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Comfortably Unaware

by Jennie Richards · Published February 1, 2016 · Updated April 13, 2019

What you eat may be killing you and our planet.

Comfortably Unaware is a desperate message about how we need to become more aware of the impact our food choices are having throughout the world and on our future. In this 11-minute video, Dr. Oppenlander explains how what we are choosing to eat—animal products—is destroying our planet. He advises that eating animal foods is depleting our planet’s resources, causing water scarcity and pollution, destroying and eroding our land, and wrecking havoc on and depleting our oceans. His dire message is directed at our collective food choices and consumption of animals that is not sustainable, is not healthy and is very inhumane.

The video supports his award-winning book by the same name, Comfortably Unaware, in which he said he felt compelled to write because “no one is telling the whole story about our food choices and the impact our food is having on the planet.” He raised his children on a diet of no meat, dairy or eggs—no animal products at all—and said his kids never had any of the common illnesses and problems associated with eating animal products that children experience today like obesity, chronic illnesses, allergies, mood-swings and hyperactivity. Dr. Oppenlander talks about the ill effects of factory farming, and how U.S. companies and the meat industry is hiding behind the words “sustainable” and “grass fed.” He argues these words are used to deceive and mislead in order to gain consumer trust and lull consumers into falsely thinking that animal products somehow aren’t depleting the planet’s resources, causing severe pollution, water scarcity, ocean acidification and the unconscious suffering of billions of sentient beings.

Dr. Oppenlander’s own life is a daily testament to his belief that animals are sentient and should not be food, but rather are living beings deserving a life without suffering, abuse, and being slaughtered for food. Living his values, he and his family bought a farm that was once a conventional animal livestock farm that raised and slaughtered all kinds of animals for food, and instead created a sanctuary for animals to live and be. He said, “these animals were in need of being rescued and were abused and injured. Now they can live here for the rest of their lives without any fear, they are simply here to live out as natural a life as possible in a sanctuary setting.”

Some Quotes From the Film

“We need to vote with our minds first, then let our forks follow. But think first. It’s forks over knives.”

“When we are raising animals we’re really not raising food, we’re using all of our resources to feed this animal that is very unhealthy for us to consume.”

“Go to your farmer’s market and let your local farmers know that you support them, that you want organically produced food, and nothing that comes from animals because that uses too much land, water, resources and causes suffering.”

“Our civilization is unaware of how healthy our food sources are. The truth of raising animals is not an issue of factory farming, it’s an issue with raising all animals for food—period. What is being called “sustainable” with grass-fed beef and seafood, is not sustainable at all. We need to stop eating animal products—now.”

“We need to be comfortable aware of everything around us, and how we treat our world.”

Film Length: 11:55 Minutes

Originally Released: 2010