New Documentary about Plant-Based Athletes Arrives Next Month!

An exciting new documentary will be released next month featuring a wide array of plant-powered athletes who are leaving animal products behind whilst excelling at their sports.

The documentary, called From The Ground Up, features former meat-eating college football player Santino Panico who goes on a journey to rediscover the athlete within—this time, as a vegan. As he meets with vegetarian and vegan elite competitors, this story about food and sport expands to confront the social norms and far-reaching impacts of food choices.

The trailer opens with Rich Roll, an accomplished ultra-endurance athlete, stating:

"The word vegan and the word athlete traditionally don't go together. There is this very common misconception that if you're eating a plant-based diet, that if you're not eating meat, you're going to suffer a protein deficiency." -- Rich Roll

The trailer then cuts to professional bodybuilder Torre Washington, vegan since 1998, who asks "Do I look like I'm not getting protein? ...I mean, really...?"

The documentary will address the current protein obsession and prove that protein isn't something vegans are lacking or need to worry about.

The documentary is also set to tackle the "meat is masculine" stereotype, with ultra-endurance runner, Scott Jurek, noting:

“we’ve been entrenched in this idea that we need meat to be strong and to be manly.”

Many athletes are now enjoying the benefits of a plant-based diet and are helping to break the stereotype. World champion heavyweight boxer David Haye and Irish International rugby star Anthony Mullally are two vocal advocates who noted performance benefits when they switched to a completely plant-based diet, including quicker recovery times, less inflammation and more energy.

Griff Whalen, a professional football player is also featured in the documentary and says after adopting a vegan diet he immediately felt lighter and faster on the field, as well as feeling more energised all the time.

The environmental implications of our dietary choices will also be discussed, with Gene Baur noting that the environmental consequences of animal agriculture make meat and dairy production unsustainable.

And the ethical considerations will also be examined, with Ed Templeton, a professional skater, reflecting: 

"If I had to hunt to survive I would kill and eat an animal, but I don't live in that world, I live in this world, I live in Orange County, California - I walk into a store and it's overflowing with [plant-based] choices.

Rich Roll explained the film will be available widely on January 9th, exact details still to come:

"Many have asked about when the film will be available.

"It will be playing at Laemmle Fine Arts Theater in Los Angeles from December 8th-14th. Times TBD.

"I will be hosting (along with other special guests) on the evening of December 8th (and possibly other evenings) and we will be doing a Q&A panel after the film with food & beverages (vegan of course) - info TBA.

"From there, the film will play in Chicago and NYC (locations / dates TBD).

"After that it will be on demand on January 9th."

More details will be released on the movie's website.

Many athletes are now showing the world that you don't need to sustain your body using animal products - recently vegan athletes won 32 medals in the Naturally Fit Games as well as one vegan athlete setting a new world record. A wide array of athletes, including heavyweight wrestlers, world-champion boxers, olympic weightlifters, bodybuilders and Germany's strongest man are smashing the 'weak vegan' stereotype.

Knowing that world-class level athletes are thriving on a plant-based diet is driving more people to consider veganism at an accelerating pace - with veganism increasing 500% since 2014 in the US, and veganism growing in the UK over 261% in the last decade.