and 1/5 of these deaths were due to human errors.
– Florida’s Sun-Sentinel
75% of elephants in UK zoos were overweight and only 16% could walk normally.
– University of Bristol
79% of all animals in UK aquariums were caught in the wild.
– Freedom for Animals
To Animals, It's Not Entertainment (2:17)
- PETA
Tyke the Elephant's Last Day on Earth (1:53)
- PETA
The Truth About Cecil The Lion & Trophy Hunting (6:23)
- Erin Janus
Chickens are among the most cruelly treated animals in the farming industry. Male chicks are useless to the egg industry so they are either suffocated to death or brutally ground up alive in large industrial macerators. Female chicks have a large portion of their sensitive beaks cut off with a hot blade (debeaking) within hours or days of birth. Debeaking is so painful that some immediately die of shock, while others die of starvation or dehydration because using their beaks is so excruciating they cannot grasp and swallow food. Due to genetic manipulation egg-laying hens produce 20 times more eggs than they would naturally. Some chickens mourn the loss of their eggs with increased egg-laying in a desperate attempt to fill in their nests. Tiny wire “battery” cages (roughly 18” x 24”) are crammed with up 10 Hens. These cages are so crowded that the birds are forced to urinate and defecate on one another. The wire mesh of the cages rubs off their feathers, chafes their skin, and causes their feet to become crippled. They are often forced to live with their dying, dead, or rotting cagemates. Surviving hens endure a nightmare that lasts about 12-15 months, before their bodies are exhausted and egg production drops. By the time “spent” hens are shipped to slaughterhouses, many are suffering from broken bones as a result of osteoporosis, neglect and rough handling. Their bodies are so damaged they are generally only used for pet food.
There are about 6.4 billion egg-laying hens producing 1.3 trillion eggs per year globally.
- WATT Global Media
The global egg industry destroys 6 billion newborn male chicks every year.
- WATT Global Media
More than 100 million “spent” hens are killed in slaughterhouses every year.
- USA Today
What's Wrong With Eggs? The Truth About The Egg Industry (21:13) - Erin Janus
Cows produce milk for one reason and one reason only, to nourish their young. Dairy farmers forcibly impregnate every cow on their farm once per year in order to force them to continue producing milk. New born calves are stolen away from their mothers within hours of birth, causing them both extreme emotional stress. Mother cows will continue to call for their baby calves for days. Male calves and surplus females are put into tiny veal crates, to prevent them from moving much so that their flesh will stay tender. Frightened, alone and sick, these calves are killed after only a few months of life. The remaining female calves are raped shortly after their first birthday and begin the same life sentence as their mothers. All calves born into the dairy industry eventually end up at a slaughterhouse and killed. Dairy cows must first endure a life of constant confinement, sexual violation, perpetual pregnancy and traumatic separation. Overworked and exhausted (both mentally and physically) at around 4-5 years of age their worn out bodies begin to produce less milk. Because they are too “spent” to be used for anything else, dairy cows are often turned into soup, food for dogs and cats, or ground beef.
21,000,000 dairy calves are slaughtered for veal or cheap beef every year globally.
- Index Mundi: Animal Numbers
Dairy cows produce up to 12 times more milk than they would naturally produce to feed a calf, due to biological manipulation.
- Journal of Dairy Science
97% of newborn dairy calves are forcibly removed from their mothers within the first 24 hours.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
Over 90% of U.S. dairy cows are confined in primarily indoor operations and more than 60% tethered by the neck inside barren stalls.
- Humane Society of the United States
9 million dairy cows in the U.S., 3 million are slaughtered each year at only a fraction of their natural lifespan.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
It takes 30 gallons of water to make one glass of milk, 50 gallons to make two slices of cheese, and 109 gallons to make one stick of butter.
- Mother Jones
16.5 percent of dairy cows suffer from mastitis (one of the leading causes of deaths to adult cows).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
nearly 50 percent of cows are lame because of standing on concrete flooring and filth in intensive confinement.
