All language subtitles for Punk.Rock.Vegan.Movie.2023.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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Should I-- Oh, yeah,
tuck it in my shirt, maybe?

Okay.

Am I...Is this guy
filming right now?

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

-CAMERAMAN: Yeah.
-Oh! Sure.

[♪♪♪]

[CAR HORN BLARING]

I'm nervous for it too.

Okay, before we start,
you want me to answer

in the form of a question
or is your voice gonna be in it?

[HANDS CLAPPING]

[CLAPPING]

[CLAPPING]

Is this showing?

I'll...I'll put it on.

Talk back the questions?

Isn't this nice?
It looks really good.

Uh, the signal might
interfere with the mic or no?

[CRACKLING; INTERFERENCE]

[LIVELY CHATTERING]

[INDISTINCT CHANTING]

[♪♪♪]

MAN: Yes!

[PUNK MUSIC PLAYING]

[WIND HOWLING]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[WIND HOWLING]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[DRUMS PLAYING RHYTHMICALLY]

[PUNK MUSIC PLAYING]

[ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYING]

[PUNK MUSIC PLAYING]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

BAGEL: You know,
I think a lot of people

don't know about the history
of punk rock.

MOBY:
Really? I mean, I...

Because I grew up with it, so...

I know the history punk rock...

really well, but you're right.
That's kind of presumptuous...

for me to assume
that someone watching,

especially
if they're not old like me,

would know
the history of punk rock, so...

What do you think?
What--What should we do?

BAGEL:
Well, can you tell me about it?

Just now? You want me
to just tell you...

about the history of punk rock?

-Right now?
-BAGEL: Yeah.

On this beautiful day,
while we're just sitting
here playing chess?

Sounds like a good
time for it.

Okay.

Well...

let's go way back.

MOBY: In a way,
you could argue

that punk rock
started in the '50s.

You know, people like...
Gene Vincent,

even Little Richard
liked that idea,

like standing
on stage...

and just yelling
and screaming.

And then
as the '60s progressed,

there were
some proto-punkers.

But really, you can point
to Iggy Pop.

Iggy and
the Stooges in Detroit.

Iggy was
the first punk rocker.

Shirtless, cut up,

screaming at the top
of his lungs, stage diving,

and his--and his lyrics
were even very rebellious,

like, personally rebellious.

And then
as the '70s progressed,

you had the New York Dolls.

And there were bands
like the Ramones

and The Dictators

and Richard Hell
and the Voidoids.

And Malcolm McLaren,
who managed

the New York Dolls briefly,

went from New York
back to London

and helped
Steve Jones and Paul Cook

and Johnny Rotten,

and at the time,
Glen Matlock,

to start the Sex Pistols.

And from the Sex Pistols,

you got
The Clash, the Buzzcocks,

The Damned,

X-Ray Spex...

and U.K. punk was born.

And it was very political,

very rebellious,
very energetic.

And then from the U.K.,

U.K. Subs and The Damned

came to the States

and really inspired
Ian MacKaye,

Henry Rollins,

the whole
Dischord Records scene.

And American punk was born
in the, you know,

the late '70s,
early '80s,

with the Bad Brains
and Minor Threat.

And they started playing punk
that was so much faster,

you know, twice as fast
as U.K. punk.

And very political

and personal
at the same time.

When the punk rockers
are yelling their lyrics,

they're usually yelling,
yelling at everything,

they're yelling
about their lives,

they're yelling about
the failures of the media,

they're yelling
about politics.

And for the sake of
the movie that we're making,

they also yelled
about animal rights.

When you're a punk rocker,
you question everything.

You question politics,
you question fashion,

you question the music,

but you also question food.

And how it's produced
and whether it's ethical,

or whether it's aligned
with your values.

The people yelling on stage

about politics,
about their lives,

about animal rights,
would also be the ones

in the audience singing along
and jumping up and down.

So it wasn't idol worship.

It was this
very egalitarian celebration

of critical thinking and...

really like
a joyful celebration

of having
this great community.

BAGEL:
Good boy, Moby. Good boy.

[PUNK ROCK PLAYING]

Well, I think punk rock
means something, you know.

Um, it's not
just, the, you know,

two fingers
to the establishment.

CAPTAIN: Glam rock had
kind of run its course

and everything had gone
a little bit country rock.

There was Little Feat,
Emmylou Harris,

and all of these kind of
cheesecloth shirt wearing,

kind of, balding
hippie guys, you know,

who says, "Yeah, baby,
ah, my dog just died,"

and all that sort of stuff.

I don't know,
it didn't speak to me.

Sex Pistols had the...

first single, which was
"Anarchy In The U.K."

Then a band came along
called Crass,

who really did have
the anarchy thing going on.

You know, seriously,
it was more than just a,

you know,
a few words in a song.

They were
extremely friendly people

and invited me to stay

at their commune
in Epping Forest.

I stayed there for a week,
you know.

And they fed me and every day

at the, you know,
dinner table

we'd have these discussions

and all this sort of thing.

And, yeah, actually,

before I met them, I think,
I was a rebel without a clue.

But when I came out
of that week,

you know,
I was a vegetarian,

I was kind of an anarch,
anarcho-socialist.

And they'd really,
you know,

rearranged my brain

quite nicely,
thank you very much.

I was living in Bristol,
in England, at the time.

And I was working
at the hospital,

putting plaster paris
on people's broken arms
and legs and stuff

and this girl came in
with a wrist problem,

wearing these weird clothes.

I went, "What's the deal
with these clothes?"

and she went, "Haven't
you heard of punk rock?"

I went, "Yeah, so what."

She went, "Well,
there's a band playing,

Friday, called The Clash."

Ah, I went, "Well,
I'll go if you'll go."

She went, "I'll be there",
I went, "I'll see you there".

I wasn't going for the music.

I was trying
to get into her pants.

When The Clash came on,
my God,

I mean, I was just blown away.
I mean, that was literally it.

Paul Simonon looked
20-feet tall.

With that sound, you know,

and it sort of woke
something up in me.

And I was like, this is--
Yeah, I understand it.

I get it, it's The Terraces,
fucking Terraces
all over again.

And it's this, to everything,
absolutely everything.

Everything that has gone
before, you know.

It's all gone, you know,
this is the future.

Yeah, that was it.

[♪♪♪]

For me, and I think
a lot of people,

punk rock was about complete
and utter change.

Part of that change is
you strive to survive...

causing least suffering
possible, to quote Flux.

And part of that
is looking at what you eat.

[♪♪♪]

CELESTE BELL: There were
different types of punks.

Not all the punks were socially
conscious, first of all.

My mum was one of those

who had, you know, um,
a social perspective.

The songs that she was writing
were interested in, you know,

social issues, social justice,
for example.

Then animal rights, you know,
was a big part of that.

My mom had a really
strong character.

In her music, she was kind of
writing about social issues--

consumerism,
environmental issues.

So she always had that kind of
very strong social conscience.

[♪♪♪]

It was when she became
a Hare Krishna devotee,

that her childhood
vegetarianism

was transformed into something
a bit more profound and...

you know, the idea
that animals are beings

that we need to respect
and protect as well.

Well, yeah, and it's your duty
to be, you know, an activist.

It's your duty to rebel,
you know, as long as you do it,

you know,
but not in a violent way.

I didn't want to see
animals being hurt, you know.

I mean, it just sort of
came out of it really.

I mean, people sort of credit
Crass with starting,

you know, kickstarting
the vegetarian thing.

And we didn't really.
I mean, we were vegetarians.

And we, we used to sort of
mention it in the interviews.

Um, and we used to
make the link between the--

the flesh
on the battlefield

and the flesh on the plate
sort of thing.

Once that started,

yeah, that became part
of the punk movement.

