Earthlings

[MyInnerHippie]

I saw this for the first time on Saturday. It was actually suggested to me through my Netflix subscription. My husband and I sat down to watch together. I warned him that I thought it was going to be rough to watch just from the description. I had not done any research on it previously or read any of these comments. Keep in mind we are already Vegan. My husband only made it through the first part of the pets section. He just could make it any further. I somehow managed to sit through the whole thing crying hysterically. I was so sad afterwards and had nightmares that night. It was not an easy experience. But, I will never forget it! I will never return to being Omni. I wish I had friends and family who cared enough to watch this. They don't even want to listen to me anymore or have casual debates about this issue. I have been told by all of them that they will never stop eating meat so I shouldn't waste my breath on them. These are people I love and I can't help but care that they are killing themselves eating animals. I can only attempt to spread the word as much as possible and pray that that my friends and family never come down with any horrible diseases from their nasty habits. Is it really too much to ask for a little compassion in this world?

[snaffler]

Hard film to watch, but I think offering a hard core meat eater a copy of the China Study or Skinny Bastard or Bitch, The Delicate Balance or Food Inc may have more of an impact.

I have found Cooking a meal shows people how good moving to vegan can be, but we can't feed the world on our wages I know.

Earthlings is a very well made film and I found it fired so many emotions and made me cry.

[Purple]

Still haven't gotten it together and watched it again.

pfffff, I really should though. I just know how unbearable it's going to be

[Reidindeed]

Just watched Earthlings for the second time and it's left me feeling physically, emotionally and spiritually ill...which can only be a good thing I guess.

I started eating a vegan diet back in 2008 but drifted back into eating dairy gradually over the past year and a half. I've recently decided to cut it out again and thought I would watch the movie again to remind myself of the horrors that animals in the food chain go through on a daily basis. Horrific is the only word that springs to mind really.

First time round I had no consciousness of myself as a spiritual being, but now I do and just can't be a part of this kind of torture against other beings.

Glad I watched it in a way...to pull me out of my self imposed ignorance

X

[karen_87]

I watched Earthlings over a month ago and wont be rushing to watch it ever again. It helped reaffirm my choices for becoming vegan and has imprinted images in mind, that are unpleasent to say the least, and helped me remember why animals need to have a voice too. The film greatly affected me for days and I was emotionally upset by it, especially during when I couldnt hold back tears.

I wish more people could see the film so that it may open their eyes to animal exploitation. And if their answer is that "this is a select case", well isnt that enough? If only this happened once, and of course it doesnt, then one is too many in my eyes, I just wish others could see the realities and not block them out to make excuses for their useage of shampoos tested on animal skin and the hamburgers they eat. As the film says 'make the connection'.

[Vivien]

I watched Earthlings the other day (I was already vegan) because I felt that it was a responsibility to understand the truth... it is horrific- and depressing, after all its not us who need to watch it, yet we feel the compulsion to maybe 'make up for' all the ignorant meat eaters, I know thats how I felt. I turned veggie when I was quite young so by the time I turned vegan it was simply the norm, I couldnt imagine eating meat- and I hadnt really thought about all the horrers animals go through. Now becoming vegan; and seeing Earthlings, has completely woken me up and I cant bare to sit back with the rest of my family eating meat. It just seems so stupid and uncicvilised to be eating meat. THe phrase 'but I like eating meat' is such an achingly weak justification, it makes me sick.
THe memory of the dairy cows chained up, the thousands of pigs all stuffed together, the veal, the dolphins, the stray dogs being poisined, the slaughterhouses, the fur... the supreme cruelty and disconnection of the "people" doing these things to them is hard to believe. Why are these things not more widely known? Why are they never mentioned in gonvernment? Atleast we are choosing every day in everything we eat, and wear, and use, to try and stop these horrible things- if only there were more of us!

[RainInStarlight]

I remember when I watched Earthlings on a Youtube link...and I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually ill after watching it. The thing that specifically hurt was the dolphins (I've always loved dolphins) being caught in the nets. It's just horrible what our species does to other creatures....it truly is.

[Mollfie]

I want my boyfriend to watch it as it might be a good final push into atleast vegetarianism. But he won't watch it because he knows it will upset him. I might re-watch it anyway and he'll end up seeing it too.

[violet7]

It is a powerful film. I saw it twice...I had been vegan before, but I was still shocked when watching it. The truth is so cruel. I feel so sad, because I don't know what else to do. I would love to see ALL Earthlings are happy and free! I hate speciesism and anthropocentrism, though this is paradox because I am anthro who studies anthropology... However, glad this documentary has come out and I'm looking forward to seeing the second and third part - it is said it's going to be trilogy.

