Thoughts about watching footage of factory farms
Hello!
Today I would like to share with you an interaction I recently had on my favorite vegan blog, girliegirlarmy.com
This blog is one you should really all be reading if you are at all interested in vegetarianism or veganism. They really do a good job and are truly passionate about the cause.
Well the other day they posted this trailer for a new documentary about the meat, egg, and dairy industries. I hesitated awhile, wondering, should I watch this trailer? I knew it would be hard to watch, but I felt it would be good for me to remind myself and further educate myself about the truth of what goes on. Sometimes as a vegan or vegetarian your resolve can slacken. You wonder, would it really hurt to just eat fish or buy a pair of leather shoes. But every time I have seen or read descriptions of what goes on at these factory farms, there is no longer any doubt in my mind about these things. So I pressed play.
I made it about 5 to ten seconds in before I pressed stop.
It was too truly disturbing.
And yet the camera doesn’t lie. This is what goes on.
I wrote the following comment on the blog post:
hey guys, love your blog. but i’m wondering, did you guys really watch this? I couldn’t do it. I tried for like 5 seconds and in that five seconds there were already about ten haunting and horrifying images. the problem with educating people about what goes on in the meat dairy egg and leather industries is that the footage is too horrible to watch. i want to send it to my family etc (who aren’t vegetarian or vegan) but i don’t really want them to watch it either. i guess i’m just wondering your opinion on this. I want to know more and educate others too, but asking people to watch animals suffering unimaginable pain is just really hard and asking so much. i’d just love to hear your thoughts.
I checked back today and I got two excellent responses, reprinted here.
Sammy (cleaninggirl) wrote:
tor, I watched this cried like a baby then posted it on my lj site, twitter AND facebook so that others can watch sometimes we need to put our heart in a box and watch something like this even if it’s only a minute so we can be reminded WHY we now longer eat meat, dairy, eggs ect I know in my heart I could never go back to what I was before I became a vegan it was ugly and if it wasn’t for videos like this I would probably be in that horrible place I was in 2 1/2 years ago. I have shown my Mom one of the videos that came out last year involving the shows that were being pitch forked ect and she swore off beef for good, so it does help some people make the right choices for animals.
Challah Girl added:
Just today my mother responded to one of my blog postings talking about how she wishes I would “keep my ideas to myself” when it comes to the mistreatment of animals we use for food.
Things like this keep my focused on my goals even under all the negative feedback I get from the people I love.
It may be hard for me to endure the commentary that comes from telling people the truth – but it is far worse what the animals are going through.
I’m resolved to endure the challenges.
Great post!
These commenters make excellent points and are to be commended for their bravery.
“It is hard to endure the commentary that comes from people telling the truth”
“sometimes we need to put our heart in a box and watch something like this even if it’s only a minute so we can be reminded WHY we now longer eat meat, dairy, eggs ect”
I feel what this comes down to is bravery. You’ve got to be brave to face the truth.
What do you guys think? Deep down I know I do need a reminder and so many people would benefit from seeing this (not to mention animals), but it’s hard to be strong/brave enough to endure it and to be the bearer of bad news.
here is a link to the trailer, should you choose to watch it.
We need people like mercyforanimals.org (the creators of the documentary) who are brave enough to make movies like this.
Heros.
thoughts?
I watched this today.. but I had to do it without any sound.. and even then it was tough. A good reminder not to eat (or wear) animal products. Hard to believe any “normal” person could ever work there… or that you could remain humanized for very long doing that sort of work.
wow thanks mom. i am touched by this. i hope it was not too horrific to view, as i only watched a few seconds. i agree it is probably impossible to look at living things the same way again after working in one of these places. i have read many people cannot do it for long and suffer ptsd like symptoms after they leave.
I’m scared to watch it! I’ve seen the meat.org video Paul McCartney narrated, and it was bad enough — I just started watching it again and had to stop to breathe deeply.