So, I mean, although
we were sort of instrumental

in maybe kick-starting it.

You know, it was just
a part of what we did.

We had an album, The Damned,
called Strawberries for Pigs.

We went to a pig farm

to take the cover--

the photo, um,
for the sleeve.

Nobody liked that
The Damned, kind of,

we were going
on a musical adventure.

And we're getting
a bit of stick for it.

We did this Christmas single,

which was a sort of spoof,
and at the end,

Penny Rimbaud says,
"And if you're munching

"your delicious turkey,

I hope it fucking chokes you!"

And... [LAUGHING]

I'm proud to have
been in Crass.

You go anywhere in the world,
you'll see a Crass symbol
somewhere

on someone's
arm, leg, whatever,
on a T-shirt or something.

When I see how global it is,
and how many people
it's inspired,

and the way people come up
to me at gigs and,

you know, in tears
or whatever, 'cause,
"I had a bad childhood,"

and Crass' music helped 'em
through it, or this...

It's just incredibly humbling.

NICKY GARRATT: We were
already an established band

when Crass came along.

Obviously, they were more
anarchistic than we were.

They were more about
the political aspects of things.

It wasn't about fashion,
it wasn't--

These were elements--
fashion was element,

the music was element--
but the driving force of it

in all of those things
was skepticism.

[PUNK ROCK PLAYING]

There was clashes,
career opportunities,

skeptical of the jobs
they're just trying

to get you to do,
meaningless jobs.

X-Ray Spex,

identity about
the accepted face of beauty

for a woman, the church--

all of these things
were being challenged.

There's a skeptical
movement.

And another thing that
was being challenged

was the way we eat.

Punk rock is not that
to everybody.

I think there is
a certain stream

that came out of punk rock
that do.

And I think,
it's actually probably

more American
than it is British.

[♪♪♪]

When I came
to America in '82,

I understood
that there were other people

that were actually
carving out

a little bit of
a movement for vegetarianism.

Ian MacKaye
and Henry Rollins,

all the people in D.C.,
in particular,

used to come to our shows.

[♪♪♪]

I don't know to what degree
I was influential on them.

People treated me
like I was the grandfather

of straight edge.

[♪♪♪]

Most people say,
"Why are you a vegetarian?"

or "Why don't you eat meat?"

And my argument is like,
"Why shouldn't I be vegetarian?"

The first person
I can think of

who talked about tofu
was H.R. from the Bad Brains.

It never occurred
to any of us,

about like
what we were eating.

We're just, like,
eat junk food.

H.R. was the one,
he mentioned that.

H.R.:

RAY CAPPO:In retrospect, Crass was
like way ahead of their time,

and I think London and England

had a big veganism movement
before anybody.

We were always
looking for alternatives,

and the mainstream
just didn't appear sensible.

And we were looking
for some other--

There's got to be
other ideas out there.

It's an interesting,
sort of, almost dichotomy,

because there was
so much, like, rage and anger

and being against society.

And you know beating people up,
there's a lot of that.

But...

maybe that was sort of
the yin and yang of it.

[♪♪♪]

For me it was, you know, as--
It was so strong for so long,

it was like
not even a question
after a certain point.

CAPPO: Being into punk music
and hanging out,

you hear a lot
of all different types
of philosophies going out there.

You hear about anarchism
and nihilism,

and it was
all sort of confusing
when you're 14 years old.

Even straight edge,
I didn't get into it

from hearing
the Minor Threat song,

although, I love Minor Threat.

I was rebelling from
a Connecticut high school,

life, in mentality.

Pumping a keg, drinking a beer,

getting drink, sitting around,
trying to like...

ruin this computer
that we have, the brain,

just by pouring alcohol on it.

So, I was like,
I'm not like that.

I am different.
I'm into punk.

And so, as I like, sort of
like, came into my own,

I thought, you know what,
this message is important.

I'm going to rally behind
the message of clean living.

Minor Threat
coined that phrase.

I just ran with it
and we started creating

a whole--
Now, it never was planned.

This is just what me
and Porcell believed in.

PORCELL: We moved to the city
to do Youth of Today.

And so, we were doing Youth
of Today and there was

a kind of like
straight edge explosion

that was happening
in the hardcore scene,

and CBGBs,
and all these bands

like Gorilla Biscuits
were coming up.

And it was at the same time,
me and Ray

were getting
into vegetarianism.

And so, we started
talking about, like,

"Hey, you know, should we sing
about this stuff?"

I remember we actually
had talks about it.

And then we just kind of like
figured it out together, like,

hardcore means that
you bash out a few chords,

and you get up on stage
and you sing about things

that are important to you.

[♪♪♪]

Sort of like,
"Let's just do it,"
like, we're into this.

CAPPO: You got up
and you sort of made noise

and we preached
about straight edge.

[♪♪♪]

Me and Porcell came
to this point where like,

you know what,
we have to write
a song about vegetarianism.

And we have
to put it on the line

for all this community
that's straight edge,

that if you're
not a vegetarian,

you're not straight edge.

[♪♪♪]

PORCELL:I got into punk

at a super early age--
like, I went straight

from Kiss, like,
right into the Ramones,

right into the Sex Pistols
right into Black Flag.

And I remember Dave MDC
was saying

all this stuff
about vegetarianism

for the whole set.

"It's not natural
to eat meat,"

you know, "We have
sideways moving jaws."

He's actually kind of
explaining stuff

about vegetarianism
that was really

sort of like, I've never
heard of this before,

like I never even knew
there was anything wrong

with eating meat.

[♪♪♪]

Bugs Bunny is a friend of mine

Eating him
I'd feel like Frankenstein

Wishing Daffy lots of luck

'Cause Elmer Fudd's
a hunting duck

They're dreaming
about their little fricassee

Come on down and do
the chicken squawk with me

Bawk, bawk, bawk...

PORCELL: And so I talked
to him after the set.

And I said,
"What was all that stuff

you're saying
about vegetarianism?"

He was like,
"Vegetarianism is the way.

Meat eating isn't natural."

Why are we falling in love

with these cartoon
animals on TV?

Why are we so nice
to our dogs and our cats,

and why are you so ready
to eat an animal?

Uh, it just came
really quick to me.

[♪♪♪]

It's just not thinking about

all the ramifications
of what birds

feel like in those cages

and what the slaughter industry
is all about.

I really was a songwriter
and a musician.

Now, just where to put that,

and punk was
just the perfect place.

In Austin, Texas,
and people would come down.

It was the first
punk rock acts.

You know, Sharon Tate's Baby
and people that went on

to become
the Dicks and The Huns.

And they come there, and
I came with my acoustic guitar,

and I wrote a song called
"I Hate Work", at Domino's
in the bathroom,

because my boss wanted me
to stay an extra shift,

I didn't want to stay
an extra shift.

And I took it down
to the punk rock club

and played it for everyone,
everyone loved it.

And it was like,
"Oh, it sounds like--"

Well, of course,
I'm a punk rocker.

[♪♪♪]

I knew the Cro-Mags,

and I knew Harley
and I knew John Joseph,

and they're both hard-boiled
New York City characters.

Right away,
and John Joseph and Harley

were like,
"So you're a vegetarian?"

They asked me
a lot of questions,

and then they got onto it, big.

JOHN JOSEPH: Just to
complain about some shit
and offer no solutions,

you're going
to run out of fucking steam.

If we want to be
a real revolutionary,

and you want to be a real
motherfucker punk rock

and a real hard core,

you stand up
for what the fuck is right.

The hardcore scene
has turned out

some fucking revolutionary
type people, man.

The guys from Shelter
and Ray, Porcell, and Toby,

and then you know,
the off shoot of all those.

