Why go plant-based and animal protein free? So many reasons... some of which you may know... and some of which you may not. The film Vegan 2019 (on YouTube) offers a 51 minute summary of why...
And then the film touches on the shift in dietary and nutritional recommendations, specifically mentioning Canada's new food guide which eliminated dairy and focused on plant-based foods. Despite the move toward veganism, there is push-back from carnivores (calling vegans fascists). But, even that push-back has made us aware of where our meat comes from, and the price that is paid, not just be animals, but by the earth, to feed our meat addiction.
The film even has several clips about Great Thunberg and her fight against the climate crisis. She is passionate about this... and the point that is brought forward is that the time for talking and discussing is done. It's time for action.
The 2019 film, The Game Changers, opened the floodgates for all sorts of athletes, body builders, actors, musicians and other celebrities coming out as vegans. And, not surprisingly, there was push-back from livestock producers, trying to promote their meat as healthy (grass-fed beef). And yet... grass-feed beef has an even bigger environmental impact than factory farming. Producers also tried to challenge some of the language used... arguing that the veg industry should not be able to use the words like "burger" and "milk". In Australia, the meat industry even tried to make a case for not using the word "slaughter" with regards to animals. Instead, they wanted to just used the word "process"... that animals are processed into food products. Riiiighhhhttt... And all of that just made the meat industry look desperate.
And let's be really clear here... getting enough protein is NOT the issue. Herbivores get lots of protein from the plants that they eat. And so can we. Ever seen the muscles on a rhino? They didn't get those by eating meat... but by eating plants. The bigger issue for the average North American is getting enough fibre. And fibre ONLY comes from plants... none from meat. And no... muscle fibre is NOT the fibre we are talking about.
The USDA dietary guidelines committee met to discuss the US food guidelines for 2020 and... the meat industry fought back... and all that does is lead to confusion. And then... in Europe... NFI developed a personalized diet which helped patients integrate plant-based nutrition and reversed Type 2 diabetes.
The film then looks at Fair Oak Farms which was like the Disneyland of agricultural farming. The film saw millions of people tour the farm and then... in 2019... abuse at the farm was exposed by an undercover animal rights group. Livestock farming is not a happy Disneyland experience... they are horrific, abusive places where sentient beings are tortured and slaughtered.
The year 2019 was also a huge year for fires, not only in Australia, but also in Brazil. Deforestation is a major problem and all of it to create farms to raise cows for people to eat. Many of the fires in the Amazon are set deliberately by cattle farmers... The thing to recall is... we are all in a burning building.
Can we change fast enough though?
I found this film to be pretty good, even if there were short ads every 10 minutes. The world is changing and this gave me hope that we can make a difference, each one of us. The future is plant-based whole-foods... and, having been a rabid carnivore, I am continually surprised at how easy the transition was... if I can do it... anyone can do it...
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