- Mercy for Animals
Family Dairy (3:55)
-
Jo-Anne McArthur
Dairy is Scary! The Industry Explained in 5 minutes (5:40)
- Erin Janus
Last Moment of Grace - Baby Cow Searches for Mom (2:40)
- Kinder World
My story (3:30)
- Mercy for Animals
Got the Facts on Milk? (2008)
“The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of "real food for real people" you'd better live real close to a real good hospital.”
Author and clinical researcher.
Founding president Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
George Washington University School of Medicine (MD)
The Cheese Trap (2017)
Power Foods for the Brain (2013)
21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart (2011)
The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook (2010)
The Reverse Diabetes Diet (2010)
Nutrition Guide For Clinicians (2009)
The Cancer Survivor's Guide (2009)
Breaking the Food Seduction (2003)
Healthy Eating for Life for Children (2002)
Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Cancer (2002)
Turn Off the Fat Genes (2001)
Foods That Fight Pain (1998)
The Best in the World (1998)
Live Longer, Live Better (1997)
Beyond Animal Experiments (1997)
Foods Can Save Your Life (1996)
Foods That Can Cause You To Lose Weight II (1996)
Eat Right, Live Longer (1995)
Nutrition for Healthy Hearts (1995)
Food for Life (1993)
Food Is A Wonder Medicine (1993)
A Physician's Slimming Guide (1992)
The Power of Your Plate (1990)
Eating You Alive (2018)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
What the Health (2017)
Vegan: Everyday Stories (2016)
Time to Choose (2015)
PlantPure Nation (2015)
Bethany's Story (2013)
Milk? (2012)
War on Health, FDA's Cult of Tyranny (2012)
Lunch Hour (2011)
Forks Over Knives (2011)
To Your Health (2011)
Chow Down (1010)
Got the Facts on Milk? (2008)
A Delicate Balance: The Truth (2008)
Animal People: The Humane Movement in America (2006)
Super Size Me (2004)
by Del Sroufe & Isa Chandra Moskowitz
A full year’s worth of meals for anyone hoping to cut out animal products, refined oils, and processed foods for the sake of their health. The recipes are eclectic, global, low fat, often gluten free, and simple to prepare, relying on common ingredients that anyone can find in their local grocery store. These recipes will take readers through an entire year with recipes that rely often on seasonal produce and always on the fundamental building blocks of a plant-based diet.
by Dr. Richard Oppenlander
In Comfortably Unaware, Dr. Richard Oppenlander tackles the crucial issue of "global depletion" as it relates to food choice. We should all be aware of our diet's consequences on the environment and commit to seeking food products that are in the best interest of all living things.
Millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals wait in loneliness and fear inside laboratories cages for the next terrifying and painful procedure that will be performed on them. Many of these animals will develop neurotic behaviors like spinning in circles, rocking back and forth and self-mutilation. There are non-animal testing methods that are potentially cheaper, faster and may also be more relevant to humans. Animals suffer and die in cruel chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics tests. We continue to perform medical training exercises, experiments, and dissection even though modern non-animal tests have shown to have more educational value, save time, and money. There is no guarantee that a product will be safe for humans even after it has been tested to be safe on animals.
90% of pharmaceuticals that pass the animal testing stage fail to pass clinical studies on humans.
- Food and Drug Administration
Many charities including the March of Dimes and American Cancer Society use donations to fund animal experimentation.
- PETA
Mice, rats, birds, repliles and amphibians are not included in protection by the Animal Welfare Act.
- PETA
An estimated 127 million animals are used and/or killed in laboratory experiments globally ever year.
- Animal Consultants International
Animal Testing in 60 Seconds Flat (1:00)
- ThePETAAsiaPacific
Rabbits Mutilated, Monkeys Driven Mad in University Labs (4:41) - PETA
by Gene Baur
Leading animal rights activist Gene Baur examines the real cost of the meat on our plates -- for both humans and animals alike -- in this provocative and thorough examination of the modern farm industry. Many people picture cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens as friendly creatures who live happily within the confines of a peaceful family farm, arriving as food for humans only at the end of their sun-drenched lives. That's what Gene Baur had been told -- but when he first visited a stockyard he realized that this rosy depiction couldn't be more inaccurate.