[Keyja]

I saw Earthlings a while ago, though I'm not sure when.

I couldn't even finish watching the film because I was just mortified and I felt so sad for those animals. I cried the whole time that I watched it. My mom even watched it and she claims to love animals, however she doesn't make the connection to what eating meat/dairy products and eggs will do to animals. She says that she's not as "extreme" as I am when it comes to loving animals.

Makes me wonder...

[Kimberlily1983]

This movie changed my life and brought my boyfriend and I to veganism I just wanted to give a shout out!

Us, too! I went vegan the day I finished watching it (I watched half one day, the second half the next). I had been vegetarian for almost 9 years prior to this, and my boyfriend semi-vegetarian (he was vegetarian at home, ate meat only at restaurants and when we visited our folks). After Earthlings I couldn't have anything to do with the exploitation anymore, and he ended up making the same decision a little while after I did.

The dustcart was a new one on me and I really CAN'T get the image out of my head. Can anyone help me with this????! PLEASE?? I don't know how I will sleep tonight, just the thought of that poor, poor dog and his little face just sitting there, after being dragged through the streets. BASTARDS!!!!!

That was one of the ones that did it for my partner and me as well. He's especially fond of dogs, so that was a hard one for him to watch.

Also, the cows being killed kosher, and the animal that's been stripped of his hide. I remember staring at him, horrified, thinking "please be dead, please be dead". And then he blinks. I think that was the worst one for me... That was what I saw when I closed my eyes at night. And it wasn't just the fact that it had happened to him, but that it was happening as I lay there, and it's still happening now.

This film stayed with me for a month, maybe two, in the sense that I thought of it everyday. For a long time it was all I could think about. I walked around with a sense of horror at what those poor animals go through, glaring at the dairy trucks driving by, at ads for burgers on eighteen wheelers. Which brings me to the next comment I wanted to reply to...

Earthlings is the film that made me go vegan. I had been vegetarian for a number of years but after seeing Earthlings I decided I had to have nothing to do with such cruelty.

Just watched Earthlings for the second time and it's left me feeling physically, emotionally and spiritually ill...which can only be a good thing I guess.

I started eating a vegan diet back in 2008 but drifted back into eating dairy gradually over the past year and a half. I've recently decided to cut it out again and thought I would watch the movie again to remind myself of the horrors that animals in the food chain go through on a daily basis. Horrific is the only word that springs to mind really.

First time round I had no consciousness of myself as a spiritual being, but now I do and just can't be a part of this kind of torture against other beings.

Glad I watched it in a way...to pull me out of my self imposed ignorance

X

After watching it I told my partner I would probably end up watching it again every now and then, and he said he was surprised. He thought I'd never want to see it again. I know I won't ever drift back into vegetarianism or anything like that, but that feeling of horror does go away. I still feel just as strongly, still believe the same things, of course, but I don't feel the same sense of urgency I did when I first watched the documentary. Maybe that's a good thing, psychologically, that we adapt to pain that way. But I don't know, because it worries me that if we forget a little, then we won't fight it as hard.

So that's why I see value in making ourselves go through these painful experiences again, and plan to watch it again sometime... The pain never ends for them, so I think it's important that we remind ourselves of what they're going through, that we see it again, because the memories fade...

[VeganGran]

Kimberlily, I know just what you mean about the animal that was skinned alive, and then looked up into the camera.

I have a copy of the dvd and occasionally watch it again, it always makes me cry and my husband gets angry with me and says 'why are you watching it again if you get so upset?' he, by the way he is a meat eater, but it sort of reinforces to me why I am vegan

[Tiffany]

I found Earthlings to be a horrible watch however what I find most horrible is that my family (cousins and such) actually have fun with this movie! I recommended it to them so that they knew why I went vegan. They watched it they sat down, had a meat feast and laughed at the animals WHILE watching this movie and personally I think these said people should seek counselling and fast. Or better yet be locked up far far away. Shame on them.

[Kimberlily1983]

I found Earthlings to be a horrible watch however what I find most horrible is that my family (cousins and such) actually have fun with this movie! I recommended it to them so that they knew why I went vegan. They watched it they sat down, had a meat feast and laughed at the animals WHILE watching this movie and personally I think these said people should seek counselling and fast. Or better yet be locked up far far away. Shame on them.

