#why are you earthlings such shitheads

[wolveria]

Hello! I feel like you're the kind of person to help handle an issue I'm having. I've decided to go vegan because of many many reasons I'm sure you know. I feel like everywhere I go people are saying "drink your milk and eat your meat to grow stronger!!11!" and sometimes I try to meekly explain to my friends why that is actually bad, but they just blow me off, make jokes and say "wellllllll not ALL cows are treated like that." I really want advice on what to do to help them see my point of view.

Hi anon! You’re awesome and I want to thank you for reaching out to me. I was once like you, a brand new shiny vegan. At first, everyone was pretty terrible to me too. Or at least, they mocked me for deciding not to eat animals. I tried to give them the facts, how the animals are treated, and how they’re basically just babies when they’re slaughtered (days to months old, depending on the species). But they just laughed it off.

Eventually, after a looong time, they saw it wasn’t just a phase, or a fad, and that it was something I truly stood by. And they stopped being shitheads about it. Even my ex, who was an avid meat-eater, told me I was right and that going vegan was probably the best way to live. He didn’t want to do it himself, but he said he knew I was right.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t really help the animals, does it?

Sometimes the best way is to show them is through a different lens, one that doesn’t come directly from you. Another voice. There are some really amazing documentaries out there about how animals are treated on farms, labs, zoos, and slaughterhouses. I admit, I didn’t have any interest in vegetarianism (I didn’t even know what veganism was at the time) until I had to witness what happened to these animals with my own two eyes. And I feel that most people are the same way. No one wants animals to be hurt or killed, especially if their money helps pay for it, and showing them actual footage of what happens in these places is honestly, in my opinion, something everyone needs to experience.

Here are some of my favorite documentaries I pulled from this post and I hope they help!

Earthlings - narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, details the human use of animals in five specific areas: for food, clothing, entertainment, science, and as pets. It’s graphic but YOU HAVE TO SEE what are you contributing to.

Lucent -  explores the darker side of Australia’s pig farming industry, highlighting the day-to-day tremendous cruelty accepted by the industry as standard practice.

Cowspiracy  : The Sustainability Secret - explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment, and investigates the policies of environmental organizations on this issue. The movie has made such an impact that it motivated at least two restaurants to go vegan.  

What the Health -  the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award-winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing  trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping people sick.

Before The Flood -  a look at how climate change affects our environment and what society can do prevent the demise of endangered species, ecosystems and native communities across the planet.

Peaceble Kingdom : The Journey Home -  the awakening conscience of several people who grew up in traditional farming culture and who have now come to question the basic assumptions of their way of life.

Meat The Truth -  presented by Marianne Thieme the documentary is drawing public attention to the issue of global warming, that has been repeatedly ignored, one of the most important causes of climate change, namely: intensive livestock production.

Forks Over Knives - advocates a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet as a way to avoid or reverse several chronic diseases.

Blackfish -  a documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales and its dangers for both humans and whales.

Live & Let Live -  is a feature documentary examining our relationship with animals, the history of veganism and the ethical, environmental and health reasons that move people to go vegan.

The Cove - analyzes and questions dolphin hunting practices.  the film is a call to action to halt mass dolphin kills, change fishing practices, and to inform and educate the public about the risks, and increasing hazard, of mercury poisoning from dolphin meat.

Speciesism: The Movie -  The documentary takes viewers on a sometimes funny, sometimes frightening adventure, crawling through the bushes that hide factory farm, flying in airplanes above their toxic “manure lagoons,” and coming face-to-face with their owners.

Vegucated -  story about 3 omnivore New York guys who plan to go vegan for six weeks for weight loss and other health benefits, but during their vegan journey, they uncover the dark side of animal agriculture, and all of a sudden find themselves against the very industry they patronized a few weeks before.