‘INDIGO’: New documentary details slaughterhouse cow rescue and impact of animal agriculture
By our actions, we either have the choice to continue to destroy other beings and the environment, or we begin the process of reversing the damage that we’ve done.
EMILY BAKER: Vegan actor and animal advocate Joaquin Phoenix featured in a short documentary detailing a slaughterhouse rescue he undertook last year. Titled ‘INDIGO’, the Shaun Monson-directed film features Phoenix and his journey to rescue a cow and her calf from Manning Beef in California. Additionally, it includes Phoenix’s visit to the rescued animals which now live at Farm Sanctuary. It was released on Earth Day this week.
Phoenix named the cows after his sister, Liberty, and nephew Indigo – who passed away several years ago. The rescue came after LA Animal Save called the Joker star following his famous Oscars speech last year. In the film, Phoenix talks frankly about the rescue. He said: “The baby seemed kind of frozen in fear… “You really get a sense of what they must be feeling – how terrifying their lives have been this far.” He explained that once he dropped them off at Farm Sanctuary, the animals were nervous and skittish.
However, he got the chance to meet some of the other rescued cows. And, the video shows him interacting with them. ‘There was clearly a unique soul in there’, he said. ‘It came as a great release in knowing they were rescued from this factory of death, that they’d be rescued from imminent slaughter. ‘And yet it felt a little bit unresolved because I wanted to see them completely liberated. I wanted to see them as free as possible’, he added in the film. A year on, he revisited the cows with his sisters. He said ‘it was incredible to see them’ in their natural behavior…
The documentary ends with hard-hitting statistics regarding global meat consumption and its impact on the environment. Meat production is estimated to ‘double’ by 2050, it states. This is a vast increase on the already ’80 billion animals currently slaughtered every year’. Moreover, it concludes: ‘Climate change is imminent if we do not adopt a plant-based lifestyle’… Phoenix explained the environmental detriment of animal agriculture is ‘undeniable’… “By our actions, we either have the choice to continue to destroy other beings and the environment. Or – we begin the process of reversing the damage that we’ve done.” SOURCE…
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