Forks Over Knives - Wikipedia Forks Over Knives Forks Over Knives Theatrical release poster Directed by Lee Fulkerson Produced by John Corry Brian Wendel Written by Lee Fulkerson Starring T. Colin Campbell, Ph. D Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D. John A. McDougall, M.D. Neal D. Barnard, M.D. Rip Esselstyn Music by Ramón Balcázar Edited by John Orfanopoulos Brian Crance Michael Fahey Production company Monica Beach Media Distributed by Virgil Films and Entertainment Release date May 6, 2011 ( limited release ) August 30, 2011 ( DVD ) Running time 96 minutes Country United States Language English Forks Over Knives is a 2011 American advocacy film and documentary that advocates a low - fat, whole - food, plant - based diet as a way to avoid or reverse several chronic diseases. The film stresses that processed foods and all oils should be avoided. This is sometimes confused with a vegan diet, which in practice can be very different. The whole - food, plant - based diet promotes eating whole, unrefined or minimally refined plant - based foods. Those who adapt the lifestyle will base their diets around foods such as whole grains, legumes, tubers, vegetables, and fruits. It seeks to exclude or minimize any sources of animal - based protein and highly refined foods such as refined sugars and bleached flours. Contents 1 Summary 2 Reception 3 Books 4 References 5 External links Summary Through an examination of the careers of American physician Caldwell Esselstyn and professor of nutritional biochemistry T. Colin Campbell, Forks Over Knives claims that many diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, can be prevented and treated by eating a whole food, plant - based diet, avoiding processed food and food from animals. The film also provides an overview of the 20 - year China -- Cornell -- Oxford Project that led to Professor Campbell 's findings, outlined in his book, The China Study ( 2005 ) in which he suggests that coronary artery disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer can be linked to the Western diet of processed and animal - based foods ( including dairy products ). Director Lee Fulkerson stated in an interview with Canada 's National Post that the diet described in the film is called `` whole foods plant - based '' and that it advises people to eat `` minimally processed things. '' Reception As of July 31, 2015, on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Forks Over Knives received a rating of 61 % ( 23 Fresh, 15 Rotten ), based upon 38 reviews. On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, indicating `` mixed or average '' reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun - Times gave the film three out of four stars and wrote : `` here is a film that could save your life. '' He also suggests that `` Forks Over Knives is not subtle. It plays as if it had been made for doctors to see in medical school. '' Loren King of The Boston Globe gave the film three out of four stars and suggests that `` what An Inconvenient Truth did for global warming, Lee Fulkerson 's persuasive documentary does for a vegan diet ''. Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three out of four stars and describes it as `` an earnest and fact - filled work of food evangelism. '' Sean O'Connell of The Washington Post gave the film two out of four stars and argues that it is `` an interesting and informative health lecture that 's sandwiched into a dry, repetitive documentary '' and said that `` it 's desperately in need of charisma, humor or personality to balance the steady stream of scientific facts we 're asked to absorb ''. Rex Reed of The New York Observer gave the film 2 / 4 and argues that `` I 'm sure there is much to be learned from Forks Over Knives ( the title means a healthy diet should be consumed with a fork rather than diverging from this path, which could lead to the knife or scalpel ). '' Corey Hall of the Metro Times gave the film a `` C '' and states that `` while it 's impossible to dispute the basic premise that eating more vegetables is good for you, Forks adopts a staunch