That is incredibly disturbing, and if it was my family I could see myself not speaking to them for a very long time... I can't understand how people can feel that way! Would they laugh at documentaries showing prisoner of war torture, etc. as well? Or starving children in Africa?

[Tiffany]

My entire family in general just does not like animals. The one side is religious, and believes that god gave humans the right to use animals as they see fit and the other half just doesn't care either way, think animal rights are stupid, think all of my mental issues are because I'm a vegan and are just massive meat eaters, fur wearers and vain people in general. My dad will literally eat meat 3 meals a day and then some. Thing is, to my family this is the right way to be. Its I who is in the wrong.

[Kimberlily1983]

My entire family in general just does not like animals. The one side is religious, and believes that god gave humans the right to use animals as they see fit and the other half just doesn't care either way, think animal rights are stupid, think all of my mental issues are because I'm a vegan and are just massive meat eaters, fur wearers and vain people in general. My dad will literally eat meat 3 meals a day and then some. Thing is, to my family this is the right way to be. Its I who is in the wrong.

Ugh, I don't know what I would do if my family was like that. Well, actually, I have a particularly large amount of cousins, etc. so maybe a lot of them do feel that way, and I just don't know it because we're not very close. But my immediate family, luckily, is not like this. They've all shocked me, actually, with their openness to my ideas.

My father says that if I can get my mother to come around to the idea, he'd be perfectly happy eating vegetarian, and even vegan really. He just thinks vegetarianism would be easier. My mother might be hard to convince, though: I think she agrees with me philosophically, mostly, though she's not much for philosophy. She had objections, but I'd counter them and she'd acknowledge I was right. For her, the main obstacles will be the availability of animal products where they live, and the relative unavailability of things like meat substitutes which would make the transition easier for them (they eat quite a bit of meat). They are not exactly healthy eaters. Mom also has fairly plain tastes - and Dad, too, compared to me - and they like to get most of their flavors from the meat in their meals... Not sure what kinds of choices to encourage them to make.

My sister has also surprised me recently, by acknowledging that really we (humans) have no right to do what we do to animals, and that we should all stop eating meat, etc. But she says she would find it hard to give up chicken, milk, and cheese. I advised her to consider giving up everything else as a first step, but no word yet if she's given that any thought. I'm not going to pressure her... I'm just glad she's been giving this some thought.

I've seen some positive change in my grandmother's attitude, too (from concern to acknowledgment that veganism is actually very healthy), which I find encouraging.

It seems I might just be lucky, though. Many of the rest of you have reported otherwise... I hope your family comes around, Tiffany. And sorry for rambling about my own family and how great - relatively (no pun intended )- they've been. I hope that encourages you - that people are changing, even if you're not seeing that in your family yet - rather than discourages you.

[Vegan Beast]

I saw this for the first time on Saturday. It was actually suggested to me through my Netflix subscription. My husband and I sat down to watch together. I warned him that I thought it was going to be rough to watch just from the description. I had not done any research on it previously or read any of these comments. Keep in mind we are already Vegan. My husband only made it through the first part of the pets section. He just could make it any further. I somehow managed to sit through the whole thing crying hysterically. I was so sad afterwards and had nightmares that night. It was not an easy experience. But, I will never forget it! I will never return to being Omni. I wish I had friends and family who cared enough to watch this. They don't even want to listen to me anymore or have casual debates about this issue. I have been told by all of them that they will never stop eating meat so I shouldn't waste my breath on them. These are people I love and I can't help but care that they are killing themselves eating animals. I can only attempt to spread the word as much as possible and pray that that my friends and family never come down with any horrible diseases from their nasty habits. Is it really too much to ask for a little compassion in this world?

??? At least your friends and family have the choice whether or not to eat meat, you're worried about them ? The animals have no choice what happens to them.

[Cricket24]

The movie did not affect me emotionally me as much as I would have liked. Of course I know the things I witnessed were wrong! I just think I've been numbed to things like that. That doesn't mean I don't want to stop them though! I hope no one here gets angry at me for not bawling through the whole film. I did get upset at some parts, such as the scenes in the labs with the frightened animals in cages.

The part that actually got me crying though was the part with the circus elephant. She was taken from her home, or bred for slavery and she was mistreated (to put it too lightly) and she was probably really confused and hurt and depressed. Then she escaped and was so messed up from what they had been doing to her that she trampled people. (It looked to me like she was purposely running over people and trampling them before moving on. I don't know if she was targeting her handlers though.) Then she she got free and was probably trying to find a safe place to hide from the people who beat her, and the cops came. I understand that the elephant posed a threat to the people nearby, but I was still angry at the people for shooting at her. It just upset me so much to watch them shooting her continually for minutes on end while she slowly died. Did she even die right then, or did she slowly die after they finished shooting her?

