Forks Over Knives - Forks in the Road by Innes Hope Forks Over Knives - a nifty way to say ‘Ditch hacking at meat. A fork is all you need to enjoy optimum health by eating plant-based foods.’ Innes Hope works in the arts, crafting thoughts into words, verses and recipes for a better world.
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hanks to the world’s science researchers, it is now clear that eating plant-based is home-based climate change mitigation 101. As such, it can also help make the planet healthier. When the wholefoods plant-based movement began, the focus was solely on personal health. Renowned nutritionist, T Colin Campbell, PhD, had joined forces with Cleveland Clinic heart surgeon, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn to support people starting out on the plant-based road, as outlined in the documenary Forks Over Knives. Other doctors, like John McDougall, Neal Barnard, and Joel Fuhrman, were doing similar work. Dr Esselstyn was guiding his patients to reverse their heart disease through diet. Dr Dean Ornish was too, his most famous patient being President Clinton, who also reversed his heart disease. All the doctors had a slightly different approach. I call such options ‘forks in the road.’ These professionals are still walking the talk, giving due consideration to each other’s ideas, and disagreeing on some points. They respect each other’s work. I like that. True to the scientific method, they know the road to health is complex. There’s always more to discover, and circumstances change. And change they have. Climate scientists have been warning us for years that if we don’t halt the warming of our planet, we’ll face the 6th mass extinction. Yes. The end of the road! We’ve been hearing again, and again, ‘the way we live must change.’ But what action have we taken? So little that we must focus now on our very survival. Not only will we face an increasing number of floods, droughts, and hurricanes, etc, but major food shortages will result as currently farmed fields become unproductive. Civil unrest is likely to ensue when people can’t get the food they need. From this moment onwards, we absolutely must pull out all the stops. The stops are different, though, because we’re all different. Collectively we can make a significant difference eating plantbased. But our environments and cultural traditions vary. Our
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finances, work and social situations range from poverty and deprivation to the limitless indulgences of the mega-wealthy. Food availability varies. Our genes, hormones and micro-biomes are unique. We have individual strengths and challenges. This is no one way street. Luckily, with each fork in the road taking a different direction, the wider public has options. No one diet suits everyone. Evangelising, making sweeping statements, or bickering about what diet is the best, is totally counter-productive. Considering the threat to our very existence, encouraging the move toward towards plant-based food in general is of utmost importance. It’s the big picture that matters. Let’s look at where we’re at now, and how far we need to go.
The Food Freeway
Eighty to ninety per cent of Australians and New Zealanders are currently cruising along the Food Freeway, with many traditional eaters saying, ‘no way will I give up my meat, butter, eggs and cheese.’ Some are eating more veges since starting their own gardens. Others are trying plant-based burger patties and sausages, especially at social gatherings, and the public is buying more plant-based foods. But with current recommended levels of protein being unnecessarily high, many people fear they won’t get enough protein without animal foods. Taste and convenience also matter. Until plant-based foods are as high in protein, until they taste as good to meat-eaters, and are just as convenient, there’ll be no mass transit into the plant-based lane. Pre-packaged plant protein foods will also have to be cheaper than meat and dairy. When these factors come into play, more people may start to transition. Highly refined plant-protein foods with a similar fat profile to meat will be what they go for. Guaranteed. Healthier options like tofu and lentils have always been available, but punters avoid them. Corporate food giants know this and are providing highly refined alt-meats that increasingly fit the bill. We can be thankful for that, as any uptake of plant-based foods
