''Eating Our Way to Extinction'' is a 2021

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, which focuses on the problem of unsustainable

meat production Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...

and its effects on the environment.

Synopsis

The film addresses the problem of

unsustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and highlights the consequences such as

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

, increasing

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

, and the resulting destruction of resources. The film combines journalism, scientific quotes and graphics, personal interviews and investigative reporting, following in the footsteps of other climate change films like ''

Cowspiracy ''Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret'' is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. The film explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment—examining such environmental concerns a ...

'' and ''

Seaspiracy ''Seaspiracy'' () is a 2021 documentary film about the environmental impact of fishing directed by and starring Ali Tabrizi, a British filmmaker. The film examines human impacts on marine life and advocates for ending fish consumption. The fi ...

''. The documentary conveys the following key messages: * The oceans are being

overfished Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the ...

and polluted by abandoned fishing nets. We rely on oceanic organisms for much of the

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

we breathe and must keep them healthy. *

Animal agriculture Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...

is widely acknowledged as a likely point of origin for the next global pandemic. * Governing entities are funded and manipulated by the animal agriculture industry which pours millions of dollars into lobbying and politics. * Animal agriculture is a leading cause of

. * Eating a whole-food,

plant-based diet A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. It encompasses a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables ...

is healthy for people across life stages and even athletes thrive on this diet. * In order to ensure that the environment survives as we know it for generations to come, we must make changes. * The most impactful personal change we can make is to adopt a plant-based diet.

Production

The film is directed by Ludo Brockway and Otto Brockway. It is narrated by actress

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

and includes appearances by business magnate

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

and marine biologist

Sylvia Earle Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic Explorer at Large (formerly Explorer in Residence) since 1998. Earle was the first fem ...

, among others. The film was released on October 1, 2021.

Reception

Writing for review site ''Spectrum Culture'', author Tejas Yadav calls the film "a tour de force" and writes that "the sheer breadth of topics linked to environmental destruction is impressive," but admits that "at times, the quantity of subjects to cover does feel like a grocery-list of disparate items" and that "the A-list appearances feel misplaced, subtly undermining the messaging of this well-intentioned documentary." Tomáš Bendl, a PhD candidate at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

, recommends the film for teaching to inform students about climate change impacts on a global level.

Accolades

''Eating Our Way to Extinction'' is the winner of the 2022

Environmental Media Award The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message. The Environmental Media Association (EMA) is a non-profit organization crea ...

for the best documentary film. It also won the 2022 International Green Film Award of the

Cinema for Peace Awards Cinema for Peace Awards are prizes awarded by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, a Berlin-based initiative that claims to raise awareness for the social relevance of films. Since 2002, Cinema for Peace has been inviting film makers, humanitarian a ...

. The film is estimated to have reached over 10 million viewers across all the viewing platforms.

References

External links