We are Earthlings...

"Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil," Plato

A friend posted this on Facebook last night and I ended up watching the whole thing. Its a little slow paced(and a tad New-Age/American for my liking) but I highly recommend it.

The section on Fashion(particularly around that of the leather industry in India) begins just after 46:00. The whole documentary however, in all it unpleasantness, illustrates just how ignorant we are - and want to be - about the impact our actions have.

German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, is famous for his writings on the acceptance of inconvenient truths in society:

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

If you take the example of cigarettes, this can be seen to be quite true. First people laughed at the idea that smoking could cause cancer etc. When hard evidence started to emerge society rejected the information and continued to smoke. Only recently have we come to terms with the truth.

I think we're in stage 2 with regards to animals, meat and the ecological/health impact our eating/clothing habits are making.

World Vegan Week '10 starts monday...just sayin' ;)