Do we need to eat meat? | DW Documentary

Why, in some regions of the world, do we love dogs and eat pigs? It’s a question best answered with an appraisal of the cultural, historic and psychological roots of meat consumption.

At the Goldschmaus abattoir, animal welfare officer Gerald Otto explains why he thinks it’s OK to eat meat - and shows, with astonishing transparency, what measure abattoirs take to ensure as painless a death as possible for thousands of animals every day.

The US-American psychologist Melanie Joy identifies a widespread ideology within many societies: from childhood we learn to distinguish a small group of animals as edible - and the meat of all other creatures as disgusting. And to uphold this belief, says Melanie Joy, we repeatedly tell ourselves three myths: Eating meat is natural, necessary and normal.

Ilja Steffelbauer is examining just how natural our meat consumption really is. The cultural historian has researched the history of meat from the beginnings of mankind to the present. He provides a clear explanation of how hunting has influenced us - and why after millennia of scarcity, we became the greediest meat-eaters in history.

Nutritionist Niko Rittenau explores the question of how necessary it really is for us to consume meat. What nutrients does meat contain? Can we get these from other foodstuffs? Why do we find meat so delicious - and what role do our instincts play?

Finally, the documentary investigates the idea that eating meat is normal. Different cultures have different interpretations of what’s normal - so what does that mean for humanity as a whole?

Part 5: A vegan lifestyle: Is it the future? - [Coming soon]

#documentary #dwdocumentary #meat
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[jocelynshaffer-neese]

Even as a vegan for nearly 20 years, I say that what you eat is a personal choice…but for goodness sake, enough with the factory farms. They are a tragic mistake and do way more harm than good.

[nukkun]

That CO2 method on pigs looks horrific, like many other parts of mass animal production. But at the same time, that dog had breast cancer surgery while humans elsewhere still suffer the most basic needs. In both cases: out of sight, out of mind.

[applesaucestin]

The problem is moral ignorance. People can't even give good explanations as to why humans have moral worth. We are never taught it, and we never have to think about it. Why would we expect anyone to be able to reason about other animals' value?

[abrahamsneo]

Seriously, people in rich countries are out of touch with the reality of most people in poor countries. Almost most half of the world is starving and can't remove meat from their diet. Its a matter of survival for many of us here in poor countries

[youtubesucks]

That pig sequence was horrific and unsettling.

[ambition]

0:00: 🐶 The story highlights the unique bond between a family and their dog, Tessie, and raises questions about our contradictory relationship with animals.
5:56: 🐷 A researcher became a vegetarian after getting sick from eating meat and then conducted a study on the psychology of eating animals, leading her to investigate the slaughter industry and the thinking of people who work there.
10:04: 😢 Pigs suffer in CO2 stunning plants before being slaughtered, and carnism is a dominant belief system that justifies eating animals.
17:05: 🌍 The transition from hunter-gatherer societies to sedentary farming led to a significant change in diet and population growth.
20:22: 🥩 The history of human evolution and living conditions have influenced our diet, with meat being a prominent part of it.
25:18: 🌱 Eating meat is not a necessity and we can eat healthily without animal products in the global North.
30:11: 🦆 The video discusses the cultural significance of foie gras and raises ethical questions about eating animals.

[Shalom]

I stoped eating meat at 4 yrs old. To this day, I recognise this as the best decision of my life. That time, 1969, ppl pressed my mother, who was and is not vegetarian, saying all sorts of bad things like " your son will die for lack o proteins and iron". Well, I did not. Im 1.85 m and 95 kilograms, 58 years old and no complains. ❤

[heisenberg]

Hurting someone and eating anyone is not a " personal choice"

[kashmeerar]

We do and eat unnecessary things and wonder why we are falling ill.

[thebowandbullet]

When a slaughterhouse manager tells you they love animals, that should tell you all you need to know about the lies and absurdity of this industry.

[OmkarPattanshetti]

Very well done team DW, pretty informative documentary!

[cjfredi]

Both the female and male narrators are excellent and deserve a mention.
Great doc as usual. Ty DW.

[marksterling]

So, the slaughterhouse worker says stressed out animals produce an inferior product. It kind of looks like the CO2 stunning stresses them out a lot. Seems like a rush of adrenaline from that process would sully the end product. Didn't they use bolt drivers to slaughter animals before? Was that more stressful than this method?

[johnbenedictserrano]

Why do people eat animals? Because they're delicious. Let's not make the answer complicated.

[seastorm]

One argument I hear a lot is that in the old days people ate meat all the time. Not so! In my country ( Nordic ) only the nobility had daily access to meat and everybody else ate vegetables and, if lucky, fish, fish to the extent that tapeworms were considered a normality. Meat was only for the high holidays, while the daily diet consisted of vegetable broth, porridge, bread and lentils.

[DaddyBLUES]

The same people who issues with factory farming also are against hunting. Seems like the narrative is always leading to eating less to no meat.

[DecryptionScription]

31:59 -“Is it morally right to eat animals.”

Previously, the documentary stated “all choices are based upon beliefs”.

The question of what is morally right then becomes a question of beliefs.

[Andrew_EvsW]

Thank you for this amazing Documentary!

[Vbn]

Awesome documentary channel! Great contents!

[flycosta]

Bottom line: even if eating animals could be unethical is totally necessary if you want to survive without taking pills