anti-meat and - dairy stance that leaves the door open for criticism. '' The film was awarded the Documentary / Special Interest Title of the Year in 2012 by the Entertainment Merchants Association. Nutrition blogger Denise Minger criticized the research presented in the Forks Over Knives movie for using the lowest levels of scientific evidence for conclusions and decision making ( i.e. animal studies, cohort studies and case control studies rather than randomized controlled trials or systematic reviews ) and for picking and choosing only those data sets that support the views presented in the movie while disregarding others. Books Alona Pulde M.D., Matthew Lederman M.D. The Forks Over Knives Plan : How to Transition to the Life - Saving, Whole - Food, Plant - Based Diet, 2014. Sroufe, Del. Forks Over Knives -- The Cookbook, 2012. Stone, Gene. Forks Over Knives : The Plant Based Way to Health, 2011. References Jump up ^ Times, Seattle ( 2011 - 08 - 30 ). `` New DVDs : ' Madea 's Big Happy Family, ' ' Forks Over Knives ' ''. Seattletimes.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Jump up ^ https://www.forksoverknives.com/what-to-eat/#gs.fc4teK8 ^ Jump up to : Hickman, Angela ( 16 May 2011 ). `` The food revolution of Forks Over Knives will not be processed ''. National Post. ^ Jump up to : Loren King, `` Documentary argues virtues of a vegan diet '', The Boston Globe, 16 May 2011. Jump up ^ Jeannette Catsoulis, `` Soul Food, Vegan Style '', The New York Times, 5 May 2011. Jump up ^ Kasey, `` Exclusive interview with Lee Fulkerson, writer and director of ' Forks Over Knives ' '', TDIV, 21 December 2011. Jump up ^ `` Forks Over Knives : The Official Movie Website ( Synopsis ) ''. Retrieved 2012 - 04 - 20. Jump up ^ Knight, Chris ( 19 May 2011 ). `` Film Review : Forks Over Knives ( 3 stars ) ''. National Post. Jump up ^ `` Forks Over Knives -- Rotten Tomatoes ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015 - 02 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Forks Over Knives : Reviews ''. Metacritic. Retrieved 2015 - 02 - 10. Jump up ^ Roger Ebert ( 11 May 2011 ). `` ' Forks over Knives ' review ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Jump up ^ `` ' Forks Over Knives ' : A bad - diet horror story ''. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2011 - 05 - 19. Jump up ^ Forks over Knives review, The Washington Post. May 13, 2011. Jump up ^ `` New York Observer Review ''. Observer.com. Retrieved 2015 - 09 - 09. Jump up ^ Hall, Corey. `` Forks Over Knives Metro Times Review ''. Metrotimes.com. Archived from the original on 2013 - 05 - 12. Retrieved 2015 - 09 - 09. Jump up ^ `` EMA Recognizes Indie Films and TV Series, '' 2012 Entertainment Merchants Association 's Independent Home Entertainment Award, June 2012. Jump up ^ `` '' Forks Over Knives `` : Is the Science Legit ? ( A Review and Critique ) -- Raw Food SOS ''. Raw Food SOS. External links Official website Forks Over Knives on IMDb Official trailer on YouTube Food industry criticism Books The Jungle ( 1906 ) Fast Food Nation ( 2001 ) Reefer Madness ( 2003 ) Shopped ( 2004 ) Chew on This ( 2006 ) My Secret Life on the McJob ( 2006 ) The Omnivore 's Dilemma ( 2006 ) Eating Animals ( 2009 ) Wheat Belly ( 2011 ) Farmageddon : The True Cost of Cheap Meat ( 2014 ) Meat Atlas ( annual ) The Meat Racket : The Secret Takeover of America 's Food Business ( 2014 ) Defending Beef : The Case for Sustainable Meat Production ( 2014 ) Righteous Porkchop ( 2009 ) Films The Jungle ( 1914 ) McLibel ( 1997 ) The Corporation ( 2003 ) Super Size Me ( 2004 ) The Future of Food ( 2004 ) We Feed the World ( 2005 ) Wal - Mart : The High Cost of Low Price ( 2005 ) Our Daily Bread ( 2005 ) Earthlings ( 2005 ) Fast Food Nation ( 2006 ) Black Gold ( 2006 ) King Corn ( 2007 ) Food, Inc. ( 2008 ) Million Calorie March : The Movie ( 2008 ) The World According to Monsanto ( 2008 ) Fresh ( 2009 ) Bananas ! * ( 2009 ) Big Boys Gone Bananas ! * ( 2011 ) The Dark Side of Chocolate ( 2010 ) Forks Over Knives ( 2011 ) A Place at the Table ( 2013 ) Fed Up ( 2014 ) Cowspiracy ( 2014 ) Super Size