How “The Game Changers” Made a Fantastic Argument for a Plant Based Diet
“James knocked it our of the park, and defended himself and the film quite spectacularly. So much so that I’m actually considering taking the original breakdown of the film offline.”
The above words are an instagram caption by comedian, podcaster, and outspoken meat lover Joe Rogan. He posted it following an interview with James Wilks, producer and presenter of the 2019 documentary “The Game Changers.” The film features interviews with athletes and top academics, who argue that switching to a plant based diet is one of the best choices a person can make for both health and performance.
The fact that Rogan (who frequently posts pictures of meat from elk he hunted on Instagram) made the above statement about The Game Changers’ producer, is a very big deal.
It is a much needed endorsement, given the fact that the internet has been flooded with pro-meat critics of The Game Changers, attempting to pick apart its science. This would be a fairly easy task, regardless of what type of diet for which the film was arguing. Nutritional science is notoriously tricky, and there is a tremendous amount of disagreement even amongst experts about which diet is optimal for human health. In reality, it’s unlikely that there is one optimal diet for everyone, but it’s essentially undeniable that some diets are better than others.
So how did “The Game Changers” make such a convincing case for plants and against meat?
For one, it got some very reputable scientists to state their pro-plant views. Scientists such as Professor Walter Willet: Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Kim Williams: Past-President of the American College of Cardiology and Professor of Heart Research at Rush Medical College, and Columbus Baptiste: Chief of Cardiology at Kaiser Permanente Riverside. All the above figures, and many more Phd holders, emphatically state in the film, that eating meat is not a great choice.
To back up their claims, these experts highlight health outcomes in large epidemiological studies on the effects of diet. They also discuss the many potential ways that the compounds in meat can cause harm. Specifically, they cite TMAOs, Heme Iron, NEU5GC, Heterocyclic Amines, and several other substances found in meat as potential culprits for the negative health outcomes associated with its consumption. The two strategies complement each other nicely. The epidemiology studies, while sometimes subject to healthy user bias, provide a good overall view of the associations between meat consumption and the development of disease. The discussions of potentially harmful microscopic compounds provide potential answers as to the chemical mechanisms responsible for meat-related illness.
Backing up the results of these studies are anecdotes from some of the world’s top athletes, who claim that switching to plant based diets led to significant increases in their performance, and noticeably reduced the amount of time it took for them to recover from injuries. Athletes featured include strongman Patrik Baboumian, Olympic cyclist Dotsie Bausch, ultra runner Scott Jurek, Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan, and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.
The accomplishments of these athletes are very impressive. For example, Scott Jurek holds the record for fastest ever completion of the Appalachian trail. Patrik Baboumian holds the world record for the yoke walk competition, which he set by carrying 550 kilograms (1,212 pounds) a distance of over thirty feet. Lewis Hamilton is regarded as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) Formula One drivers of all time. Bear in mind the fact that drivers in this type of racing are subject to some of the strongest g-forces imaginable, and must maintain peak physical condition.
All of these athletes credit transitioning to a plant based / vegan diet with a significant increase in their performance, and or recovery time (usually both). While doctors and professors can argue about micronutrients and the validity of epidemiological studies, the anecdotes of these athletes are tough to debate. All athletes mentioned in the film have, by nature of their professions, developed incredibly keen sensitivity towards the functioning of their bodies. It seems very unlikely that they would endorse a diet unless they truly felt it was maximizing their chances of winning.
Of course, plant based diets are not just good for humans, they are also good for the planet. The film includes plenty of information on the effects that the livestock sector are having on the environment, specifically forests and watersheds. Most importantly, it states that despite providing only 18% of the world’s calories, meat, dairy, and fish farming require 83% of the world’s total farmland. This really isn’t all that surprising, given how much energy is lost as food moves up trophic levels. In fact, it is generally estimated that only ten percent of energy is retained with each trophic jump. For example, if a patch of grass contains one hundred calories, and a deer eats all of it, only ten percent of the calories present in the grass will actually be stored in the deer’s flesh. The rest will be lost due to metabolic inefficiencies. Therefore, it would be far wiser for us to simply grow grain and eat it as is, rather than growing grain to feed to animals intended for meat production.
It should be noted that no single diet is perfect for anyone. In fact, some people have reported improvements in symptoms of autoimmune diseases after transitioning to diets consisting entirely of meat. These extreme cases in which an entirely carnivorous diet proved to be beneficial, are worth bearing in mind.
However, The Game Changers makes a very convincing case that for most us, eating mostly plants would be the healthiest choice.
