After the recent viewing of Okja on Netflix, Zoe has decided to become a vegetarian. Kudos to her I say, going without meat is tough going, I should know, I was a vegetarian for four years and almost died of anemia in the process! That was way back when I was teenager and I really didn't undertake my vegetarianism very wisely or with any proper education about how to care for my own health; hence I got sick all of the time, weighed a mere 48 kilos and had dangerously low levels of iron in my system. Fair to say that I sucked at being a vegetarian, but I understand that it can be done safely and correctly, so I have no problem with supporting her decision, if anything I totally understand it.
"If I can cry over some computer generated hybrid being slaughtered for meat then I cannot eat animals and not feel guilty about it any longer" she said to me. For anyone that hasn't seen Okja yet, it really does drive home the brutality of the meat industry albeit in a 'Studio Ghibli' fashion. Seth walked out of the room exclaiming that the film was too fucked up for him to endure as well. Parents beware, the M rating on this film may be a little light handed given the impact that this film had my kids, so keep the wee ones away from it. Did I enjoy the film? Honestly, not really, it's not a terrific movie, there are a lot of problems with it, but it is certainly having an impact on people and making them rethink their meat intake, so for that reason it is very effective.
It is probably high time that people did take more consideration into what they are eating, how it sourced and what kind of an impact it is having on the environment in general. The human race does eat way too much meat, and a lot of that meat isn't slaughtered ethically or humanely and it is something that we all completely disregard when we are selecting our meat products at the supermarket or butchers.
Bottom line is that an animal has had to die for you to eat that roast chicken, steak, burger, sausage, pork crackling....whatever meat that you enjoy, and that should be taken into consideration. If you had to kill the animal for yourself, would you eat as much meat as you do now? I know for a fact that I wouldn't. I also think that if you are willing to chow down on the delicious bits of the animal, then you should be willing to also eat the offal and the trotters and the tongue and all of the other bits that people shout out 'gross' and push back. All parts of an animal should be used, well as much as is safe to consume and use anyway.
Think about our ancestors, they would've eaten every part of their butchered animals, used the skins for clothing, the bones and teeth for jewellery and the guts for broth. Nothing would have been wasted. If we were still responsible for our own meat butchering, we would still continue to do that, because we would have hand-raised the meat and cared for it and understood just how precious it was. Today we waste a lot of the animal, we only want the best cuts of meat and refuse the rest. It gets tossed out or put into dog food as the industry happily slays another animal for us to pick only the prime cuts from. We have lost touch with our food, we have no idea about the animals we eat. What are their lives like from birth? What are they fed on? How are they slaughtered? What happens to the leftover bits that no-one wants?
All worthy questions, and questions that we should be asking ourselves. Probably the most important question of all is, are you a mindful eater? Not just in regards to the meat that you consume, but all of the food that you eat. You don't have to be a vegetarian to be mindful about your food intake and to consider whether you are being sustainable in the way in which you eat and source your produce. It is something that we all need to do. The more questions that we ask now, the better that the world will be tomorrow. If we all start to question things just a little bit more, it would make a huge difference and will bring us back in touch with the food that we eat. Next time that you pick up your fork, spare a thought for how that food actually got your plate and learn to respect what you eat. Eat mindfully for a better world.
"If I can cry over some computer generated hybrid being slaughtered for meat then I cannot eat animals and not feel guilty about it any longer" she said to me. For anyone that hasn't seen Okja yet, it really does drive home the brutality of the meat industry albeit in a 'Studio Ghibli' fashion. Seth walked out of the room exclaiming that the film was too fucked up for him to endure as well. Parents beware, the M rating on this film may be a little light handed given the impact that this film had my kids, so keep the wee ones away from it. Did I enjoy the film? Honestly, not really, it's not a terrific movie, there are a lot of problems with it, but it is certainly having an impact on people and making them rethink their meat intake, so for that reason it is very effective.
It is probably high time that people did take more consideration into what they are eating, how it sourced and what kind of an impact it is having on the environment in general. The human race does eat way too much meat, and a lot of that meat isn't slaughtered ethically or humanely and it is something that we all completely disregard when we are selecting our meat products at the supermarket or butchers.
Bottom line is that an animal has had to die for you to eat that roast chicken, steak, burger, sausage, pork crackling....whatever meat that you enjoy, and that should be taken into consideration. If you had to kill the animal for yourself, would you eat as much meat as you do now? I know for a fact that I wouldn't. I also think that if you are willing to chow down on the delicious bits of the animal, then you should be willing to also eat the offal and the trotters and the tongue and all of the other bits that people shout out 'gross' and push back. All parts of an animal should be used, well as much as is safe to consume and use anyway.
Think about our ancestors, they would've eaten every part of their butchered animals, used the skins for clothing, the bones and teeth for jewellery and the guts for broth. Nothing would have been wasted. If we were still responsible for our own meat butchering, we would still continue to do that, because we would have hand-raised the meat and cared for it and understood just how precious it was. Today we waste a lot of the animal, we only want the best cuts of meat and refuse the rest. It gets tossed out or put into dog food as the industry happily slays another animal for us to pick only the prime cuts from. We have lost touch with our food, we have no idea about the animals we eat. What are their lives like from birth? What are they fed on? How are they slaughtered? What happens to the leftover bits that no-one wants?
All worthy questions, and questions that we should be asking ourselves. Probably the most important question of all is, are you a mindful eater? Not just in regards to the meat that you consume, but all of the food that you eat. You don't have to be a vegetarian to be mindful about your food intake and to consider whether you are being sustainable in the way in which you eat and source your produce. It is something that we all need to do. The more questions that we ask now, the better that the world will be tomorrow. If we all start to question things just a little bit more, it would make a huge difference and will bring us back in touch with the food that we eat. Next time that you pick up your fork, spare a thought for how that food actually got your plate and learn to respect what you eat. Eat mindfully for a better world.
DELICATESSEN
Release Date: 1991
Rating: M
Running Time: 99 mins
A French language, fantasy, arthouse movie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro that rapidly gained a cult following due to its zany storyline, colourful characters and unique point of view.
In a post apocalyptic future, a former circus performer named Louison takes up residence as a handyman at the local delicatessen/hotel. Unbeknownst to him, the butcher/landlord is regularly slaughtering his employees and selling them to the lodgers of his shady residency as meat. When Louison falls in love with the landlord's daughter, he finds himself on the chopping block very quickly indeed.
This is black humour at its blackest, delivered in a bizarre and brilliant way. This film is so visually pleasing and at times so utterly charming that it is very easy to see why it gained so much attention when it was released, it really is an original even by today's standards.
FINAL SAY: This is a job for the Australian!
3.5 Chilli Peppers
Release Date: 1991
Rating: M
Running Time: 99 mins
A French language, fantasy, arthouse movie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro that rapidly gained a cult following due to its zany storyline, colourful characters and unique point of view.
In a post apocalyptic future, a former circus performer named Louison takes up residence as a handyman at the local delicatessen/hotel. Unbeknownst to him, the butcher/landlord is regularly slaughtering his employees and selling them to the lodgers of his shady residency as meat. When Louison falls in love with the landlord's daughter, he finds himself on the chopping block very quickly indeed.
This is black humour at its blackest, delivered in a bizarre and brilliant way. This film is so visually pleasing and at times so utterly charming that it is very easy to see why it gained so much attention when it was released, it really is an original even by today's standards.
FINAL SAY: This is a job for the Australian!
3.5 Chilli Peppers
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