I don't know why the elephant footage effected me so much more than the rest, but it did. After being able to sit through the most of the film with a rather objective sense of disagreement, it was refreshing to know that something had the ability to affect me on an emotional level. There were so many scenes where I imagined myself being in one of those places, and getting at least one of those poor animals to hold in my arms and and bring home to see what a life without suffering is like. But I'm sure that things like that, and rescuing pigs from trucks on the way to slaughter (my other fantasy) are very illegal, and it's probably not easy to be a vegan in prison. (Hmm, I wonder if veganism in prison is another thread?)

Perhaps I'll follow Josef's lead and get some copies for my local and college libraries. They don't have any either. I watched a bad quality version on the Earthlings website.

[colleengirl95]

I watched half of the film because i felt very sad and i cried a bit. It's just so sad ... i can't watch the whole film without being sad. I think that if people can only see what happens in slaughterhouses then they wouldn't eat meat. Earthlings is a nice film and i'll make my close relatives and friends to watch it so that they wouldn't think of animals as food but companions whom we should love and respect.

[Johnstuff]

Cricket24 the scene with the poor elephant really got to me too.

I don't get how they could shoot her for doing what anyone would do in her place. My heart really went out to her.

[Alael]

I have a few of these animal right films (including Earthlings) and I used to lend them out to friends and family, I still do sometimes, but I find it even harder to then watch the same people eating meat like they are totally unaffected... or hearing comments like "The movie wasn't THAT bad"... Actually, someone said that about Earthlings! It honestly makes me wonder about their ability to empathize with other beings, and sometimes I'd rather not know this side of people just for my own sanity. If people are ignorant around animal suffering issues is one thing, but to see that someone accepts the facts and have no trouble supporting it is extremely difficult for me to understand and accept.

That's interesting, I've been thinking a lot lately about the possible link between eating meat and cruelty/violence/abuse of others. It seems to me like once someone makes a habit of 'turning off' empathy and compassion for what they consider lesser beings, it's a short step to turning off compassion for persons and groups they dislike, and easier to be cruel, or feel some sort of right to those beings' lives that the beings themselves don't share.

[magnificent-insect]

I have yet to sit through the entire documentary. Every time I make an attempt, my heart rate races to a million miles a minute and the entire process is extremely taxing on me (mentally, physically, emotionally, etc...) It literally demands something of me in such a powerful way no other documentary has been able to do. I was vegan long before seeing it. I have it kept in the back of my mind that if I were to ever consider backpedaling, I can simply force myself to sit through it in its entirety and I'll never go back.

[Lara_Hastings]

I watched it in full last night. I was suprised at how good the quality of it was in terms of res/fps/compression - we watched it on a standard 28" TV and it looked like a dvd.

I think it was excellent film and will recomend people watch it, however I think it could have gone further than it did. From a crtical standpoint I think the main problems with it is age of footage and country specific info. It is very much an american film targetted at american audiences. With not much extra I think it could have been more broad and shown footage from multiple countries, as it's easy for example for UK viewers to just dismiss it as being american and not the way things happen here. A lot of the footage was old and hence people could say outdated and no longer relevent. This is true across the AR movement, a lot of pics from the 70s and 80s are still being used and sometimes out of context (such as using photos from vivisection experiments which no longer take place to describe current practices). Certainly they tug on heartstrings, but don't actually stand up to analysis. There needs to be more facts from creditable sources - undercover footage is generally dismissed by people as being either staged or one off cases. I personally think it's better to show undercover footage then show an impartial well known expert talk through what has just been shown.

I think it was good to show all aspects of animal exploitation, but a unproportionate amount of time I feel was spent on entertainment. At the trade off of showing several minutes of footage of elephants in zoos there was little to no mention of laying hens, wool, silk etc.

It is a good film, but it's far from a 90 minute round trip of the reasons to be vegan.

Ah I was afraid this would have been the case with this movie. I'm hundred sure if I would show this to some of my male friends they would be like "Yeah, horrible stuff, but this is happening only in the US, things are better here bla bla" I don't think it would have the impact needed for people around the world to change their views.

I don't think I would be able to watch clips about those cows in India, I think my wallet which I purchased before I was vegan is made from cow hide from India *smacks head*

I think I will try to get my hands on this dvd, there seems to be a lot of useful info in there, like the sports industry. Then I can finally get my boyfriend to understand why I will not by any conventional running shoes!

