I almost never tire of watching plant-based documentary films about the health benefits of this diet. What the Health is the newest on the subject of the benefits of a plant-based diet and the suppression of this information to a the wider population. If you recall the groundbreaking, award-winning documentary “Cowspiracy,” you’ll be pleased to know that this new film is by the same creators.
And it is OUTSTANDING.
The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. With heart disease and cancer the leading causes of death in America, and diabetes at an all-time high, the film reveals possibly the largest health cover-up of our time. With the help of medical doctors, researchers, and consumer advocates, What the Health exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.
Join Kip as he tracks down the leading and most trusted American health nonprofits to find out why these groups are staying silent, despite a growing body of evidence. Audiences will be shocked to learn the insidious roles played by pharmaceutical companies, agribusiness, and processed animal food companies in the nation’s health, especially in the most vulnerable communities, and will cheer at the transformation and recovery of those who took their lives into their own hands. What the Health is a surprising, and at times hilarious, investigative documentary that will be an eye-opener for everyone concerned about our nation’s health and how big business influences it.
A little personal disclaimer about this film:
I was able to watch the entire film as part of its promotion. This film is certainly aiming to rival Forks Over Knives for the place of Number 1 movie to convert omnivores to a plant-based diet overnight. And while I can completely agree with the evidence on meat and dairy being bad for our health, the whole link between sugar and flour is totally lost on both the filmmakers and the doctors who were interviewed. Sugar is directly addressed at the beginning of the movie and it’s link to addiction and disease not only ignored, but totally pooh-pooh’d. For example, Dr. Barnard talks about diary being addictive but it is nowhere near as addictive as sugar! This is personally really disheartening and kind of disturbing to me. They either don’t know about sugar/flour/food addiction or are choosing to ignore the evidence and long-term implications of consuming lots of sugar and/or flour. I don’t understand why we can’t just accept that meat and dairy are bad for our health AND for A LOT of folks (not all!), sugar and flour are bad for our health. It’s not one or the other. It’s both! But I encourage you to keep an open mind, as I did, because this film is an incredible reminder to stay the course for the long haul with your plant-based diet!
Kip and Keegan, What the Health and Cowspiracy filmmakers
Kip Andersen’s awakening as a filmmaker came as a result of An Inconvenient Truth. After seeing the film, he dramatically changed his lifestyle and believed he was doing everything he could to help the planet. But his life took a different direction when he found out animal agriculture is the leading cause of environmental destruction. His first film Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret became an overnight viral success and ignited the environmental movement. He was invited to speak in front of the European Parliament and a new cut, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, was exclusively released on Netflix in September 2015. Andersen is the founder of AUM Films and Media, a 501c3 non-profit focused on creating films and media that promote thrivability, compassion, and harmony for all life. He is also a serial entrepreneur, as well as a certified Jivamukti and Kundalini yoga teacher. He is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo school of business and has called San Francisco home for more than a decade.
WHAT THE HEALTH trailer #1 from First Spark Media on Vimeo.
Q&A with Kip
Q. What motivated you to look deeper into nutrition and health after focusing on the environmental issues around animal agriculture?
We covered some of the nutritional benefits of a vegan diet in Cowspiracy but I wanted to know more. Like a lot of Americans, I have a family history of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. I heard some troubling things while we were filming Cowspiracy and I decided to investigate further. It seemed logical that similar collusion is taking place within the health and medical industry as it is within the environmental movement. I was blown away by what I learned.
Q: How are What the Health and Cowspiracy similar and how are they different?
It is amazing how similar the two stories are, and the tactics that are used by big business to prevent information from reaching the public. Really, the main difference is how much easier it is to see the money/collusion trail between all of the industries we investigate in What The Health – health organizations, animal agriculture, government, and pharmaceutical industry – whereas Cowspiracy was a bit tougher to crack open.
Another difference is that there are a few more players involved in what we uncovered, with the pharmaceutical industry playing a huge role in profiting from this whole cover-up.
Q: Did you have more trouble gaining access to organizations this time because people were familiar with your work? Were you “recognized?”
Yes we did. Between the huge worldwide success of Cowspiracy, most organizations that are using some sketchy practices are much more leery of doing interviews, especially with us. But, we did get enough footage through various interviews, and going directly into these organizations’ headquarters, to show viewers the obvious disturbing roles everyone is playing.
Q: Why do so few medical doctors have an understanding of nutrition?
They only get a few hours at best of all their years of medical schooling, but that’s only part of the problem. Dr. Michael Klaper at TrueNorth Health Center told me the influence of the meat and dairy industry extends to medical education. So the nutritional training they get may not even be the correct information, and the medical establishment actively resists more training. It isn’t as profitable to use dietary interventions versus surgery and prescribing more and more drugs.