"Fighting for change until change happens."
Animal rights activist, educator and lecturer.
Co-founder and co-director of Surge (creators of Official Animal Rights March, Land of Hope and Glory documentary and The Big Vegan Activism Van).
Justice for the A16 Pigs (2017)
Viva! Leaflet Challenge (2016)
by Dr. John McDougall & Mary McDougall
The Healthiest Diet on the Planet helps us reclaim our health by enjoying nutritious starches, vegetables, and fruits. McDougall takes on the propaganda machines pushing dangerous, high-fat fad diets and cuts through the smoke and mirrors of the diet industry. He offers a clear, proven guide to what we should and shouldn’t eat to prevent disease, slow the aging process, improve our physical fitness, be kind to the environment, and be our most attractive selves.
by Dr. John McDougall & Mary McDougall
In The Starch Solution, bestselling diet doctor and board-certified internist John A. McDougall, MD, and his kitchen-savvy wife, Mary, turn the notion that starch is bad for you on its head. The Starch Solution is based on a simple swap: fueling your body primarily with carbohydrates rather than proteins and fats. This will help you lose weight and prevent a variety of ills.
"No human influenced me to become vegan. The screaming, terrified, enslaved animals were the only influence needed."
Animal rights activist, educator and lecturer.
Founded Animals Deserve Absolute Protection Today and Tomorrow (ADAPTT).
Oakland University (BA, Journalism)
Specs Howard School of Media Arts
Breaking Free 2 (2001)
Vegan 2015 (2015)
Vegan is the Only Answer (2016)
Vegan 2016 (2016)
Israel (2016)
The Garden of Vegan: The Growth of Veganism in Israel (2017)
Aussie Farms
Exposing the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture through drones, hidden & handheld cameras, the feature-length film explores the morality and validity of our dominion over the animal kingdom.
Director: Chris Delforce
Writer: Chris Delforce
Starring: Lindsay McDougall
Nation Earth
"Make The Connection."
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
Director: Shaun Monson
Writer: Shaun Monson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn
Based on the groundbreaking 20-year study by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, preeminent researcher and clinician, this book demonstrates how a plant-based diet can not only prevent and stop the progression of heart disease, but also reverse its effects. Includes more than 150 recipes.
by Dr. T. Colin Campbell & Dr. Thomas Campbell
This book examines more than 350 variables of health and nutrition, with surveys from 6,500 adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan, and conclusively demonstrates the link between eating animals and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.
Virgil Films and Entertainment
"Warning - This movie could save your life!"
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.
Director: Lee Fulkerson
Writer: Lee Fulkerson
Starring: Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Pam Popper
Unleashed Productions
A comical fast paced feature documentary, that questions the health benefits of milk.
Director: Shira Lane
Writer: Shira Lane
Starring: Shira Lane, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. John McDougall
Oceanic Productions
With access to renowned environmental experts and breathtaking underwater cinematography, Sea of Life takes audiences on a provocative journey, through the most stunning and threatened ecosystems on the planet and the rallying movement to save them, leaving audiences around the world inspired to fight for our oceans - and our future. Believing that people will change the world once they know what's happening, filmmaker Julia Barnes picks up a camera and sets out on a mission to expose the reality of the world's oceans in this full length feature documentary. Through compelling footage she sheds light on crucial environmental issues, revealing not only how the oceans are in jeopardy but how each of us has the power to turn things around.
Director: Julia Barnes
Writer: Julia Barnes
Starring: Julia Barnes, Dr. Richard Oppenlander, Paul Watson
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo - Rich, creamy and savory. It's a simple but luxurious dish.
Combine the potato, cashews (with water}, lemon juice, 4 cloves of garlic. nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add almond milk. Blend for one minute. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425F. Place prepared veggies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper Spray lightly with oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Toss gently halfway through cook time.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, 4 cloves of garlic and mushrooms. Cook until golden. Add wine, Worcestershire sauce and pepper flakes. Add Alfredo sauce and cook over medium heat, adding additional milk if sauce thickens too much. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles al dente.
