Okja: Fantasy Movie About A Mythical Pig Could Help You Rethink Your Meat Consumption

By Luke Miller Truth Theory

Could this be the push you need to consider looking at veganism?

There are many ways to tell a story, be it through comedy, music, a documentary or in this case a metaphorical fantasy film.

Okja is the story of a hybrid pig (of the same name) which is created by a large multinational agricultural company the “Mirando Corporation” in a bid to increase the output of meat production. The story follows Okja 1 of 28 pigs and a young girl who raises him as part of a PR stunt the Mirando Corporation runs over a 10 year period. The face of the corporation Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) says they will “consume less feed, produce less excretions, but most importantly they need to taste fucking good”.

The film is a metaphorical masterpiece that challenges the narrative that it is okay for us to kill animals for our consumption. Which asks the question is it okay?

Veganism has had a 12 fold rise in the last 10 years in 2008 0.5% of the US identified as being vegan, now 6% (nearly 20 million people) are choosing a diet free of animal products.

Aside from the obvious animal rights issues, there are health implications that can arise as a result of eating meat. Taken from an article from DoSomething.Org

A study done by Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn found that a vegan diet caused more than 500 genes to change in three months, turning on genes that prevent disease and turning off genes that cause cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses.

Vegans tend to have lower rates of cancer than meat-eaters and vegetarians. For example, vegan women had 34% lower rates of female-specific cancers like breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer. Similar results were found in men for prostate cancer.

A recent video facebook video shows an interaction between an animal rights activist and 2 police officers explaining the moral reason for veganism.

There are also the environmental factors to consider as outlined in the following infographic from the Cowspiracy movie produced by Leonardo Dicaprio

The last thing I wanted to touch upon is the vegan community itself, but before I do so I want to make my position clear. I am what many people would consider vegan, being that I do not eat any animal produce. I do so for my own moral and health reasons. Meaning I love animals too much to eat them and I feel better since not eating meat. However, I do not like the label of vegan, as I think it creates a divide. Also my position has changed on food in the past and I cannot say with any certainty that it will not change again. With that being said the “vegan” community (in some part) can be very hostile. I totally understand, as seeing animals being exploited upsets me too, but it often has the opposite effect trying to aggressively force people to change their behaviour.

Forcing our beliefs on others is not the best method and it could be argued that hating human beings is everything that veganism should not be. If the driving force behind our actions is love, we can produce more of the same, but hatred will always create more. So not to take life too seriously I will leave you with “If Meat Eaters Acted Like Vegans” from  JP Sears

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I am Luke Miller the author of this article, and creator of Potential For Change. I like to blend psychology and spirituality to help you create more happiness in your life.Grab a copy of my free 33 Page Illustrated eBook- Psychology Meets Spirituality- Secrets To A Supercharged Life You Control Here