Lucent

2014, Environment  -   88 Comments
8.97
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Ratings: 8.97/10 from 175 users.

The mother pigs are rigidly confined within a cage so constrictive that it only allows for the faintest of single steps. Once a day, they are beaten upright by factory workers to ensure that paralysis doesn't set in due to their lack of mobility. Their tight living quarters also inspire extreme mental anguish, producing an agitation so profound that many sows have resorted to furiously biting the bars that enslave them, perpetuating further injury upon themselves in the process.

They endure a constant cycle of impregnation, and due to malnourishment and lack of proper care, they are often forced to watch their babies die and decompose before them. Their bodies are streaked with the scars and open festers of neglect, and their screams echo and multiply down every corridor of these chambers of horror. These harrowing images mark the opening of Lucent, a shattering new documentary that sheds much-needed light on the unseemly environments and unethical practices of Australia's pig farms and slaughterhouses. Featuring a wealth of never-before-seen surveillance and handheld footage captured by a devoted team of animal rights activists, the film reveals a culture of abuse that has remained hidden in the shadows for far too long.

We're taken inside the operations of fifty assorted locations, including Riverlea, the largest slaughterhouse in the country, and Wally's Piggery, the setting for some of the film's most damning indictments. There, cameras capture pigs being savagely beaten with sledgehammers until rendered dead or unconscious, and serrated by knives at the neck, left struggling in the throes of slow death. These barbaric practices are far from isolated; in fact, the abundance of footage obtained by the filmmakers reveals that animal cruelty of this magnitude appears to be standard operating procedure.

By presenting unblinking visual evidence of these repugnant cruelties, Lucent offers a thoroughly convincing argument that profound change needs to take place within the pig farming industry and within our own consciousness. After all, pigs are self-aware animals with distinct personalities, and an intelligence that surpasses that of man's best friend, the dog. Why shouldn't they be afforded the same level of humane treatment?

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88 Comments / User Reviews

  1. B

    God said not to eat pigs.

  2. Demonickey

    All I could think about was bacon and pork chops.

  3. Barry

    Being a mammal and having the physical requirements that allow us the ability to eat meat has absolutely nothing to with how we treat animals and is absolutely no justification for it. Perhaps we are designed to eat meat but does that mean we should allow sentient beings to be abused for the entirety of their life before being brutally slaughtered?
    As for the question of existence and death, that point is irrelevant given that these animals DO NOT have a choice. And even if they did, yeah I'm pretty sure they'd choose not to exist. As probably you would as well.

  4. DustUp

    I've heard several complain over the years that organic food is too expensive. Is it? Seems to me it is cheap compared to health insurance and/or doctor visits. Haven't been to a doctor in many years since eliminating grain and sugar from my diet.

  5. DustUp

    I don't know if corn is suitable in large amounts for other farm animals either. I would guess small amounts are ok. But not just any corn, which is GMO (internalized pesticide) corn. Organic feed is the way to go. However, it would seem wiser to feed what grows naturally in your area.

  6. DustUp

    Last I read, many years ago, there are 16 stomach types. In the encyclopedia or unabridged dictionary or info source I was looking in at the time, it showed outline drawings of these stomach types. There was a stark difference in many of those. This is why two people can eat the exact same meal, one can get bloated up gassy while the other has no repercussions.

    Once I gave up grains and went organic for meat and vegetables, I lost weight and felt MUCH better. Looking at my ancestry, this made perfect sense. Yes I was using organic grains prior as well. I would expect that if certain other humans with more of a grain processing stomach had only meat to eat they would feel / do poorly as well.

    If you buy meat at a corporate store or many others who have a similar supplier, you will get meat from animals thathave been fed the WRONG food. This makes the meat something you shouldn't be eating. GMO grain is wrong for any animal. Corn is wrong for beef animals, yet they feed it to them in the large feed lots and pump them full of antibiotics to help them tolerate it. Corn has a 5 carbon structure where most other vegetation has a 4 carbon structure. Even with 4 stomachs the beef animals cannot deal with the amount of corn fed to them. Why do they feed them corn? Because it is typically cheaper since subsidized (socialism-corportism [central planning]).

