Netflix has fundamentally changed the way people share and learn new information. In the past media creators and distributers have been beholden to the will of huge, private and government, sponsors who often had an agenda to move forward. This is most noticeable in the catalog of documentaries and controversial content. There is still plenty to veg out to, easy comedy sitcoms that help pass the time from 10:30 to sleep, and action dramas to run in the background while doing some Saturday chores. The part about this new media outlet that makes it so important is the fact that it probably had the greatest impact on me becoming vegetarian and while I consider myself an environmentalist, and believe in some aspects of capitalism, the things I have discovered on Netflix have made me change my position on pretty big things. I switched from the paleo diet to a vegetarian, vegan when possible, diet. I went from being opposed to nuclear power to really wanting to learn more and almost being supportive. I also learned about our agro business and the damage our cattle industry is doing to the environment.
Okay, I do have some banner ads on my site, but I guess I don’t care if the cattle industry, agro business, or fossil fuel people get wind of this article and pull their support. I still need to talk about how awesome it is to have a place where well produced content that flies in the face of the status quo is readily available. There are a handful of documentaries I am thinking of off the top of my head, Forks not Knives, Pandora’s Promise, Cowspiracy, Vegucated, and King Corn. There is an endless critique of corrupt capitalism and plenty on the environment or social justice issues. What an amazing thing it is to have a place where I find documentaries that have no real commercial value, but contribute immensely to enhancing our collective understanding of our world.
Let me tell you a little about Pandora’s Promise, which makes the case for nuclear power. Ever wonder why big gas companies run commercials for renewable energy like wind and solar? Well, as it turns out, these types of power plants have a way to run then the wind dies down or clouds block the sun, they run on natural gas; which means these plants run on fossil fuel. I’m not saying I know the answer to global warming, but I know more about the problem than I did before and nuclear power, coming from an environmentalist, might be part of the solution.
Now lets consider the humble cow, as in Cowspiracy, which as it turns out the single greatest cause of environmental degradation. The documentary points out how so much of the limited land when have for faming on earth is used for cattle grazing or the growth of cattle feed. How in so may parts of the world, where the American diet is seen as the goal, the rainforest is being clear cut to raise cattle, when’s the last time you went out for some Brazilian BBQ. There are the tons of greenhouse gas that ends up in the atmosphere from cow farts, their burps, the truck it needed to move the cow and their feed around. Then there is the fuel needed to grow the crops cows eat; this comes in the form of farm equipment and fertilizer. Cows have a huge impact on greenhouse gas, more so than all transportation combined. Then there is the amount of water that goes into creating one pound of cow meat- Beef requires 1,847 gal. per pound. With all of these negative impacts on the environment you would think groups like Green Peace and the Sierra Club would speak out, but even in this documentary nobody (even the water companies who pays big bucks to tell you to not let the water run when u brush your teeth) are willing to say anything about the water used by the cattle industry. Check it out, you can find out more on Netflix.
This is just a snippet, but really I could go on and on with documentary reviews and explanations, but please just check it out to see what I mean.