Christopher Gardner says having his research featured in the Netflix food series You Are What You Eat has been one of the more impactful things hes done in more than 30 years at Stanford.

The show chronicles the experience of four pairs of identical twins who participated in an eight-week study with Stanford Medicine researchers as they compared the impacts of a vegan diet with an omnivore diet. The study involved a total of 22 pairs of identical twins and randomized one twin from each pair to either a vegan or omnivore diet.

Im always trying to get people to eat more healthfully, and it often doesnt work, said Gardner, the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor and a professor of medicine. I dont actually care if they eat a vegan diet, just more plants and less meat. Thats what Ive been all about for a long, long time.

Ever since the shows Jan. 1 release, Gardners inbox has been packed with feedback from strangers, colleagues, and others. Gardners own sister told him that after watching the documentary, she may try eating more plant-based meals.

The show features several scenes filmed on campus and within the surrounding area.

In the first episode, Gardner explains why its difficult to study nutrition when each person is unique. Working with twins, who have the same genetic make-up, helps address that challenge cue charming shots of twins finishing each others sentences and mirroring mannerisms.

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Stanford Medicine

The omnivore diet versus the vegan diet: Which one is better for your cardiovascular health? Stanford researchers found the answer by changing the eating habits of identical twins.

Gardner is the senior author of the study, which was co-first authored by Matthew Landry, PhD, a former Stanford Prevention Research Center postdoctoral scholar, and Catherine Ward, a current postdoctoral scholar at the center. Landry is now an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Gardner spoke with Stanford Report about his experience on the show:

What motivated you to do the show?

There can be this huge, lengthy gap between when science comes up with new findings and it getting implemented in the public, so Ive become super open-minded as to how we run studies and how visible they are, not only to the public but also to other busy clinicians. Some people do Twitter and some watch Netflix and some go to conferences. These days, if you really want to get your work out there, there are a lot of potential audiences.

Its totally novel. Ten years ago, we would say, Social media and videos arent credible. Were academics. We publish, people cite our paper, and we go to conferences. Now that I am on social media, podcasts, and this documentary, I meet new colleagues, I see papers that I would have otherwise missed, and Ive been more open-minded to different ways to share the results of our studies.

What has it been like having your study featured in a Netflix show?

Mostly it has been lots of love and lots of people saying, Congratulations, thats so cool, and certainly from a lot of people who probably wouldnt have heard of the study otherwise. Ive heard from people who havent seen me in a long time, and a lot of colleagues are seeing it and writing to me about it. Then, on the other hand, there have been an overwhelming number of people volunteering to be in my next study. There have also been a number of very challenging communications from people who say, Im really sick. I saw your Netflix show and Im really hoping that you can help treat me, which is just not possible. Im not even a clinician. And Im getting some hate mail from people who dont believe in plant-based diets, and some conspiracy theorists. So its quite a range of responses that I wouldnt normally get for something published in a scientific journal.

Christopher Gardner (Image credit: Netflix/OPS Productions)

Talk about the upsides and downsides of having a study featured in a show.

I actually think the impact of this is bigger than anything Ive ever done in 30 years at Stanford. I did the same science Ive always done, but its just presented in a different way. My science doesnt say people should be vegan; it just says people should eat less meat and more plants. The people who are writing to me are saying theyre trying more plants and trying less meat. That part has been wildly satisfying.

The challenge with the Netflix opportunity was how little control I had. For example, Netflix wanted something in the documentary about exercise and to measure the participants for fat and lean mass, which is done with a very expensive DEXA scan. I pointed out that we didnt have room in the budget for it with 44 participants. So they said they would do it separately on the side with just eight participants of the study, and its well-featured in the show with the eight people who got results. But nobody else got measured by the DEXA, and its not part of the study so when people ask for the data, I dont even have it, but people think I do because of the way it was presented on the show. They also didnt tell us about the part in which they are measuring for sexual arousal. That was not a part of the study we designed and conducted. I dont think that was an appropriate topic and only found out about that after the screening.