    If you watch documentaries like "Forks over knives" you will think meat is the problem. For them it is. But what kind of meat? GMO meat, feedlot meat, corporate meat. Did they study people on good small farm organically grown meat or the ESKIMOS; the ones who live far away from the garbage food, booze, and lifestyle of "civilization"? Such anti meat "studies" always leave out the remote Eskimos who are quite healthy and live mostly on meat. How long will that remain the case with Japan nuclear polluting the ocean? It will only be a matter of time before they start getting cancers like the rest of us.

    Corporatism (greedy vermin hiding behind corporate banners large enough to buy politicians or run their own candidates) is the main problem of the age, be it agriculture, animal production, or polluting industries including nuclear.

    Socialists desire to confuse and misguide people into thinking Corporatism is Capitalism, it is not at all. Corporatism THRIVES under Socialism. They get bigger and stronger due to less competition caused by the incrementally increasing Socialism in the western countries.

    Years ago, western countries had a plethora of small farms. Not every small farm was a panacea of great conditions but for the most part they were good and food supply was affordable and healthy.

    When you buy food at a large corporate run store, they don't want to deal with a bunch of small farmers, they want to deal with as few big farms as possible, quite simply because they are lazy and it is easier for them to manage. If you decide to seek out small farms who do things as you desire, then more of those will pop up. That is how it works, it is all up to YOU. Do you want to be healthy? Do you want your kids to be healthy? Then quit buying food not fit to eat.

    Now if doctors were as smart as they think they are, they would scan people for their stomach type and probably intestine type as well. Then prescribe a diet compatible with those types of innards. The pharmaceutical nonsense of today is literally prescribing poison to make a person well. How smart is that?

    Yet everywhere at every time we are told to listen to these know nothing much worthwhile "experts". Govt only contracts with these same type of mis-educated types and hires them for their govt indoctrination "schools" and so we all have to suffer for it while the socialists-corporatists sing all the way to the bank.

    How so many still believe govt is their friend when all the evidence is to the contrary is mind boggling. It just demonstrates the power of propaganda and so much of it in the govt indoctrination "schools".

    Govt allows all the nefarious activity and cruelty by their cronies in the corporate world. Has it gotten worse? Yes. Has govt become more socialism than capitalism? Yes. Has those govt schools been teaching socialism is great and capitalism is evil? Yes. So like always, who is the REAL problem? You. You send your children to indoctrination centers and they understandably come out emotionalized and Marxist. They are understandably upset at all the evil they see. Their egos cannot let them see that they are creating that evil.

    Vote with your feet and your money. Vote for the health of everything: Food, govt, family, borders, language, culture. Otherwise you will see all these crumble just as the banksters and the elite desire, for THEIR benefit, which means you under their thumb. Turn off their propaganda being the TV and their [fake] news. Please!

  7. Tristan

    May all beings be happy.

  8. Ron

    At the end of the day, seeing living things truly suffer really, really bugs me. For how "advanced" we are I often think there has to be a better way to this and alot of things happening

  9. Ron

    There are many alternatives to meat products that aren't similar to these "farms" at all and what you eat is a personal choice. I eat meat, but not all types and very careful about raising, feed, slaughter etc. This is a strong stomach doc, there are many like it and worse ones. Feather products as well ...Which is something that boggles my mind. You'll have some meat protester speaking their mind in a coat lined with feathers plucked from suffering live ducks or other similar animals. We are the animals outta control. The 67/68 million pigs in the US in 2007 for 360 million people ...Those numbers, all of them are quite staggering. Hormone, steroid, biproduct etc are not the answers either. I might not know a total solution but alot of practical solutions would be thwarted due to lack of profits etc. Like any other industry or corporation in this money driven world we live in. I could be speaking late night, over doc watched jibberish tho lol

  10. billy bob

    you all suck. eat meat everyday

  11. Enya Zhang

    @Fabien L'Amour
    Take African mothers for example. In some countries a mother has an average of 5-6 children who live in hunger. Does contraception hurt anyone's right of "existence"? If you look at it, it is exactly "too many children" that leads to aggregated poverty.