[Tofukitty]

Hats off the those of you who could watch it. From the few snippets of horror I have seen over the years I know I could never deal with a whole hours' worth of images in my head. I would never eat or sleep again. in fact just reading through this thread yesterday gave me a sleepless last night. Though I am glad that there are others who can get over it and see the big picture enough to make these things because it does get people to think and changes their ways.

On a happy note, I spoke to hubby about this film. I asked him if he would watch it. He said he couldn't watch more than a few seconds (he's a sensitive soul, one of the big reasons I love him) . I had to point out that if he can't watch it, then maybe he shouldn't just be a vegetarian, but a vegan as he knows what goes on and can't close his eyes to it. And he agreed!!! So, I have happily thrown out all the cheese and pudding dessert mix stuff that has dairy in it today and whenever anything leather he has wears out it will be replaced by a vegan product. Happy Day!! To add, hubby went from vegetarian to vegan a lot quicker than I did. Hats off to him, I am very very happy&proud to call him my husband.

[Lara_Hastings]

^ Wow that is really awesome! You husband really is a sweetheart

[Tofukitty]

^ Wow that is really awesome! You husband really is a sweetheart

Well, it seems to have come at some cost to me. Looks like we are buying an ice cream maker to make vegan ice cream and I will be baking a lot more. Hubby's got a sweet tooth!

[Lynn]

I've just watched this. I couldn't watch it all, or I think it might have made me physically ill, but I did my best, and sat through as much as I could take.

I had a rough idea how upsetting it would be, but a lot of those images will haunt me forever. I actually had to get up at one point and shut my living room door, I was worried the neighbours might hear me, and think someone had just died.

Right now I feel completely and utterly ashamed to be a human being.

[DiaShel]

I'm with you Lynn. I tried a couple of days ago and only got about 20 minutes in. There is a guy, out of interest of knowing me better, wants to understand why I'm vegan so I gave him the link. I'm interested to hear his reaction. I actually think I might be really bad for us. I can't imagine someone seeing those things and continuing to do things the same, but I don't expect him to change either (just hope).

[Kimberlily1983]

I had a rough idea how upsetting it would be, but a lot of those images will haunt me forever.

I had the same reaction. For awhile I'd close my eyes at night and see some of the footage. For a good month, two months, I walked around seeing the world differently, aware of the Holocaust around us. It took awhile to "recover"; I'm "recovered" now, but things will never be the same for me. I know that this is what I need to devote most of my life to, fighting this.

[DiaShel]

I'm with you Lynn. I tried a couple of days ago and only got about 20 minutes in. There is a guy, out of interest of knowing me better, wants to understand why I'm vegan so I gave him the link. I'm interested to hear his reaction. I actually think I might be really bad for us. I can't imagine someone seeing those things and continuing to do things the same, but I don't expect him to change either (just hope).

Or he just decides realizes that he's been ignorant all along and decides to go Vegan. Yes, my first conversion!

[Vegan Beast]

Or he just decides realizes that he's been ignorant all along and decides to go Vegan. Yes, my first conversion!

Nice work.

[Cherry_Bmbshell]

I can't watch it. I've tried. But it makes me a wreck. I can't make it past the first 15 min without screaming and crying. I want the world to see the truth! How man tortures, mutilates and murders for pleasure.
little do they know that they are also killing themselves!

[maggielassie]

It's an important film, with an important message; but I agree it's not for the easily-upset. It's an absolutely necessary film to show other people though.

[Kimberlily1983]

I can't watch it. I've tried. But it makes me a wreck. I can't make it past the first 15 min without screaming and crying. I want the world to see the truth! How man tortures, mutilates and murders for pleasure. little do they know that they are also killing themselves!

It's an important film, with an important message; but I agree it's not for the easily-upset. It's an absolutely necessary film to show other people though.

I agree. I think non-vegans should force themselves to watch it. They have no business being non-vegans if they can't tolerate it. (Then again, apathy doesn't give 'em a right to keep doing what they're doing, either, but unfortunately in our society they can get away with it). As for vegans who can't watch it, I think that's fine, you're not contributing to it!

[Vegan Beast]

I agree. I think non-vegans should force themselves to watch it. They have no business being non-vegans if they can't tolerate it. (Then again, apathy doesn't give 'em a right to keep doing what they're doing, either, but unfortunately in our society they can get away with it). As for vegans who can't watch it, I think that's fine, you're not contributing to it!