Q: How can people find out about the link between diet and disease if doctors aren’t aware of it, or won’t talk about it, and health advocacy organizations aren’t telling the public about it?
They watch this film 🙂 They can also go to our incredible facts page to see all the sources we use for the film.
It’s really important to me personally to get this information about diet and lifestyle choices out there. Two of my grandparents died of cancer. If we had known more, maybe things would have been different. I hope everyone who has a loved one with diabetes, or heart disease, or cancer, or who is overweight to the point that it impacts their health, will watch and share this film.
Q: What made you decide to follow individual people who had some of those very same health challenges?
We felt it was one thing for people to see all these studies and hear from progressive doctors who are willing to tell the truth about all of this, but then it intensifies the experience and trust of the whole film when one can see the incredibly powerful transformations from real people as they heal themselves from the problems that built up from years of these scary products.
Q: How and when will people be able to watch What the Health?
We’re releasing the film for a limited time on March 16 as a fundraiser for Food Not Bombs. We’ll make another announcement soon, I promise.
Q: Cowspiracy has inspired two books, The Sustainability Secret and the new The Planet Based Diet cookbook, so will What The Health also be followed by some reading material?
Yes. We are launching the film with a DVD for sale as well as an awesome companion What The Health Cookbook. It’s much more than your average cookbook because it’s also filled with all the facts from the film. These are intended to be powerful tools you can buy for yourself or loved ones who need to know this information, and how to act on it.
Q: How can people support the film?
I would love people to join our Thunderclap campaign to help spread the word through their social media accounts. It’s easy to do and it makes a huge impact, plus it will support our friends at Food Not Bombs. People can watch the film starting March 16, and then support their friends and family by purchasing a download, DVD, and/or cookbook to give to everyone they care about.
Looking forward to the film. Am so grateful people are exposing the situation… thank you for this post!
Did you ask them about why they avoided the topic of sugar and flour?
When will the movie be available for public viewing???
I think getting people on board to plant based eating without sugar and flour also is maybe too big a jump and many people would just mentally say ” oh these people think something is wrong with everything’. This is what I find in people…the sugar and esp the flour issue is something that’s more for the plant based people who are more motivated to high level issues to health. Not meaning to sound like a put down there but better to snag a few interested than turn off the masses with too many restrictions right out of the gate. Most people are highly addicted to their SAD diet. Small changes can grow with time. Of course there are a few that say that’s it and never go back (like me) but guess that’s kinda weird.
On March 16th it will be released for a limited time.
I totally agree about sugar and flour, IF they had simply ignored the sugar question in the film. But they did the opposite. They went out of their way to say that sugar is NOT a health hazard for humans, which is laughable given what I have learned about it’s damaging effects on the brain and the body (the glucose, insulin, leptin connection). So I just found that to be really odd. I would so much have preferred if they had never brought up the sugar question at all.
haha you better do some more research then because sugar ISNT harmful in any way. of course pouring copious amounts of it all over everything isnt a good habit but the fact remains that sugar is about as safe as water if you are not combining it with fat, which would in turn result in diabetes. you think you know more about sugar and its effects than neal barnard? what about dr mcdougall? what about durianrider? go have a look at durianrider’s blood tests after consuming over 500 grams of sugar a day for 15 years. Our brain runs solely off of glucose. glucose is most efficiently derived from sugar. sugar feeds the brain, sugar feeds the body, sugar feeds the muscles. eat some sugar and maybe you’ll be able to understand. the only negative effects of sugar are they feed the bacteria that causes cavities and it may raise triglycerides in sensitive people…
Well, Ryan, we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one, because I can assure you, I’ve done my homework on this! Like I tell all people who don’t know what I’m referring to when I talk about the destructiveness of sugar: Consider yourself one of the lucky ones and THANK GOD you have no idea what I’m talking about! xoxo, Wendy
Durian Rider thinks that eating carbs will cure mental illnesses and ‘cure’ being gay. Yeah, I’d really trust him for information about health.
Laura, Tell me more. I watched the movie a few months ago. What was it that Durian Rider was interviewed about in this film? Who is he?
Thank you for sharing this information!
He’s not in the film, as far as I know– he’s a godawful vegan YouTuber. You can easily find his videos on YouTube. Be prepared for the most vicious and staggeringly ignorant illness shaming, ableism, body shaming, domestic violence victim-blaming homophobia, racism, classism, misogyny, and probably a whole host of other disgustingly oppressive garbage I’m not even aware of. His (ex?) Girlfriend, who goes by the moniker Freelee the Banana Girl, is another vegan YouTuber, is just as horrendous as he is.