A Cow At My Table
A Cow at My Table explores Western attitudes towards farm animals and meat, and the intense battle between animal advocates and the meat industry to influence the consumer's mind.
Five years in production took Director Jennifer Abbott across Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand to meet with the leaders of the animal rights movement, animal welfare advocates as well as spokespeople from livestock industries.
A Cow at My Table inter-cuts these diverse perspectives with archival films, images from modern-day agribusiness and footage of farm animals shot from uncharacteristic vantage points. The result, say critics and programmers, is a documentary that is "brilliant," "visually smart," "extremely accomplished" and "extraordinarily compelling and powerful."
In the words of Toronto's NOW Magazine film critic Cameron Bailey, "Like all the best documentaries, this film offers more questions than answers."
I just can't help but think how hopeless we are as a species, we have everything we need to be at peace and enjoy this beautiful planet, plants, air, water. I can't wait until it's all gone, enjoy eating your meat then :(
"Humane" and "appropriate" method is just a Cowardly euphemism for SCUMBAGY AND SAVAGE approach as far as treating innocent animals in the civilized world. We are the animals. And I hate how those low life savage red necks think they are within their right to treat those poor bulls, cows and the rest of the others in such savage criminal way. It's so sad and pathetic. I've been trying to become vegetarian and so far I failed but this year I did good in minimizing the consumption. I think the more documentaries I watch like this one and the likely I will finally succeed. Those interested you could also watch "Lucent" which is a documentary shot by Australian activists exposing the the atrocious way pigs are grown, Left to eat food mixed with their excrement, tortured, and then electrocuted for consumption. One can hear them SCREAMING their lungs out while being toasted. It's simply mad and insane. Also another good documentary is "Earthlings". This one is very broad as it speaks about all animals mistreatment and not just the cows. "A river of waste" expose American chicken manufacturing farms. It also show how they use Arsenic for some reason in treating chicken, along with other chemicals.
Thank you to the documentary makers and posters. May God bless you.
Astrastarr,
I think you may need to do some homework on how cats and dogs were created. All animal life was created from a single organism. Dogs have evolved from wolves. Cats (tigers, lions etc are 'cats') and dogs were not created by humans and certainly would have evolved without us and would have existed without our intervention
I tried going vegetarian but I was so fatigued that i couldn't function, constantly hungry and for some reason gained 20 pounds,also I was taking a multi-vitamin. vegetarianism might have failed for me because I'm allergic to legumes and nuts and gluten so it was hard to have a balanced meals
This is how it seems to me:
Activists: "Let the animals go. This is cruel and inhumane."
Producers: "Why?...Ok, we'll give them a little more room and little more ventilation."
Activists: "No, not good enough. Just let them go."
Producers: "Ugh. Ok ok, we'll also give them real edible food and not let them eat eachother alive."
Activists: "JUST LET THE FREAKIN ANIMALS GO!"
Meat eater/milk drinker or not, this is just sick. Period. Any human with a soul would know that.
I'm vegan, and certainly veggies do not scream, but sometimes hearing the sound of potatoes, or other stem/root tubers, spurting air from inside when they're extremely hot, sounds eerily similar to something in painful agony. Also, having stained skin from preparing wheat grass shots or juicing other vegetables, like beets for instance, feels as if it's the blood of the veggies, their essence, if you will, so full of delicious nutrients.
Instead of a burger patty have a: Black bean, Quinoa, Sweet potato patty! It's simple to make. Just make sure all three are thoroughly and separately cooked and add what ever spices and flavors you want, then mix them evenly and form some delicious patties and cook them in the skillet with just a thin layer of light oil, maybe safflower.The sweet potatoes can be with or w/o skin. It is really up to you, the patties will hold together based on how tightly they are made.
Food options are endless. Vegans have a bad reputation for being pompous and arrogant because many of them are:) but not every one of them. Education is the first step to helping people. It's not always easy for everyone to eat vegan, but it is possible. Making meals from scratch is fun as well! A vegan lifestyle is not about food choices only. In a simple sentence, it is refusal to use any product using animals, in any way that is harmful or unnatural to the particular animal.
I think it's funny when people (my family included) say to me, "Oh! I'm sorry, that sucks that you can't eat this/that." so I laugh and reply with a smile, "It's not "can't" eat, it's "don't" eat." And I'm thankful for the difference. there is nothing in meat, dairy or eggs that cannot be found elsewhere. I've never really been convinced about milk anyway.
humans are omnivores, therefore anyone who is vegetarian is denying their humanity
If you eat dairy products and animals, you should be denied insurance coverage for the following diseases:
1. Diabetes
2. Cardiovascular disease
3. Cancer
I couldn't finish watching this because of the reliance on ancient footage and (modern footage made to look ancient). Only managed to hang in for 28 minutes.
But for those who believe the human body has been designed to process or modified to eat meat is either misinformed or intentionally denying the scientifically substantiated evidence to the contrary.
