“America’s food system is broken.”
Mark Bittman, American Food Journalist and Author
Run time: 1h 34mins
Director: Christopher Dillon Quinn
Narrator: Natalie Portman
Language: English
IMDb rating: 7.2/10
In One Sentence What Is Eating Animals About?
Industrial scale, corporate run facilities produce the vast majority of meat using animals so selectively bred, they are far removed from the creatures that once roamed now rare, family run farms.
Brief Synopsis
In the last two centuries and since the 1950’s in particular, the planet has undergone significant and rapid environmental change. This has, in part, been due to the ways in which animals are now raised for food. Eating Animals tells us that in the main, gone are the relatively small-scale manually worked farms, replaced by huge sheds where machines process ‘units’ which in reality are animals and individuals. Profit is the driving force for efficiency, which again, in reality, means cramming more animals into smaller spaces and doing the bare minimum to keep them alive.
For all this to be successful and for the public to keep consuming their products, there has to be some kind of disconnect between the eating of meat and the killing of animals. So far this remains strong. But a small group of farmers and environmentalists are clinging hard to the old ways and fighting back, despite the financial and personal tolls they pay.
The Trailer
Why Is Eating Animals A Vegan Documentary?
Even to a vegan, there is something charming about a traditional, family run farm. To many of those who ran them, the animals they bred were indeed part of the family. In modern times, this trait seems to still be prevalent as the farmers featured in Eating Animals show a genuine sense of care and respect towards their livestock.
I’m sure many critics would point out that whether it’s a small-scale farm or an industrial shed, the end product is the same- animals that don’t want to die do so. Of course, this statement is true, but many people continue to eat meat believing it’s come from free-range animals that have lead happy lives and were killed both swiftly and humanely. Eating Animals and documentaries like Dominion show that in the main, this is a falsehood that the industry peddles through false advertising and by hiding their Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) away from prying eyes.
So much has changed that small-scale farms and indeed the breeds of animals one may find on them, are on the brink of extinction. A graphic from the film shows how the body shape of a typical chicken has undergone drastic change since the 1940s by selective breeding and modification. Modern chickens put on so much weight in such a short period of time that the human equivalent would be a baby reaching 600lbs (almost 42 stone) after just 2 months. Most meat eaters would be appalled by such facts, and revelations of this ‘unnatural’ nature have spurred many into cutting back on or ditching animal products all together. The documentary suggests that plant-based, meat alternatives which are growing in popularity, could cause a massive shift in the market, to the point where one-day, we may be Eating Animals no more.
Where And How To Watch Eating Animals
Buy or Rent from Amazon Prime Video (USA) here
*Buy or Rent from iTunes here
Stream online on Hulu here
Watch on Netflix (country dependent)
*denotes an affiliate link from which I’ll receive a small percentage if you purchase. And I do mean small. Tiny in fact.
Official Website: eatinganimalsmovie.com
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