Earthlings

[thalestral]

I posted this once on a thread in the kitchen and I debated giving it it's own thread there but I thought it was perhaps better suited to this forum as I am unsure as to whether any non-veg*n would ever watch it. If mods disagree then please, move it to wherever I know that we are no longer supposed to post videos featuring animal cruelty but this is educational, not about shock, and is a truly life changing film - or at least it was for me and has been for many others.

Earthlings is a documentary about factory farming and mankind's dependence on animals for food, clothing, entertainment and use in experimentation. Earthlings is not a PETA film. It is a bona fide documentary. It was made by an independent director, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and has an original score by Moby.

Google video: Earthlings
Youtube (in 3 parts): YouTube - Earthlings - part 1 of 3
YouTube - Earthlings - part 2 of 3
YouTube - Earthlings - part 3 of 3
Official site: I Saw Earthlings.com Cast and Crew

In brief, it covers the topics of animals as pets, food, clothing, entertainment and science.

It is a documentary that has changed me, something very few documentaries, especially animal orientated ones, have done. It is not about extremes, it is not about "my country is better than yours" on animal welfare, it is not about shock tactics. It is about willingness to look, to watch, and then to decide whether to change or carry on as before. In the past I was of the "I don't want to know", "I know, I don't need to watch", "I don't want to spoil my appetite", "It's only like that in America", "I don't want to upset myself" camp. I was probably in all of them in fact.

The film will show things that don't happen in your country, I understand this. It's more the overall feel of it that I'm trying to share - the way overall that as a species we treat our fellow Earthlings, or turn our back to the treatment. It isn't meant as an insult or anything, I just really wanted to share something that had such a profound effect on me.

The documentary is applicable to both those who believe in animal welfare, and those who believe in animal rights. It is not about making you a vegetarian, a vegan or an activist although if you are any of those or trying to be it is a great motivational tool. It is simply about opening your eyes and understanding where some people are coming from on this issue - in essence to look into the eyes of our fellow Earthlings.

EDIT: I completely forgot to mention - this is really hard to watch. If you found Meet Your Meat too hard then this is off the radar. I don't want to discourage anyone from watching this but if you are having a bad or down day then wait to watch it okay? And have a box of tissues and a guinea pig ready to cuddle

[Maisiepaisie]

I couldn't watch this. They screened it at the animal rights gathering last year but I stayed in my tent and read a book instead. I'd already had nightmares from watching several other films about animal abuse. I think its more important that those who do nothing watch it rather than people like myself who care about animals and do not participate in perpetuating animal abuse.

[thalestral]

I had thought that (and it's what my partner believes) but I couldn't believe how little I really knew. I perhaps knew about a lot of the factory farming and pets, but the latter part of the film really opened my eyes.

Having said that, now that I'm familiar with Francione's work the first part of the film also made me realise things in completely new ways.

I quite understand how upsetting it is though, it took me several attempts to get all the way through and I agree that it's more important at least for those who do less to watch.

[John4216]

Very disturbing video, hard to watch but informative.

[crazywiggy]

I am speechless. Just speechless.

[Love4Piggers]

Can't handle to watch it all, at least not today.
Sounds like a good life-changing vieo, though, thank for posting.

[thalestral]

It is difficult, I watched only around 15 minutes the first time and walked away. I watched the rest just the day I posted this, I was determined not to avoid the truth and I learned a lot.

I really don't want it to seem like I'm trying to force anyone to watch this, but with the difference it made to me I really wanted to share it

[Fluffy_Guinea]

Oh my god.... I couldn't watch the last part of the second part it made me sick I can't even describe how sick and how much I despise my own species at the moment erugh I'm not even going to watch the third part . Thanks for sharing though, it opened my eyes..

[HowietheGreat]

Thalestral, I have see far too many video's over the years and judging from everyones reactions-I don't think I will attempt. Emotional or otherwise, my heart can't take it anymore. There are some images that never leave your head. If there is something important that you learned that you think others may not know, please post it or pm me. Reading it (at least for me) I can handle-it's the pictures or video that haunt me at night. THanks for posting this though. I agree, it's the people that do not believe in the cruelty that truly need to watch. Even that said, I'm sure there is alot that even the "seasoned" of us can learn.

[thalestral]

The things I learned that all my reading and watching "Meet Your Meat" (the only other film of that kind I have watched) I'll just outline here The things I were already familiar with were factory farming (though not perhaps the attitudes of some who work there) and the pet overpopulation problem.

• Firstly it really drove home how cruel fishing is. I find it hard to have empathy for a fish compared to a mammal or bird (I actually have a slight fear of fish) but seeing the images left me in no doubt that fish suffer. I'd go so far as to say they probably have it worse of all the animals we kill to consume as there are no laws anywhere that are intended to spare them pain. When I first went vegetarian I was in two minds as to whether to content myself with going pescetarian, I don't think I could have forgiven myself had I done that.

• It's perhaps common knowledge to most but me, but I had no idea dolphins were commonly killed for consumption in Japan. The footage in the film shows family groups being rounded up and one dolphin being deliberately injured because the hunters know that the other dolphins will not abandon their injured kin. They are hauled out the sea alive, transported on the backs of trucks to a slaughter house, their throats cut and left to die with no pain relief and all in front of each other. School children walk by the pools of blood and twitching bodies. How intelligent an animal is when it suffers is not something I base my beliefs on, but this left me utterly shocked and numb.

