The researchers behind 'You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment,' help in answering the age-old question. Which is the better diet, the Vegan or Omnivorous Diet?
Looking to stir up debate at the dinner table? Forget politics, ethics, or the best musical artist of our time. The most controversial question is this: Which is the superior diet, the vegan diet or the omnivorous diet? My assumption has always been that an omnivorous diet is healthier than a vegan one, especially for gaining muscle. On a vegan diet, finding protein-rich foods can be more of a challenge, which makes gaining muscle harder, but does allow for an easier loss of fat and is much more environmentally friendly. Each diet has its benefits and downsides, but due to the differences between people, it’s hard to get insight into which is healthier. That is, until recently.
Stanford University held a 8-week study (published in November 2023) with 22 pairs of twins, with one twin on a healthy vegan diet and the other on a healthy omnivorous diet. Here’s where it gets exciting: Over the course of the study, four of the pairs of twins were filmed by a documentary crew, and the resulting show, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, was released on Netflix in January 2024. The show not only covers the trajectory of the four pairs of twins during the experiment, but examines how both diets affect the body.
The show also looked at the detrimental effects of meat consumption on the climate. For example, the documentary included an interview with George Monbiot, a journalist and environmental activist, who notes that industrial livestock farms produce more pollution on a global scale than vehicles do based on studies that were discussed in the documentary. The show also features a variety of people who work in the food industry, such as a food safety inspector showcasing the pitfalls of meat production and cleanliness when it comes to chicken.
In addition, the documentary also followed the stories of businesses and people in the food industry who are changing their methods to become more sustainable. One example was the world renowned restaurant Eleven Madison Park, which went completely vegan shortly after The World’s 50 Best Restaurants named it best restaurant in the world in 2017. Despite backlash from food critics that felt that there was no way a vegan restaurant could compete with restaurants that serve animal products, they maintained their reputation and maintained their three Michelin stars, which they’ve had since 2012.
I don’t normally gravitate towards documentaries, but this one was informative. After watching this show, I felt not only more knowledgeable on the differences between these two diets, but I could see how important our diets are in the battle against climate change. The documentary was also pretty entertaining, weaving in spotlights on individuals and companies working on climate change, such as Plantega, which is working on replicating the taste of classic New York City deli meat in non-meat products to promote the consumers’ transition to a vegan diet.
“I don’t normally gravitate towards documentaries, but this one was informative. After watching this show, I felt not only more knowledgeable on the differences between these two diets, but I could see how important our diets are in the battle against climate change.”
Christian Gonzalez Pena
Overall, the documentary does a great job at not only covering the twin study itself, but extends a call to arms against climate change, with the arms being what is at the end of your fork. While the documentary has a clear aim of leading the viewer towards a plant-based diet for environmental reasons, the show seems to combat bias by calling on experts to bring in research on health, nutrition, fitness and climate.
What were the results of the study? Well, that would be spoiling the documentary. Whether you’re interested in learning to fight climate issues, or you’re more into food, or just trying to find a way to eat healthier, put this documentary on your menu.
Still hungry? Read this interview with Hilal Elver, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.