Me 2 : Holy Chicken ! ( 2017 ) Organizations Coca - Cola Cargill Tesco Nestlé boycott McDonald 's Concepts Children in cocoa production Fair trade coffee Fast food criticism Food safety Genetically modified food ( controversies ) By country China hide Veganism and vegetarianism Perspectives Veganism Animal - free agriculture Fruitarianism History Juice fasting Low - carbon diet Raw veganism Nutrition Vegan organic gardening Vegetarianism Economic vegetarianism Environmental vegetarianism History Lacto vegetarianism Ovo vegetarianism Ovo - lacto vegetarianism Cuisine Vegetarian Diet Pyramid Ecofeminism Nutrition By country Lists Vegans Vegetarians Vegetarian festivals Vegetarian organizations Vegetarian restaurants Ethics Secular Animal rights Animal welfare Carnism Deep ecology Environmental vegetarianism Ethics of eating meat Meat paradox Nonviolence Speciesism Tirukkural Religious Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Sattvic Ahimsa Jainism Judaism Pythagoreanism Rastafari Sikhism Food, drink Agar Agave nectar Meat analogue List of meat substitutes Miso Mochi Mock duck Nutritional yeast Plant cream Plant milk Quinoa Quorn Seitan Soy yogurt Tempeh Tofu Tofurkey Cheese Vegepet Hot dog Vegetarian mark Sausage Beer Wine Veggie burger Groups, events, companies Vegan American Vegan Society Beauty Without Cruelty Food Empowerment Project Go Vegan Movement for Compassionate Living Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Plamil Foods Vegan Awareness Foundation Vegan flag Vegan Ireland Vegan Outreach Vegan Prisoners Support Group The Vegan Society Veganz World Vegan Day Vegetarian American Vegetarian Party Boston Vegetarian Society Christian Vegetarian Association European Vegetarian Union Happidog Hare Krishna Food for Life International Vegetarian Union Jewish Veg Linda McCartney Foods Meat - free days Meatless Monday Swissveg Toronto Vegetarian Association Vegetarian Society Vegetarian Society ( Singapore ) Veggie Pride Viva ! Health World Esperantist Vegetarian Association World Vegetarian Day Books, reports Thirty - nine Reasons Why I Am a Vegetarian ( 1903 ) The Benefits of Vegetarianism ( 1927 ) Diet for a Small Planet ( 1971 ) Moosewood Cookbook ( 1977 ) Fit for Life ( 1985 ) Diet for a New America ( 1987 ) The China Study ( 2004 ) Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People ( 2005 ) Skinny Bitch ( 2005 ) Livestock 's Long Shadow ( 2006 ) Eating Animals ( 2009 ) The Kind Diet ( 2009 ) Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows ( 2009 ) Eat & Run ( 2012 ) Meat Atlas ( annual ) Films Meet Your Meat ( 2002 ) Peaceable Kingdom ( 2004 ) Earthlings ( 2005 ) A Sacred Duty ( 2007 ) Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead ( 2010 ) Planeat ( 2010 ) Forks Over Knives ( 2011 ) Vegucated ( 2011 ) Live and Let Live ( 2013 ) Cowspiracy ( 2014 ) What the Health ( 2017 ) Carnage ( 2017 ) Magazines Naked Food Vegetarian Times VegNews Physicians, academics Neal D. Barnard Rynn Berry T. Colin Campbell Caldwell Esselstyn Gary L. Francione Joel Fuhrman Michael Greger Melanie Joy Michael Klaper John A. McDougall Reed Mangels Jack Norris Dean Ornish Richard H. Schwartz Related Semi-vegetarianism Macrobiotic diet Pescetarianism Vegetarian and vegan dog diet Vegetarian and vegan symbolism Film in the United States portal Food portal 2010s portal Health portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forks_Over_Knives&oldid=841248269 '' Categories : English - language films 2011 films 2010s documentary films American documentary films American films Documentary films about environmental issues Documentary films about vegetarianism Documentary films about animal rights Vegetarianism in the United States Hidden categories : Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Fiji Hindi Français Italiano Svenska 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 14 May 2018, at 19 : 22 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the documentary forks over knives about
Answer: advocates a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet as a way to avoid or reverse several chronic diseases