Monday, May 10, 2010

Things are coming together

This week the Long Talk to Treedom team wrapped up the final contextual packages for the show. We had our first mock show on Friday and we have made the necessary changes to make our show that much more spectacular! We'll be looking at food and water in res, as well as the importance of student activism.

Our dry run was scheduled for Saturday the 8th May 2010 where we heard and checked the running of our show to ensure that everything's polished and going smoothly. It went really well, and all that's left to do not is to sort out any last kinks to make sure it's perfect. Our final show will go on air on the 20th May 2010, but until then the environmentally-aware team is working extremely hard to ensure that our show is of a high and excellent standard.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Ashamed to be an Earthling

I recently watched a shockingly disturbing documentary about worldwide animal treatment. Earthlings, known as "the Vegan maker", contains the most horrifying images that I've ever been exposed to. It's scarier than any Hollywood-produced horror flick and much more difficult to watch. Maybe it's because it's not easy to see animals in pain, or because the viewer knows that these aren't special effects but actual images of excessive human cruelty against animals, but it's haunting. The documentary is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Shaun Monson.

Apparently we use animals for five different purposes: Food, Clothing, Research, Entertainment and as Pets. Each industry is as disgusting as the next.

Animals are so easily exploited. They have no voice with which to defend themselves, and living in ignorance is no excuse for us to be doing nothing. Every time you buy a pair of leather shoes or eat steak, every time you buy a puppy from a pet store, you're actively supporting the industry behind it. It's so easy for us to consider animals as being beneath us, but they feel pain and alienation in the same way that humans do. Personally, I don't see how we can be superior to them if we're the only species on the planet to create industries that systematically torture other living beings for money and luxuries. When I see an animal being skinned alive, or a dog being placed in a garbage truck to be crushed with our trash, that's when it's not ok anymore. There is no excuse for us to be doing nothing, when it's so easy to change our lifestyles.