Favorite vegan movies or documentaries of all time?

[robert]

I just hung out with the Producer of Earthlings and it got me interested in what people think about that documentary and others and what others are on your list of favorites?

[Octopussoir]

Vegan Brothers In Iron... will be my fave

[Ruz]

I just hung out with the Producer of Earthlings and it got me interested in what people think about that documentary and others and what others are on your list of favorites?

 

Yeah..earthlings has to be my fave too! For anyone who hasn't seen it you can watch it online on google video.

I also loved a peaceable kingdom

[auburnoutlook]

troll 2

[xveganjoshx]

Haha @ Troll 2!!!

 

To be honest I don't like these movies at all and avoid watching them at all costs.

[Odidnetne]

When John Robbins was releasing "Healthy at 100", I found a 90 minute talk he gave to an audience at a Veg Fest (I think?), I'd say at least 75% of it was about plant based diets and the effect food has on society. Not technically a movie, but I really liked it.

[lohungfong]

as of now the only vegan documentary ive seen is earthlings , which was a life altering thing for me.

[xjohanx]

Year of the dog is pretty good. I cried watching it the first time, no joke.

[lohungfong]

ruz mentioned peaceable kingdom which is also on google video. Just saw it, it was really good.

[veginator]

I thought Earthlings was a very good documentary, and the graphic images of animal cruelty prompted me to firm up my commitment to veganism after roughly 10 years of being an on-again, off-again (mostly on, fortunately) vegan. But one thing that troubles me about this video and others that I've heard about (such as Peaceable Kingdom) is that it never really says much about what should be the main point: Animals simply should not be the property of humans to exploit as they wish, any more than humans should be other humans' property (slaves), period. Someone named Chelsea over on the Vegan Freaks forums states this criticism more eloquently than I have:

 

There are a lot of people who claim that Earthlings made them go vegan, but then, are they welfarists, or abolitionists? Earthlings is a well-made film as far as showing people what goes on inside the animal exploitation industries, helps people make that connection from "food," "clothing," "entertainment," and "lab tool," to animal. On the other hand, it didn't really provide any information on what course of action people should take, so was pretty vague in that aspect, which allowed people to decide that the issue is just living conditions and treatment of animals, versus animal use, and even think that “happy meat” is the way to go. The vagueness of Earthlings is like a documentary showing human suffering in sweatshops, or slavery in the diamond and cocoa industries, and then cutting to credits. More information should be presented if there is to be any real impact.

 

Earthlings has had a big impact on a lot of people, including me, to be sure. But watching a film that shows how much animals suffer should not be thought of as a substitute for a solid understanding of what's wrong with treating animals as property to be used however their owners wish. Directly witnessing animals' suffering can be a powerful motivator, but ultimately an intellectual understanding of animal rights (and I don't mean Peter Singer's version of animal "rights" where it's still okay to eat animals) is what's most important. I think books by activists with an abolitionist perspective such as Gary Francione or Bob Torres are probably the most effective educational tools. But of course we should get people to educate themselves in whatever ways they're willing, including watching videos if they're willing to do that.

[Guest]

I didn't know of any vegan movies or documentaries until I saw this thread.

[Dr. Pink]

I've only seen one. The Vegan Fitness Team one with Brendan Braizer, Robert Cheeke and Tonya Kay.