But overall, its been very satisfying to hear that weve made more of an impact than I think I ever have before.

Do you anticipate using twins in future nutrition studies?

Looking to eat better? Exercise more? Get unstuck in life or career? Stanford scholars offer research-backed advice for making moves in the new year.

Yes. I am super excited. Plus the twins are fun. They were wonderful and very easy to work with. They had this sense of humor and were nudging each other and finishing each others sentences. They were adorable, which really does sound silly, but it makes it really fun for the staff. When we recruit people for studies, it can be frustrating. If you saw the series you see how much we poked and prodded and harassed them to collect all the data. They could have been annoyed with us. But they all remained friendly and enthusiastic throughout. Only one person dropped out of the study, and then their twins data wasnt useful so the final results are based on 42 out of 44 people. In my field thats amazing thats ~95% retention.

Now that it has aired, what is your favorite part of the show?

I think the show made the science really fun, and because of that, it was more accessible to people learning about it. The film crew and producer did a good job of that. Also, most people who work in this area completely underestimate the recruitment effort. Recruitment is really, really hard in the general population. And within a few days of the Netflix show release, the Stanford Twin Registry administrators called me and told me that their registry had a significant jump in registration. Since the documentary came out, over 300 individuals who had twins signed up to be part of the registry, all thinking how interesting it could be to participate in research studies and maybe end up on TV?!

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Christopher Gardner on Netflix's 'You Are What You Eat' - Stanford Report - Stanford University News

Veganism

We would like to hear from people who have taken part in Veganuary since it launched 10 years ago

Tue 23 Jan 2024 06.48 EST

It has been 10 years since Jane Land and Matthew Glover led the plant-based revolution. The aptly named Veganuary calls on people to go completely vegan during the month of January. In the last decade, the number of vegans in the UK has quadrupled to 1 million.

Have you taken part in Veganuary since it launched a decade ago? How was the experience? Did you carry on after the month finished? What made you decide to do it? Was it a new year resolution or more of a long term decision?

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Tell us: have you taken part in Veganuary? - The Guardian

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The beauty industry is ever-evolving but the future is here. Dcypher, a British brand, and Hourglass Cosmetics are leading the way with groundbreaking approaches to foundation and lipstick production, respectively.

Dcypher has abandoned the conventional method of forecasting popular skin shades and producing mass quantities of foundation, only to be left with surplus stock. Instead, the brand harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze individual skin tones through a quick and efficient 60-second online process. The result? A custom-blended foundation tailored to each customers unique shade, available for 42. This not only eliminates excess stock and packaging but also reduces the environmental impact associated with freight and storage.

What sets Dcypher apart from other online color-matching brands is its commitment to offering more than a generic foundation. Customers have the freedom to choose their preferred coverage level and finish, allowing for a truly customized makeup experience. The success of Dcyphers AI-driven foundation has left users amazed, with the brands free adjustment service standing as a testament to its dedication to customer satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Carisa Janes, the founder of Hourglass Cosmetics, has taken a bold step in challenging the status quo of lipstick production. Traditionally, vibrant red lipsticks derive their rich color from carmine, a pigment extracted from female beetles. The process involves sacrificing up to 1,000 beetles to create just one lipstick. Recognizing the environmental and ethical concerns surrounding this practice, Janes embarked on a three-year research journey alongside parent company Unilever.

The result is Confession Red 0, a game-changing, refillable lipstick priced at 35. What sets this lipstick apart is its 100% vegan composition, achieved without harming a single insect. The patent-pending formula delivers a true, fire-engine-red hue in a slim bullet for precise application. While vegan red lipsticks exist, they often fall short in brilliance and saturation compared to carmine reds. Confession Red 0 not only meets the high standards of its traditional counterparts but also represents a leap forward in ethical and sustainable beauty. Beyond its vibrant color, Confession Red 0s packaging and formula exude luxury, demonstrating that ethical beauty doesnt compromise on quality.