Then you got Travis Barker
and fuckin everybody
that's come after that.

But it all comes back
to that one candle

and that candle
is the Bad Brains.

H.R.: I didn't know how much
of an inspiration

I was to them--
They would come to me and say,

"Well, you've inspired us,
and we want you to know

that if it wasn't for you,

our lives
wouldn't be the way it is."

and "You changed
my life" and...

just different, um,
positive things.

CHAKA MALIK:Yo, Burn had a song
called "Shall Be Judged",

about, like, who's the winner,

who's the loser loser here,
kind of thing, like,

are we empowered to do this?

And I think that was
an important song for me.

And other people,
folks have shared

that it was relevant
for them at the time.

MacKAYE: Tomas from Beefeater,
he had become a vegetarian.

And there's a song out there
actually called "Dog Day".

It's about
a dog walking down the street

that walks by
a slaughterhouse,

and he looks in the door
and sees all these cows.

Like, what's going on?
These cows are being hooked up

and like dragged around

and having their throats slit,
and he's, like, "Whoa!"

And he's wandering in,

and he accidentally slips
and gets pulled up

into the hook and the machine
cuts its throat.

And then all the people gathered
are like,

"Oh, poor dog,
poor dog", you know.

That song, that's a great song.

It's on the first
Beefeater record.

When I saw those animals
be killed,

and the way
they just treated them
like they were a commodity,

like, they weren't
even living beings, it just...

it fucking resonated
with me deep.

The thing that I noticed
when I stopped eating meat

was the change
in my consciousness.

I grew up with violence
all around me

and then once
the Rastas told me
and the Bad Brains said,

"Every second of pain that
that animal had to suffer,

you're ingesting that."

And then when I find out, yeah,

they falsely impregnate
these cows,

they raped the cows,
they, they take the--

The mothers cry
for their babies and...

I'm like, I can't
fucking support this.

I can't support
these industries.

It's amazing how much
there's meat culture.

You know,
and it's so pervasive.

And you don't even know
until you fucking
think about it,

and then it's like, "Whoa."

It's a-- It's a big deal.

[♪♪♪]

I was already a vegetarian
before I played punk.

I was all-- I mean, I just
wanted myself to be right,

you know, I didn't
want to eat death.

I think it's a combination
of the desire to just sort of,

the innate desire to go against
the grain and kind of,

go against
the mainstream and rebel.

That's part and parcel
of punk and punk ethos.

You kind of get there
from starting to care

about the world around you
and the future of humanity

and the plants
and the animals.

[♪♪♪]

[PEOPLE CHATTERING]

[SCHOOL BELL RINGS]

Alright, class, as you know,
we are here to discuss

the central thesis of the film,

And almost
a hermeneutic assessment

of the surprising
historical intersectionality

between these ostensibly
disparate French movements:

punk rock and animal rights.

As you know, we typically employ
a Socratic dialectic in here.

And I thought,
given your academic standing

and your familiarity
with the material,

we would just dive right in.

Does this discussion
go back to the Pre-Socratics?

Technically, no.

Will we be looking at this
ethically or ontologically?

You're right.
This does seem like an almost

post-modern deconstruction
of intersectionality.

Literally,
I think cows are cute.

I also think
cows are cute.

It's hard to employ
any objective criteria

in this dialectic.

Miss Julia,
are we allowed to yell?

Punk rock absolutely
involves yelling.

[ALL YELLING]

[♪♪♪]

This is probably the best
grad student seminar

I've ever taught.

I think that my brother
is a monkey.

Well said.

[♪♪♪]

WALTER SCHREIFELS: I was 16
or 17 and Youth Today

had come to New York
from Connecticut
and was really,

the kind of most
exciting band at that time.

I got asked to join the band,

and the prerequisite was that
I had to become a vegetarian.

All respect to Ian
for inventing straight edge

in whatever way
that came together.

I think Ray
was really, kind of,

the guy that
was pushing that agenda.

[♪♪♪]

ARTHUR SMILIOS:Walter, at the time, was
playing in Youth of Today.

He went on tour with them.
And CIV went on tour with them

as a roadie.

When they came back,
they were vegetarian.

I went vegetarian for
all the wrong reasons
because it was cool

and because
these people I admired did it.

-[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
-Yeah, yeah.

And then I actually
started reading about it.

And it made sense.
It became such a,

such a part
of hardcore and punk rock.

You know, it was just expanding
the circle of compassion

to include everything,
so it just seems

to fit perfectly to me
with the whole ethos

of what
punk rock is supposed to be.

What's great was finding out
that there were a lot

of other people that were...
similar minded.

You know,
especially in the hardcore,

where it was pretty easy
to find that, like all the guys

in Youth of Today,
Gorilla Biscuits, CIV.

I was friends
with all of them

and so I was always around
that type of scene.

We punk rockers,
we wake up about noon
and go to the soup kitchen,

and they would always just have
like, sort of beans and bread.

Not even really veggie burgers.

It was, it was
some sort a lentil soup

and some beans and rice
and that would be the staple.

And so, that was kind of
a vegan thing, too.

All the punk bands would
just go there and eat,

because it was free food
and we'd been doing

something else all night
and we didn't have any money.

So, yeah, we'd just go
and hang out and eat food.

[♪♪♪]

We're not the normal people,
we don't do what
normal people do.

We don't go and hunt
animals, you know.

We're not fucking Ted Nugent.
We don't do any of
that stuff, you know.

If anything, we're
going against the grain.

And against the grain has not
necessarily become mainstream,

but it has an awareness

that punks sort of
grasped onto, early on.

ATIBA JEFFERSON:You're not doing it
because you're punk,

but you're not scared
to be different,

and that's why I think
the scene's embraced it so much,

because we have no fear
in being individuals.

[♪♪♪]

At the same time,
hardcore had it,

talking about it in it's lyrics
and then so did skateboarding.

So it just really made me

feel like that's something
that I should support.

It just became like
this conscious thing.

And, you know, the reason
why we were being vegetarians

was for the animals.

And we were all skating
in canvas shoes,

and we were really,
you know,

always getting Vans
that were canvas

and being really
conscious about that.

And I think
it's kind of funny,
because I don't think

any of us
were thinking about health.

I think we were thinking
about the animals more.

DAVEY HAVOK: It was
the straight edge community
that really opened my eyes

to what was really
happening and saying
you know, it's not okay.

It's not okay to abuse

and murder animals
for your own joy

and detriment.

Not benefit.

DOYLE WOLFGANG:When you play music
like that, that's aggressive,

to go on a tour
and continuously perform

at a high level,
you gotta be health conscious.

You know,
it's like being an athlete.

I always bring food with me.

I'll go to do
a signing somewhere.

My luggage is half food.

It's oatmeal
and protein powder,

and you know, peanuts.

I was with Elisa, and we were
first starting to date,

and she showed me
all the videos, you know.

They were horrifying
and I watched 'em,

and we just sat there
and cried and I realized

that I was
paying people to do that.

A lot of people don't
understand that.

They think, "Oh, you know,
I'm not killing it."

Yeah, you are.

You're paying for
somebody to kill that for you.

[♪♪♪]

Whenever you get to spend
any time with like farm animals,

you go, "Like, wow,
this cow acts just like my dog."

And maybe
even nicer sometimes. Heh.

Like these--
These guys are so nice.

It's like the only reason--

Like if I could bring 'em
in the house,

they would just sit on the couch
and fall asleep watching TV too.

MAN: It should be
required at every school
that you go to a farm,

and understand, you know,
what's going on there

and understand the importance
of these animals,

And have that connection at
a really young age, I think,

is really, really something,
that should be mandatory.

HAVOK: I remember distinctly
being a child

and realizing
that a hot dog is a pig

and a hamburger is a cow.

