The "Dominion" documentary and why people stop eating meat

Last week two friends invited me to the screening of Dominion, an Australian documentary about the exploitation of non-human animals at the hands of humans representing several different industries. The screening took place in Nau Bostik, a former factory and today a cultural centre in the neighbourhood of La Sagrera in Barcelona. It had been years since I watched another similar film with such explicit images, the famous Earthlings, but when I arrived at the Nau I was completely unaware of this similarity. What made me feel slightly suspicious of a deeply disturbing content was one of the organisers who distributed tissues in case anyone felt like crying. Later I discovered that many of us actually needed them...

The film shows images mostly from Australian farms, however, having seen numerous documentaries and videos from multiple countries, I can safely assure you that the extreme cruelty filmed by the activists is not from isolated cases in a single country. Dominion is divided into several parts, each of them dedicated to a different species, enslaved and exploited for flesh, fur, milk or eggs. And yes, the reality of farms is far worse than you can imagine: piglets getting smashed against the floor, sheep and goats tossed around like objects, cows hit with metal rods, recently-hatched male chickens grinded alive because they are of no use to the industry, and the method is supposedly the most humane and economic...

There was more cruelty to come. For example, the film shows images of castration, debeaking of birds or dehorning of calves done without anaesthesia. We watched in horror how sows are confined to tiny cages in which they can hardly move. Finally, the animals' death at the end of their short and miserable lives is anything but "humane". They are extremely stressed and terrified, as they hear the agony and suffering of others in front of them, while the automatic methods of stunning and killing often fail, and some of the individuals are boiled alive, fully aware... Such is the reality behind the walls of any slaughterhouse or farm, all those atrocities is carried out so that we can continue consuming our meat, dairy, eggs and other animal products...

Many people in the audience at Nau Bostik ended up crying, and I could sense complete desolation around me. However, I found myself unable to cry and watched the absurd cruelty with disgust and anger. Many of you would probably ask us: "Why do you watch it then?". After the film, my vegan friend Jack was asking himself the same question: "Why do I need to watch it if I'm already vegan?". I think it still makes sense even for vegans, as it renews the awareness and mobilises those who have become less active (like myself). In my case, the anger I felt at the extreme injustice suffered by our non-human fellow-earthlings made me want to engage in activism for the first time in my life and try to convince people to stop contributing to this absurd massacre. It also made me write this humble comment.

For those of you who still eat meat, I strongly recommed watching Dominion or Earthlings at least once in your life. It will definitely make you feel extremely uncomfortable about the untold truth, but as humanity we cannot afford to tolerate it anymore. Just like visiting any monument commemorating a massacre of human beings, watching such documentaries will provide you with understanding of the problem, and hopefully make you take a position based on the learnt facts. I believe that we should all have a stance on this extremely serious ethical problem, neutrality is simply not possible in the face of oppression, as it will inevitably put you on the side of the oppressor.

I assure you that, provided you are a sensitive and good-hearted person, after watching any of the two documentaries you will understand why so many people are becoming vegan. I encourage you to stop ignoring the reality of this immense cruelty and mass murder of animals just for the selfish need of a favourite taste delivered to our palate. I cannot even fully blame people for this ignorance, as the omnipotent lobbies of the industries profitting from the exploitation have worked very hard to conceal the reality. They have also mislead the public into thinking that the enslaved animals are well-treated, live in good conditions, and die painlessly in what is sometimes called "humane killing". However, as one of the narrators of Dominion points out, there is no humane way of killing someone who wants to live...

In most parts of the world we can do without meat consumption, as alternatives are abundant. Even if you are still unconvinced by the ethical reasons for going vegan, there are many others. You will find vegan food delicious, far from the cliché of the lettuce and tomato salad. Most of my meat-eating friends have started to cook and eat more vegan food, including tofu, seitan and other possible meat substitutes. The benefits to health have also been confirmed by numerous studies, and the switch to veganism has not caused any harm to any of the vegans I know.

However, we should not think of veganism as a diet or a trend but rather a political stance against oppression. Just like resistance to racism, sexism or homophobia, most vegans have chosen to change their consumption habits in order to fight injustice, even if not always directly and actively. By refusing to consume animal flesh and other products of their exploitation such as dairy or eggs, you are contributing to the cause even if you don't take part in demonstrations or activism. In my opinion, which many vegans might not share, becoming vegetarian is already a step forward. I'm not an abolitionist: I realise that such cultural changes might take decades, therefore I believe that any progress should be welcome.

Recently I read about a research which revealed the negative connotation of the word "vegan" among consumers. If I remember well, around 30% of consumers who took part in the study refused to buy products labelled as "vegan". I suspect that many people have subconsciously associated veganism with a kind of proselytism, a propaganda meant to convert them somehow. Perhaps they want to avoid feeling uncomfortable with their own consumption habits. I'm sure that there are also those who are afraid of getting convinced. What should be made clear is that veganism is not meant to convert anyone to anything, it is a struggle against oppression. If the "Go vegan" slogan is still not convincing, please at least reflect upon the consequences of your actions on the environment and especially on the millions of lives which are condemned to utter misery and inexplicable cruelty just for the sake of our completely superfluous pleasure. I am sure that together we can make a big difference!