I Took The Red Pill
Some days, it dawns on me that I took the red pill. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm referring to a scene in the movie, The Matrix. The Matrix is a sci fi/fantasy/action adventure movie starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Ann Moss that came out in 1999. The scene that I'm referring to has Laurence Fishburne's character, Morpheus, offering Keanu Reeve's character, Neo, a choice. Neo can either take the red pill and be awakened to the true nature of the world around him, or he can take the blue pill and continue to live in blissful ignorance.
Going vegan has been like that for me. As an omnivore, I was sheltered from the truth of how the food got to my plate. The closest I ever came to actually seeing the animal I was consuming was the whole fried catfish I had at a local restaurant or the turkey carcass we bought at Thanksgiving. But even then, I had no real idea what horrors these animals suffered before getting to my plate. Then I took the red pill, and now I can never go back.
I'm not the only one who's thought of this parallel. GRACE put together a parody of the Matrix, entitled the Meatrix, in which Moofius and Leo investigate the myth of the family farm and expose the truth about where your eggs, milk, and meat come from.
This is a great site to gently introduce the true nature of factory farming to anyone who is interested in learning more about the topic. It's animated so the the imagery gets the message across in a less graphic manner, which will be more palatable to most people. And I believe it still gets the point across. If you haven't seen it yet, here's a link to The Meatrix. There are parodies of all The Matrix sequels here as well.
– If you haven’t signed our petition to Oprah asking her to do a piece on factory farming, please consider doing so. We can all work together to make a difference.
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Wow! This is funny you posted this. I always think about The Matrix now that I’m a vegan.
Hi Lindsey,
Great minds think alike!
Jane and I have felt like this for the past few months. The switch has been flipped, and now that we know what we know, we can’t go back.
I never thought about it that way, but YES!
Hi Traveling,
Someone once asked us if we thought we’d be able to remain vegan because we are doing it for health reasons… it was Earthlings… After what we’ve learned, we can’t go back!
You all need to think about the other aspects of the red pill that pertain to US(HUMANS). We are also being killed by multiple things…just slower than animals in most cases.
Hi Nelly,
Of course we need to consider that humans are being killed by multiple things. And a number of these “things” can be linked back to animal agriculture. The way animals are being raised today creates significant pollution which impacts our groundwater and the land and air in the immediate vicinity of the factory farms. Often the animals are fed other animal byproducts (even though cows and chickens are
But don’t take my word for it, if you’re interested in learning more, read the following:
Livestock’s Long Shadow (PDF file)
The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat (PDF file)