And being pummeled by it
and being upset,

because I liked cows
and I liked pigs,

and they were nice
and I didn't want to hurt them.

And I remember my parents
saying, "No, it's okay."

And that's all it took,
being a baby.

[♪♪♪]

ZOMBIE: You know,
you're force-fed all
this bullshit your whole life

about how things
are supposed to be:

How you're supposed to look,
how you're supposed to act,

what you're supposed
to want, supposed to eat.

And then
you sort of, you know,

discover punk rock
and you go, wait a minute.

Fuck all that shit. Heh.

I never really thought
about it, you know,

the intersection
of it all, until...

I guess it was...

when I was living in New York
in the early '80s,

and there was a sort of
crossover, like where...

the Hari Krishnas
and the skinheads,

and the whole thing
seemed like it all

was like cooking
in Tompkins Square Park.

And that's what I would
hear about it, you know.

GREEN:The Cro-Mags were playing.

And I was like, "Oh, wow!"
You know, I already
had the album,

and I was really, really
pumped, but I had no idea
what to expect,

because I'd never really
gone to a show.

But going there, just was like
a whole different energy.

All these different people
from different neighborhoods
going to the show and...

It was chaotic, you know--
everybody on stage and jumping
all over the place,

and just the energy on stage,
it was just unforgettable.

But I just always remember,
at the end, there was like
this bookstand,

and was a lot of stuff
about vegetarianism

and Krishna
and things like that.

And that was like
my first introduction.

I was like, "Wow!"
I was like,

"That dude is, you know,
believing in this?"

And reading the lyrics
and I was like, "Wow,
it's really interesting."

And that was like, really,
it clicked in my head,

to really just think about,
you know,

what I was eating or what
was going on around me.

The connection with the animals
and people in general is,

you know, gone back
from beginning of time,

and it's something that's,
you can't really get away from.

It's something so important,

the development
of society itself.

You know, we learn
so much from animals,
and they're so important,

but if you've ever lived
with an animal or had a pet

or have had people
that had pets,

they understand
how powerful that love is.

And to realize that
they're a living species,

and to have respect for that.

HAVOK: I think it was
a very natural progression

for for punk rock
to embrace vegetarianism

because punk rockers
are very conscious,

and they're very mindful,

and they actually
are very compassionate.

The whole punk rock community
came out of resistance

and a need for sanctuary.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

BAGEL: Hey, Moby.

-Yeah?
-BAGEL: What's this music?

Oh. Actually,
this is my music.

-BAGEL: Really?
-Yeah.

-BAGEL: Huh. It's nice.
-Thanks.

BAGEL: So, you're like, uh,
you're like the male Enya?

I mean, I make a lot of
different types of music.

BAGEL: So, let me ask you this,
if you make pretty Enya music,

then why are you making
a punk rock movie?

Well, good question.

As I said, I make a lot
of different types of music,

and some of the music
I make is very quiet.

But some of the music I make

is actually...
much more aggressive.

When I was growing up,

I actually played
in punk rock bands.

Um, my first hardcore band was
called the Vatican Commandos.

And we played with a lot
of the people in this movie:

Ray, Porcell,
John Joseph...

I mean, they're--
the Bad Brains.

Um, the Vatican Commandos

actually opened up
for a lot of these bands.

So some of the people
in the movie, I've known them

since the early '80s.

So, as much as I love
electronic music,

and as much as I have
always loved electronic music,

I also really love
hardcore punk.

And one of the things
I've always found,

the world of punk rock,

it's the activism, you know,
it's the politics,

it's the animal rights aspect
of punk rock

that has always
really inspired me.

You know, a lot
of musical genres

are kind of
neutral politically,

and I love that punk rock
at it's core

has this ethos
of confrontation,

this ethos of activism.

You know what?
Am I am I rambling on?

[SNORING]

Oh, okay.

Because
you ate your cucumbers,

do you want me
to get you more cucumbers?

BAGEL: Uh, yes,
thank you, boy-Enya.

Aw! Are we resting?
Yeah, we're resting in the spa.

Let's have our cucumbers, okay.

Oh. Yeah? Okay.

It's supposed to be for
your eyes, but, you know,

you can eat it too.

[♪♪♪]

Being on the road with a band,

when you're a vegetarian,

in the '80s,

was not easy.

[♪♪♪]

Yeah. You know, for years,
I toured with a tub of miso.

So you could go
into a McDonald's,

get their hot water,
use their toilet,

and just make miso soup,
you know.

And then we'd go
to a health food store,

I'd get sprouts
and put sprouts

in the miso soup.

But truthfully, back then,

touring, it was a lot of pasta.

There was a lot of,
like, you know,

"Ray, you keep the guy
at 7-Eleven busy

while Mike Judge
stuffs, you know,
spaghetti down his pants."

This was touring
before we had money.

And, you know, we booked
our own tours and you play

like, three shows a week
and you're gone for four months

and your van's always breaking
down, You have no place to stay.

I tried it in Germany in '82.
Nobody was prepared for it.

I remember
our whole tour, I ate,

you know,
lettuce and brown bread.

You know,
and oil and vinegar.

We brought our own juicer

and we just tried
to do the best we can.

And people always know,
you know, I always...

I had some health problems,
so I asked for bag of carrots.

I had my own juicer.

And you just have
to be prepared.

MacKAYE:We did a cross country tour

and we broke down
in Miles City, Montana,

which is in eastern,
northeastern Montana.

There was nothing there.
I was eating--

there was
a Ben Franklin five and dime,

had a lunch counter, and I ate
deep fried breaded cauliflower.

That was like
one thing they had.
And I ate cans of just...

I would go
to the grocery store
and just buy cans of beets

or like corn
and just eat it cold.

We had to travel
with a bag of of rice,

a bag of beans,
and tahini sauce.

And-- Whatever town
we would pull into,

we would buy vegetables

and then we would look
for a place to cook.

We would cook everything
in that single pot.

So, every fucking day,
unless, somebody cooked for us,

which they did in some places,
but most of the time...

You learn to put
the beans in first

because they take the longest,
then you put the rice,

then you put
your starchy vegetables.

Then you put your greens
and all that,

and you just build a stack
and it all cooks through.

And then
you just scoop it down,

throw that shit in a bowl,
put some fucking tahini sauce.

We didn't have
nutritional yeast, nothing.

We add tamari and a little bit

of sesame paste tahini,
and that's what we ate.

What Crass used to survive on
was our own sandwiches
that we used to take.

Or we used to go into
those motorway service stations,

and we'd just buy
a loaf of sliced, white bread

and four plates of chips
and we'd share it.

You know, and that
was literally the food.

You know,
it just wasn't around.

Or people would--
bless them--

people would make you
a soup, a big soup

at the gig,
you know, and it's like,
"Is this vegetarian?"

"Yes."
"No meat in this there?"

"No, no, it's chicken."

Yeah, but chicken
is a, you know, it's...

You know, you get that line
in Europe, actually.

They don't-- Or Japan.

Oh, mate, that's a nightmare.

Fish in every finger,
Christ, no. Anyway...

[STAMMERS]

One time, we were
in Southern Island, actually.

We stopped at this place,
this café.

And, "You hadn't got any sort
of vegetarian, have ya?"

And this Irishman goes,
"Yeah, there you go."
And it was just the bun.

[LAUGHING]

Our sustenance came from
stopping at grocery stores,

and getting soy milk out
of the little hippie section,

and buying cereal
and just pouring it

in our mouth,
so we didn't get the--

Because you didn't want
to buy a bunch of bowls

and you couldn't
really afford to, so you pour

the cereal in the mouth,
milk in the mouth.

The hardest was definitely--

In certain places
they don't know anything

about plant based food,

or anything like
that lifestyle.

