SPECIESISM – it’s a concept that’s quite new to a lot of people, says Muriel Argent of NPO Vegilicious. “It can be compared with racism, sexism and ageism. We discri-minate against other species and we use them to our own ends, causing them pain and suffering.”
But Argent and her team at Vegilicious are actively trying to make a difference to the way society thinks. This month they’ve invited people to participate in their Cape Town Vegan Challengeand have arranged a variety of events to get the conversation started. One of them is a screening of Speciesism: The Movie, in conjunction with While You Were Sleepingat the Labia on Sunday at 4pm.
The film takes a look at “factory farms” hidden in remote areas around the world, and the superior attitude humans have towards animals.
Mark Devries’s 2013 film features the likes of Steven Best, Richard Dawkins and Gary Francione and exposes the factories and those who run them. College student Devries speaks to a wide range of people and forges out into the countryside to make sense of what speciesism is and bring the plight of animals to the fore.
Vegilicious hopes to encourage more people to consider veganism as a viable way of life. While it began as a student society based at UCT, membership has grown and extends across the city.
Argent’s own foray into the world of veganism began when she decided to participate in a 40-day vegan challenge four years ago.
“Instead of making the switch over night and saying goodbye forever to cheese I did it for a fixed time period to make it easier. I never looked back. I really enjoyed it. I discovered a lot of new foods and I discovered a new love of cooking,” she says, adding that joining the Cape Town Vegan Challenge is as easy as logging onto Facebook and joining the event of visiting the Vegilicious website.
“People have been joining the group which has been a really great platform, with people engaging and sharing recipes and concerns. Anyone is free to join.”
Making the idea a little more enticing is the fact that a number of restaurants in and around the city have come on board as well, with some of them offering specials and discounts on their vegan meals. Pop into Deer Park, Diva Pizza, Honest Chocolate, Lunchworks, Maria’s, Masala Dosa, O’Ways Teacafe, Plant and Pure Good, and tell them you’re doing the challenge to find out more about their offerings.
Speciesim is a concept that has been debated quite a lot recently, but how prevalent are the issues the film covers here in South Africa?
“Very much so,” says Argent. “In terms of the food industry South Africa has a very meat-heavy culture, a braai culture. People here identify as meat eaters, it’s definitely a big issue here.”
She says that not only are South Africans “consuming animals as sentient beings”, but we’re also using them in other ways including medically, for entertainment and cosmetic testing.
Before her involvement with Vegilicious she visited a few farms in her own capacity as a consumer activist. “To be honest, the farms I did see were on the better side of the spectrum, but they still made me uncomfortable. One of those visits helped trigger my switch to veganism.”
She says that the driver for her is the animals. “I’m doing it for them. We’re looking at about 70 billion animals slaughtered a year globally. I don’t want to contribute to that – it’s absolutely horrific.”
She says that more of the farms which deal with animals were built as factories and the animals are seen as “objects in a machine”. Her research revealed many grizzly revelations, including the fact that because male chicks don’t produce eggs and don’t put on weight fast enough to be used for meat they are usually killed the day they hatch. “If you look at the poultry industry they see ‘live maceration’ as the ‘accepted means of disposal’. And it’s completely unnecessary – we don’t need to eat eggs,” she says.
It really is that simple. “One thing you can easily do is go to the shops and make a choice,” she explains. “You can choose to buy cows milk which contributes to the suffering of animals, or you can choose a plant-based milk instead. And instead of steak you can buy a plant-based meat. There are all sorts of vegan alternatives, like lentils and chickpeas. Three to five times a day we can make a better choice.”
For those who are curious to find out more about what it means to be vegan and what we can do to fight speciesism, there will be a question and answer session at the screening.
Also screening at the Labia on Sunday at 6.15pm is The Power of the Heart, from the director of The Secret and Drew Heriot. It features Paulo Coelho, Maya Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Isabel Allende and Eckhart Tolle. The film, which ties into a book of the same name, presents evidence that your heart is much more than a physical organ and that it can actually transform your views of money, health, relationships, and success.
Running time is 84 minutes.
Tickets are R60 with a glass of wine/juice before the screening. Alan Strydom from Heartmath SA will present the introduction and Q&A.
l Tickets for Speciesism: The Movie: R40, 021 424 5927, www.vegilicious.co.za