Taking Care of our HOME
Dear Colleagues:
On Friday, June 5—World Environment Day—a remarkable documentary called HOME was released in over 50 countries in movie theaters, on TV, and on the Internet.
HOME is the story of the earth and the evolution of sentient life, and how human beings have, in a fairly short time, brought our planet to the brink of disaster.
I urge you to watch this documentary, which will be available until June 14 at YouTube. Encourage your friends and family to watch. It’s free and worth every single second of the 93 minutes of its length. The narration is intelligent and those who know little about ecology will come away with considerable expertise. Those who are already knowledgeable will learn even more.
The photography is absolutely stunning. Every frame is something that could easily be a photograph on your wall.
As far as the animal issue is concerned, HOME is better by miles than Al Gore’s document, An Inconvenient Truth, which was a surprise given that some of HOME’s sponsors produce animal products. There is explicit criticism of intensive agriculture and discussion about the inefficient use of resources (grains, water) used to produce meat. Although the film certainly does not advocate veganism, that is the logical implication of its message. As I have argued for longer than I care to remember, anyone who cares at all about the environment should be vegan even if she/he does not care about the moral issue involved in animal exploitation.
HOME is a desperately needed wake-up call. We humans—especially those of us who live in rich, industrialized nations—need to understand the sheer insanity of the lifestyle we consider as “normal.”
Gary L. Francione
© 2009 Gary L. Francione