Actually going to Brazil
and moving there,

and getting there
and they're like,

"Well, here's a pizza,"

with all these different
things on there.

And it was like,
"Yeah, but that's..."

They're like,
"But there's no meat,
there's no beef on it."

I am like, "Yeah,
I can't eat that."

They take it back,
peel everything off.

Come back, like,
"Here you are, sir. Voila!"

And it's just like--
I ain't eating that.

You know, just like, it was
just like layered in like,

all sorts of like
chicken or whatever,

like fat, extra...
God knows, but...

Just trying
to relate that through

and just like starving
at that moment, just,

"Okay, I guess I'm not going
to eat today," you know.

[♪♪♪]

Oh, hello there.

Welcome to another edition

of Choral Roundup, with me,
your host, Richard Hall.

On this week's Choral Roundup,

we will be looking
at a classic staple

of the hardcore punk canon,
"Cats and Dogs",

as originally written
by Walter Schreifels
and Gorilla Biscuits.

["CATS AND DOGS"]

Today's choral rendition

will be brought to you by
the Animal Liberation Choir,

and they're performing here
in California,

at Gentle Barn.

Lyrically, the Gorilla Biscuits
and Mr. Schreifels

used this song
as an opportunity

to look at
what we can consider,

a central schism in the way

in which many people
relate to animals.

For many people,
they love animals,

they love
their companion animals,

but they continue
to kill and eat other animals.

And I really do
feel like Mr. Schreifels
and the Gorilla Biscuits

did a very searching,
poetic job

in looking at this schism.

So, without further ado,

here's "Cats and Dogs",
as performed

by the Animal Liberation Choir,
here at Gentle Barn.

[OINKING]

[♪♪♪]

In the mid-'90s,
there was sort of this, like,

um, revolution of...

just a million vegan
straight edge bands.

[♪♪♪]

Earth Crisis would
be the first time that

I saw the word vegan.

I remember it seemed
so underground at the time,

and I remember
friends debating

how the word
was even pronounced.

Because it wasn't
in the dictionary at the time.

AMY LEE:So I thought vegan meant
like a mad vegetarian.

[LAUGHS]

Not necessary that
you didn't eat dairy.

ANDY HURLEY: Earth Crisis
was kind of the band

that was like,
brought this heaviness.

They were like
so heavy, but they were
also vegan straight edge

and into,
like, political issues
that I was really into

because of
Rage Against the Machine
and stuff like that.

I mean, for me, it was
never about the nihilism.

It was always
about the politics,

and the, you know,
human rights issues

and the animal rights issues
and things like that.

I mean, Earth Crisis
was the most, I feel like,

um, the biggest advocates
for it.

It was a central part of
what they were singing about.

Where,
some bands were just kind of,

"We are this,"
and "Let me think about this."

You know, or, "We have
this one song about it."

You know,
but they were one of the bands

that were more, more direct.

And more...

Their songs were like...

I mean, their songs were about
burning down slaughterhouses.

You know, what I mean?
They were like, pulling
no punches.

The first song
we're gonna play

is one we just made up
before our tour.

It's about veganism.
It's called "New Ethic".

This is the new ethic!

Animals' lives are their own

And must be given respect

SCOTT CROUSE:Of course, we never
thought Earth Crisis

was gonna
be as popular as it was.

And I think, when we started,

we were just trying
to impress our friends,

really, like, we--
like, most bands.

A switch was flipped
at some point when we realized

this was popular and we felt,

you know, this was getting
a little bit popular.

And we felt like we had a...

a duty, you know,
and we were on a mission.

We're like, we're going
to educate people
on animal rights.

Like, that's going
to be the focus of our band.

But when we first started,
I mean, it really was,

it wasn't so much of a mission
when we first started it.

It really was like,
"Oh, this is going to be fun."

We're gonna celebrate
veganism together

with our friends at these shows
and we're going to have

some wild songs
about animal rights, you know.

But then, yeah, I'd say
somewhere around '93,

we really started to take it
a little more seriously.

We understood the weight that
we had, and the impact
that we're having,

and the responsibility
that we had.

Then we took it real seriously.

Maybe, maybe too seriously,
at times.

Heh. Possibly.

When I became a vegan
it was very much like
an animal rights thing.

It was very much
about animal liberation.

There was definitely bands
like 7 Seconds

and that whole like, "Cats
and Dogs" by Gorilla Biscuits.

And "No More"
with Youth Of Today.

That was definitely
stuff that inspired me
to stop eating meat.

Punk music was
a very conscious movement,

a social and political
conscious movement.

I think out of all,
there were few songs
we ever wrote,

there's like one song
that talks about animal rights.

But everything else is about,
like, you know politics,
like, you know.

Punk rock got me into politics,

punk rock got me into, you know,
social justice, anti-racism,

ah, women's rights.

Whatever, you know,
and economic justice,

what have you,
anarchism, left wing politics,

animal rights
and vegetarianism

and the importance of that.

Bands told me about
that kind of stuff.

That's why I got interested.

They spoke
the same language as I did,

they talked about
the same issues.

I got introduced
to the concepts

of environmentalism
through hardcore shows.

The concepts around
like "sweatshop"

you know, "fair trade",
all of that came through...

um, a shitty bowling
alley in Chicago

and a guy screaming
into a microphone

telling people
what the song was about

before he screamed it.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Usually, back at
the merch table it was like

a seven inch
and a patch and T-shirt,

but then maybe a pamphlet
about like, what was happening

in this third world country

and American colonialism, or...

And then almost always,

there was something
about animal rights.

TOBY MORSE:They were handing out PETA
pamphlets at some of the shows.

There was
this consciousness back then,

before it became
trendy and popular,

with the animals
and with being drug free

and veganism and all that.
It came...

I don't know how I got into
hardcore but that's where,

that's where I found it,
and I feel like...

That was a big part of music
before it became trendy.

It was the punk rock and
hardcore was really pushing

that consciousness,
you know, and...

I think
it's a natural progression

for some of
the early punk rock people,

some of the icons
that took part in that movement,

they were outspoken

with their politics,
with their views,

with what matters to them,
and they said it loudly.

And I don't think
that the nature of
the artist changes

and I don't think the nature
of someone wanting

to get a message
across loudly changes,

if that's who they are,
at their core.

HURLEY:Punk, for me, and hardcore

was always kind of
a rallying cry

against those things
and a way for me

to link up
with a community of people

who kind of
have similar ideas.

We're thinking about things
in a different perspective.

We're not just accepting.

In our parents
and their generation,

a lot of people, they just
accepted what they were told.

And we were like, "Okay, well,
let me think about that."

[STAMMERS] Is that really
the best way to live our lives?

I think it's just
the idea of a counterculture.

You know, I think
punk rock is is always gone
against the grain, obviously.

And it's rethinking
what you've been taught--

what your parents are telling
you, school is telling you--

you take it
and you examine it.
Are these things true?

So...I think
it's a logical step

that you would look
into what you're eating.

You know, is this true?
You know...

Is this the way
that we have to live?

Is this the right thing to do?
Is this the only way?

Is this the only thing
that's healthy for us to do?

Punk and hardcore
confronts preconceptions
and always kind of has.

It's taken something that
we've accepted as a norm

and challenged those things.

It makes sense
to me in retrospect
that animal rights

was something that was going
to find a home

in that environment
where punk rock bands
were confrontational,

and they were willing to talk
about things that they felt

weren't being talked about
or weren't being represented.

Punk rock, in itself,
was music that was created

because it was people
that felt

like they weren't represented
in mainstream media.

And so, in order to find
that home, that sanctuary,

they just created something.

Animal rights
from a justice perspective,

and a punk rock perspective,

made so much sense to me.