    I'm not sure of it is feasible in reality for everyone to eat happy-bred animals' meat. Intensive cultivation exists for a reason: less area, less money put in growing animals. So I personally choose to quit eating meat, and no matter the strong advocacy lies in "vegetarianism" or "animal welfare", we need to oppose the kind of cruel breeding in this movie.

  12. Jeffrey Norris

    They shouldn't have to have an existence of only suffering. I think pigs should be in charge. I'm sure we'd all live better. Man is doing a HORRIBLE job!! We suck.

  13. Rob

    Mankind disgusts me more and more.

  14. Gali

    great movie!!

  15. Wendy

    As a non meat eater, I just cannot bring myself to watch this. It would torment my brain, and as someone who suffers depression, I just can't take the cruelty/ torture/ abuse these poor innocent animals suffer, just so a human can have the pleasure of eating them. I feel better about myself since having quit eating meat. I am not helping make them suffer, just to have a few minutes taste, then go sit on the toilet! Animals feel fear, have emotions, and they deserve better.
    Earthlings was enough. So sad, and I'm ashamed to be human, the way humans treat these poor creatures.
    Sickening.

  16. JohnS Teleosus

    This is all I have to say: as for eating meat, humans have been eating meat for 100s of thousands of years. There are some very viable theories that support the possibility that eating meat may have been a significant contributing factor to human's rise in intelligence.
    If you chose to not eat meat, for moral, health, or other reasons, I respect your choice. But to put down those who do chooose to eat meat is ludicrous and unrealistic IMO.
    That being said, treating all animals (including humans) with respect and dignity should always be a priority in society.

  17. kelly

    heartbreaking and disturbing how those cruel nasty people can get away with that

  18. Myathewolfeh

    My jaw dropped when they just ground up the male chicks alive. How the hell is this allowed after so much of it has been filmed? We need to take back control of these industries. If they can't kill or raise humanely then they shouldn't be allowed to have any part in it.

  19. Dana Hamilton

    I think we should treat the farmers just like they treat their animals.There should be livestock inspectors, where the hell are they? not doing their job that's for sure! They are nothing more than scum bags!!!!! if you are caught treating animals like that,you should not be allowed to own any!!!!!!!!ASSHOLES!!!!!!!!!

  20. aniko

    Thank you for the people who had the stomach and bravery to create this documentary for people like me! I advice to every single one of you to watch this! Lucent has to give us the light towards better decisions!!! It has got to me...

  21. Adam

    I am completely fine with people being disgusted about the techniques practiced by the 'processed meat' industry, but you can't just say 'STOP IT ALL!!!'

    We literally have hundreds of millions of people in THIS COUNTRY that need food, let alone the billions around the world.

    It's not realistic to think that we will be able to support all of them on non-industrial style farming. Again, I do NOT want the abuse to continue, it's barbaric and makes me want to not eat pork ever again, but I WILL eat pork again regardless, so we need another solution.

    Unfortunately I'm not smart enough to know what that solution is.

  22. Monika

    Going vegan may not be the only answer to this, but at least you'll be able to sleep at night knowing your hard earned money isn't funding these hell holes. No animal deserves this. Stop supporting these industries purely for the sake of your tastebuds.

  23. FollowTheFacts

    ...I finally watched...I had waited quite a while, thinking I "knew" what I was in for...does it really have to be this way, I'm wondering – it doesn't have to be this way, I'm thinking...I gave this amazing work 9...
    "The pigs were spooked by the activists" was a comment...you don't say...give me a break...

  24. southab403

    Well, that was a very disturbing and emotionally impacting documentary. Although I abhor the factory farming inhumane methods used to raise animals to provide humans with protein, I wonder where the vegans and vegetarians are going to get their protein?