Dcypher and Hourglass Cosmetics are trailblazing brands that show the power of innovation and ethical consciousness in the beauty industry. As consumers increasingly seek personalized and sustainable products, these brands set a precedent for a future where beauty meets technology and compassion.

Vegan But Make It Fashion TeeBy Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection

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The Future of Beauty is Here with Vegan Lipstick and AI Foundation - One Green Planet

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New vegan cafe (73 Farm) pop up opened in the National Union Building. Offering fresh vegetables, meals, ingredients and mocktails.

73 Farms website says:

Indoor fresh farmers market and vegan cafe featuring a New Orleans style sustainability focused menu. Much of traditional Cajun & Creole food was created out of preserving resources and embracing the natural flavors that come from vegetables as most recipes start with the holy trinity.

We are the former owners of a local plant based meat company and while we still embrace plant based meat alternatives we wanted to this pop up cafe to show our customers what is possible with vegan food. As a traveling engineer, when I was in the south vegan food was the hardest to find especially done to the same standards as the more meat focused dishes. Just as I thought I would have no luck, one night at the Gumbo Stop in New Orleans proved me wrong. I had the most delicious butter beans and rice dish and a fine Sazerac to wash it down and it brought me right back to my familys New Orleans roots. My grandmother waking up early in the morning and smell of piles of chopped celery, onions, and green peppers filling the kitchen. Thats what 73 Farm is all about, sharing family comfort food with real ingredients and authentic flavor from our family to yours.

918 F Street, NW

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New vegan cafe (73 Farm) pop up opened in the National Union Building - PoPville

The Kind Roastery & Brew Room Joins Veganuary, Offering Delicious Vegan Options to Sip and Celebrate  APN News

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The Kind Roastery & Brew Room Joins Veganuary, Offering Delicious Vegan Options to Sip and Celebrate - APN News

Were living in an enlightened age, the story goes. Aside from Andrew Tate and a bunch of freak gender critical obsessives, most people dont judge others gender identity based on frivolous details like what they enjoy eating. Men dont have to gnaw on red meat to prove their masculinity these days, right?Well, a new study suggests this might be wildly optimistic. According to research published in Sex Roles journal, men on vegan diets are often perceived as lacking in masculinity. This perception seemed to cut across gender, too meaning this wasnt just the Andrew Tate bro crowd calling vegan guys gay. A significant proportion of men participating in the study reportedly felt that male vegans are often viewed as physically weaker and less masculine, and a number of women participants believed there was truth to these stereotypes. Even weirder, some vegans thought this too. In a clear case of vegan on vegan prejudice, the study found negative beliefs about male vegans such as being unmanly or weak were harboured by a number of female vegans. The female vegans themselves were surprised that they have such stereotypical thinking. After all, on a rational level they know that a vegan diet is not related to a persons masculinity, the studys co-author Dominika Adamczyk tells PsyPost. I think this observation further underscores how strong the connection between meat-eating and masculinity is.This seems like a fairly wild discovery, and a blow for all the vegan dudes out there. If even vegan chicks think youre a wimpy soy boy for spurning animal products, what hope is there?! But does this study really hold water? Do women think vegan men are less masculine? More importantly, do guy vegans give girls the ick? To get to the bottom of this, VICE undertook a bit of rigorous scientific research of our own. Basically, we asked loads of women if veganism was a turn off.Yes, one woman responded immediately and decisively to an Instagram call-out. Yeah, hate to say it but I love a man that eats meat, another shot over. Yes, is that bad? another asked, before admitting she was speaking as an ex-vegan herself. I do get the ick a little, but that probably says more about me than them, a fourth woman confessed. I worry that their farts will smell all Quorn-y and I love cooking steak so, it's a defo ick for me, a fifth reported, definitely revealing more about herself than anything else in the process.