It seems to me that some people watch it as if it were a horror movie and as if the animals in it are not real, they gauge it on how "bad" it is, as if they don't understand that the horror is REAL and is going on all day, everyday and until they can wrap their minds around the reality of it thet can never show empathy.

[Kimberlily1983]

It seems to me that some people watch it as if it were a horror movie and as if the animals in it are not real, they gauge it on how "bad" it is, as if they don't understand that the horror is REAL and is going on all day, everyday and until they can wrap their minds around the reality of it thet can never show empathy.

Very true. There are also people who just don't care who can watch it and claim they're not moved at all (can you say psychopath?). If you look through the YouTube postings of Earthlings (there are a few copies up there), you'll find lots of those. I imagine some of those people are lying, probably haven't watched more than 10 seconds. But other people are just that apathetic and/or sadistic. I suppose our society to an extent does support that attitude, not directly but indirectly. It's a "smart" attitude to take in a twisted way, in that it spares you some misery. Just like not caring about women too much might have spared you pain in a time when women had no real rights.

[maggielassie]

I suppose our society to an extent does support that attitude, not directly but indirectly. It's a "smart" attitude to take in a twisted way, in that it spares you some misery. Just like not caring about women too much might have spared you pain in a time when women had no real rights.

I agree, Kimberlily. Women's rights are even still threatened nowadays. Meat-eaters constantly pressure vegans to shup up and they view us as 'weirdos', while they also shut out animal experience & suffering from their concern. Misogynists often silence women's lives & experience, while saying "Shut up, b*tch. You belong in the kitchen to cook me my dinner!" Abusers tend to repress their compassionate feelings and take on a 'toughy' and uncaring attitude that makes them blind to suffering...

[Kimberlily1983]

I agree, Kimberlily. Women's rights are even still threatened nowadays. Meat-eaters constantly pressure vegans to shup up and they view us as 'weirdos', while they also shut out animal experience & suffering from their concern. Misogynists often silence women's lives & experience, while saying "Shut up, b*tch. You belong in the kitchen to cook me my dinner!" Abusers tend to repress their compassionate feelings and take on a 'toughy' and uncaring attitude that makes them blind to suffering...

Definitely. I think it takes integrity to refuse to allow that to happen to us, to not let ourselves become or remain apathetic to anyone's suffering and exploitation. I think people who find that they feel apathetic should come to terms with that, recognize that this is an attitude that's inculcated and fostered by the meat, dairy, egg industries and encouraged by society at large, and resist that!

I also don't think it's a matter of whether people are 100% apathetic or 100% sympathetic/compassionate. We all have days when maybe we feel a bit deadened inside, and don't feel much in the way of emotion. I think this is normal, and a healthy, human response to grief and misery, and to a certain degree of powerlessness in the face of that. We can't afford to always feel the full depth of emotion we could feel about this. We can't help them if we're so depressed we can't get out of bed, or burst into tears while debating people. A certain degree of separation from it, of putting it to the back of our minds at times, is necessary.

However, we can't allow that to let us forget how important and crucial it is to be vegan, to keep fighting, etc. So it's about balance... For us, it might be managing our rage or our depression. For some people, it's managing to counter apathy, to realize that these nonhumans are subjects of a life just like the people we love, etc. For them, the problem is they don't feel enough, they don't act accordingly...

[maggielassie]

We all have days when maybe we feel a bit deadened inside, and don't feel much in the way of emotion. I think this is normal, and a healthy, human response to grief and misery, and to a certain degree of powerlessness in the face of that. We can't afford to always feel the full depth of emotion we could feel about this. We can't help them if we're so depressed we can't get out of bed, or burst into tears while debating people. A certain degree of separation from it, of putting it to the back of our minds at times, is necessary.

However, we can't allow that to let us forget how important and crucial it is to be vegan, to keep fighting, etc. So it's about balance... For us, it might be managing our rage or our depression.

I agree, we have to numb ourselves somehow, otherwise we'd go mad at people around us who don't seem to care about animals as much as we do. OTOH, we have to happily promote veganism. Or we fear that people won't want to join a group that they view as depressed.

However, it is definitely hard for me to understand when some people, who seem very compassionate, watch Earthlings, understand its message but do not act upon it. It's like something is blocking them somehow, and I wonder what. Probably convenience or habituation, but I really hate that sort of attitude...

[Kimberlily1983]

I agree, we have to numb ourselves somehow, otherwise we'd go mad at people around us who don't seem to care about animals as much as we do. OTOH, we have to happily promote veganism. Or we fear that people won't want to join a group that they view as depressed.

