Monday 16 March 2015

Earthlings


On my journey into Veganism and a cruelty free lifestyle I have read and watched a great deal of distressing material in order to educate myself more about the meat and dairy industry, and also human's exploitation of animals in general. I immerse myself into all things animal rights whether it be through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube and consequently a lot of my time is spent viewing disturbing material.


I was starting to think that I had seen and heard it all before, but watching the Earthlings movie was a more heartrending and tear-jerking experience than anything I have ever observed before. It left me feeling sick to my stomach and ashamed to be human. Some of the footage in this film won't leave my head and keeps replaying over and over, each time making me feel more and more desperate for these poor souls.

The film documents thoroughly how animals are living in a modern day holocaust of their own, and we as the more powerful and strong beings are subjecting them to an enormous amount of suffering from what we eat, to the clothes we wear and what we choose to entertain us.

I have never watched anything as compelling.

By telling everyone how difficult this film was to watch, I know that I am already putting a lot of you off ever turning it on! I already hear comments from people like "oh don't tell me" or "don't, you'll put me off my dinner" and it would seem that the vast majority are happy to go about their lives turning a blind eye to the cruelty in the world.

As a once meat eater myself I wanted to think about what I was putting in my mouth and look beyond the neatly packaged packets of meat on the shop shelves. Its so easy in this modern day society of ease and accessibility to perhaps overlook what has gone into making that food for us to consume. I wonder how many people even think about the life that has been lost to satisfy that craving or desire for a burger or hotdog.

It has often been said that if slaughter houses had glass walls no one would eat meat anymore and I think thats very true. But whilst it's all hidden away from us it has led to a society which is blinded from the reality.

People don't want to be made to feel upset or like their lifestyle choices are somehow contributing towards an enormous amount of suffering in the world. The idea of being led to feel like there is no option other than to change habits of a lifetime is often too much to handle for people so they would rather continue to enjoy their life in ignorant bliss.

It's difficult not to be so passionate and vocal about something that upsets you so much. But I know that not everyone feels the same and a lot of people aren't really interested in hearing about it. My mission isn't to turn everyone vegetarian or vegan, it's just to get you to think a bit deeper about your actions and perhaps make some small changes that could make a big difference. Even by reducing your meat and dairy consumption and treating it as more of a special occasion food you would not only be doing wonders for your health and the environment, but you would also be saving lives.  

If you can watch this film and continue to lead your life in exactly the same way then I take my hat off to you! In fact, lets take it a step further - I challenge you to.

I am sure you want to know more about what you're putting in your mouth? Yes it might be uncomfortable for you but just compare for a moment your one hour of upset to the pain and suffering that these animals have to go through for their entire life. Surely you owe that to them if you are going to eat them?

You can watch this film for free here on YouTube right now. So there's no excuses!

Some of the 17,000 comments that have struck me from this film that has been viewed no less than 2,183,486 times on YouTube alone are:

"I told myself that I was going to sit through this documentary since I am a meat eater. I thought if I was gonna eat meat, then I should at least learn how it ends up on my plate. And I honestly have to say that this was the most fucked up shit I have ever seen in my entire life. I had no idea at all how terribly these animals are treated. And if you're not a completely amoral narcissist, this definitely is a moral dilemma. It makes me actually sit and think about whether animals were really put on this earth to end up on my dinner plate."


"This is not okay.
None of this is okay.
Someone needs to put an end to all of this.  Now."

"How do I tell my family Im going vegan..?"

"I have not been able to eat meat since watching. So I guess the job (on me) is done. This is a tough transition, but I feel good about it."
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2 comments

  1. I watched this last night and I can honestly say it was the hardest thing I have ever watched. I do make myself watch these things as it reminds me of why I am vegan and why I do what I do, but I honestly think that anyone who watches this and does not immediately go vegan must be an alien. I cried the entire time!

    Bex
    For the Oceans
    http://boolie-blog.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. Thanks for your comment Bex! And thanks for watching it. Its very hard to watch but great for us vegans to remind ourselves about why we're passionate about what we do. Watching this movie has spurred me on even more so to live a vegan lifestyle and not contribute towards any animals suffering via a kind and compassionate lifestyle. This movie will make meat eaters go veggie and veggie's go vegan so its important we share & encourage people to watch. You should post about it and blog about it too. Spread the word lovely! Sarah x

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