So far, its not looking good for the vegan guys. But surely Zoomers care less about all this than Boomers? Veganism is meant to have been normalised now, isnt it? Beyonc and Jay Z are vegan goddamn it! There must be a bunch of ladies out there who dont always associate vegan guys with weakness and flatulence.Next I turn to that infamous source of infinite wisdom: the Girls Group Chats. I dont see a vegan man as less masculine and it definitely wouldn't give me the ick, Phoebe, 29, says in Quorn Guys defence. To be honest, Id quite like it because I'd probably end up eating healthier. A similar line of thinking is advanced by 31-year-old Amy: Being vegan might mean theyre a better, more creative cook, which is a pretty hot trait in my book. Hannah, 30, agrees on the turn on. And now Im left wondering if this says more about early millennials who were raised on cooking shows and now fancy Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, than it does #AllWomen.Theyre more likely to be cooks who are used to adapting, which is also pretty hot stuff, Hannah says. I have lots of friends with intolerances and allergies, and I have other friends who struggle to cook for them because theyre not used to adapting ingredients.So vegan guys are adaptable and good in the kitchen? That might not win over the Andrew Tate bros as signs of alpha masculinity, but it might help them actually get girlfriends IRL.

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We Asked Women If Vegan Men Give Them the Ick - VICE

bowl of sea moss - epalinsk/Shutterstock

In the realm of vegan and vegetarian cooking, sea moss gel is a lesser-known ingredient that can actually be a lifesaver when veganizinggelatin-based recipes. Picture a scenario where you're hosting a gathering of friends, some of whom follow a plant-based lifestyle. You might decide to whip up a delicious dessert, perhaps a pudding or a creamy panna cotta, but you know that gelatin is derived from animal bones. Opting for sea moss gel instead not only ensures that the dish remains vegan- or vegetarian-friendly, but also introduces a rich source of minerals and nutrients.

Also known as "Irish moss," sea moss is a nutrient-dense aquatic vegetable similar to seaweed that is commonly harvested from the Atlantic Ocean. It's a species of red algae called Chondrus crispus. Irish moss has grown to be a cult favorite in the vegan community thanks to a derivative product known as sea moss gel, which acts as a versatile and nutritious thickening agent for various recipes, from gummy candies to mousses and other dishes traditionally reliant on gelatin.

Sea moss gel is the perfect gelatin dupe thanks to a natural compound called carrageenan, which is responsible for its gelling properties.This thickener createsa signature jiggly gelatin texture without compromising on flavor or ethical considerations. That being said, you may have also heard of agar-agar, a similar gelatin substitute also derived from seaweed. The two ingredients have a few key differences.

Read more: What These Imitation Foods Are Actually Made Of

When it comes to gelatin substitutes, agar-agar might be the more familiar ingredient on the vegan and vegetarian scene. Similar to sea moss gel, agar is derived from seaweed and is free of animal byproducts like collagen, found in traditional gelatin. Agar primarily comes from the Gracilaria species of red algae, while sea moss gel, as said before, is made from the Chondrus crispus species.The preparation methods for these two ingredients also differ. Sea moss gel is typically made by washing, soaking, and then blending the threads of moss, while agar is most often removed from the seaweed and then synthesized into a powder or flakes before it is sold.

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So why use sea moss gel over agar? Sea moss gel not only boasts natural gelling properties, but also a wealth of essential nutrients, including minerals and antioxidants. Unlike agar, which undergoes more processing, sea moss gel provides a more "fresh" and minimally-processed option, for those of us concerned about processed foods. Sea moss is also considered to be softer than agar and easier to melt, making it a better choice when making recipes likechocolate mousse or ice cream. Agar is known to add a more firm or brittle texture to gelled desserts, which is fine if you're not after a super-soft and wobbly result, but too much agar can actually make foods seem hard and possibly unpleasant.

Sea moss has developed something of a cult following online, with loyalists touting its miracle ability to help with clear skin, immune support, and other health benefits. Experts agree that there are solid nutritional benefits to ingesting sea moss, either in gel form, or as a supplement or a liquid drop. Vitamins such as A, B, C, and E are plentiful in the product, as registered dietician nutritionist Samar Kullab told CNBC. These nutrients can help to reduce inflammation and support both heart and gut health.