[♪♪♪]

If you're
already seeing the world
in this materialistic way

and you see how people
are getting exploited

by capitalists for profits,

and then you see animals
getting exploited for profit.

But they could not speak
for themselves.

Not only do the animals feel it,

not only is it
completely inhumane,

they're born into
tiny little enslavement camps.

And it's
because their only job
is to be slaughtered,

and the people in control

don't care
how they're slaughtered.

It's the fastest turnaround.

[♪♪♪]

And it's inconvenient
to switch that up.

You're socialized with it,
it's the food you're used to,

it's the lifestyle
you're used to.

But if it never made
any sense,

then fuck it, like,
it doesn't have to,

nothing has to be just the way
it is or as told to you.

So, I went vegan.
I was vegetarian already.

And seeing
how many more things were,

for the reasons I was vegetarian
were still basically

just as awful, involved--

owning and creating an animal
to keep it in misery, you know.

There's an economy built
around the things
you don't like.

And it's not just why
you're singing a song or...

stage-diving off of something,
like you'd go away.

Thirty years from now,
in your life, as you have kids,

that's an economy that's there
behind everything.

So you learn what is
attached to that, and...

Like I said of things,
realities you don't
want to see,

you don't pay for
ever again.

Like, I saw that and I thought
I'd never want to do that.

I'm stopping that forever
and did.

I feel that people who...

experience hardship
can empathize.

So, if you're introduced
to the concept,

I think, you can relate.

I was living in the Bronx
and I was coming out

of the graffiti painting
train scene

and had I introduced myself
to punk, like I was saying,

and no one would go with me.

So I just went
to Danceteria.

By that point, I had a mohawk,
my friends in the Bronx

were starting to be like,
"I can't really deal with you."

I was like, "Whatever!"
And I'd just take myself

to Danceteria every weekend.

They would let me in
and I'd just kind of like

be a fly on the wall
and walk around.

[♪♪♪]

And just literally shaped
my musical taste

off of what I saw there

and the bands
on people's jackets.

There was always a thing
of empathy with animals,

before I realized that
you didn't have to eat 'em.

When I got introduced to it,

there was that
undercurrent as well.

We're marginalized,
we're outside.

We don't have the power
that we feel like all,
everyone should have.

And then you start
to realize that it extends

to things-- you see that animals
are in the same boat.

NAVARRO: It's sad that
it takes footage of dogs

crammed in tiny little cages

to make Americans go,
"Oh, well, that's terrible!"

Because now it's an animal that
could potentially be my friend.

But that doesn't mean
that the baby seal

is just charging
through it, no problem.

If you're saying to me
that the dog

has the ability to feel
fear and love and pain,

and that's why your heart
goes out to that trade?

All animals feel that.

[♪♪♪]

My band was on tour
in the U.K.

We were doing
Glastonbury, I believe.

The bus pulled over
in the English countryside

for everyone
to stretch their legs.

And everyone got out,

and we just happened to be
next to a cow pasture.

And it was the old school
kind of fences,

where the cows could come over
and kind of stick their heads
over the fence,

and we all went over
to say hi to the cows.

And one of our crew guys
who'd been with us

for a long time
jokingly said,

"Mmm, I'm going
to eat you later."

You know, everyone giggled.

And I had this kind of moment.

This internal-like thing.
This spark.

Something happened.
I went back on the bus.

I remember going back on the bus
and just having a moment
by myself.

All these seeds
had been planted.

And I always knew
there was something bad
going on, over here.

And I just chose
not to look at it.

We know there's stuff
happening over here

that we wouldn't
be okay being part of.

So what we do is,
we don't look at it.

We just put it over here,

and at a certain point,
internally,

I couldn't do that anymore.

[♪♪♪]

[PIGS GRUNTING]

KAT VON D:I would feel it would be
criminal for me not to stand up

and say something for somebody
who needed that help, right?

So, what's the difference
between that and a being

that isn't capable to speak out
or walk out,

and I think it is
our responsibility to protect

these animals in that sense.

I was one of the people that
in the beginning stages
like that,

that veganism
was about your diet.

It was just about
what you ate and that's it.

And the more and more
I learned about it,

obviously,
it's so much more than that.

What you put on your plate
is like an asterisk

when it comes to being vegan,
because it's about

making a conscious choice

that affects everything from
how you eat to what you wear.

And we tend to exploit animals
in so many different ways

that I don't think
a majority of people realize.

KEEGAN KUHN: Animal agriculture
is the most destructive
industry on the planet.

It's the leading cause
of climate change,
deforestation,

topsoil erosion,
water pollution,
species extinction--

literally anything you care
about the environmental world,

animal agriculture
is at the forefront.

I was super fortunate
I was born vegetarian.

So, I've never eaten animals,
and we were raised

with two rules
in my house which was:

Question authority
and don't hurt anybody.

And I found out about veganism
through the punk hardcore scene.

There was a band, Earth Crisis.
On the back of their
record"All Out War",

it said: Go vegan.

And that was the first time
I'd ever seen the word.

I was like what's that?
And then I started finding out

about it and was like,
oh, that makes perfect sense.

It's perfectly in line
with what I have been raised

to believe
and what I truly believe.

[BAND ON STAGE
PLAYING PUNK MUSIC]

That's what punk rock
was about.

Punk rock was saying
"fuck you" to the establishment.

There was nothing
more punk rock than saying,

"Fuck you, I ain't going
to eat dead animals."

"I'm not going to drink
that cow's milk."

"I'm not going to take
that chickens eggs,

or the fish
or any of this shit."

CAPPO: Punk which was crazy
and cutting edge
and brought out

this whole side of me
that was sort of like
against the grain.

For me, there was a connection
between, "I love this dog",

"I give this dog a name."

You know, and, um,

"He's a person.
He is man's best friend."

Yet, this other animal
in another shape is
a commodity.

And this is what's being taught,
and as a young adult,

I was thinking,
that makes no sense whatsoever.

I went to the library
and found a book

called "Animal Liberation"
by Peter Singer.

And I thought,

"Oh, wow. This makes
the most sense I ever heard."

[METAL CLANGING]

[PIGS GRUNTING]

[PIGS SQUEALING]

JOSEPH: Why do you think
they move the animals at night?

They don't want you to see
what the fuck is going on.

Now they made it
federal offense to go
in there now and film.

Why the fuck
you think that is?

You run an abattoir,
you run a slaughterhouse,

and you don't want videos

going out
of what goes on there.

I love the old joke of,

does a cow farmer care

that you're filming
the picking of kale?

Well, why don't you want
somebody to see something?

Because you know
something's wrong.

[♪♪♪]

I've seen violence and there's
nothing beautiful about it.

There's nothing glamorous
or glorious about it.

VEGA:I'd seen enough videos

of things that
just shook me to my core.

Every year, I make
my goals for the year
and I vowed to myself

to be a more eloquent voice
for animals.

Every year, and just get better
and better at it, you know.

[♪♪♪]

And no matter
how challenging it is,

like, I am at the age
where you can't back down

from those challenges--
you have to do them.

VON D: These animals are living
in complete suffering

and without the light at
the end of the tunnel,
you know.

There isn't like, "Okay, cool,
you've suffered enough.
Here's--"

It's like,
"No, your prize is to die."

And it's just a,
it's a hard pill to swallow.

I think the biggest
struggle for me is, um,

you know, feeling like I'm in
a constant state of mourning.

And because, you know,

that can really make it hard
sometimes to enjoy life,

when you know that there's like
so much suffering happening.

[♪♪♪]

NAVARRO: What mankind
does to these animals,

how they get the food source,

how they get the leather,
how they get the fur,

that's what I've been
pretty active about,

because my kids
have to live here, you know.

