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The BBC is being urged to broadcast documentaries Cowspiracy and Earthlings.
A petition has been launched calling on the national broadcaster to screen the films in a bid to help educate people about the impact of animal agriculture on the environment and animals themselves.
Climate change
The petition says a plant-based diet is the best way to tackle climate change. This corresponds to the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of food production, which concluded that ditching meat and dairy is the most impactful step individuals can take to reduce their impact on the planet.
But, it says, while these documentaries are freely available online, they’re usually watched by people who are already considering a plant-based diet.
‘Our lives depend on it’
“I feel frustrated sometimes because I share so much environmental content on my social media pages, but I feel like only people who are already engaged pay any attention to it,” Sarah Gate, who founded the petition, told Plant Based News.
“In 2016, Channel 4 broadcast the killing of three calves because they were male and for many, this was the first time they had been confronted with the reality of the dairy industry on mainstream television. It is time our television channels showed wider audiences the impact of animal agriculture on the planet.
“This week, temperatures have been so high that there is a threat to life. Swift and mass action is needed. Our TV broadcasters have a duty to tell the public the truth, even if they don’t want to hear it. Cowspiracy and Earthlings make uncomfortable viewing, but it’s extremely necessary that the public is armed with the truth. Our lives depend on it.”
