This is a difficult movie to watch. It will confront you. It will upset you.
Don’t watch it now, rather, set aside some time when you are ready.
But please do watch it.
My own diet is predominantly plant based. I would not call myself a vegetarian as I occasionally eat fish and I consume dairy products. I have dabbled in veganism but found it really hard to stick to. I also wear leather etc etc.
The reason that I prefer not to eat meat is that I believe that it supports an industry of unnecessary cruelty towards beings that have far greater intelligence, and sentience than we appreciate.
It so happens that there is also a growing understanding of the magnitude of impact that the meat-based food industry has on the global environment.
The thing about this movie is that it is not trying to depict worst practice environments or isolated episodes of cruelty. Instead this documentary opens up the doors to the standard day-to-day existence of factory farmed pigs in Australia.
This is, in all probability, how the bacon you had for breakfast or in that burger you ate for lunch is made. 5 million pigs are slaughtered in Australia each year. This is their life.
We should remember that many pig farmers would complain that this film is misrepresentative of their industry and that there is a lot of emotional bias built into its production. Not to mention the slightly annoying narrator and music.
It is also certainly true that not all pigs in Australia are farmed this way (as is shown at the beginning of the film).
Please watch the movie all the way through, as uncomfortable as it may make you feel, and then evaluate your own reactions. Is this something that would change your current eating habits?
As for me, I am going to re-visit my own approach to eating a plant-based diet and I will explore this further in future posts.
Your own comments and opinions would be appreciated…..
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