A plant based diet has been proven to control many ills including; diabetes, heart disease and hardening of the arteries. It is also strongly associated with a huge drop in the risk of contracting many types of cancers and the reduced risk of suffering from Alzheimer's later in life.
Dan. Post sources for your "scientific facts" and I will double as many as you provide with scientific facts to the contrary. Don't get caught up in the scientists who say the world is flat or the doctors who said smoking is good for you just because of their "credentials". There a lot of people making a lot of money keeping us eating processed meat and dairy to keep us sick to buy their drugs and medical procedures. We are only "omnivore" in that our bodies can survive for a short time if we HAVE to through eating meat, but sustained intake of it makes us sick. Pure and simple. I'm sorry that you'll have to go through the illnesses you will because of your belief. I hope you learn the truth in time.
People who want to be more informed about where the products that end up on their table come from, need to do more research. Don't watch one documentary and think that you know everything about animal welfare or what really happens on pork farms. Don't be so ignorant people.
I am not a vegan/vegetarian..... yet. I am in the process of changing my diet and eliminating a majority of processed foods, including meats. I find it amusing to see other people's reactions to my eating healthy. IT actually makes them angry at me as if my healthy eating is solely for the purpose of showing them their own unhealthiness. This message board is full of comments full of bitterness towards those people who have taken control over their taste buds.
Our bodies break animal minerals and proteins down differently, human beings are meant to eat meat,despite you valient efforts to fabricate such a claim. some ethnicities bodies are built to survive almost solely on meat ei the Inuit. If people want to eat meat..let them. don't try and convert them to veganism or the like, get them to support local, organic meat,ethically treated animals that have had good lives..roamin' around and doing what they do. And yes the world's population as big as it is now couldn't be supported on organic ethnic farming. f*ck it, bring on the apocalypse/shift of era what have you, less people=better. but thats another story. And people who eat just vegtables, fruit and grains, have to eat supplements, and are skinny and get sick quite a bit, I know this, I live in a city where everyone's gun-hoe about being a vegetarian or vegan. Learn the ways of the earth that will ensure your survival in the chaotic looking future. I hunt. I fish. I love the mother earth and all the universe has to offer. I have really ranted. sorry : p
I did not read all the posts, but i read enough. I see people mostly have a black and white outlook on things. Yet again with most humans, a limited field of view, with a linear, singular, and false perception of individuality.
Humans need to realize that we are part of the earth and all life on it. Regardless of how we have evolved. evolution is an ongoing process in which life forms change with the environment. Humans tend not to adapt to environment but instead play on there ability to change environment to suite them. At the same time they still have to change in one way or another to the ever changing conditions.
The key points to this debate are.
1.we are overpopulating, with thinning resources being a major survivability issue, we need to considerate what is most efficient. seeing as the amount of land, grain, water, and transporting these items,..it becomes wasteful. In short, the amount of resources needed to produce a pound of meat, could have been used to feed a lot more people, if it was veggies we used the resources on.
2. not only can we survive on veggies,..we can grow them ourselves(given it would be easier if we had abundant solar energy). I have survived with no soy at all and mostly locally grown produce,(90% organic), for the past 11 months.
3.You want to talk about evolved to eat meat!!?
Well , the amount we have evolved to eat meat is pathetic, veggies on the other hand. We are locked into a major symbiotic relationship with plants.
One we can live without meat, but we cant live without the vitamins from the plants.
Two, we have evolved hand and hand with plants so long, that plants have turned us into an external sex organ. We incubate, nourish, and plant the seed, just from the process of eating the plants.
So with that in mind,..these are my thoughts.
What works better? A death cycle that could eliminate a species, or a symbiotic relationship that perpetuates the survival of biodiversity.
We are in a changing point of epic proportions. We are to the point where if we dont change with environmental stimuli, a large percent of the life on earth will falter.
As much as humans would love to think of themselves as individuals, everything we know about the fields of science tell us WE ARE PART OF OUR ENVIRONMENT AND ALL LIFE AND MATTER WE CAN SEE.
So it stands to reason that every action we take, effects everything in one way or another.
I offer this perception of reality. (my theory is more complex then this simple analogy but this is something everyone can understand). I want you to picture the universe and all matter in it, as a life form in which we are part of(on a subatomic level). Picture all particles as alive and partly as one or potentially part of everything at different times( shared).Then picture the black holes, star, and other bodies as internal organs of the universe. Then picture all life forms with a brain and central nervous systems, as the sensory organs/brain cells/hard drives of the universe. Apply that to your lives.
Whether we like it or not, we all one day will have to depend on ourselves or our neighbors to eat.
Not the most compelling, uses a lot of old footage.....a bit dull, did not watch to the end. Might have gotten better........
Of cause these huge farms are factories. I just can´t see how anyone ever could argue against that.
@JOA0
If we haven't *yet* evolved enough to abstain from eating meat, that implies that so far we're still evolved to eat meat.
Not necessarily arguing that we should eat meat, just that I think your statements contradict each other.
