One Earth

     I watched a documentary film called Earthlings.  It's about how humans use animals as Pets, for Food, Clothing, Entertainment, & Science.  Except for keeping animals as pets, the rest showed one thing:  cruelty to animals.  Using hidden cameras and videos from other "contributors", Earthlings vividly show what happens behind the curtains in preparing meat so we can eat, animal skin so we can have leather clothing, training animals so we'll enjoy the circus, and testing medicines & medical procedures so that sick humans can get better.

After watching the film I thought, so what now?  The film proposes 5 solutions and it says:

1.  Adopt from shelters.  Spay & neuter your pets.  Never buy from pet stores or breeders.

2.  Become a vegan.  Avoid animal products, including dairy and eggs.

3.  Stop wearing leather, fur, down & wool.

4.  Refuse to support animals in entertainment including circuses, zoos, rodeos, etc.

5.  Never buy products tested on animals.  Only support research where animals are not used.

I admit that it would be hard to follow all five solutions.  I remembered when I was still in school, we had brainstorming session in class on how to solve the jeepney-traffic problem in the Philippines.  Two recommendations that I remember were:  1) remove all jeepneys; or 2) transfer them to the provinces.  The problem with removing jeepneys totally is that thousands of Filipinos will lose their source of income.  The problem with transferring them to the provinces is that we might also have to transfer all the stakeholders (i.e. driver renting the jeep and the family).  The point is, a jeepney is a cultural symbol for the Filipinos.  It's deeply ingrained in our system that changes will be very difficult and will take a long time.  It's the same with, for example, turning vegan or not going to the circus or zoo.  The lives of many people are at stake i.e. dependents of the slaughterhouse employees, the circus trainers, the zoo caretakers, etc.  I'm not saying that it's impossible, it's just that it's going to be very, very hard and would require all humans to work together.

To watch the film, copy & paste this link to your browser:  http://www.earthlings.com/

Be warned that although the film is for everyone to see, not everyone will like it.    There were times when I flinched and closed my eyes because looking at the gory truth is difficult.  It's no wonder the film is not shown in the mainstream theaters.  But change begins with awareness and I hope that after watching this film, there will be even a tiny change in you.  Tiny changes can go a long way.  Maybe we won't be able to enjoy the results in our lifetime but at least the future generations can.