Vegan films
Vegucated - an award-winning feature-length documentary that showcases the rapid and comedic transformation of 3 meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who volunteered on a 6-week vegan odyssey. Lured by true tales of weight loss and health regained, they began to uncover hidden tales of animal cruelty in the animal agriculture industry. In the end they gained a whole new perspective on the food that they used to take for granted 24/7, and risked to expose an industry that they had supported not so long ago. But was going vegan all plain-sailing for them? Particularly how did they deal with customary get-togethers with sceptical, carnivorous cousins/step-dads/friends?
Forks over Knives - a 2011 American documentary film directed by American independent filmmaker Lee Fulkerson. Through an examination of the careers of American physician Caldwell Esselstyn and professor of nutritional biochemistry T. Colin Campbell, the film advocates a Whole Foods, plant-based diet as a means of combating a number of diseases. It suggests that "most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods."
Simply Raw - this film tells the story of 6 grossly overweight diabetic people who reversed their diabetes with a 30-day strictly raw plant food diet.
Got the Facts on Milk? (aka 'The Milk Documentary') - A comical fast paced feature documentary, that questions the health benefits of milk.
A Cow at my Table - a 1998 documentary film examining Western attitudes towards farm animals and meat. It covers the conflict between animal rights advocates and the meat industry, and their respective attempts to influence consumers. It was directed, shot and edited by Jennifer Abbott, who spent five years travelling across Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand to interview representatives on all sides. The film intercuts these interviews with images of farm animals and industrial farming operations.
Food, Inc. - in this film, filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on the US's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of their government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Their food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Planeat - This is the story of three men's life-long search for a diet, which is good for our health, good for the environment and good for the future of the planet. With an additional cast of pioneering chefs and some of the best cooking you have ever seen, the scientists and doctors in the film present a convincing case for the West to re-examine its love affair with meat and dairy. The film features the ground-breaking work of Dr. T Colin Campbell in China exploring the link between diet and disease, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's use of diet to treat heart disease patients, and Professor Gidon Eshel's investigations into how our food choices contribute to global warming, land use and oceanic deadzones.
Earthlings - EARTHLINGS is an award-winning documentary film about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. Considered the most persuasive documentary ever made, EARTHLINGS is nicknamed “the vegan maker” for its sensitive footage shot at animal shelters, pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and research labs.
The film is narrated by Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by platinum-selling recording artist Moby. Initially ignored by distributors, today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world. “Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most,” said Phoenix. “For every one person who sees EARTHLINGS, they will tell three.”
Earthlings is FREE to view on the link above.
Pig Business - another FREE-TO-VIEW film, Pig Business depicts how the raising of pigs in factory farms in Poland has led to various health risks in communities nearby, and advocates (at least) consuming only pork from pigs raised in open spaces.
Meat the Truth - FREE also, this presentation questions why the establishment across the globe, and in particular Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth on global warming, did not mention the fact that livestock production is the greatest contributor to global warming. The presentation also raises the issue of whether it's ethical to treat animals the way they are treated in factory farms. It features moreover a vegan who used to work in factory farms.
Making the Connection - another very nice freebie from the Vegan Society, this film debunks several myths concerning the varieties and possible nutritional deficiencies of a vegan diet, and then builds the connection between the food on our plates, taken for granted on a daily basis in the developed world, and the farm animals who have to endure pain 24/7 in factory farms.