The 11-minute video Make it Possible appeared in my Facebook account a couple of weeks ago. This campaign by Animals Australia aims to rid the world of factory farming.
I have some sympathy for the cause. For many years I have only bought free-range eggs after enjoying the produce of backyard hens. But this video made me reconsider all of my meat purchasing habits.
The first two minutes feature a cute piglet, animated in the style of Babe, singing There’s a place for us from West-Side Story. She is wishing herself away from the unpleasant scenes of sows crammed into birthing stalls, lying in their own muck and unable to move, their piglets struggling to reach her teats. Her voice is joined by a children’s chorus, with solos from a sow and a group of almost featherless hens.
A voice-over tells us that most egg, chicken and pork products come from factory-farmed animals.
It concludes with the piglet singing ‘Hold my hand and I’ll take you there”, sprouting wings and flying away from her prison.
The remaining seven minutes exhort us to be a compassionate society that refuses to condone this practice. Using celebrities such as Pat Rafter, Mick Molloy, Missy Higgins, Dr Katrina Warren, Rove McManus and Hugh Sheridan to add gravitas, we learn that factory farming is a dirty, hidden secret that must be exposed. Their comments are interspersed with demonstrations of the evils of factory farming, including severe confinement, de-beaking baby chickens and cutting piglets’ tails without anaesthetic. There are also some interesting and emotive facts presented to appeal to our better nature.
We are urged to make compassionate choices such as choosing to buy products that do not come from factory farms, eat less meat or even go meat-free. Then we are asked for donations to ‘Make it Possible’. A monthly pledge of over $35 entitles us to a cute, furry toy piglet.
I was moved enough to share the video on Facebook.
I am an omnivore, and I love meat. But I have decided to change my shopping habits, only buying pork and chicken products that are either free-range or sow-stall free. As they are much more expensive, I buy less now!
The small donation I made was to enable more people to see the appeal. I was to receive some promotional material and stickers, although I am still waiting after a couple of weeks.
Even if I have been sucked in, I am comfortable with my actions.
Why not watch the video and let me know what you think. Does it encourage you to rethink your diet?
http://vimeo.com/51837094?fb_action_ids=368973683186188&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366
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