Jamie Oliver

Well put! For all the shortcomings of the show, the net outcome is that many more Australians are now aware of some of the cruelty of pig farming - awareness that is sorely lacking. And no doubt, someone went veg after watching.

No one who watched that show and is already a vegetarian is going to be convinced that it's ok to exploit animals. The rest of the population think and act as if it's ok... so who is he convincing?

Most people have never put a moment's thought to where their food comes from, so the fact that this show challenged them to consider the consequences of what they eat I see as a positive.

It's not the show I would have made, but it's better than nothing at all... so yes, I agree Roy, beggars can't be choosers.

i was only able to watcxh a small amount of this show before my boyfriend turned it off. i was already balling my eyes out because of my brother (we had just had a conversation about animal cruelty and it did not go well. hes one of the most apathetic people ive met about it. he doesnt care one bit what pain animals go through. he doesnt care about the environmental effects or the health effects. he says its ok because theyre not like him. so i got up and told him he wasnt my brother..it was all much longer than that and very horrible all together..) so i was crying heaps and i turned to see that a pig was about to have its throat sliced and i screamed and covered my eyes..after i told simon he wasnt my brother anymore my mum came and argued with me about it for ages and ages and i got so angry and upset that i told her i was leaving. i packed up my stuff and now im at my boyfriends mums place for awhile. i cant stay there when theyre going to say the things they did to me. i can barely handle the fact that some of my friends and even random people eat meat..let alone my own family. gah sorry for the rant.things arent going well =[

all in all..it looked like a stupid show, i dont think it helped much from what i did see. he was looking at pork and saying how nice it was etc..they were showing how playful and clever and sweet the pigs were then the farmer said it makes for good meat im like ugh..how f**king stupid.

I didn't watch that one but apparently yes, he served a chicken dish to his audience at the end.

Hiya,
The show last night is important to us all.
If course it was horrible, however it was Animals Australia's duty to ask us to watch it:

1) It's the nearest thing we are going to get to a showing of 'Earthlings' or 'The Animals Film' on Australian TV;
2) I am certain that animals will have been saved last night. I am certain that people will have gone vegetarian after last night;
More importantly however,
3) It is our duty to be informed of what is going on in popular culture, so that we can effectively outreach. That was the first television I have watched in Australia this year, but I had to watch it. Because in the next few weeks I am going to be staffing outreach stalls and leafletting street corners, and people *will* mention it to me. So I have to be informed. We all do. We don't have to watch Earthlings every day, but we do have to be informed of what people are likely to discuss with us, as animal advocates.

I am sure that Animals Australia do not see last nights vile television as at all wonderful, but they know that to be effective advocates, we need to understand the public mind if we are going to out reach to the public. Our role is to be a bridge between the animals and the omnivores. As much as I hate what I saw last night, Jamie did us, and the pigs, a huge favour.

As I stand on street corners over the next few weeks, trying to persuade people to give up meat, Jamie made my job just a little bit easier.

Roy

i agree with royyes he served  pork which was yuck yes the idiots wo went in the slaughterhouse said they would still eat pork

but my parents have vowed off pork products (which sill isnt ideal but hey its a bit better)

I reckon heaps of people would have watched and went ewww ill go veggie

I reckon after that we should step up the save babe campaign

I know one girl who was converted Very glad of it.
She approached me in the library (I'm the only veg that truly speaks up for animals, and when I come across another vegetarian at school [although i know they're there] I get suprised because they don't speak up for the animals at all) and told me that in england they slaughter pigs by hanging them up and sticking a pole through their throat.

My immediate, allmost reflex, response was, they do it to other animals as well. I then corrected myself with, they do that here too, and she told me that she was never going to eat meat again.

Later in the day I had a discussion about what we eat (although it was very short) and tomorow I plan on taking in some vegan cookies and perhaps some other veg food, just to show her how easy it is to be veg.

Prob is I don't want to be too over the top and put her off, but at the same time, I don't want her to think that there is nobody out there to help her and support her. Any advice?

Send her to the forum?

Print out this lot:
http://www.vnv.org.au/site//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=68

VNV isn't an Animal Rights group so it's a bit easier going for a newbie.

And then she may appreciate the list of all Victoria's veggie restaraunts:

http://www.vnv.org.au/site//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=129&Itemid=128

And *don't* show the poor girl earthlings...

Hmm, I heard somewhere (maybe it was one of you guys who said it, or maybe it was mum) but the chicken show was banned or something in the UK.
So maybe he was under network pressure to 'tone it down' a bit, to make it more 'viewer-friendly.' So maybe (just an idea) it's not exactly his decision to fill the show with jokes and cooking, maybe it was the only way he could do it and get TV channels to air it? Networks can be pretty picky like that.