Takeout Documentary Exposes The Devastating Impact Of Our Food Choices On The Amazon Rainforest

Emmy-nominated filmmaker Michal Siewierski has unveiled a new documentary that highlights the disastrous impact our food choices are having on the Amazon rainforest. In addition to raising climate concerns, the film, called Takeout, suggests our addiction to convenience and immediate delivery is increasingly becoming a public health issue.

The documentary discusses the environmental cost of what we are eating and how those food choices can be linked to Amazon rainforest fires and the mass deforestation occurring across Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of beef.

Produced with the support of music artist Moby, entrepreneur Peter Eastwood, and Nicky Taylor, founder of educational online platform The Naked Veggie, the film aims to draw attention to how global food consumption along with corporate greed fuelled by political corruption is creating irreversible changes to our ecosystem.

The documentary features in-depth interviews with scientists, politicians, and activists including former congressman Henry Waxman; Neal Barnard, MD, of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; Glenn Hurovitz, CEO of Mighty Earth; Adriana Charoux of Greenpeace; and Lucas Alvarenga of Mercy For Animals.

According to Paulo Barreto, lead researcher at IPAM, by 2050, 48% of the Amazon rainforest could be lost due to agribusiness.

The Amazon rainforest is always in the news for all the wrong reasons where areas of the size of Los Angeles been destroyed are reported every second month.

Also, according to a U.N. report, we have entered a “era of pandemics” caused by deforestation, intensive animal agriculture and wildlife trade.

In a press release seen by Green Queen, Siewierski said that mainstream media coverage of the catastrophic destruction of the Amazon doesn’t always paint the full picture. “With Takeout, I wanted to show how the choices we make about what we eat and consume thousands of miles away directly impact the rainforest.”

Mainstream media coverage of the catastrophic destruction of the Amazon doesn’t always paint the full picture. “With Takeout, I wanted to show how the choices we make about what we eat and consume thousands of miles away directly impact the rainforest

Michal Siewierski, director of Takeout

As the founder of New Roots Films, Siewierski has been on the forefront of using documentaries to raise awareness about climate change- his previous films include Food Choices and Diet Fiction.

Moby added about the project: “As a longtime advocate for a vegan lifestyle, I know the ethical consequences of meat consumption. I was shocked by what we learned during the production of Takeout. This is a must-watch for anyone who is passionate about combating corruption.”

Back in 2019, Brazil had than 80,000 fires ravaging through the Amazon rainforest and in 2020, too, Brazil was in flames. Brazil’s right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro has faced international criticism for his inaction, as well as for dismissing claims of illegal deforestation activities in the region.

According to the documentary, activists in Brazil face a high cost to their work. Often branded as communists, many receive regular threats and abuse, with some ending up murdered.

The film also draws attention to the meat industry‘s connection to climate change, and states that the latter is responsible for producing more climate pollution than all of the cars, ships, trucks, and planes in the world combined.

Takeout stresses that we as consumers can play an important role in fighting these issues and purports that by making the right choices, we can help the Amazon rainforest from being destroyed completely.

Another report commissioned by the U.N. and released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that one of the most crucial ways to reduce carbon emissions is to shift towards a plant-based diet.

In recent years, several documentaries have tackled climate change and the detrimental impacts of the food industry with regards to the crisis. Sir David Attenborough’s documentary shows us that we need to make drastic changes to our diets in order to save the earth; Seaspiracy highlights the environmental impact of the seafood industry; while The Game Changers, that draws attention to the benefits of plant-based eating for athletic performance.

Distributed by Gravitas Ventures, the documentary is available on iTunes and Amazon and for more details about it, visit the website here.

Lead image courtesy of Takeout.