The Meatrix

I watched the Meatrix I and II videos and thought they brought up a lot of good points. Because they were in the form of cartoon animals and went along with the theme of the famous Matrix movies, it was interesting and easy to follow along. This tactic of appealing to an audience of all ages is important in order to inform a large amount of people, no matter what age and what educational background they have. The videos are appropriate for younger children, and would be good for them to watch as they are presented in a manner with visual displays that may help them get a better idea of just how factory farming cooperates. The videos also provide good humor for an older crowd to be able to enjoy as well.

As I am from Fayetteville, NC we are not a farming town but do have access to livestock and large pastures. Several rural towns are located as near as 25 miles outside of Fayetteville, including Elizabethtown, Steadman, and Clinton. The city of Elizabethtown is well-known for raising hogs and is home to many hog farms that distribute their locally grown products across NC as well as our neighboring states. Driving down Highway 24 and passing through Steadman and Clinton is truly beautiful -- acres on end of beautiful green pastures fill the landscape and many healthy cows, horses, and other various animals are seen to roam about the land. This is how farming should be practiced; in an environment we trust and know that the livestock is produced with quality and care.

The Meatrix video brought up several points I have mentioned in my paper written earlier the semester, which was on the topic of growth hormones in farming. The short film included that constant dosages of antibiotics were added to the feed of farm animals and this overuse of antibiotics breeds superstrains of disease-causing germs. Knowing that we are prone to such dangers from the food we consume is honestly terrifying. Although organically grown food is significantly more expensive than cheap, store-brand food it makes all the difference -- especially if our lives are at stake.