Watch a Movie, Change your Life...

Ignorance is bliss.

Once seen, never unseen.

I've been watching a bunch of different documentaries about health and wellness - mostly focused on whole food, plant-based diets. I thought I'd share some of them here because they are eye-opening. Eating animal protein is most definitely NOT good for the planet, for the animals, nor for our own health. I could give you the stats about the links between animal protein and obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer but... that would defeat the whole purpose of watching the movies.

There are seven movies I've watched so far and they all have a different... tolerance level... shall we say. Over the next few weeks, I'll offer a review of each. Most of these can be watched via YouTube, and I've provided the link for that.

1. Vegucated - 2011 - comic/documentary - this one is a nice overall introduction to the costs of an animal protein diet versus the benefits of a plant-based diet. It covers a bit of the human health aspects, a bit of the environmental aspects and a bit of the ethical aspects. It does it with a fairly light tone as it follows three individuals during their 6 week immersion into a vegan diet. It's a great intro movie.
2. Forks over Knives - 2011 - documentary - despite the name, this movie doesn't really touch on the ethical aspects of an animal protein diet. It focuses more on the human health aspects. This is the movie you want to watch if you want to learn about the staggering effects of the typical western diet on human health. The movie presents the stark links between eating animal protein and obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. If you have any questions about the human health aspects, this is the movie to watch.
3. The Game Changers - 2018 - documentary - this one is the one you want your men to watch - your boyfriend, your husband. It totally debunks the myth that you need to eat animal protein in order to be muscular and/or manly. There are some serious athletes and muscle people in this movie. They also touch on some of the health benefits and environmental costs. I have to say, after watching this movie, I went straight to our freezer and ditched all of the processed meat products (sausages, bacon, etc).
4. What the Health - 2017 - investigative documentary - Kip Anderson delves into the world of Big Business (Big Food) and government. It's eye-opening if you want to learn how the US government is putting the interests of Big Business ahead of everyday people. No surprise there really, but this movie lays it all out for you.
5. Food Inc. (Trailer only on YouTube - film is on Netflix) - 2008 - documentary - This movie takes a look at how Big Industry has taken over the production of food. Gone are the small family farms where farmer knew the names of each dairy cow. The name of the game now is producing as much meat as fast as possible in factory farms. Profit trumps all. If you think that Big Business cares about the welfare of animals... think again. And if you think they care about the health of consumers... think again.
6. Cowspiracy - 2014 - investigate documentary - Another one by Kip Anderson, in fact it came out a few years before What the Health. This is the movie to watch if you want to learn about the devastating environmental aspects of the animal protein industry on the earth. Soil degradation, erosion, fertilizer overuse, groundwater pollution, greenhouse gases, etc. etc.  
7. Earthlings (10th Anniversary Edition) - 2015 - horror/documentary - I wasn't quite sure how a movie could be a horror and a documentary but... after watching this movie, I am clear on that. This is the movie to watch if you want to learn about the ethical aspects of how humans use animals. It expands beyond using animals for food to encompass Pets, Clothing, Entertainment and Laborartory Testing. This movie is for everyone who wants to know how "humane" humans are... or are not. Even if you don't watch it... know that the choices you make each and everyday fuel the Demand that supports the Supply of these industries. It's not called Supply/Demand for nothing. We demand more... and they supply more. And it ain't pretty.

Vegucated

Let's start with the easiest one... Vegucated

This was the fifth movie I watched, right after Earthlings. Sooo... in light of that, it was a relief to have a bit of comedic relief. This move follows three individuals as they take on a 6 week challenge to eat vegan. Along the way, the three people are introduced to the facts around the health, environmental and ethical costs of eating animal protein. It's a wake-up call for all of them and they make various statements throughout the 6 weeks that they will never eat animal products again. But how well does that hold up after the 6 weeks? Because as shocking as it is to be woken up to what the animal industry is really like... it's also very easy to fall asleep again and slip back into old habits. And eating animal protein is a habit, for our senses, for our culture, for our economy. At the end of the movie, the producers give a status update on all three and they are either vegan or vegetarian. Which is good.

This movie gives a few snippets of information about the health, environmental and ethical aspects of the animal protein industry. There are a few stomach churning scenes, but nothing too shocking. At least not compared to Earthlings.

If I had to over one caveat it is this: processed food, be it vegan or not, is not healthy. This movie encourages the participants to try all sorts of process vegan foods - vegan cheese, vegan hot dogs, vegan margarine, etc etc. None of these are really going have health benefits. Processed food is bad. Period. So, in that respect, this movie needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Just because something is vegan, does not mean it is healthy. We have moved in the direction of a whole food, plant based diet... and are limiting processed food as much as possible.

