Wednesday 6 February 2013

30 Days of Vegetarian: Day 21 - Maximum Tolerated Dose

Day 21 was a very confrontational day mainly because of two things I watched.

Firstly, courtesy of the Humane Research Australia, I had the privilege of seeing a documentary that looks at animal testing/experimentation. The difference with this one is that it interviews people who have previously worked in animal labs and their experiences with that type of work as well as looking at a few animals' stories and where they ended up.

Shot from Maximum Tolerated Dose
The documentary is called Maximum Tolerate Dose and although the website is not that great to look at, the film is pretty intense. Fortunately, it does not get too graphic, aka Earthlings, but then I guess that is open to interpretation.

I was discussing it with a mate, and his reply was 'but that doesn't' happen in Australia" WRONG! We are the FOURTH country that kills the most animals each year for scientific experimentation. Every year, 6,000,000 million animals are killed for scientific research. And of that, only 10% are considered successful? Furthermore, when you consider how small Australia is compared to the top two countries of USA and China...well...that's even more disturbing.

I am not aware of when any future screenings being held are, but I've got one of the three trailers linked so have a look at it as an idea of what to expect.

My second viewing was a YouTube video by Animals Australia called "Make It Possible" which is a short video that looks at the horrors of factory farming. Pigs constantly impregnated and unable to move  and the pain and torture they go through just for our desire for meat. There is also a Make It Possible campaign to raise awareness for this issue and you can raise support by making a pledge of the following:

A) Refuse to eat factory-farmed animal
B) Eat fewer animal products
C) Go meat free
D) Donate

Needless to say I have chosen C. But to choose any of these would help in making these animals' lives that little bit better.

Both these things have pushed my belief that animal cruelty is a far too common occurrence and something people need to be aware. I've never felt more passionate about something than I have for this cause, and that's saying something.


2 comments:

  1. You've really been learning a lot about the issues!! It's pretty amazing! :)

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  2. Yeah, I figured there is no point in doing this if I didn't research the various reasons why being a vegetarian can be a good thing. It's been very enlightening.

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