    Quinoa or Soy? Those crops (soy mostly via Montesano) have stripped vast areas of south America and sent the Indigenous people into corporate slavery by paying big bucks for cash crops, enticing them to put their efforts into the crop and ignore the mundane aspect of farming for sustenance. After all, the new supermarket and fast food/gas stops have all kinds of tasty and addicting foods that the new radio/TV/Internet coverage encourages us to eat. (Join the new century... we want pizza (what is pizza)?!)

    It's all fine for a person to declare that they are going vegan, but where are you going to get the necessary proteins and lipids that your body needs for growth and repair? What ARE you going to eat, especially if you're trying to eat locally.
    Lentils and beans are a great alternative, except that they can grow on the marginal lands that are home to vast quantities of wild-life. Kill, displace the wildlife? Nudge them out while complaining that while living in your tiny home in the wilderness that coyotes eat your Chihuahua?

    Good soil and climate for growing food is limited. In the very northern parts of Canada, there are NO root vegetable that will grow, limited raised beds for shallow, fast growing summer crops in a greenhouse.

    Now-a-days we get choices year round by flying produce from one climactic zone to another, one hemisphere to another. It was much more limited when I was growing up. We really had little choice other than to eat local.
    A person can decide to be a vegan in this present society only because of the vast network of food distribution that has come about by globalization. For a vegan to turn around and attack the society has fed them, nurtured them and allowed them to exercise their freedom of choice is being very short-sighted.
    Think about it!! What could you grow on your little parcel of land that would feed you for an entire year?? How about if you had an acre, a hector, a section or two??
    City folk, where do you think your food comes from? I'm reminded of a person in a large city who found a BUG in her organically grown lettuce and freaked. What do you expect?
    We all have to eat. Spay your pets and don't breed.

    1. Catherine Williams

      Interesting response. I recommend that you watch Cowspiracy for starters - it's a real eye opener and may answer some of your questions. Best wishes

    2. southab403

      Hi Catherine,

      I’m having some issues with the focus of the documentary and
      the numbers they are putting into the graphics.

      Yes, we have millions and millions of cows producing
      methane. We don’t have billions of Bison
      and Saiga antelope and vast herds of African ruminants which have been reduced
      to fragments in the modern, human dense environment. Unfortunately, cows have replaced massive
      herds of other creatures, which we (as humans) used to hunt and eat. I doubt that the methane from the ruminant digestion
      process is a serious consideration for increasing global warming.

      BUT, taking into consideration the run-off from concentrated
      livestock raising (rather than putting the manure back into the land), relying
      on chemical fertilizers, growing livestock food rather than people food,
      transportation costs, etc., plus raising all food (animal, vegetable and
      grains) in environments which are totally not suitable (rice in California?
      Seriously?) becomes a major issue of bad
      environmental management. So, I sort of
      understand how the outrageous numbers for CO2 indexes are derived.

      Not mentioned in the Amazon forest deforestation process, is
      that after the cut-down of trees, the cattle are there to clear the brush out
      so that soy and other “alternative protein sources” that the world is demanding
      today (as vegans and vegetarians are on the rise) can be raised. Short sighted, Yep. Sustainable, no.

      The focus of the film is to quit eating meat. My personal focus is for humans to quit breeding
      out of control. Don’t have pets, or if
      that’s impossible, castrate or spay them.
      Have you looked at the amount of meat used to support pets?? Staggering.

      Quit supporting governments which are vying for a
      consumerism society based on abstract Gross National Product indexes to feed
      into a global network of trade, buy or die.

      Avoid junk and fast food, try your best to be a recycler,
      minimum consumer and then relax and know you are on the side of the
      angels.

      Peace to all.

    3. LoggerheadShrike

      "A person can decide to be a vegan in this present society only because
      of the vast network of food distribution that has come about by
      globalization."

      It's actually the meat-heavy diet which was made possible by globalization and factory farming. Up until the 20th century, average people really didn't eat much meat - usually once or twice a week. They didn't often eat the same kinds of meats we do either. Instead of chicken and beef, which were very expensive and eaten mostly by aristocrats, they made do with things like goose and eels instead. If they did get beef, it was often just the leftovers from a carcass, which different groups did inventive things with (like haggis).