Serve the pasta with Alfredo sauce and top with the roasted veggies. Garnish with fresh basil.
We like to use vegetables that are in season. This recipe goes well with zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and egg plant.
A.U.M. Films & Media
"Animal agriculture is the most destructive industry facing the planet today."
Exposing the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture through drones, hidden & handheld cameras, the feature-length film explores the morality and validity of our dominion over the animal kingdom.
Director: Kip Andersen & Keegan Kuhn
Writer: Kip Andersen & Keegan Kuhn
Starring: Kip Andersen, Dr. Michael Klapper, Dr. Richard Oppenlander
“The commercial success of some of these low-carb diet books hawking supplements exposes one truism in our culture: We love to hear good things about our bad habits.”
Family physician, author and lecturer.
Co-founder and clinical director of the University of Rochester Program for Nutrition in Medicine.
Medical director and an educator at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.
Cornell University
University at Buffalo School of Medicine (MD)
The China Study Solution (2014)
The Campbell Plan (2014)
The China Study (2001)
"I took a 365 day vow of silence to raise awareness for animals and promote peace over violence."
Animal rights activist, educator and lecturer.
Vegan 2016 (2016)
Vegan 2015 (2015)
"I hope someday everyone will care about all animals, not just the "cute and cuddly" ones."
Animal rights activist and photojournalist.
Founder of We Animals project.
We Animals (2013)
Captive (2017)
The End of Meat (2017)
The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013)
Pig Save: Bearing Witness (2012)
"You either live for something or die for nothing"
Animal rights activist, producer, writer and director.
Founder of AUM Films and Media.
Orfalea College of Business
What the Health
(2017)
What the Health Cookbook
(2017)
The Sustainability Secret: Rethinking Our Diet to Transform the World (2015)
What the Health
(2017)
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
What the Health
(2017)
Sea of Life (2017)
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
"All I'm trying to do is wipe out heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and obesity."
After being diagnosed with heart disease in 1957, Pritikin began to research the cause of his illness. He found that cultures with primarily vegetarian diets had almost no history of the disease. He used his inventive mind to create a plant-based diet that was high in unrefined carbohydrates and low in fat. With this diet and a moderate amount of exercise, he astonishingly cured his own heart disease. Afterward, he went on to share his expertise and success through his lectures, writing and clinics. Helping others to cure their own diseases using the same method.
Inventor, author, lecturer and nutritionist.
Founded Pritikin Longevity Center.
Chairman of the Pritikin Research Foundation.
Attended the University of Chicago
The Pritikin Promise: 28 Days to a Longer Healthier Life (1983)
The Pritikin Permanent Weight Loss Manual (1982)
The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise (1979)
Live Longer Now: The First One Hundred Years of Your Life (1974)
"our current food choices detrimentally affect climate change and global warming more so than do all the cars, planes, trucks, buses, and trains used worldwide."
Environmental activist, educator, author and lecturer.
Founder of Inspire Awareness Now.
University of Michigan (DDS)
Comfortably Unaware (2011)
Food Choice and Sustainability (2013)
Sea of Life (2017)
Food Choices (2016)
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
“Today the link between animal products and many different diseases is as strongly supported in the scientific literature as the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.”
Practicing physician, author and lecturer.
Serves as Director of Research for the Nutritional Research Foundation.
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (BS, Biology)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (MD)
Fast Food Genocide (2017)
Eat to Live Quick and Easy Cookbook(2017)
The End of Heart Disease (2016)
The End of Dieting (2013)
Eat to Live Cookbook (2013)
The End of Diabetes (2012)
Dr. Fuhrman Nutritarian Handbook & ANDI Food Scoring Guide (2012)
3 Steps to Incredible Health Vol. 2 (2011)
3 Steps to Incredible Health! Volume 1 (2011)
Super Immunity (2011)
Nutritarian Handbook (2010)
Eat for Health (2008)
Eat Right America Food Scoring Guide (2008)
Disease-Proof Your Child (2005)
Eat to Live (2003)
Fasting and Eating for Health (1995)
Eating You Alive (2018)
Gutbuster (2018)
Vegucated (2011)
To Your Health (2011)
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)
Chow Down (2010)
Processed People (2009)
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days (2009)
Raw for Life (2007)
“I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open and put them on cholesterol-lowering drugs for the rest of their lives.”
Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, author and lecturer.
Founder and President of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute (PMRI).
Served on the White House Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health.
Served on the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.
Board of directors of the San Francisco Food Bank and the J. Craig Venter Institute.
Elected to the California Academy of Medicine.
Chaired the Google Health Advisory Council.
University of Texas in Austin (BA, Humanities)
Baylor College of Medicine (MD)
The Spectrum (2017)
Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish (2007)
Love and Survival (1998)
Eat More, Weigh Less (1993)
Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease (1990)
Stress, Diet and Your Heart (1983)
Eating You Alive (2018)
The Game Changers (2018)
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead 2 (2014)
The Connection (2014)
Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare (2012)
Titans of Yoga (2010)
Breast Cancer: The Path of Wellness & Healing (2009)
Reverse Aging Now (2006)
"There is absolutely no nutrient, no protein, no vitamin, no mineral that can't be obtained from plant-based foods."
Physician, author, and lecturer.
Served as the Director of the non-profit Institute of Nutrition Education and Research.
NASA nutrition adviser and medical consultant on vegan diets for astronauts.
Served on the Nutrition Task Force of the American Medical Student Association.
Served as the scientific director of the environmental organization EarthSave.
University of Illinois College of Medicine (MD)
Vegan Nutrition: Pure & Simple (1987)
Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet (1987)
The Cookbook For People Who Love Animals (1981)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
The End of Meat (2017)
What the Health (2017)
Vegan 2016 (2016)
Hope for All: Unsere Nahrung - unsere Hoffnung (2015)
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
Eat This! (2005)
Diet for a New America (1991)
"So much of what we do in nutrition is what I call, 'Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.'"
Practicing physician (specializing in clinical nutrition), author and lecturer.
Founder and President of Wellness Forum Health.
Serves on the Physician’s Steering Committee.
Serves as on the President’s Board for the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine.
(PhD, Nutrution)
Food Over Medicine (2013)
Wellness 101 Science and Skills (2012)
Solving America's Healthcare Crisis (2011)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
Food Choices (2016)
Forks Over Knives (2011)
To Your Health (2011)
Processed People (2009)
Making a Killing (2008)
"All protein is made by plants…any protein you get from an animal is simply recycled plant protein"
General internal medicine, critical care medicine.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine National Advisory Board.
Member of the Board of Directors, Plant-based Prevention Of Disease, Inc.
Stanford University School of Medicine (MD)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
What the Health (2017)
Vegucated (2011)
Processed People (2009)
"Proven environmental diseases, such as colon cancer, coronary artery disease, and adult-onset diabetes, all run in families—not necessarily because of genes, but because family members share the same dietary patterns. Simply."
Physician, author and lecturer.
Founder of Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Inc.
Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine (MD)
The Healthiest Diet on the Planet (2016)
The Starch Solution (2012)
McDougalls' All-You-Can-Eat Cookbook (2011)
Dr. Mcdougall's Digestive Tune Up (2006)
The McDougall Program for Women (1999)
The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook (1997)
The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart (1996)
The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss (1994)
The New McDougall Cookbook (1993)
The McDougall Program (1990)
Mc Dougall's Medicine (1985)
The McDougall Plan (1983)
Eating You Alive (2018)
What the Health (2017)
Vegan 2016 (2016)
Food Choices (2016)
The Healing Effect (2014)
Forks Over Knives (2011)
Surviving Prostate Cancer, Without Surgery, Drugs or Radiation (2010)
Processed People (2009)
Got the Facts on Milk? (2008)
Healing Cancer (2008)
Diet for a New America (1991)
“It’s never too late to start eating well. A good diet can reverse many of those conditions as well. In short: change the way you eat and you can transform your health for the better.”
