#Farm to fork game review movie
#Farm to fork game review free

This private certification program rates farming methods and gives a farm a Step 1 rating if it has “no cages, no crates, and no crowding” all the way a Step 5 if it has animal centered pasture farms. One popular program that one may have observed at Whole Foods and other meat counters is the Global Animal Partnership 5 Step Animal Welfare Rating Program. But At the Fork also shows how many consumers are now demanding more ethically sourced meat and dairy products. In a market economy, producers seek to supply whatever consumers ask for. The film shows how factory farming arose because of economic factors with consumers demanding lower prices. This whole idea that we have dominion over the animals, well yeah that’s fine, but dominion does not mean domination.” This rancher states, “I think it’s our moral obligation to care about these animals. In another, pigs and four other red meat species forage a forty acre forest. Another uses an outside system where pigs go between a barn during inclement weather and pastures otherwise. One particular pig farm uses gestation crates only for artificial insemination, then transfers pigs to open pens where pigs can move freely and socialize with each other.

#Farm to fork game review movie

If I would not force a dog to live in a six by twenty inch cage, should I, as a consumer, demand that a pig be raised under such conditions? The film interviews animal scientist Temple Grandin who states, “It would be like living in an airline seat and I’m never allowed to walk in the aisle.”Ī nice aspect of the movie is its presentation of range of animal husbandry methods.

#Farm to fork game review free

When the film cut to a sweeping visual of pigs almost certainly enjoying themselves, at a free range farm, I started feeling guilty about having no idea about the conditions that these animals are raised. John asks, “So this is the price that they pay for me to eat my spare ribs?”Īfter showing some factory farms where pigs spend their lives indoors, the film shows farms with varying degrees of outside access to open pastures. Breeding pigs have multiple pregnancies per year so can find themselves in one of these crates for 10 months in a year and in slightly larger farrowing crates after giving birth. These crates are two foot by seven foot cages not big enough for pigs to turn around or fully lie on their side. Toward the beginning, they visit an animal sanctuary where John voluntarily locks himself in the equivalent of a gestation crate that most pig farms keep breeding pigs for the entirety of their pregnancies. While letting viewers reach their own conclusions about animal welfare or rights, the film raises many interesting questions. I appreciated that the film never showed anything close to gruesome, but bringing viewers close to the animals let viewers see aspects of how pigs, cows, and chickens for meat, dairy, or eggs live. The film shows a range of farms from factory farms that keep animals in close quarters, to free range farms. A Michael Moore style documentary this is not, either. The movie also interviews different farmers, ranchers, politicians, business people, and scholars with different perspectives. It is well edited, well-paced, and accompanied with a quality soundtrack including music from executive producer Dave Matthews. John narrates the film and at the beginning states, “So while I’m no animal activist, I am a filmmaker and the best way for me to honestly explore this issue is to hit the road and make a film about it.”Īt the Fork is beautifully shot with attractive visuals throughout. John is a meat eater and Lisa is not, and in this film they visit various farms to see how meat and dairy animals are raised and treated. Producers John Papola and Lisa Versaci, whom I know from their most excellent economics music videos, have produced a feature length documentary, At the Fork.

John Locke and Immanuel Kant adopted such a perspective.

Regardless of one’s position on eating meat, one can still care about not intentionally inflicting pain on animals, or care that they are treated in humane ways. But whether or not one believes animals have rights, libertarian philosopher Loren Lomasky once gave me the most succinct argument for caring about the welfare, at least some, of animals: “You wouldn’t put your cat in a microwave, would you?” But what if certain farm animals had intelligence and awareness levels in the same league as pets we care so much about? It turns out that pigs can master certain basic video game tasks that dogs and even monkey cannot, and they appear to be able to non-verbally communicate with humans or other pigs in much the same way as dogs. How are farm animals treated and should one care? For the record, I am not vegetarian and I follow something similar to a paleo diet high in animal proteins and fats.