A Carnivore's Epiphany on the Road to Hanoi

My Carnivore Pedigree
I have long been a happy carnivore. For as long as I can remember, I have loved meat, with a few notable exceptions...

German delicacy - Rohes Hackfleisch on bread

When I was growing up, my Mom believed in trying to expand the culinary palate of her children (my sister and I). We were introduced to such enticing delicacies as liver and onions, kidney with gravy, blood sausage (the one with big chunks of fat in it) and rohes Hackfleisch (a German dish similar to steak tartare).

The only way my sister and I could choke down the blood sausage was to plug our noses as we chewed, thereby muting the olfactory sensations. I still shiver with revulsion when I see pictures of blood sausage.

Which may seem kind of odd when you learn that I also have a long-standing love affair with rohes Hackfleisch - raw ground meat (pork/beef) mixed with an egg, diced onions and spices. Mix well and spread liberally on a piece of rye bread - like, a half inch thick at least. I am drooling even as I write this. Obviously, I also like my steak rare - even blue rare. No pieces of over-cooked shoe leather for me. When I was a kid, I would even sneak cubes of raw beef as my Mom was preparing a stew... oh yum! Times are different now... sigh... mad cow disease, E. coli, Salmonella... raw meat and/or eggs are not for the faint of heart. The last time I had rohes Hackfleisch was in 2010 at a hotel in Vechta, Germany. They had a breakfast buffet and miracle of miracles... they had it! For breakfast, no less! I think I may have pigged out a bit...

Tippi and 5-year old me

Soooo... my carnivore pedigree is impeccable. And I have never really questioned it. Even when my wanna-be-vegetarian partner and I got together 12 years ago... my carnivorous ways ensured that we always had a good supply of meat on our dinner plates.

The other thing you need to know about me is that I love animals. When I was a kid, I wanted to be variously: a rancher/farmer, a Fish & Wildlife officer or a veterinarian. I wanted to be around animals. I wanted to help animals.

We always had one pet or another when I was growing up - cats, dogs, gerbils, even a few rabbits. I loved them all, including our current cat, Minnie.

I had never questioned the odd juxtaposition of loving animals and eating animals. Until I went to Southeast Asia in 2013.

Road to Damascus/Hanoi
There's a story in the Bible about a Jew named Saul who was persecuting the early Christians. He heard there was a group of them in Damascus, jumped on his horse (there is some debate as to whether he rode or simply walked... but the horse is more dramatic) and set off to Damascus with a few of his buddies. Along the way, Saul was blinded by a bright light and knocked off his high horse. A voice spoke, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul asked, "Who are you Lord?" The voice said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Saul was left blind after this little encounter and was led to Damascus by his friends. After a few days, he met with one of the Damascus Christians who prayed over Saul and... "something like scales fell from Saul's eyes" and he could see again.

That little vignette is Saul's moment of conversion. After that, he changes his name to Paul and becomes one of the biggest Christians ever.

I'd like to say my epiphany was so clean, but it wasn't. In April 2013, my partner and I traveled to southeast Asia for four months. We visited Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and then spent two months traveling from the south of Vietnam to the north. It was an amazing trip and the food in Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam was to die for. But somewhere in Thailand or Cambodia... I started noticing flat bed trucks load with cages of dogs. All sorts of dogs... poodles, retrievers, mutts of all kinds. We heard rumours of dog thieves... sneaking into backyards and stealing family pets. For what purpose? Rumour had it that they were being shipped to the dog meat markets in China and northern Vietnam.

Sign advertising Dog and Cat meat
(Hanoi - from Lazy Travel Blog)

Did I know that some Asians ate dog meat? Maybe... but even in Thailand, it didn't really sink in. Even seeing these poor dogs crammed into cages - usually more than one in a cage... it didn't really register.

It started to sink in on the road to Hanoi in northern Vietnam. I started noticing sandwich board signs along the roads advertising Chó and Mèo. These were signs for restaurants offering meals containing dog and cat meat. My stomach churned. Don't look. Don't see. Don't think. Don't feel. But something once seen can't be unseen.

I learned that it's not as simple as killing a dog humanely and using the meat. No. Fine connoisseurs of dog meat believe that the meat has a better flavour/efficacy when the animal is in a high state of anxiety when it is killed. The killings, and what goes before, are therefore... not humane. If you want to see pictures - google "dog meat markets" or "cat meat markets".

You are forewarned.