Nutritional biochemist, author and lecturer.
One of the lead scientists of the China–Cornell–Oxford Project.
On the advisory board of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Served as a senior science adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Served on Cornell Division of Nutritional Sciences.
Member of several United States National Academy of Sciences expert panels on food safety.
Honorary professorship at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine.
Pennsylvania State University (BS, Pre-Veterinary Medicine)
University of Georgia (MS, Nutrition and Biochemistry)
Cornell University (Biochemistry, Nutrition, and Microbiology)
Integral (2014)
Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition (2013)
The Low-Carb Fraud (2013)
Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health (2011)
The China Study (2001)
Drugs and Nutrients: The Interactive Effects (1984)
Healing America (2019)
Eating You Alive (2018)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
Vegan 2016 (2016)
Food Choices (2016)
Hope for All (2016)
PlantPure Nation (2015)
Live and Let Live (2013)
Seeds of Death: Unveiling the Lies of GMOs (2012)
Milk? (2012)
GMO Ticking Time Bomb (2012)
Vegucated (2011)
Forks Over Knives (2011)
To Your Health (2011)
Planeat (2010)
Chow Down (2010)
Healing Cancer (2008)
Dying to Have Known (2006)
McLibel (2005)
McLibel: Two Worlds Collide (1998)
"May our daily choices be a reflection of our deepest values, and may we use our voices to speak for those who need us most, those who have no voice, those who have no choice."
Author, speaker, educator and podcaster.
Host of Animalogy podcast.
Host of Food for Thought podcast.
The Joy of Vegan Baking, Revised and Updated Edition (2017)
On Being Vegan (2013)
The 30-Day Vegan Challenge (New Edition) (2011)
Vegan's Daily Companion (2011)
Color Me Vegan (2010)
The Vegan Table (2009)
The Joy of Vegan Baking (2007)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
"As a physician, I am embarrassed by my profession's lack of interest in healthier lifestyles. We need to change the way we approach chronic disease."
Physician (specializing in cardiology).
He was trained as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and at St. George’s Hospital in London.
Completed a tour as an Army surgeon in Vietnam.
Headed the Cleveland Clinic Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery.
Chaired the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Task Force.
Served as President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons.
Serves as the Director of the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
Yale University (BA)
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (MD)
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (2007)
Eating You Alive (2018)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
What the Health (2017)
Vegan 2016 (2016)
Hope for All: Unsere Nahrung - unsere Hoffnung (2015)
Forks Over Knives (2011)
To Your Health (2011)
Planeat (2010)
Chow Down (2010)
Processed People (2009)
A Delicate Balance: The Truth (2008)
Dying to Have Known (2006)
"The typical Western diet is the number-one cause of premature death and the number-one cause of disability. In other words, a long and healthy life is largely a matter of choice."
Practicing physician (specializing in clinical nutrition), author and lecturer.
Founding member and fellow of the American College Of Lifestyle Medicine.
Founded NutritionFacts.org.
Served as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States.
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (BS, Biology)
MD, Tufts University School of Medicine (MD, Clinical nutrition)
How Not to Die Cookbook (2018)
How Not to Die (2015)
Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching (2007)
Carbophobia: The Scary Truth Behind America's Low Carb Craze (2005)
Heart Failure: Diary of a Third-Year Medical Student (2000)
Eating You Alive (2018)
Vegan 2017 (2017)
What the Health (2017)
Prescription: Nutrition (2017)
- Nature's Candy
- Spilling the Beans
- Grain of Truth
Vegan 2016 (2016)
In Search of Balance (2016)
Food Choices (2016)
Uprooting the UK's Leading Causes of Death with Dr Michael Greger (2016)
PlantPure Nation (2015)
Bethany's Story (2013)
Cage vs. Cage-Free (2011)
A River of Waste: The Hazardous Truth About Factory Farms (2009)
Mad City Chickens (2008)
Slaughterhouse Investigation: Cruel and Unhealthy Practices (2008)
"How Not to Die" - Talks to Google (1:21:12)
Why You Should Care About Nutrition (2:53
Taking Personal Responsibility for Your Health (3:57)
Who Says Eggs Aren't Healthy or Safe? (8:06)
Eggs & Cholesterol: Patently False & Misleading Claims (5:54)
Eggs vs. Cigarettes in Atherosclerosis (2:47)
Eggs, Choline, & Cancer (4:19)
Switching from Beef to Chicken & Fish May Not Lower Cholesterol (4:38)
How to Prevent Alzheimer’s With Diet (4:26)
Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease (6:05)
The Great Protein Fiasco (5:35)
Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein? (4:41)
Is Fish Oil Just Snake Oil? (2:50)
by
Dr. Michael Greger
& Gene Stone
The vast majority of premature deaths can be prevented through simple changes in diet and lifestyle. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger examines the 15 top causes of premature death in America and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical or surgical approaches, freeing us to live longer, healthier lives.
