THERE ARE BROADCASTING SERVICES produced the nutrition documentaries A Thing.
But let it be 2017 What is Health?2018s Game Changers2021s Marine Corpsor 2024s You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment—all of these nutrition documentaries share similar red flags for me as a registered dietitian.
Yes, it’s a smart idea to learn ways to take a healthy approach to nutrition. However, viewers need to be careful about where and from whom they get their information.
As in many of these movies, the recommended “best” way to eat is often influenced by experts with bias, incomplete data, and fear-based arguments.
Here are 5 red flags I look for when watching a nutrition documentary: You should also pay attention to these.
Red Flag #1: The Movie Seems One-Sided
To look, everyone have their own biases, and nutrition documentaries are often made to convey the director’s perspective or belief system on a particular topic. There’s nothing wrong with that but when a movie is only shown One Next to a debate, it is difficult for viewers to make an informed decision about the topic.
It’s important to know who produced and financed the movie you’re watching and be aware of any biases they may have. Before you drastically change your diet after watching one of these movies, do a little sleuthing.
For example Game Changers And You are what you eat It was partially funded by the Vogt Foundation. The aim of the Vogt Foundation is to promote plant-based nutrition and animal welfare. We hear nothing about this statement in either documentary, but the fund is listed in the credits.
In my professional opinion, a film funded by a foundation that promotes plant-based nutrition is unlikely to be impartial.
Another example is Kip Andersen, the force behind popular Netflix documentaries. cow conspiracy, Marine CorpsAnd What is Health?, is the founder of AUM Films & Media, “a non-profit organization focused on creating films and media that promote flourishing, compassion, and harmony for all life.” (As Andersen says he’s vegan, the subtext behind “all life” means animals.)
Even if it’s not like that, I’ll say it impossible The fact that someone rooted in the world of animal activism makes an unbiased film makes it hard for me, as a viewer (and a dietitian), to believe in lack of bias.
Red Flag #2: No Dissenting Experts
Just like sleuthing to find out who is behind these documentaries, you should also check the background of who is featured in these documentaries. (And also whose not are included in these.)
Inside You are what you eatThe vast majority of featured experts describe themselves as vegan or activists for plant-based products, diets, and causes.
The film stars Miyoko Schinner, who developed Miyoko’s Creamery, a company that produces vegan cheese and butter. So is activist Don Staniford, who campaigns against salmon farms.
It’s not their opinions that are a red flag for me; Their ideas are never challenged.
If a film is balanced, there will be experts from all sides presenting their arguments for and against the topic. This way, viewers get all the information about the topic so they can make their own decisions about it.
Red Flag #3: FEAR
If you’re watching a nutrition documentary and frequently hear sensational claims, that should be a red flag. A few examples:
- Food X is as bad for us as smoking Y number of cigarettes
- Any consumption of food Z is harmful to your health.
- Drinking cow’s milk can lower a man’s testosterone levels by a shocking amount
The seemingly lurid claims are designed to attract viewers’ attention and spark debate. The problem is that these alarming “facts” are rarely based on solid science.
Cow’s milk study, the quote of which you will find Game Changers And elsewhere? It was a study published in 2010 in the journal Pediatrics International. In the study, scientists monitored 18 people (seven men, six children and five women) who drank milk from pregnant cows. They found that milk temporarily reduced testosterone secretion, but not overall testosterone.
And keep in mind that this result was in just seven men, an incredibly small sample size.
In another example, an expert You are what you eat says livestock farming emits more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector. This claim is never disputed in the movie, but is easy to refute with a quick search of the EPA website.
If a claim seems too shocking to be true, it probably isn’t.
Red Flag #4: Casts Doubt on Government and/or Food Supply
In many nutrition documentaries, the tone, music, and images are presented in a way that casts doubt on where our food comes from. To me, this is a tactic to persuade viewers to change their diets to align with the producer’s.
Inside You are what you eat, we see images of pig feces sprayed on fields and environmental activists telling us that all farmed fish are diseased. This paints a picture that animal food is contaminated and produced without adequate government oversight.
Ironically (or perhaps not), there is no scope for mass production of plant foods, which should theoretically be examined in a fair comparison.
Food production for an entire nation is a challenge in terms of food security. The U.S. food system is actually safer than ever, especially since the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act, and continues to be regularly updated to help consumers stay safe.
Is it perfect? No. Is it bad? I do not think so.
Red Flag #5: He’s Staging His Own “Research”
It’s one thing to misinterpret research, but it’s another to confuse anecdotal evidence or staged experiments with actual research.
Let’s take this famous example Game ChangersAthletes ate either a high-fat, animal-based meal or a vegan meal and had their blood drawn 2 hours later. The movie focuses on the fact that athletes who consume animal-based food have cloudy, fatty blood plasma. Athletes who eat vegan food appear to have normal blood.
The difference is held up as “proof” that a vegan diet is healthier, but it is actually normal to have fat in our blood after a high-fat meal, although it may seem shocking. This is how fat reaches our cells.
Claims always need to be supported by research, which is rarely the case in documentaries. It’s difficult to fact-check an entire movie, but sometimes there are indications that something was done for show purposes rather than actual evidence.
Bottom line: A healthy diet includes a variety of whole foods. If you choose to eat a certain way, please make that choice based on fact, not fear. Remember, nutrition documentaries have a reputation for emphasizing sensationalism and shedding light on reality.
Abby Langer, RD, is the owner of Abby Langer Nutrition, a nutrition consulting and communications company based in Toronto.