“Meet Your Meat”

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” can be used to justify never looking up PETA’s videos on YouTube. In chapter 17 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan discusses the impacts of people knowing exactly what happens in a slaughterhouse. He brings up the idea that meat manufacturers understand that the less people know, the better. Once people see what happens they are more likely to get emotionally invested, and that is the last thing companies want because as soon as they get attached, they feel remorse for eating meat. Then they stop buying it. That is exactly what PETA wants to happen. They post intimate videos of animal treatment prior to, and during, the slaughtering process. For this particular video, PETA sent in undercover investigators to film the animals, and retrieve footage the meat industry would otherwise never let become public. The way the documentary is put together, combined with the narration, really pulls on the viewers heart strings. It makes you feel guilty for eating meat, and responsible for all of the deaths in the video. The more personal they make it, the greater the impact the video has. Even if the viewer doesn’t become a vegetarian after watching it, they will definitely consider the effects of their eating habits. This video shows how powerful informative documentaries can be, and how different organizations can use them as a weapons. Being able to put a video on a homepage, or on YouTube, allows PETA access to a whole new war-front. Gone are the days of controversial newspaper adds and magazine spreads. If someone wants awareness they can record a video and have it on the internet within the hour. This easy access can be revolutionary, and also dangerous. It is very easy to get false information because anyone can post it. People also tend to post their opinions, rather than facts. This gut-wrenching expose that PETA made is designed to tap into the viewers emotional side, which is exactly what Michael Pollan says the meat industry is afraid of.

But Beyoncé told me to…

Millions of girls look up to Beyoncé. They want to be exactly like her. They emulate her wardrobe, her dance moves, and basically everything else she does. This means that she has the power to be either a role model for them, or a danger to them. At 5:18 in this video Beyoncé talks about the Master Cleanse diet she did to lose 20 pounds for her role in Dreamgirls. This diet consists of drinking a quart of salt water every morning, 6-12 glasses of a lemonade concoction with cayenne pepper and maple syrup throughout the day, and laxative tea every night for 14 days. After watching Oprah, or seeing the interview on the Internet, young girls may be inclined to try the diet. These girls may be tiny already and drop into an unhealthy weight zone, or this diet could be harmful to girls who are still developing. The Master Cleanse is a way to supposedly “detox” your body, and does not provide you with the nutrients you need. While this diet may have worked for Beyoncé with plenty of assistants constantly checking on her health, it could be fatal for a young girl who is inspired by Beyoncé and decides to do the cleanse for a month instead of 14 days. Even though I am picking on Beyoncé because of her support of the Master Cleanse, there are a lot of celebrities who advocate much worse. Often times they don’t even realize how much impact they have on the public. Teenage girls especially are very susceptible to peer pressure, and when they see their idol do something they automatically think that it is cool. That’s why celebrities have to be careful about their actions and the things they endorse because it could lead their fans down a pretty dark road.