Goal #38 See 5 documentaries: Vegucated (5/5)

Last night, instead of going to a huge dance with my roommates, I stayed home and watched a documentary. Normally I would have felt "guilty" for following this instinct. However, I've been listening to the book "Quiet: the Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking," and thus totally felt justified in staying home on a Friday night. I've considered myself an extrovert for years, but I identify with about half the things in this book, so I guess I'm considered an "ambivert." Whatever. All I know is I felt like chilling, and I chilled. Boo-yah.

After mulling around Netflix, I settled on Vegucated. A documentary of a converted vegan helping three other New Yorkers go vegan for 6 weeks. Prior to this documentary I've thought of vegans as a bit extreme. Not only no meat, but also no animal by-products?!

Growing up on an urban farm, I raised animals for 4-H--mostly pigs, a few veal calves, and one steer over the years. Going to the Del Mar Fair for a week each summer to show my animals was the highlight of my childhood. I always cried the day my animals went to the butcher, but it was just a fact of life. My family raised a few animals for our own consumption as well, but I never ate them. This was mostly because I was insanely picky (the only "meat" I could handle was chicken nuggets, and only certain kinds of chicken nuggets at that!), but also because I knew the animals. After becoming less picky (which happened at age 19...), I was fine eating animals I didn't know. Meat tastes good! I just don't think about the fact that I'm eating the muscles of animals. That's kind of weird.

Then a few months ago my friend got Netflix...and shared her password with me. :) One of the first documentaries I watched was Food, Inc.

I thought I was going to think this movie was ridiculous and extreme, but I wanted to know what the crazys thought...and it actually changed the way I thought. It changed the way I thought of the industry and especially of Tyson and Monsanto. It was hugely impacting. Since then I've eaten less meat. I haven't cut it out, but I've eaten significantly less. I'm not even trying, I just feel less of a desire.

So last night I figured I'd see how the vegans viewed things. The movie focused mostly on moral/ethical reasons, not on health reasons. They cited studies, especially the China Study, to show that introducing animal products into our diets increases all sorts of diseases. The majority of the film, however, showed how animals are treated and how even "free range" chickens have only 3 square feet of room. One of the most interesting things was when one of the new vegans called a up an "organic" "free range" "grass fed" "ethical" producer and ask them specific questions. It made me realize that you can't trust labels. It also made me want to have my own chickens. :) Growing up we always had 6-12 chickens running around our yard.

Vegucated is interesting. It's low-budget and biased (of course), but I appreciate what it showed me. It reinforced what I thought and felt after watched Food, Inc. Green smoothie, anyone?

My dollar for completing this goal goes to Typhoon Haiyan Relief.