Hmm, but I wonder if we have to promote it happily, so much. Are doing it in a happy way or a depressed way our only options? How about seriously and passionately, with clear concern, and toned down anger when appropriate?

Don't get me wrong, I love that there are happy people giving out vegan cupcakes and talking about the joys of this diet. I think that's awesome. But at the same time, I don't think that communicates any kind of urgency, and it completely glosses over or ignores the plight of the animals. I think "happy vegans" get people closer to making the change, but it's more of a "Oh, maybe I should do that someday!", and then they forget about it...

Now, on the other hand, super angry vegans who are all in your face can and usually do have the effect of turning people off entirely. It's stupid, really, but it's the way people are. If they don't like the salesman, they won't buy the product ("that'll show her"), even though it might be the best product in the world. These people punish the animals to hurt the angry vegan. Stupid, but it's the way most people are.

And as you say, the depressed vegan can be a turn-off, too. I think depressed and angry vegans are often the same people at different times of the day, week, etc.

But yeah, I think what we need more of is people who can show the right amount of emotion (sadness, anger, concern, etc.), so that people get how serious it is, but aren't turned off. A kind of balance between the "angry vegan" and the "happy vegan".

However, it is definitely hard for me to understand when some people, who seem very compassionate, watch Earthlings, understand its message but do not act upon it. It's like something is blocking them somehow, and I wonder what. Probably convenience or habituation, but I really hate that sort of attitude...

Definitely, I detest it as well. My own reaction to it, as a lacto-ovo vegetarian, was just that I couldn't do it anymore. I had dairy in the fridge, eggs, and I just couldn't eat them. Just looking at them filled me with rage, brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't look at those things without seeing the footage from the film.

Understand that I at the time believed vegan diets to be risky, hard to plan. I thought I'd be unsatisfied with it - how could I go without cheddar, probably my favorite ingredient at the time? I loved mac and cheese casserole, it was my comfort food. Now I'm not building this up as a case for how wonderful and selfless I am. It was really a matter of fully realizing how horrible and awful animal exploitation is - I finally got it - that I would have had to make the choice for myself as well. I just couldn't live with myself if I contributed to this. I guess you could say the demands my heart and my head were making were overriding anything my stomach could demand.

It sounds, from that I've read, that this is the sort of experience many of you, many vegans have to this film. Apparently quite a few people go vegan after seeing it (stats would be interesting!). But as you say, what is it that allows people not to have this full reaction, to not go through with it? I can't understand it, either. I honestly felt that I had no choice after viewing this film, it was the right thing to do and I had to do it.

[maggielassie]

Hmm, but I wonder if we have to promote it happily, so much. Are doing it in a happy way or a depressed way our only options? How about seriously and passionately, with clear concern, and toned down anger when appropriate?

Don't get me wrong, I love that there are happy people giving out vegan cupcakes and talking about the joys of this diet. I think that's awesome. But at the same time, I don't think that communicates any kind of urgency, and it completely glosses over or ignores the plight of the animals. I think "happy vegans" get people closer to making the change, but it's more of a "Oh, maybe I should do that someday!", and then they forget about it...

Now, on the other hand, super angry vegans who are all in your face can and usually do have the effect of turning people off entirely. It's stupid, really, but it's the way people are. If they don't like the salesman, they won't buy the product ("that'll show her"), even though it might be the best product in the world. These people punish the animals to hurt the angry vegan. Stupid, but it's the way most people are.

And as you say, the depressed vegan can be a turn-off, too. I think depressed and angry vegans are often the same people at different times of the day, week, etc.

But yeah, I think what we need more of is people who can show the right amount of emotion (sadness, anger, concern, etc.), so that people get how serious it is, but aren't turned off. A kind of balance between the "angry vegan" and the "happy vegan".

Yeah, you're probably right.

what is it that allows people not to have this full reaction, to not go through with it? I can't understand it, either. I honestly felt that I had no choice after viewing this film, it was the right thing to do and I had to do it.

I'm on the same boat.

[Kimberlily1983]

I'm on the same boat.

Hopefully it will turn into a giant cruise ship and everyone will want to be on board. I hope it's in our lifetimes...

[Tish]

Before watching this film I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian who was in the process of replacing leather goods and cutting down on dairy. I wanted to stop using leather for ages (and should have done it sooner) and was just beginning to feel uncomfortable consuming animal products-but didn't know why? After watching the first 20 minutes or so of earthlings I definitely knew why. I became vegan there and then and really feel that I was ready to see this.

