Thursday, January 24, 2008

The Vegan Diaries, Day 24: Night at the Movies

Well, this has been a rather depressing evening.

After working out at the gym and nearly passing out after running, I was about ready to throw in the vegan towel. I think the lack of fat and protein-laden foods is screwing with my endurance. I feel like I don't have the energy to do the physical activities I used to, and it's starting to make me spacey in the head. Or it could be the cold I'm recovering from right now... hard to say.

But then I watched a few online videos tonight that vegans/vegetarians have mentioned in the past, and I started to reconsider my thoughts about going back to meat. The first was called Meet Your Meat, and it was produced by the folks at PeTA. It's a propaganda film that shows hidden camera footage of cattle, chickens, pigs and other animals getting abused and slaughtered. I wouldn't recommend it as a date movie. They did a great job at picking Alec Baldwin for the narration. With his intense persuasive voice, you feel like he's going to come and kick your ass if you don't listen to him. Hillary Clinton should use him for some of her attack ads in South Carolina this week.

And as if this evening couldn't get any more depressing, I watched the film Earthlings, which is a 90+ minute documentary on (surprise) more animal torture and murder. Dang... I really must be a glutton for punishment. It drags for the first 10 minutes with excessive exposition and Joaquin Phoenix's lousy narration. It sounds like he just got out of bed and phoned in this performance. But then it starts showing disturbing images similar to the ones in "Meet Your Meat." What affected me the most was the footage of the live dog they throw into the back of a garbage truck, and you see it getting crushed to death. Once again, definitely not a date movie.

So after watching these two depressing videos, I now feel like I'm going to hell if I ever eat meat again. And I want to eat meat again, because I feel like I need it for proper nutrition. What am I supposed to do now? Is it possible to find meat distributors that slaughter animals humanely? Is there such a thing as humane slaughtering?

After such a depressing evening, I had to end it by watching the Simpson's film Meat and You, starring Troy McClure. Definitely a much happier film than the previous selections.

2 comments:

Jenn said...

in regards to the protein: i had issues like you when i first started a vegetarian diet - i forced myself to try lots of soy meat (chick'n patties are the best!) and beans. the only way to get by...

in regards to the videos: videos like the ones you watched are needed to educate people on the process of how animals become the meat we consume. i think it goes along the same lines of just eating and not really paying attention to the amount of calories consumed. it's unfortunate, but, cruelty exists anytime you take the life of an animal to process it into meat for consumption.

i cope with it by buying locally processed meat (big bluff ranch) and supporting places that server local meat (sierra nevada). while they are still being slaughtered for our consumption, they are done in ways that more "humane" to a feedlot or slaughter house.

Jenn said...

i barely made it through meat your meet before breaking down. thank you for posting those videos - i try to stay away from those types of images, but it truly is reminder of what an animal has to go through to become dinner.