• I had no idea most leather came from India where cows are considered "sacred" after all. Whilst it's debatable whether "humane treatment" in countries like the US and UK can really deserve that description, it is without doubt that the treatment of them in poorer countries is beyond the pale. And yet we in our Western countries are quite content to import the leather without qualms. The footage showed that not only is leather production in India cruel to the animals but also to the people who work the leather in the chemicals that stop it decaying like the rotten flesh it is. Boycotting leather is a about being cruelty free to both animals and humans.
  
  Leather can never be described as a "by product" of the meat industry as the majority of leather comes from animals that are not bred for meat at all.

• Fur. I guess other people here have perhaps seen the realities of the fur trade in both Western countries and places like China as I know there are other videos that show this. Wild animals going crazy, being diseased, injured, skinned alive and tortured... Please remember to check all clothes for traces of fur - a lot of us, especially in the UK, assume that any fur we see is fake. It isn't always and fur is becoming more common again. It's from here that I saw images that I see when I close my eyes still.

• I'd never seen footage of the seal culls before. I knew about it of course but I was never sure of my position before. Now I place the blame firmly on humans for having overfished in the first place, and the images here are haunting.

• I'd never seen footage of the "training" some circuses do on elephants and other animals. The elephants are beaten, shouted at, cursed at, and on the rare occasions they fight back to protect themselves or their kin they are shot down in a hail of bullets. I have a real affinity for elephants and all that I saw hurt my heart deeply.

• Rodeos.. I had no idea what they were about. It's not my culture and I can't believe such a thing exists. So terribly cruel, and for entertainment?

• And finally the animals used in experiments. The cats, dogs, monkeys, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and mice. Unnecessary suffering if ever that label were to hold true. Rammed home my beliefs on the matter. It made me ashamed to be human.

Most of all it helped me realise that there is no such thing as a pain free death for the animals we use as objects. There is no such thing as a fear free life either.

"The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?" - Jeremy Bentham

[HowietheGreat]

The idea of someone manipulating a mammal of higher intelligence by injuring one of its family members to keep them close to the fisherman-makes me ill. I understand that empathy levels vary from culture to culture depending on the level education and understanding taught to those people, but it is then our resposibilty to teach those people. I would imagine that there is not enough employment in those areas and that many of them come from a long generation line of fisherman. With education, those fisherman would be able get other jobs and make a better living. To eat a dolphin or whale makes me shutter. They are such highly intelligent, sentient beings-it is as bad to me as killing a human. Even as a vegatarian, I have some very old leather products (like a dooney and bourke wallet that was owned by someone else and then given to me) that I have guilt about having. I have not purchased anything leather in may years, but I still have guilt about possessing it. I am thinking more and more about becoming vegan, especially after what I read about what they do to baby male chicks at egg factories. Things that I thought were (and should be) cruelty free, I was so wrong about. I also read recently about the wool industry and muesling-no more wool products for me. Something that shouldn't be cruel such as shearing sheep-made violent. It makes me beyond angry.

[Maisiepaisie]

Muelsing is horrible. I've heard people say its cruel to not shear sheep as they would be too hot. They're correct, however in nature sheeps coats would not become overgrown. The only reason sheep must be sheared is because humans have selectively bred them to grow thick woolly coats.

[lynn's Cavies]

I have decided not to watch the videos because I do not want those images in my mind and heart. It is too painful. But I do thank you for bringing this information again to my attention. It is a reminder for me to always think before impulsivly buying or consuming some"thing" that I do not agree with. For instance, I do not buy leather at all or fur of any kind.

I did view a terrible documentary years ago that is still in my mind and really scarred me, which is why I cannot watch the videos. It took me years to learn to push it out of my mind when the images came. They were just too painful. When I watched the documentary I did not know what I was watching as I just flipped the TV channel. Then I started literally screaming and crying. It was about cats and that is all I will say about it. Horrible.

Now I have to bring to my attention about chicken and fish. I do not eat pork or beef. I am guilty of eating chicken and fish though w/o a thought to it. And that is why I'm glad you've brought this to my attention. Now I will think before I eat and choose other types of food. Thank you.
Lynn

[crazywiggy]

Now that I have recovered from watching I can finally comment (I was literally shaking at the time).

This was a real eye opener - and some of those images will haunt me forever. Of all the abuse, neglect and cruelty that I witnessed the one clip that hit me the most was the stray dog being put into the refuse truck. I was almost physicaly sick.

I admit I am not veg*n, I do wear leather etc. but this has led me to consider ways I could at least improve my lifestyle. More than anything it has reignited my motivation to get back to letter writing to campaign to get animal welfare laws changed. I've had a letter to DEFRA half written for ages - I will finish and send it this weeks.

Thanks for posting, and thanks for reminding me why I started campaigning in the first place.

[thalestral]

The dog going in that lorry was one of the most haunting moments for me too. No running, no struggling just... I don't know whether it was fear or trust and I really don't know which of those options is worse.

[CavySpirit]

Thank you for posting this. I too, can't watch it. My heart hurts too much as it is. Just reading the posts has brought fresh tears to my eyes and pain to my soul.

Some days, it's really hard to stay the course on not eating meat. The reminders are good. Thank you.