Like you had mentioned Kimberlily, it just clicked and I started to see eggs and dairy the way I had viewed meat for years- as completely unappetising and not for me to eat. I am really grateful to this film for making things clear for me. I too hope it reaches a wider audience as it conveys the full horror of things in a way that dry facts and figures can't always achieve.

[maggielassie]

Hopefully it will turn into a giant cruise ship and everyone will want to be on board. I hope it's in our lifetimes...

I wish so much that were to be true. Unfortunately, Kimberlily, I tend to get very pessimistic about the human race these days.

[maggielassie]

I am really grateful to this film for making things clear for me. I too hope it reaches a wider audience as it conveys the full horror of things in a way that dry facts and figures can't always achieve.

Well said, Tish. Same here. I still think it's a powerful tool for advocating veganism.

[Kimberlily1983]

I became vegan there and then and really feel that I was ready to see this.

.....

I am really grateful to this film for making things clear for me. I too hope it reaches a wider audience as it conveys the full horror of things in a way that dry facts and figures can't always achieve.

I'm glad to hear the film had the same effect on you that it's had on many, and I hope it reaches more people, too.

Have you heard about the film Bold Native? That's set to come out on DVD soon. Here's the trailer. It sounds like it also has the potential to change a lot of minds...

[Kimberlily1983]

I wish so much that were to be true. Unfortunately, Kimberlily, I tend to get very pessimistic about the human race these days.

I'm quite cynical myself, but I think where I'm different from most people is that I don't believe people are inherently bad. I think people have the potential to be all kinds of things, and it's the types of societies we find ourselves in that determine what people will primarily be like. A society with major power imbalances and rampant exploitation is not conducive to the wellbeing of its citizens, and we shouldn't be surprised that in a society where some people are born with everything and others are expected to live on virtually nothing, selfishness, misery, crime, etc. is the result.

I believe that corporations have a stake in keeping us ignorant and uneducated, of the sorts of things that go on in factory farms, sweat shops, etc. and they do this by trying to entertain us endlessly with mindless TV programs, and commercials that teach us that our identities are tied to the things we buy. We're given means of protesting when we're unhappy, but these are largely ineffective. Big business owns the government, and it will do its bidding. We learn that to be happy we should just not worry about what they do, shut up and live our own lives. We resent other people when they ask us to care about their causes, because there are too many causes to worry about, too many things we don't trust about charities (will the money we donate actually help, or will it pay people to sit at desks all day?). We not only think we can't challenge big business, we think we can't help one another out, and so we may as well only worry about ourselves and our immediate families, friends, etc. It's too overwhelming to try to deal with other things.

I think part of the answer is that we need to "deprogram" ourselves. We need to stop believing that we're as little as they say we are. They'd have us believe we can't survive without big corporations, when really it's the other way around: they can't survive without us. They need the steady trickle of our coins.

The same apathy towards animal exploitation that allows people to cope with life in this cruel world works towards human exploitation as well, including our own. Apathy, and denial. It's hard to wake up, when dreaming is so much more pleasant. But I think ultimately people want to, and when enough people realize it doesn't need to be this way, we don't need to believe their lives and we don't need to hurt others, ignore others' needs to live our lives the way we want to, then we will see real change.

[Tish]

Hi maggielassie and Kimberlily1983- yes, I agree, earthlings definitely is a powerful, life changing film.

Thanks for pointing out bold native Kimberlily- I hadn't heard of this before and it looks pretty good. It's good to see a fictional film highlighting the same injustices as earthlings, as this could challenge the thoughts of people who may prefer the drama format. It's unusual to see films like this: one I remember from years ago was 'Project X'- an 80s film where Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt are trying to save chimps from being killed in an experimental space programme. It's probably a bit cheesy now (although still worth a watch!) but has great intentions and makes some very good points.

We need to stop believing that we're as little as they say we are.

I agree and think that anything that stirs people's awareness is a great thing indeed.

[veganvoo]

Just watched earthlings and it made me cry for the first time in years. My wife, Becky, also caught a few minutes and has vowed to give up milk chocolate and cheese. This will make her 100% vegan so I'm well chuffed!

[Kimberlily1983]

Just watched earthlings and it made me cry for the first time in years. My wife, Becky, also caught a few minutes and has vowed to give up milk chocolate and cheese. This will make her 100% vegan so I'm well chuffed!

Yay, glad to hear it!

My parents seem to be more receptive than ever to the idea of going vegan, especially my father (who's mostly being held back my Mom, who does most of the cooking). I'm going to try again to get them to watch Earthlings, that might be just the slight push they need...