      The subcontinent of India turned to actual vegetarianism precisely because it's so difficult to keep large populations in meat. They didn't need globalization to do it. Only small populations in remote areas - eg Inuit/Eskimo - could sustain a meat heavy diet, until globalization happened. Those areas can't provide crops, so the only way to get food from the land is from meat - and, consequently, they could only support extremely small populations.

    4. southab403

      I agree that the diet of modern day society was made available by globalization and that factory farming and extensive agriculture has made possible all foods at all times (plus a massive population explosion). My stance is that all people could not possible eat the variety of foods necessary for a healthful diet if just relying on local foods. Most especially vegans. Yeah! if you live in a climate that can grow a years supply of protein demands, plus vegies and fruit. Unfortunately, most people can't.
      I live in the prairies of Canada. I have a (newly) vegan niece (after watching these types of videos) who is allergic to almonds, a sister who has Celiac disease and a pregnant niece who has gestational diabetes. Unfortunately, cabbage, beats, potatoes, green beans and carrots are about all the vegies that we can grow locally and save by pickling, freezing or keeping in a cool cellar. Lettuce, radish, annual herbs and spinach are way seasonal and eaten in mounds! Right now corn (Mid August) in south Alberta and fruit from BC (British Columbia is the California of Canada) are popping up everywhere. Buy now to preserve!
      Taking it to a total level of stupidity (sarcasm and humor intended) there is no gluten allowed, nor simple sugars, nor processed starches. No meat or protein from any animal sources. Ok, live off vegies. Umm... we live in Canada? On the prairies? I used to pull the newly growing quack grass out to munch on the white bits after a winter of no fresh veg.
      Anyone suggest what to eat?

  25. ModernCrusader

    Have faith that God will give justice to these pigs and the persons responsible will pay in front of the universe.

  26. steamknife

    Now my beloved meat tastes bitter. I am offended on the way my food is being treated!

  27. Loxley Smithett

    I had my bacon for breakfast. Then I watched this documentary. Now my bacon breakfast is all over the floor. Great documentary.

    1. Todd Morrow

      I had pretty much the same reaction. I threw it all out, even the dairy, and have not looked back. Have a great day my friend.

  28. Chris S

    How could any sane person still want to eat meat after watching this? Even if they don't care about animals, wanting to ingest something that's been raised in filth and disease is crazy - no better than wanting to eat a rat found in a sewer.

    1. Todd Morrow

      I'd go farther and say if someone sees the pigs being maternal and then says mmmm bacon, there is something wrong with that person. And if someone sees the abuse and then says mmmm BLT then they are borderline psychopath. I mean, if they are still ignorant or in denial (alot of old people are like this; they have lost their brain plasticity to matriculate new information) that's one thing, but if they fully take in the 2-part message about the humanity of animals and the treatment they get as fellow people, in all it's implications, and they are no longer in denial, and fully cognizant of everything, and then go grab a ham sandwich, they are sick. To be fully cognizant you really have to vividly imagine what it's like to be a pig with the attending feelings and thoughts of a pig, which are way more sophisticated than we commonly admit, even self aware. I do understand some people simply don't have enough imagination to do that, so they will probably never get it. But this is a damn good video to try to get them to see what you saw. And bravo to you!

  29. jaim57

    This could benefit from a good film editor.

  30. Alistair Chapman

    This is simply Auschwitz for other species.

    1. FunnyBone

      I guess you think Aushwitz was an extermination camp...brainwashed zombie.

  31. Adam

    I watched about 30 minutes & had to stop. Poor animals! This documentary almost made me cry. From now on, I will only eat meat from organic farms

  32. wasabikam

    I became a vegan six months ago. Why, you ask? I watched another documentary that's available on this site called Earthlings. It's changed a lot of people's minds about using animals for human consumption (food; clothes; household, health, and beauty products; entertainment). In fact, Earthlings is referred to as "The Vegan-maker."

