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HBO: You've both previously made films, including
'Dealing Dogs', which examine animal abuse.
How did you come to this subject, and why
does it continue to interest you?
Sarah Teale: Neither Tom nor I are vegetarian, and we
aren't particularly animal rights people. But
we have a fascination with Pete (the
undercover investigator featured in the film, pictured above),
who Pete is, what Pete does, and the risks he
takes, and the kind of life he leads to do it.
And also the fact that, in a way, this is the
civil rights movement of our time. A lot of
people are dedicated to getting information
out about animals and factory farming, and
Pete is on the forefront of that.
Tom Simon: That's why we find what he does so
compelling, because we know that it makes
for incredibly engaging television and
filmmaking. This film ended up being about
his investigation of a factory farm, but over
the course of three years, we followed him and
shot a number of different investigations from
puppy mills to issues of horse slaughter. But
when it came down to it, we felt this
investigation was the most compelling story.
HBO:
When you first viewed Pete's undercover
footage, what were your feelings?
Tom Simon: In terms of first impressions, seeing the
piglets for the first time slammed against the
post and tossed into that bucket still in their
death throes, with Pete going right up so you
can hear that piglet twitching and his little
feet scraping against the side of the bucket, is
an image that will last with me the rest of my
life. But when you're working with the
footage, you somehow get inured to it a bit
because you have to be able to work with it.
HBO: Most people go to the supermarket and buy
their food, but don't really think about the
production process that went into putting that
meat on the table. Why is that do you think?
Sarah Teale: With so much else to be worrying about right
now it's easy not to think about it. But I think
factory farming has gotten to such a level that
it's not only about animal cruelty, it's also
unhealthy for us. What we're eating is
impacting our children, it's impacting the
environment because of the waste, and it's
reached such a level that I think there's a
growing number of people who are concerned
about it.
HBO: What can people do if they find themselves
outraged by the images in the film?
Tom Simon: Take action. There are a number of groups,
among them The Humane Society of the
United States that has major anti-factory
farming campaigns.
Sarah Teale: Support legislation. Talk to your local grocer
and say, why can't you carry humanely raised
products, or more of them? Eat local.
Tom Simon: Go vegetarian a couple days a week for
starters, which is something I've started to do.
Sarah Teale: In addition to the animal cruelty side of this,
there are all kinds of related health issues,
because the animals get so sick, and they
can't afford veterinary care, so they just pump
them full of antibiotics. That's not good for
us. So it's a health issue as well as a humane
issue.
HBO: Another issue you raise in the film is the
lack of federal laws governing factory farming
and the treatment of animals. Has there been
any legislative movement to change and
mandate how animals are treated, as a result
of your coming out with this film?
Sarah Teale: We hope so because there aren't any laws to
convict people on for this. And animals raised
for food are exempt from many of the cruelty
laws.
Tom Simon: That's probably the most important point that
people should understand, is that almost all
animal cruelty laws do not apply to
agricultural animals. But I do think the more
enlightened people in the industry are
realizing that if the industry doesn't police
itself, if it doesn't clean up its act, somebody's
going to do it for them.
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