My father was a butcher, by trade, and it was when I was a very little girl that I went to work with him one day – and came home a vegetarian…
That was the start of my foray into vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights. I remember writing articles as a teenager, speaking out against dairy farming, battery hens, bear bile collection, animal testing and all manner of inhumane things we do to animals.
I originally wanted to be a veterinarian and studied at an Agricultural High School to fast track me along the way – except I realised that as a vet I would spend my days crying rather than being effective. I am terribly soft when it comes to animals and I abhor cruelty to them of all kinds.
Although I am not a rigidly strict vegan – I have very, very little animal products in my diet or in my life in associated forms. I thought I had a counscious awareness of the cruelty and suffering humans bring upon our animal friends – that was until I watched the movie “Earthlings” and it was well and truly bought home to me the extent of our inhumanity on so many levels.
This is a brilliant, powerful, yet horrible movie. It is disturbing and it is meant to be. We SHOULD find the graphic images of violence perpetrated on these defenceless creatures abhorrent; yet because many of these cruelties go on behind closed doors, we feel comfortable in our ignorance and choose not to watch anything that might confront us with the realities of life we support through the choices we make.
Every time we make a choice to eat animal products, use cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products tested on animals, use medications tested on animals and exploit animals for our entertainment – we are contributing to a state of affairs that should appall us all. From the website:
“EARTHLINGS is an award-winning documentary film about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. Considered the most persuasive documentary ever made, EARTHLINGS is nicknamed “the Vegan maker” for its sensitive footage shot at animal shelters, pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and research labs.
The film is narrated by Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by platinum-selling recording artist Moby. Initially ignored by distributors, today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world. “Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most,” said Phoenix. “For every one person who sees EARTHLINGS, they will tell three.”
With this blog post, I’m telling more than three. I hope you take the time to raise your own awareness of these issues and choose to watch the film, however difficult it may be. Go to http://www.sprword.com/mustwatch.html to watch online and remember to donate on the Earthlings website if you want to support the continuing distribution of such an important film.
Leisa
3 commentsAdd comment
I’d bet that 9 out of 10 people wouldn’t be able to kill a cow in order to eat it, maybe if they were starving then the ratio would go up. I look forward to watching “Earthlings” when I find some time. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hello,
I worked as a butcher’s assistant in college for 3 weeks. It is there that I developed, “meat phobia”. Keep up the good work!
Charles
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