Eating Our Way to Extinction

{{Infobox film

| name = Eating Our Way to Extinction

| director = Ludo Brockway, Otto Brockway

| producer =

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|2021|10|01}}

| runtime = 81 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

}}

Eating Our Way to Extinction is a 2021 documentary film, which focuses on the problem of unsustainable meat production and its effects on the environment.

Synopsis

The film addresses the problem of unsustainable meat production and highlights the consequences such as deforestation, increasing air and water pollution, and the resulting destruction of resources.

The film combines journalism, scientific quotes and graphics, personal interviews and investigative reporting, following in the footsteps of other climate change films like Cowspiracy and Seaspiracy.{{Cite book |last=White |first=Catt |year=2023 |title=The Imperfect Vegan: Making a Difference on a (Mostly) Plant-based Diet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ivcEAAAQBAJ |location=[United States] |publisher=Cat White |isbn=978-0-6459335-2-9}}

The documentary conveys the following key messages:{{Cite web |last=Animal |first=Sinergia |date=2023-02-03 |title="Eating Our Way to Extinction": What it's about and where to watch it |url=https://www.sinergiaanimalinternational.org/single-post/eating-our-way-to-extinction |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Sinergia Animal |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Movie {{!}} Eating Our Way To Extinction |url=https://www.eating2extinction.com/the-movie/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=eating2extinction.com |language=en}}

The oceans are being overfished and polluted by abandoned fishing nets. We rely on oceanic organisms for much of the oxygen we breathe and must keep them healthy.
Animal agriculture is widely acknowledged as a likely point of origin for the next global pandemic.
Governing entities are funded and manipulated by the animal agriculture industry which pours millions of dollars into lobbying and politics.
Animal agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation.
Eating a whole-food, plant-based diet is healthy for people across life stages and even athletes thrive on this diet.
In order to ensure that the environment survives as we know it for generations to come, we must make changes.
The most impactful personal change we can make is to adopt a plant-based diet.

Production

The film is directed by Ludo Brockway and Otto Brockway. It is narrated by actress Kate Winslet and includes appearances by business magnate Richard Branson and marine biologist Sylvia Earle, among others.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-17 |title=A New Kate Winslet-Narrated Documentary Asks: Are We Eating Our Way To Extinction? |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/kate-winslet-documentary-are-we-eating-our-way-to-extinction |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=British Vogue |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Eating Our Way to Extinction |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/eating-our-way-to-extinction/cast/2000456356/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}} The film was released on October 1, 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-16 |title=Eating Our Way to Extinction - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eating_our_way_to_extinction |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}

Reception

Writing for review site Spectrum Culture, author Tejas Yadav calls the film "a tour de force" and writes that "the sheer breadth of topics linked to environmental destruction is impressive," but admits that "at times, the quantity of subjects to cover does feel like a grocery-list of disparate items" and that "the A-list appearances feel misplaced, subtly undermining the messaging of this well-intentioned documentary."{{Cite web |last=Yadav |first=Tejas |date=2021-09-16 |title=Eating Our Way to Extinction |url=https://spectrumculture.com/2021/09/15/eating-our-way-to-extinction-review/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Spectrum Culture }}

Tomáš Bendl, a PhD candidate at Charles University, recommends the film for teaching to inform students about climate change impacts on a global level.{{Cite journal |last=Bendl |first=Tomáš |date=2023-10-24 |title=Storytelling within Documentaries as a Tool for Teaching Climate Change Impacts |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19338341.2023.2261451 |journal=The Geography Teacher |volume=20 |issue=3 |language=en |pages=136–140 |doi=10.1080/19338341.2023.2261451 |bibcode=2023GeTea..20..136B |issn=1933-8341|url-access=subscription }}

Accolades

Eating Our Way to Extinction is the winner of the 2022 Environmental Media Award for the best documentary film.{{Cite web |title=EMA Awards Past Recipients & Honorees |url=https://www.green4ema.org/ema-awards/ema-awards-past-recipients-and-honorees |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=Environmental Media Association |language=en-US}} It also won the 2022 International Green Film Award of the Cinema for Peace Awards.{{Cite web |title=Awards 2022 |url=https://www.cinemaforpeace-foundation.org/awards-2022 |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Cinema for Peace Foundation |language=en-US}}

The film is estimated to have reached over 10 million viewers across all the viewing platforms.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}