I know I WILL watch the trailer someday soon, but hoo boy, I’m not looking forward to it.
the jaunty dame! thanks for your comment. sorry to hear about your mugging! I must admit i never went through and watched this myself. but my mom did, and then i felt bad… some things are truly disturbing and are only for the brave of heart.
Hi there! Greetings from Mexico! I just found this amazing blog and I’ll definitely start sharing your blog here in Mx City an particularly with my high-fashion-non-vegetarian sister to show her cool vegan fashion options.
I think this is a really good topic, how to educate without showing the terrible truth behind animal factories.
For me it was kinda different, I am a veterinarian. I didn’t need to watch Earthlings or Meet your Meat or any documentary to find out about where my burgers where coming from. I saw it in front of my eyes, at slaughterhouses and more so, half of my 5-year veterinary college education was dedicated to farm animals and how to better “use” them, decreasing production costs and how to cram them in little places and grow them bigger faster to make more money. Strangely, it didn’t hit me back then, and even though I tried to be a vegetarian it never lasted much.
A few years later it finally hit me, when I started joining the animal rights movement in Mexico City and started working for conservation organizations and learning more about wildlife conservation. It all made sense too when I read something like: “I am a vegetarian ’cause I love my cat, and my cat is no different than a cow or pig or chicken and I would never eat or hurt my cat”. I’m a big cat lover and cat person.
Suddenly it all made sense and I decided I didn’t want to be a hypocrite and protect one species while eating others. I made the connection and I took a stand.
Even though this might seem simple I guess this connection is the hardest for people to make. Of course it’s easier to ignore the facts or to watch these videos and say “aww poor animals, but I love meat and could never stop eating it” or “it’s just too hard to not eat meat”. I’ve heard this over and over again and I’ve learned to be patient, compassionate to this people and not to judge. I guess the process is not the same for everyone and it’s hard to face this truth but I do believe information is a must and I find that many people just don’t know where their food comes from or how it was treated before it ended up on their plates.
So, yes, it is really hard to watch these videos, I cry for hours after watching them and it’s not something I like doing often. But, I think that if 5 seconds or 1 hour of shocking images are enough for someone to rethink their diet and make the connection, then it is a necessary tool to keep exposing the truth and change minds, step by step.
About your last comment: “some things are truly disturbing and are only for the brave of heart” I think a little different. I think that the braves at heart are the ones who take a stand, it’s not easy to go against the flow even though it is much easier to simply live in the flow of life. It is not easy to watch these images, and if you’re disturbed by these images it means you are a sentient being who is aware of the suffering of others and this is something we must keep, that empathy and that compassion.
Someone once told me when I was in vet school that I needed to become more cold blooded and be less sensitive to make it through and become a vet, cause I wasn’t gonna be able to cry for every animal I had to sacrifice or every patient I’d lost. Still, it’s been 10 years after I started veterinary school, graduated and now studying my masters and I have cried for every single patient and animal that I’ve lost. I thank every one of them for what I learned from their lives and death. To me, their lives don’t go unnoticed, their lives are important for me. I’d rather cry every time than become indifferent to suffering or death.
Sorry for the long comment! Great blog!
xox
Sandra
hi sandra, thank you so much for this comment. it is so good to hear your perspective, feedback, and very interesting to hear your story about veterinary school. I myself used to want to be a vet, and when i did a program for students who wanted to be vets, i was also really surprised to hear some of this talk about maximizing profits for farmers etc and also i was surprised how so few of the students were vegetarians. i also got a tiny taste of how sad and difficult it must be to be a vet and make tough decision regarding animals. A vet is such a wonderful profession. Have you read the “all creatures great and small books” by James Herriot. They are some of my favorite books ever. i like your point about how being brave at heart means taking a stand, not feeling less than others do when they watch disturbing images of animal abuse etc. you’re right. everyone is going to be disturbed, but what matters is that you take a stand and decide to do something about it.
thanks again for the comment! and keep in touch! – tor