  33. techcafe

    the most ethical & responsible thing we could do is: stop eating meat. it's healthier for humans and the planet too. but these industries are too powerful, so the slaughter and savage cruelty of CAFOs will continue unabated.

    1. Todd Morrow

      I quit. You quit. Enough quit and it will put a dent in the demand. Stay strong my friend. Our battle has just begun!

  34. Neil Mcginnis

    hard to watch this.... without getting furious. I only eat properly raised animals from small local farms.

  35. Jack

    Well I think if there breaking the law shut them down with a 3 strike policy. I love a nice juicy steak hence I raise and slaughter my own from Cattle, Sheep, Pigs and Chicken. I have never been sick and all the animals went from paddock to plate, no stress on the animal or me or my 2 beautiful daughters or their 3 kids that all live and participate in this ritual slaughtering.

    1. Emillie

      You have no right to comment about the stress of another animal. You are not in their hooves.

    2. Jack

      hmmm lucky our family doesn't adhere to your beliefs not to say your not entitled to your views but then so are we.

    3. Todd Morrow

      Due to human psychology and the reinforcement of behavior, and the need to be consistent, it is very unlikely to stop on this level. It will end on the demand side, but I appreciate your courage.

  36. skoumas

    Why humanity? Why? Im so tired of this s*it

  37. revengestar

    I will not visit Australia as a protest against what is happening in this documentary!!!

    1. k

      are you American? Because unfortunately to say, it's the same here......

    2. Richard Hollis

      This issue is not in the slightest bit restricted to Australia. I suggest you research factory farms in your own country. I suspect you will be disturbed at what you find.

  38. Sir Baby De Porky

    A bunch of despicable scum ...

    Between torturing / eating animals , and doing the same to humans in a pinch , there is only a small step that these barbarians may cross !!!

  39. Lea Wiggins

    Bravo Todd! I admire your stand. While I see that others disagree, (which is certainly fine), we ALL must take the action that EACH of us sees as a possible solution.

    Personally, I think the only thing that big business understands is hitting them in the pocketbook. They pay attention to that!

    I was raised on a farm and we raised swine, big lots with lots of space. My father had a half of a boxcar turned upside down, as a shelter when the sows had their litters.

    When they birthed in the winter, my mom and my older brother, and myself would go out and use pieces of old blankets to wipe the babies down so they would not freeze to death.

    These actions are barbaric, they need to be stopped.
    One woman's opinion...

  40. Todd Morrow

    This is the day, today, after watching this, that I became a vegan for good. I just threw out all my meat, dairy and eggs and will never give another dollar to these industries.

    1. Ann

      Thank you. You won't regret it.

    2. Shadowblur

      ....I did that 40 yrs ago, never regretted, never looked back. :) We can easily survive without meat, no problem. And keeping any animal in a confined space creates tumors and the alike, any animal needs to move around, otherwise things build up inside it, that is then passed on to humans, plain & simple.

    3. Neil Mcginnis

      You do realize you could eat properly raised, happy animals?? Just buy from local organic farms. It seems that everybody forgets about the farmers who name their animals and show them respect their entire life. These are the people i buy from and these disturbing practices will never change until you support farmers who are practicing your principles. You can eat all these foods AND never give another dollar to these disturbing industries. There are plenty of farmers who feel EXACTLY like you do!!! You are starving them just to prove a point about the industrial food system for which they are not a part of. If you study Weston A Price and his research regarding nutrition then you will realize that meat in some form is absolutely necessary to optimal human health.

    4. Todd Morrow

      The other brief part of the documentary was about animals feelings and IQ. It mentioned grieving for loved ones. I had a pet duck who missed me when I was gone and was happy when I returned. Then there's the video of the cow who let herself out of the barn at night to look at the stars. You can train a pig to answer to its name. If you look carefully enough, you can tell when they are sad.

      I believe animals are sentient beings, and many farm animals are self-aware. They are little people. Those are my beliefs.

      All these factoids gelled together to form my decision. Although they may care in their own way, the farmers can't feel *exactly* like I do, because I could never kill one. And now, eat one.

