I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Not for any reason other than I had watched Earthlings, the movie, just before going to bed.

As I dragged my tired, puffy- and bleary-eyed body out of bed this morning, I suddenly felt compelled to write about the profound effect this movie has had on me. In case you have never heard of it, Earthlings is a movie about the suffering of animals for food, in fashion and entertainment. I’m not writing this piece as a vegetarian (now a vegan as of last night!) or an animal advocate, though both would be accurate, but rather, I’m writing this piece because down in the very deepest part of my heart, I want to believe that humankind has at least some redeeming qualities.  I want to believe this, I really do and I’m hoping that a positive reaction to this movie will prove me right.

I have seen numerous graphic pictures of factory farming in the past. Afterall, it was these very images that prompted my decision to embrace a vegetarian lifestyle back in 2000.  But trust me, nothing, and I mean NOTHING could have prepared me for what I saw in the movie.  By using hidden cameras and narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, the movie exposes the horrors of factory farming, fishing, hunting, abuse of animals in the name of scientific research, bullfighting, puppy mills, rodeos, circuses as well as the leather and fur industries.  No animal is spared the torture and suffering at the hands of humankind.  From mice to kittens to puppies, raccoons, foxes, elephants and many animals inbetween, the truth, painful as it is, is out in the open for everyone to see. Even kosher factories are not innocent in this onslaught on animals. The movie showed one factory in violation of at least four kosher rules.

Equally disturbing is the fact that right now, this very second, day in and day out, month in and month out, 365 days a year, these atrocities are unfolding and continue to unfold.  The only way humans can redeem themselves, at least to some degree, is to make the decision to not be a part of this tragic cycle.

It takes courage to watch this movie, especially since you know going in that what you’re about to see is disturbing beyond comprehension.  So if the images are disturbing, why  should you watch?  There are four reasons.  You should watch this movie if:

You love animals, and especially if you don’t;
You’ve been considering vegetarianism or veganism, but for whatever reasons, you are procrastinating;
You care about our planet and its habitants;
You want to lose weight and start to lead a healthier life;

Watch Earthlings and change your life.

The question is not, “Can they reason?” nor, “Can they talk?” but rather, “Can they suffer?”  ~Jeremy Bentham

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