Personally I think all the arguments about what we are 'evolved' to do are vague and should be left out of it. There's evidence that humans used to scavenge the kills of large carnivores because the human tapeworm is more genetically similar to the tapeworms of lions and hyaenas. That indicates that we *have* eaten meat for a long time, and we're still here. Whether that implies that we *should* is another thing.
Perhaps someone should base a 'natural' 'roadkill' diet on that research.
WOOOw, a lot of shity coments there.
We are frugrivorous and not meant to eat any kind of meat.
When humans evolve they shall not kill any animal
This is to the highly intellectual being that explains how grain is specially grown for farm animals. I believe the point that you missed was that if we took all the land that was used for grown animal feed and used it for growing conventional crops in rotation, we would not only grow enough to feedd everyone on the planet, we would also stop ruining the soil by stripping it of all those nutrients. By rotating the kind of crop grown, the soil uses different nutrients allowing the nutrients that were stripped from the crop before to be rejuvinated. I believe I was taught this in grade 6 science class....
To the person that said these animals have no soul. You should watch a cow protect its babies sometime. For an animal to show that kind of love it must have a soul. If you can't get a chance to see that then maybe seeing the fear as its about to be slaughtered will convince you.
Veggies on the other hand have no soul. They don't show emotion or have the capacity to think. They also don't scream or bleed when they are cut into. So to put them on the same level with animals just shows off your itellectual genius, or lack there of.
@ Anthony
In answer to your questions:
1- How do you go about obtaining your food?
I go to the grocery store or farmer's market, just like anyone else.
2- Do you impose the same sort of “humane” harvesting of your food, as you wish for meat eaters to attain?
No.
3- Are plants not living things?
Yes, they are living things.
4- If they are, then how can you justify that eating of once living plants, is any better than eating of once living animals?
However, unlike humans and animals, they don't have pain receptors or nerve endings so you they can't be killed. Plants are alive and when we eat them they remain alive in our bodies. Plants are raw living foods that require little to no preparation for us enjoy eating. Meat on the other hand is the dead flesh of an animal. It requires cooking at high temps, seasoning and condiments for it be edible and consumable. Eaten raw would result in illness or possibly death.
Ironic thing is, eaten cooked, it still results in illness and possibly death, due it's high levels of cholesterol and saturated fat. The main components of our North American diet that is making everyone sick and sending health care cost out of control.
In anycase, what you choose to eat or not eat is you're own perrogative. Hope my answers help you understand this debate a bit better.
no offense, but i cant help but notice how so many people are creating parallels between humans and animals. humans are animals, and we definitely aren't the best at everything. dolphins have larger brains, cows never forget a face, pigs play video games. humans think we are superior, by nature even, but we should always consider animals as likened individuals
Soo...we should treat animals [HUMAN]LY? Good one. Impossible too.
Animals may suffer needlesly, but If we really didn't care, we would threat them in a hole diffrent way. It's a fact that we allready go way out of our way to ensure that animals are treated well. But of course thats not enough for vegetarians...animals need to be treated [human]ly, which as one might have guessed means: To treat someone as a human. You can treat Prisoners of War humanly, you can treat Hitler & Goebbels humanly and of course you can treat criminals humanly, however you can NOT treat Animals humanly, as they are not human.
Eating Plants is not: Moraly superior, natural, ethical, healthy and it does certainly not change "the Industry" for Industry is responsive only to popular oppinion, and even then they prefer to do things in the most profitable manner. And as you will never get everyone to eat meat, there will allways be a need for cheap meat.
Yes, slaughtering Animals is a bloddy mess, that why we kill them before slicing them up... Is it pretty? No, but does that make it evil? Again...no way.
Never mind that there are humans dying under horrible circumstances, never mind the large number of humans suffering, look over there! Someone is holding animals in a cage!....Some of you have written that they are ashamed of humanity...I wonder why the shame is creeping up on me too right now.
The whole vegetarian/vegan thing has become an annoying evangelical religion.
You are not elite because you eat veggies.
Soy production is killing rainforests.
Those veggie burgers your buying are made by the same company that owns factory farms.
Pig parts are in everything, even those vinyl lps so many hipster-vegans collect.
the human body is not made to eat meat, or meat specifically. if you look at the evolutionary make up of a human body in comparison to that of a canines body you would see alot of differences. canines have sharp teeth, and short digestive systems. they can pass meat in hours. humans have rounded teeth, large molars, and especially large digestive systems made to get the most out of what is consumed. this is why a steak can take up to 48 hours to fully digest. while a dog couldnt live on a plant diet, humans atleast have the possibility, soy products contain mass amounts of protein, like meat. soy and almond milk have been shown to be excellent alternatives to milk.
i ate meat growing up. i understand the love for sausage in the morning, burgers, bacon, ribs,..but i became a vegetarian for various health reasons. mainly meats leading role in many causes of cancers. but i would never judge someone who eats meat. its a large part of culture.
me being a vegetarian for myself is a good enough reason for me.