Oh, the Hypocrisy
And then it hit me. Here I was condemning the barbaric, inhumane practices associated with gathering, marketing, killing and eating dogs and cats. How was that any different from the barbaric, inhumane practices associated with gathering, marketing, killing and eating cows, pigs or chickens? Why did it revile me to think of someone eating dog or cat, or even horse. But a cow was OK?

I had come face to face with my own hypocrisy. As a lover of animals, how could I also be a consumer of animals? I struggled. I cried. I tried to justify that North America's animal rearing practices are "better". But I'd had read enough news from PETA and Mercy for Animals to know... our meat supply is not a humane system. My ostrich head was being yanked out of the sand. I had been knocked off of my high horse and the scales had fallen from my eyes.

Failed Vegetarian
We came back from southeast Asia and after much debate... went vegetarian. I tried to campaign for some meat in our diet... the scales grow back so fast, don't they... Maybe we could skip the beef and pork... and stick with chicken. Somehow it's better when the meat isn't a mammal? Or maybe we could have salmon. At least they're not air-breathing. Or something. Or maybe we just eat "happy chickens". You know, ethically sourced organic chickens from a high-end butcher.

My chicken friends - see little Boeckem in front?

The thing was... before we went to southeast Asia, we spent five months on Salt Spring island, renting a cottage. Our landlord lived next door and raised chickens, which had free run of our fenced backyard.

I made friends with one little black and white cutie. She was smaller than the rest of the flock and I started going into the yard, turning over rocks and boards and showing her the feast of worms and bugs underneath. She very quickly came running when I called her name - "Boeckem!". Even when I was chopping wood, I'd find big centipedes and beetles and grab them up (with gloves) and call her to the fence. She'd come running and I'd quickly feed her my treasures. I say, quickly, because the rest of the flock soon figured out that she was getting preferential treatment and would also come running!

My argument for limiting our meat consumption to "happy chickens" therefore ran into the question... would I eat my little friend Boeckem. Maybe not... but what about her flock mates? I'm not a complete naive fading violet. I've gone fishing and caught/killed/eaten my own catch. Could I also raise chickens/rabbits and then say goodbye to them and have them nourish me? Good question. At this point, most of us are so disconnected from our food sources, particularly meat, that we don't have to ask these questions. Perhaps if we did... thinks might be different.

Like I said... after much discussion... we decided to go vegetarian. My partner had started a new, high-pressure job and I was left to fend for myself in terms of meal planning. My partner loved rice and beans and curry... we we basically subsisted on that, and veggies, for twelve months. It got really old... really fast. My energy went down... I developed an iron deficiency. My memories of that Road to Hanoi moment faded... A year later... we went back to eating chicken. And then some pork slipped back in. And fish... and even the occasional steak and burger. Did I mention that the scales grow back really fast?

Over the last seven years... we have talked repeatedly about reducing our meat consumption. Not just for the animals... but for ourselves as well. A diet high in meat is not the healthiest diet. Think high cholesterol, increased risk of heart disease, etc. On top of that... I know that the amount of agricultural land devoted to animal production is huge. If some of that land were converted to growing plant-based food... it would be huge. I know that the Amazon rain forests are being cut down to create more land for animal production. I know that the Pacific salmon fishery is in danger of collapse. I know all this and yet... the inertia to keep doing what we are doing is huge. "Oh look, pork tenderloin is on sale - $5/package and you get two tenderloins in a package!! Smoking deal!!" In many ways, it is easier to maintain the status quo than to move in the direction of something else. Procrastination at its finest - fear of the unknown... uncertainty about how to do it - better to stay right here and not move an inch.

Meatless Monday saves energy
(it takes 11 times as much energy to produce the same amount
of animal-based protein as plant-based protein)

At the same time, it is hard to argue with the fact that reducing meat consumption is:

• better for my health
• better for the animals
• better for the planet

But... I love my meat... Argh! So, this is where Small Steps kicks in. I've heard of Meatless Mondays. It's one small step and we have been trying that since September. It's been working thanks to Mom's spinach pie recipe! We've recently upped our vegetarian meals to twice a week thanks to a lentil curry recipe. Every little bit helps...

I can see the writing on the wall... and I can taste my own hypocrisy. How can I claim to care about animals and the state of the planet when I still demand to be allowed the luxury of eating cheap factory-farmed meat? The production of which is completely at odds with what I profess to believe? A person can only live in that state for so long before it becomes untenable. We have reached that point... but that's another blog post or two.

How about you? Have you explored vegetarian options? Meatless Mondays? Gone full bore vegan? Tips, advice, thoughts, problems?