From the Ground Up

My girlfriend and I saw this film & enjoyed it. We aren't vegetarians nor vegans but definitely this film has taught us about a different way of living. I loved the fact how this film is not judgmental and instead it's directed to everyone who wants to learn a different way of living. Well done by the filmmaker on his first film.. could've fooled me. Must watch!

Full disclosure I'm vegan and my story mirrors some of the athletes' stories in this film (i.e. I was struggling from chronic inflammation which was hampering my sports performance and eventually ended with me on sick leave from work -- went vegan, inflammation went away and now 2 years later I still feel better than ever).... BUT I find shock-tactic evangelical vegan documentaries to be offensive and obnoxious... This documentary is NOT one of those vegan propaganda docs. It's balanced, interesting, provides many different stories, journeys, viewpoints from a variety of athletes and touches briefly on peripheral issues (i.e. environmental effects of animal agriculture) without hijacking the film. Totally recommend watching, it will make you think and inspire you!

I usually do not write reviews, but after watching this film I absolutely felt compelled to contribute. I am not writing a review because this movie is the greatest thing ever made. No. There are other documentaries that have much more drama to the story (as it appears every documentary you see these days is about someone pretending to uncover something that has never be uncovered before even though it has), and perhaps bigger names involved as well. I am writing about this film because I have worked in film production primarily as a producer and what this first time filmmaker pulled off is truly extraordinary. I read that he had no experience whatsoever before making this movie? Incredible to me. The amount of moving parts in this film and with no major name behind him or big backer, for example, getting NFL footage...I cannot imagine what it must have been like to get it done. Kudos to this first time artist. Now for the meat and potatoes. I am a meat eater and love it. I watched this with my wife. A happy wife is a happy life they say. She is a vegetarian. I thought this film was going to be something that made me feel bad about eating meat, only to make me resent the pushy vegan crowd more than I already do. I can tell you that was not what happened at all. I do not think any finger is pointed directly at anyone. It merelys asks questions. Overall, the movie is a little long, but the intent is genuine and heartfelt.

I am vegetarian and am one of the converted. I did not anticipate this being an overly great film because it was made by a nobody and James Cameron is coming out with a big film about the same topic. Interesting thought though. From The Ground Up came out in December of 2017 but is not getting much love from the "plantbased" community because of the bigger film it appears. Too bad. Because it's good. I was very surprised by how well this movie turned out to be...especially considering this filmmaker made it with a low budget and never made a film before? Cannot tell one bit. Kudos. Filmmaking is a tough gig. In a nutshell, the movie is very informative and inspiring. I think a lot of people who are not vegetarian or vegan will actually like this movie. It does not show a dead animal nor is it as other reviews say "pushy." You can tell someone took great care with this project. I definitely recommend to the converted, the curious, the athlete, the couch potato, and anyone that really gives a damn. You will not be disappointed.

Great flick that isn't pushy about meat. Does not just throw lots of facts in your face. Easy to digest. Humble film. Great work!