Sea moss gel can evenhelp balance the thyroid gland, although individuals with thyroid issues should stick to one serving per day and check with their health care providers. "Sea moss contains iodine which helps regulate your thyroid function," Kullab explained. "And iodine is something that our bodies can't produce, so we do have to ingest it."

However, beware of "miracle food" claims regarding sea moss, which can be exaggerated.Dr. Melinda Ring, the executive director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told The New York Times,"It's just not a magical thing that everyone should be taking," as it has not been studied in clinical trials. It's best to view sea moss gel as a great gelatin substitute that also carries a nutrient boost, rather than a sort of cure-all ingredient.

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Sea Moss Gel Is A Slept-On Ingredient For Vegan Gelatin - Yahoo Canada Shine On

New Delhi: Today, in time for Republic Day, Hollywood actor Alicia Silverstone teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to provide delicious vegan desi food to HIV-positive orphans from Bhagini Nivedita Pratishthan in Sangli, students from Ramswaroop Chameli Devi Memorial Junior High School in Bulandshahr, and children with learning disabilities from Pruthvi Women and Rural Development Organisation in Gundlupet. These youngsters enjoyed the tasty lunches after taking a tour to meet to rescued cows, goats, sheep, camels, and other animals at Animal Rahat's beautiful sanctuaries in Gundlupet, Ranapur, and Sangli. The animals were rescued from various hardships, including being used for gruellinglabour or in circuses, or were slated to be sacrificed, would have been abandoned by dairies, or faced other horrific fates.

I love children! And sharing yummy vegan food with them is the perfect way to showcase how rich and flavourful meals are when we leave animals in peace, says Silverstone, a vegan of many years who has raised her strapping son, Bear, vegan. India is such a magical place, and I'm happy to help PETA India celebrate Republic Day with Animal Rahat by treating children to a visit they'll never forget and a healthy and delicious vegan meal that saves lives.

Republic Day is a time to celebrate the many gifts India has given the world, including a phenomenal variety of delectable animal-free dishes that make it so easy to live vegan and show respect for all living, feeling beings, says PETA India Vice President of Celebrity and Public Relations Sachin Bangera. PETA India is delighted to be working with Alicia Silverstone to foster kindness and compassion for all among the next generation by distributing vegan meals to children visiting the Animal Rahat sanctuaries for rescued animals.

India is admired worldwide for its cultural reverence for animals. The Sanskrit phrase VasudhaivaKutumbakam means that the world is one family, andthe Constitution of Indiarequires citizens to have compassion for animals. And when non-vegans learn that the egg industry confines billions of chickens to cages so small they cannot even spread a wing, that trillions of fish are suffocated or slit open while they're still alive so humans can consume their flesh, or that most calves are torn away from their mothers shortly after birth and many of them are killed just so that humans can steal the milk that was meant for them, many reject this violence by consuming exclusively vegan foods.

Unsurprisingly, India has the largest vegetarian population in the world (39% of the public) because of religious or cultural reasons as well as concerns over animal welfare, the negative environmental impact of animal farming, and the increase in rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

A staggering75% of the population in India along with most of the world is lactose intolerant (unable to properly digest lactose). Studies have shown that consuming dairy can contribute to heart disease, various reproductive cancers like colon and breast cancer, obesity, and other serious ailments.

According to areportby the United Nations which identifies animal agriculture as a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions a global move towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the climate catastrophe, andUniversity of Oxfordresearchers found that ditching meat and dairy can slash one's carbon footprint from food by 73%.

