This upcoming July will mark one year of my decision to live a vegan lifestyle. And while it first started as curiosity from all of the amazing health benefits I was hearing about it, it soon turned into something connecting not only health, but also the rights of animals and saving our planet.
I am sure you can ask anyone around you if they love animals and usually (like, 99% of the time) the answer is yes. Almost everyone I know owns a pet or has had one in the past. Nearly all of my friends squeal at the site of puppies on the sidewalk or kittens at the pet store. So how come when we are approached about our dietary decisions to continue eating meat and other animal products, people don’t connect their love for animals and the fact they are eating animals that were slaughtered for taste buds?
I could write pages on the topic, of how it’s hard to comprehend how many people can continue to eat animals because we have grown up not really thinking about what exactly we are putting into our mouths and bodies. What made the transition and switch to a vegan lifestyle so easy for me was from the help of a few books, but especially the help of the following 4 documentaries and videos.
These videos will change your views but will most importantly change your life. You can find all of the following either on YouTube or on Netflix. I have supplied the YouTube links for the videos and I can assure you that you will not look at things in the same light you did before exposing yourself to these.
1. Earthlings (VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED)
This documentary on YouTube is very horrifying. It shows an inside look at what exactly goes on with animals to produce meat production today, as well as what goes on in the dairy industry. It goes beyond the production of dietary products and also looks at animals used for entertainment and clothing as well. Viewer discretion is advised for this, it is very graphic, but very eye-opening.
2. Cowspiracy (Netflix)
Cowspiracy is incredible in terms of showing how animal consumption is affecting our earth today. While many people believe that emissions from cars and factories are the leading cause of negative effects to the environment, it is actually animal agriculture. This film truly opens your eyes about how we can save our planet.
3. Forks Over Knives (Netflix)
This documentary takes the route of how animal product consumption is affecting our health and is the cause of the all too many health ailments and diseases we are dealing with today. If you want to improve your health or the health of others around you, give this documentary a look.
4. 101 Reasons To Go Vegan
This presentation combines a lot of the above documentaries and videos and questions the public as to WHY exactly do we eat meat? Have we ever thought about where it comes from? Why did we start to eat it? One of the examples used is how if you were to give an infant an apple and a baby bird, the infant would instinctively go to eat the apple and cuddle the baby bird. When did that change for so many today?