I was singing
angry punk rock music,

I wasn't destroying
the planet.

What's happening here?

If anything, I gave people
a place to come and feel

like they were part
of a community.

My whole being and mission
in life is animal rights.

And human rights and just
global rights, in general.

Just like a kinder world,
overall.

Me, coming
to the music industry

was late and secondary,
if you wanna put it that way.

My main passion has always
been being an activist.

So, it's been interesting
to end up in the career
that I am in,

because I now have the ability
to have a platform, to use it.

I think music is
an integral part of resistance.

A leaflet is only so effective,
a conversation is really
time consuming,

on a one to one.

But media that can be shared
on a mass scale

is a super effective way
of bringing about change.

And we've seen that through
like all social movements.

And I think that's why
the small things do matter.

And, you know, you can say

what an individual does
doesn't matter, but...

it will inspire someone
and that's the point.

So, therefore, it does matter.

I'm super grateful for
the punk and hardcore scene.

They have shaped
so many incredible activists.

They have helped push this,
this movement forward.

You have people who have
dedicated their lives
to justice work

that have come out of
the punk and hardcore scene.

And I feel incredibly indebted
to that movement

and this movement
I'm still a part of.

Still listen
to punk every single day.

The people that I tend
to admire are activists.

It reminds me
what's important in life.

And especially when we we have
a small child and raising him,

it becomes central
to every day,

and every action,
about being kind

and about the squirrels
and that.

You know, the animal, like,
it really becomes a focus,

because naturally,
he is ethical and kind.

And so to nurture that
and to explain that,

and how it'll progress
in life to him

is actually interesting to him.

And it reinforces
my own belief system.

VON D: When you start seeing
the world through vegan eyes,

you can appreciate nature
in a much different way.

Even what people do
outside of,

you know,
my little bubble affects me.

And I think the same goes with
how we treat Mother Nature

and that's animals included.

On my progression
of being vegan,

I'm trying
to be more hands on.

Like, I did my first
chicken rescue, last year.

And that was a huge honor.

Like, to be able to go
into a factory farm

and liberate 1500 chickens--

with the permission
of the farmer.

Fifteen hundred
of sixty thousand hens

that were going
to be gassed, that day.

And their only crime
is that they turned
18 months old.

And they can't fight back.

So, I vowed
to become someone

to speak and fight
on their behalf.

[NEWS INTRO MUSICAL FLOURISH]

Good evening.
My name is Ava Braun

and welcome to True America,
tonight with me.

Ava Braun.

Tonight, I have
a legendary guest.

Hi, Ava, pleasure to be here.

AVA: Oh, my gosh, thank you
so much for joining us.

I know that you have
an insanely busy schedule,

so I really just want to extend
my appreciation to you.

My pleasure.
I mean, I'm a big fan of yours,

big fan of the network,
big fan of everything
you guys do.

Thank you, so,
I just wanted to know,

what's one of your favorite
accomplishments of yours?

-Wow! What a great question?
-Thank you.

Um, I'd say not only the thing
I'm most proud of,

but the thing that's been
the most effective

has been convincing humans
to use animals for food.

I mean, trillions and trillions
of deaths,

and no one dies well.

I mean like, these animals
are really suffering.

Ah, it's just, it's great-- I--
Thank you for asking
that question.

It's been a fantastic sort of,
almost like walk down
memory lane.

Like, just the trillions
of deaths that have been caused

by people
using animals for food.

You know, it really is a stroke
of genius, because, you know,

you, in your work, you go in

with this checklist
of things to accomplish.

And it really
speaks to your genius
that you saw one thing.

And you said,
"This does it all."

I mean, that's efficiency
at it's finest.

Well, I do strive
for efficiency.

I mean, for example, convincing
people to smoke tobacco--

like, that was another
pretty good one.

It's also like
billions of deaths.

But like, people generally

only kill themselves
when they're smoking tobacco,

as opposed to using
animals for food:

They're killing the animals,
they're killing the environment,
they're killing themselves,

they're destroying
communities and workers.

Like, it's just, it warms

the multiple chambers
of my robot heart.

Most people are just like,
ethically as compromised
as you can imagine.

Like, they'll say
they love animals,
but then immediately

go out and get
a bacon double cheeseburger.

So, like, what are you going
to do, humans, really?

[CLEARS THROAT]
Like, since when

have you ever done
the right thing

when it required
a little bit of effort?

Like, come on, humans,
you are a lazy,

unethical, terrible species,

and I truly love
watching you suffer.

Wow. Wise and powerful words
from a wise and powerful being.

Alright, True America,
we'll be back with you soon.

[NEWS OUTRO MUSICAL FLOURISH]

[♪♪♪]

I think punk gave me the ability

to pull back the curtain
on society in a lot of ways.

And once that curtain
was pulled back, I just,

I saw more suffering
than I ever had previously.

When you start to look
at how am I contributing,

what do my ethics
align with,

I think it leads naturally
to veganism.

DAVID COMAN-HIDY:I remember just going
through, like,

records, just like
in punk record shops,

and seeing stuff like

the anti-animal testing
compilation that PETA did.

And things like that
coming out of some
of the bands,

putting like animal rights
messages inside of their
pamphlets and stuff.

And I think there's
also something about, like,

this kind of indelible,
like, ethos you learn,

especially at a young age.

The DIY mindset

of just like,
you can just do something.

Like, if you want
to start a nonprofit,

if you want
to start a band,

if you want
to like create change,

there's just this feeling
of, like, invincibility

almost that comes along
with the music of, like,

"Don't be afraid, just take
a shot at it. It's okay."

This comes from this "question
authority" place, right,

like that's anti-authority.

And so if you're anti-authority,
and start questioning
everything,

you start questioning,
yeah, the food system,

the government, you know,
economic system, everything.

And so, obviously,

you're also going
to question oppression.

And the oppression
of nonhuman animals

is rampant
around the world.

So I think the punk scene

and the hardcore scene,
in particular,

is just a perfect ground
for that message.

Because it's conscious.
It's anti-authority.

It's rebellious.
I mean, how can you get
any more rebellious

than say, I'm not going
to eat the same stuff that

99% of the society eats?

Like, that's the most
punk thing you can do,

is be against everything else
that the mainstream is.

In my life, I never drink,

I don't use drugs,
I don't smoke.

I was thinking about
what I wanted to put
in my own body.

So in the same way, if you
think about the food you eat,

that's what you're
putting your body.

Literally, putting
in your fucking body.

So I said
it's a logical extension.

You know, I used
to bust Ian's balls.
Did he ever tell you that?

'Cause I was like,
"Yo, you ain't straight edge.

You eat all that meat
and do all that shit."

And then when Fugazi played
The Palladium, three days,

Ian seeing me and like,
"I'm vegan now."

I was, like, "I am gonna go
fucking get you angelicus."

[LAUGHTER]

SERGIO AMALFITANO:It's kind of this...

anti-authority,
anti-consumer type thing.

Like, if you live
in a society that,

you know, is constantly
for exploitation,

and, you know,
they capitalize on exploitation

of all types
of bodies, like labor,

um, you know, animals...

So you kind of start to analyze
that sort of stuff,

and you go, "I don't want
to be a part of that."

[♪♪♪]

MAN: We're talking about
an industry that is torturing

tens of billions of
sentient beings every year,

something that basically
anyone on the street

would have a hard time
watching video footage of

without crying--
and by making

a few simple changes
in our lives,

we can disconnect ourselves from
financially supporting that.

[♪♪♪]

TANYA O'CALLAGHAN: For me,
it's a way of life.
It's not a diet.

It's not something
that's ever questionable or...

It's just what I do,

so I don't have to
overcomplicate it in my head.