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Ahead of R-Day, Alicia Silverstone provides schoolchildren with Vegan Meals and Cow Hugs - The Northlines

The hardgraft Fuzzy Alcantara iPhone 15 Pro Cover is a luxurious accessory for the Apple-branded smartphone that's ready to provide impressive durability in a vegan-friendly way. The case is covered with the namesake Alcantara material to give it a soft, supple feel in the hand that mimics the feel of leather but is completely animal-free. The case is paired with a raised bevel edge to protect the screen from damage, while the slim construction of the accessory won't interfere with MagSafe functionality.

The hardgraft Fuzzy Alcantara iPhone 15 Pro Cover has a metal camera bezel frame for added style and durability, and is waterproof to prevent moisture from distorting its appearance. The case comes in four color options including Melange Grey, Forest Green, Chestnut Brown and Dusty Black.

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Vegan Leather Smartphone Cases - Trend Hunter

Its been almost ten years since the ground-breaking vegan documentary Cowspiracy was released. The pioneering film about the impacts of animal agriculture raised public awareness, perhaps like never before, about the connection between meat and environmental destruction. Cowspiracy set out to catalyze a broader conversation, and influence viewers to rethink what they eat. But it also marked the start of a trend that would grow over the next decade utilizing the medium of documentary films to highlight underreported information about animal farming, plant-based eating, health and nutrition. Today, the latest doc series to make waves in this space, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, is one of the most-watched shows on Netflix, and is creating a serious stir on social media.

But that stir is notably mixed raising the question of just how much a documentary with a vegan angle can accomplish at this moment in culture.

The new docuseries, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment follows four of the 22 sets of twins participating in an eight-week study to compare the impacts of diet. One twin eats a balanced omnivore diet while the other genetically identical twin eats a balanced vegan diet.

The study was conducted by Stanford researchers and published in November in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The results were striking: participants on the vegan diet had better cardiometabolic health outcomes compared to the omnivore diet, including a 12 percent drop in LDL (bad) cholesterol, a 20 percent drop in insulin levels and a three percent drop in weight.

Findings of a subsequent preprint study (not yet peer-reviewed) that looked further at the Stanford data were also featured in the film. Here, participants on the vegan diet also saw a reduction in biological age assessed by examining the lengths of the protective caps at the ends of DNA strands, known as telomeres in each twin. As individuals age, the lengths of telomeres naturally decrease. The longer telomeres assessed in the twins on a vegan diet pointed to a younger biological age.

But the series goes further than these two studies, to make the environmental, social justice and ethical cases for not eating meat, dairy and eggs. The documentary has a bigger agenda, in other words, and wellness and diet influencers took notice.

Two years after Cowspiracy, another widely watched documentary, What the Health, was released by the same filmmakers, this time making the case for the health risks associated with consuming animal products. Here too, the movie went beyond its central thesis in this case, health to expose evidence of government collusion with the meat and dairy industries.

Almost immediately, the backlash began. Vox published Debunking What the Health, the buzzy new documentary that wants you to be vegan. Time Magazine went with, What You Should Know About the Pro-Vegan Netflix Film What the Health, arguing that links made in the doc between meat/dairy consumption and cancer were overblown and without necessary nuance. On the other hand, the article notes that claims made regarding conflicts of interest in the food and health industries are real, as are concerns about antibiotic resistance due to meat consumption.

Today, reactions to the You Are What You Eat series have been just as strong, swift and polarizing. While many social media users are expressing shock re-thinking their whole lives and stating their intentions to go vegan, others have threatened to cancel their Netflix subscription due to the misinformation.

Some of the voices already have their minds made up. Author and social media personality Dave Asprey known for advocating for low-carb dieting and putting butter in your coffee, aka bulletproof coffee called the film another manipulative piece of propaganda to his nearly 1 million followers on Instagram. He also claims the study was funded by Beyond Meat (it wasnt).