      But I'm glad you aren't supporting the main industry.

    5. Neil Mcginnis

      I respect that.
      I talked to a farmer the other day that had a tear in their eye talking about the cow they were about to slaughter so I think they can feel pretty similar but they need to make a living and provide people with an alternative to the industrial meat industry.
      In regards to animals being like humans? No animals are not like humans, humans ARE animals and every animal can be loving. A cow is no different than a dog or cat. I had a pet rat once and it was the best pet i've ever had.
      It seems to me that eating an animal is much different, natural, rather than torturing an animal for it's entire life in a tiny cage. You definitely should not stop eating eggs though as they are now known to be one of the healthiest foods available. But you should buy the eggs from a local organic farmer that loves their chickens.

    6. Richard Hollis

      It is indeed important not to slur decent farmers as deranged slaughterhouse psychos. But at the same time, there is simply no way to create meat that is not cruel. Slaughterhouses are necessary to provide the sheer amount of meat the West demands - free-range farms simply cannot provide it. The only solution answer is to lower demand.

      Also, a vegan diet can be perfectly healthy. I haven't read Weston A Price's research, but I am immediately sceptical given the sheer number of doctors and nutrition institutes that are championing a plant-based lifestyle (as well as the millions of perfectly healthy vegans who are living proof of its benefits, of course). I'm not necessarily saying meat and dairy are unhealthy (although they certainly carry health issues) but please do not buy into the myth that they are essential for optimum human health.

    7. Todd Morrow

      I just wanted to post an update. I have maintained my pledge and have not faltered in my refusal to eat animals. I have had Zero difficulty avoiding meat. Out of all the things I've quit in my life, this was the easiest by far. And my attitude and my view on this is just as resolute as it was on day 1. Thanks again everyone for their support.

  41. dewflirt

    Not for the faint of heart, nor those that enjoy a BLT. There are many reasons that people choose not to eat meat, part of the reason I don't is that I'm not sure there can be anything healthy about eating something so unhealthy. If you can't afford to eat clean meat, you probably eat too much meat. Now I'm going to wait and see how long it is before someone tells me all that's wrong with being a veggie - vore. And that carrots have feeling too ;)

    1. Achems_Razor

      What? you think that carrots don't have feelings? visit (authorsden carrots have feelings too)

    2. dewflirt

      Just think how different things might have been if Clarice Starling had witnessed the slaughter of the carrots.... ;)

    3. Ann

      There is no such think as clean meat. That's a marketing spin.

    4. dewflirt

      Well maybe so, but I do think that almost any meat that hasn't come from one of these places has got to be a bit cleaner. Fairly sure that there are people on this website that hunt or raise their own beasties, that can't be too mucky :)

    5. Intelligent Coder

      I love my BLT with smoked tempeh, instead of pig corpse. Cheap, tastes great, healthier than the healthiest carcass available in Whole Foods, and most importantly, no one had to be tortured or killed to please my trivial desire for salty smoky food.

    6. dewflirt

      Friendlier that bacon, tastier than tofu! ;)

  42. Mari

    You probably shed a tear or looked away in horror and hours later salivated at the thought of a bacon half pounder burger. Does that make you a hypocrite? Not really. It makes you a mammal. I want to be able to eat meat without thinking that this steak that I am having cried in vain for some space and sunlight. Being a vegetarian is the wrong answer to this problem. The answer is DO eat meat. But only meat that comes from farms of happy animals, animals that can mate, build their own nests and get slaughtered by the people who raised and loved them. Avoid all mass produced meat and anything you can get from a chain store. Get your meat from local farmers. Being a vegetarian is so passive... being a happy-meat eater is far more proactive.

    1. DeeDee

      How is actively deciding not to contribute to the death of a being with a central nervous system being "passive"? I am a mammal, and my compassion for animals far outweighs the urge to eat them.

    2. Fabien L

      If everybody was a vegetarian, these farm animals wouldn't exist, is not existing better than not dying?