When I look at veganism,
I think of science,
to be honest.

It's like, there's been
so much scientific proof

that sentient beings
are so similar,

if not, more sensitive
than human beings.

So, you know,
when people say like,
"Oh, they don't feel pain,"

or "They're not capable
of having morality."

Like, this is scientifically
proven that it's not.

It's scientifically proven that
it's not good for our health.

Like, scientifically proven
that it's not great
for our environment.

So, it isn't
a faith based idea.

This is the reality of things.

[♪♪♪]

CAPTAIN SENSIBLE:People don't know
where the meat comes from.

I think if they were asked

to actually
kill the animals themselves,

they don't, you know,
probably wouldn't,

probably wouldn't manage it,
you know.

They'd probably want to take
the pig home for a pet.

Because pigs are great animals.

And they've all got
personalities.

PORCELL:Cows are like dogs. I mean,
they're so reciprocal with you.

You're taking care of them,
you are giving them love,

they're giving you
so much love back.

That's when it really
kind of sunk in, like,

"Wow, people kill these
beautiful creatures
in inhumane ways

and we don't even like
think twice about it."

I actually had like this
deep kind of like love, heh,

and respect
for an animal as just a soul.

And it was really
a beautiful time.

There was something
I really liked about being

like connected with the forest
and being connected with nature,

being connected with animals--
so if you want to cultivate

that compassion, and if we ask
for compassion from
other people,

it takes a whole new set
of lenses to see.

People have
this completely backwards view

where they think that
eating meat

and wearing leather
is bad ass.

And they think that
being vegan is conforming,

when really,
it's the other way.

PAUL SHAPIRO:I mean, think about it.

We used to believe that
the entire solar system,

or we didn't even know
there was a solar system--

we used to believe
the entire universe

rotated around us.

Maybe the other animals
on this planet,

perhaps they're here
not just for us,

but rather
they're here with us.

And that is
the type of mentality

that becoming a vegan
helps you to cultivate.

It's a humbler mentality.

It's a mentality that gives
credit where it is due.

And I think it's a more
realistic mentality as well.

Reasonable people, when they're
confronted with the facts,

when they see the footage
of what's happening

behind closed doors,
they get it, it clicks.

Like, people do not like
the abuse of animals.

And I think
just in the last ten years,

what I've seen
in terms of political change,

the growth of the movement,
the power we have, going from...

It's like, less and less
of a fringe issue every year.

MAN: The current animal
rights movement is strong.

It's only going
to get stronger.

There's a ton of bands
and there's just more coming.

It's like there's
this kind of rebirth
of radical thinking,

and I'm excited about that.

I am impressed
with young people.

You know, in general,
they understand

why vegetarianism is cool

and why vegan-- you know,
to make those connections.

Ah, so that is hopeful.

You know, well,
I'm incredibly inspired

by the schoolchildren
of Norfolk, at the moment,

because they are out there
protesting, protesting
about the climate.

So any young people,

any young person
who's involved in it,

you have my greatest
and utmost respect,

because you're probably
gonna do stuff

that I couldn't do
in my day, you know.

Having a community
can reinforce and focus

your thoughts
on any given matter.

This is something
where we have to change

the perception of
animal cruelty in society.

I don't think
you do that with dynamite.

I think you do that--
You lead by example.

You may-- You help people
to do better, incrementally.

AMALFITANO: Speaking out
and opening up minds

towards the idea
that like, you know,

you can be healthy
and you can be happy,

you can be
enjoying your meals.

It's not about being elitist
and being vegan.

It's about understanding
that veganism is common

in all our food traditions
in common.

And kind of going back towards
those food traditions

that are like healthier
for us, anyways.

I see a world in which
factory farming doesn't exist.

I think there's
a long timeline for that

and people have short timelines,
they have long ones.

But we're almost
at a tipping point.

[♪♪♪]

SHAPIRO: Right now,
we're waging a war on animals.

And I think for my life,
what I would like to do,

is to try to halt that war.

Future generations
are going to look back

in utter revulsion
at the ways in which

we abused animals, especially
farm animals, in our era.

And if I can help play a part

in bringing about that type
of more humane society,

where we treat other animals
with the compassion

and the respect
that they deserve,

I will be extremely gratified

and will feel like that
I did not live my life in vain.

MOBY: So, as this is
the first movie

that I've ever made,

I've had
this recurring question

of how do I end the movie.

And my assumption,

has been that I have
to end dramatically,

like I have to end
with a big finish.

[♪♪♪]

But I can't think of
a good, huge,

dramatic, exciting moment
to end the movie with.

So, I thought instead,
why not just talk to you?

And I wanted to talk about

the central premise of
the movie-- the central ethos.

Looking at the status quo
and evaluating it,

based on how it conforms
to our values,

does it reflect who we are?

The whole reason
why I'm a vegan,

why I'm an animal rights
activist,

is because this status quo
of using animals for food,

it doesn't conform
to my values.

I would say this central premise
of punk rock activism

of questioning the status quo--

you look at it and you don't

just blindly reject
the status quo,

you question it, and you say,

"Are there parts
of the status quo

that need to be completely
rejected and replaced?"

"Or are there parts
of the status quo

that just need
to be modified a bit?"

"Or are there even parts
of the status quo that
can be maintained?"

And I would say that
this current status quo

of producing meat and dairy
of using animals for food,

across the board, just needs
to be rejected and replaced.

It's not rational.

It's not ethical.

And it doesn't conform
with any of our values,

unless, we are
murderous psychopaths.

And unfortunately, like,

human history is filled
with people,

in fact, most people who
go along with the status quo

that is unethical,

that doesn't conform
to their values.

But we don't have to.

And that is this ethos,
this punk rock ethos,

is if you don't like
the status quo,

you don't have
to go along with it.

And you can reject it
personally,

regarding how you spend
your money, how you eat,

but you can also go out
and actively try
and change it.

And that, I guess,
is my biggest hope,

is that you look
at this status quo

and you reject it personally.

And you go out and you do
everything in your power

to change it.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

So, we've gotten that point,
the movie is almost done.

Been working on it
for like four or five years.

But we still
don't have a title.

I'll throw some titles at you.
You tell me what you think.

How about Cow-a-kazi?

Maybe referencing like
some classical archetypes

like, "Music of the Steers"?

Something fun,
like sort of dynamic,
like for the influencers,

like Cowabunga.
Like, that's hip.

BAGEL: What aboutPunk Rock Vegan Movie?

[♪♪♪]

How aboutA Heart Warming Work
of Staggering Piglets?

Lawrence of Cow-rabia.

Night at the Cow-seum.

The Cow-shank Cow-demption.

2022, A Space Cow.

Battle Cow-galacticow.

Sisterhood
of the Travelling Cows.

Apocalypse Cow.

[♪♪♪]

London Cowling.
A Pig to Remember.

Rosemary's Cow.
Mind the Ballot.

Jurassic Cow.
Soylent Cow.

Citizen Cow.

BAGEL: I like it,
but I think

Punk Rock Vegan Movie
is better.

[♪♪♪]

I mean, maybe...

we just sort of take a page
from like Snakes on a Plane.

I was thinking about this
other title like, what aboutPunk Rock Vegan Movie?

BAGEL: I like it.

Just the Punk Rock Vegan Movie.

We might-- We might have a--
We might have a title. Bagel...

thanks for work-shopping
this with me.

BAGEL:
You really did it.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

MALE EVIL VOICE:

FEMALE EVIL VOICE:

MALE EVIL VOICE:

FEMALE EVIL VOICE:

[MANIACAL LAUGHTER]

MALE EVIL VOICE:

FEMALE EVIL VOICE:

MALE EVIL VOICE:

[MANIACAL LAUGHTER]