Others approached the film with a more open mind. In a review of the documentary on her website, Toronto-based registered dietician Abby Langer criticized the film for being stacked with experts with an agenda. While she appreciated some of the films points the agriculture industrys influence on dietary guidelines and an absence of healthy plant-forward options in many BIPOC communities she expressed frustration at the lack of counterbalance. About the films presentation of antibiotic use by the animal agriculture industry, she wrote:

Should the average person be concerned? Im not sure, because we were only presented with one side of the argument. The average person will probably take that unchallenged side as fact, which is problematic. I would have liked to hear from an unbiased farmer and scientist about this, and about, well, the entire documentary.

Langer clearly isnt vegan but shes no meat advocate either. In a post from 2018, she called the carnivore diet the perfect example of a post-truth era diet fad.

In reaction to some of the backlash, author and surgeon Dr. Garth Davis came to the defense of the documentary, stating via social media that the Stanford study was nicely done, and describing the doc as excellent. But he too worried about the presentation, noting that while I want everybody to see what happens in a factory farm [and] I want everybody to see the climate effects, I dont really know if that fit in this documentary. And thats making people say it is biased.

While some may argue that films like You Are What You Eat and other vegan documentaries might better serve the subject matter by letting the science, stats and facts speak for themselves without any attempt to persuade viewers, the question is: would they be entertaining enough to get people to watch in the first place?

It is difficult to measure just how much a documentary can persuade viewers to change what they eat. However, a 2020 preliminary study published in Frontiers in Communication tried to do just that. Researchers showed Cowspiracy to 27 participants. It also showed 21 respondents two episodes of the nature documentary Planet Earth, which made no reference to meat consumption.

The differences were striking: a significant change in attitude to reduce meat consumption was predicted by the type of documentary they saw, write the authors. The average attitude score in the group that watched Planet Earth did not change, but increased in the group that watched Cowspiracy. Further, intention to reduce meat was predicted by the type of documentary they saw [] Intention to eat less meat did not change in the group that watched Planet Earth [] but increased in the group that watched Cowspiracy.

In a subsequent study by Faunalytics, it was found that 37 percent of surveyed animal advocates said they got their start in the movement after being exposed to some form of media, with 13 percent specifying that media as full-length documentary, such as Earthlings.

Jodey Castricano, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, has been teaching critical animal studies for over a decade and has long utilized documentaries about animal farming in her class, including Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home and The End of Meat. She admits though, that there is a fear that once a documentary is widely considered vegan, mainstream/meat-eating audiences are more likely to err on the side of their own bias and avoid it, in order to avoid the resulting cognitive dissonance. When asked if she thinks there is such a thing as the curse of the vegan documentary, Castricano tells Sentient Media yes, since vegan is often discredited as being preachy and is easily dismissed or ridiculed.

By its very nature, the medium of the vegan documentary aims to amuse and appeal to broad audiences, often relying on narrative structure, emotive language and music, all to keep viewers engaged and entertained (and those Netflix ratings up). Thus documentaries can or sometimes must oversimplify information and leave out important nuances. This can result in the subject matter being reinterpreted, leaving it vulnerable to criticism; especially when that subject matter is veganism, and even more so when its about health and nutrition.

Nutritional science is one of the most complex, varied and ever-evolving (or messy as Vox once described) fields of study because humans are complex, varied and ever-evolving. Making the case for plant-based eating based largely on this fluctuating field can be difficult, so it is understandable to want to fortify that position with the many more concrete and shocking facts about animal agriculture. If the audience is there, hit them with the whole story, right?

There is, however, that risk of catching the vegan documentary curse being deemed biased and then ultimately dismissed. Is this risk worth the reward? Well, so far, You Are What You Eat has been viewed 8 million times. Even with their limitations, vegan documentaries are still worth making. As Kate Manzo writes in her journal article on the usefulness of climate change films: If climate change films cannot offer a complete view of climate change due to the nature of the subject matter and the nature of film [] then climate change films are necessarily imperfect. In other words, tis better to have these films out in the world, even in their flawed form, than not at all.

Read More

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Blue Zones: New Netflix Docuseries Highlights Plant-Based Longevity

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Vegan Documentaries Like 'You Are What You Eat' Seem Damned If They Do or Don't - Sentient Media