    3. Milosc

      We will all wait for that together

      In the meantime, I would like to see better people prosper within those food sources that do still exist

    4. dewflirt

      They won't know they haven't existed ;)

    5. Fabien L

      I am in favor of better conditions for farm animals but I don't see a benefit for these species if we cease to raise and breed them in favor of raising and breeding plants.

    6. dewflirt

      They're only a sub species and only because we spent thousands of years making them into one. A couple of million fewer pigs being born to live a short and miserable lives isn't going to mess with ecology. Just means people might have to pay a bit more for a bacon butty ;)

    7. Fabien L

      Couple millions? Number of pigs in the United States in 2007: 67.8 million

    8. dewflirt

      Ok, lazy guess on my part but you have to admit that that's wayyyy too many pigs, no wonder they have to live as they do!

    9. Fabien L

      They don't have to live like that, it's farming malpractice. My neighbor has a pig farm here in Canada and they aren't treated like that at all. I'd say he raises his pigs more in the fashion of the video you can find on youtube titled : Animal Care--Taking the Mystery Out of Pork Production

    10. dewflirt

      Hey Fabien :) Checked out your video, a vast improvement on what we've seen in this one. Just so you know, I don't have a problem with meativores, even though I wontbeat it I'm happy enough to prepare it for my kids. I am however, very fussy about where it comes from. I'm lucky enough to live within spitting distance of an exceptionally ethical butchery and have made sure when they were old enough (and without being horrid about it) that they knew what they were eating. I've done some mercy killing too, have to say that I didn't like it at all. I'm not convinced anybody actually likes it which is perhaps why it's somehow easier to treat future bacon so badly. Could be difficult to dispatch an animal you have some care for. Even more so to do it by the thousand, if that's what you had to do for a living. I know plenty of people that can't imagine a meal without meat, I find that to be a little indulgent. Everyone wants more for less, I think less for more would be better all round in this case. Better health for people, better lives and deaths for critters? I might be wrong, doesn't happen often though ;))

    11. Tomislav R

      No benefit, no injury either.

    12. Intelligent Coder

      You should read a little about animal rights. I recommend the work of Gary Francione, in particular. That is, if you have any interest in the subject.

    13. Mari

      Exactly, you're a mammal. As a homo sapiens you are an omnivore and your teeth are witness to that statement. To deny yourself meet is a personal choice and not something applicable to the entire human race; hence the suggestion I made of switching to humane farming rather than pretending you could turn the human race into vegetarians...
      I eat meat but only when I see it thrive when farmed. Sadly this means that I eat no more than one or two portions of meat a month...
      You can create better living conditions for all animals (be they intelligent or not) by supporting your local farmers and buying only produce that you think has been ethically farmed. This does not mean that you believe anything that says "organic" on it... this means that you actively pick out reliable and independent sources. I know this can be difficult for people who live in big cities but it is a sacrifice you make that will improve your life, the lives of independent farmers and the lives of fellow creatures...

  43. weezyhead

    i wanna write a story of this using those pigs as people to show that animals too have emotions just like humans do.

  44. margie

    Such sad defeated looking eyes.....

  45. margie

    I don't know if I can watch all of this. I am a vegetarian and an activist for the inhuman treatment of circus animals. Our abusive treatment of animals is everywhere you find these creatures. Thank God for people like Lyn White.

  46. Larry Dean Moore

    Livestock humanitarianisms will only decrease as the human population grows. Deal with it or do something about the need for more food.

    1. dewflirt

      Perhaps what we need is a better use of the food we already have? Better distribution, smaller farms, less availability of cheap meat in cheap supermarkets. Wouldn't care of jot if every KFC on the planet closed down, along with every MurkDonalds.

    2. Fabien L

      Going against economy of scale is going to be tough even though that might be what is needed.

  47. joelle schachter

    I had to stop watching when it shifted to other animals it was too much for me ,i eat chicken sometimes after watching this even that i will not do anymore it is hard to say but thank you to the people who did this documentary ,very hard work eventhough i have watch documentary about this subject this one showed me a deeper level i did not know existed