by Dr. Michael Greger
Rooted in the latest nutrition science, these easy-to-follow, stunningly photographed recipes will appeal to anyone looking to live a longer, healthier life.
Garden Fresh Media
How and why what we eat is the cause of the chronic diseases that are killing us, and changing what we eat can save our lives one bite at a time.
Director: Paul David Kennamer Jr.
Writer: Paul David Kennamer Jr
Starring: Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Michael Klapper, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish
A.U.M. Films & Media
What the Health is a ground breaking feature length documentary from the award-winning filmmakers of Cowspiracy, that follows the exciting journey of intrepid filmmaker, Kip Andersen, as he uncovers the impacts of highly processed industrial animal foods on our personal health and greater community, and explores why leading health organizations continue to promote the industry despite countless medical studies and research showing deleterious effects of these products on our health.
Director: Kip Andersen & Keegan Kuhn
Writer: Kip Andersen & Keegan Kuhn
Starring: Kip Andersen, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Alan Goldhammer, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Joel Kahn, Dr. Michael Klapper, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Milton Mills
Passion River
"The truth is a stubborn thing. It doesn't go away."
The documentary film PlantPure Nation tells the story of three people on a quest to spread the message of one of the most important health breakthroughs of all time.
Director: Nelson Campbell
Writer: Nelson Campbell & John Corry
Starring: Dr. Neal Barnard, Nelson Campbell, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Michael Greger
Perfect Vegan breakfast or brunch
Place a large skillet over medium heat; add the olive oil and sauté the onion, mushrooms, pepper and garlic until nicely brown. Fold in the tofu egg mixture. Stir everything together and cook for another 8 minutes.
Serve with toast, avocado or on an English muffin!
Boil cashews for 10 minutes until soft. Drain. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour mixture through cheesecloth to remove any cashew bits to ensure cheese texture. Over medium-high heat, stir mixture into a small sauce pan. Cook and stir until mixture firs up and becomes smooth cheese consistancy.
Cashews can be soaked for 4 hours or overnight.
Hummus the Arabic word for chickpea. Packed with protein. Best enjoyed with pita bread,, veggies, used as a sandwich spread or dressing on a salad.
Combine all ingredients except the saved liquid (aquafaba) in a food processor or strong blender. Pulse/blend to puree adding aquafaba until smooth. Adding more or less liquid to get the consistency of your liking. Processing longer will yield a smoother whippy texture. Place the hummus in a serving dish. If desired garnish with parsley.
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse several times to mince together. Make a well in the center of the hummus and spoon in the garnish. Top with pine nuts or a sprinkle of parsley.
We love to experiment with the flavor and texture of hummus by adding in spices or veggies such as cumin, cilantro, beets, spinach or roasted peppers!
by
Jo-Anne McArthur
In this follow-up to We Animals, Canadian photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur explores zoos and aquaria, and how "we" animals interact with "those" animals. In over one hundred photographs, Captive reveals the lives of animals in zoos and aquaria around the world.
by
Jo-Anne McArthur
We Animals documents animals in the human environment, showing that humans are as much animals as the creatures used for food, clothing, research, experimentation, work, entertainment, slavery, and companionship.
