Veganism is no longer just a phenomenon that is passing by like a trend. Veganism is a way of life. And as Veganism is becoming a more popular lifestyle choice as time’s changing, so is the method of awareness about veganism. Documentaries and fictional narratives become the most popular choices for it.
So vegan documentaries like Earthlings and Eating You Alive don’t aim to glorify the vegan lifestyle by dissing the non-vegetarians. The vegan documentaries on Amazon Prime aim at creating a different vision, a new lens to look at the vegan lifestyle as an enhancement of the daily processes of your life.
Best Vegan Doumentaries on Amazon Prime
1. A River of Waste: The Hazardous Truth About Factory Farms
2. Super Size Me
3. Forks Over Knives
4. Vegan Everyday Stories
5. Hungry For Change
6. Unsupersize Me
7. At the Fork
8. The Big Fat Lie
9. The Invisible Vegan
10. Hogwood : A Modern Horror Story
What Are Vegan Documentaries?
Now that we know what all veganism stands for, we need to understand what the vegan documentaries aim at. They aim at exploring all the little elements that come together and establish Veganism as a concrete philosophy.
NGOs, Directors, and Documentary filmmakers or any such entities create videos that cover the harsh treatment of animals in the animal agriculture industry, the food production factories, and establish the relationship between veganism and its positive impact on the environment as compared to the animal agriculture that disrupts the earth’s ecosystem.
Where Can You Watch Vegan Documentaries?
There are multiple OTT platforms and software like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, etc. that have original documentary productions featured as well as documentaries from directors all around the world.
But since you can’t have the time to explore all the platforms for a really good documentary, we come to you with a list of 10 must-watch vegan documentaries on Amazon Prime to take away the tussle and toil of the arduous task of shortlisting what documentaries to watch.
10 Vegan Documentaries on Amazon Prime You Can’t-Miss
1. A River of Waste: The Hazardous Truth About Factory Farms
IMDB Rating : 8.1/10
This documentary uncovers massive health and environmental scandal which is a part of the modern industrial system that has been used for meat and poultry production. Some scientists even make compare current factory farms to mini Chernobyls. Across the world, the meat and poultry industry is dominated by dangerous uses of arsenic, antibiotics, and growth hormones. Furthermore, the industry is also responsible for dumping massive amounts of sewage in fragile waterways and ecosystems.
This documentary covers the astonishing impact these practices have on public health and the environment as a whole. It also looks at the damage and distraction caused to individual lives due to established industry practices.
2. Super Size Me
IMDB Rating : 7.2/10
The documentarian Morgan Spurlock carries out a 30-day experiment where he will only eat McDonald’s fast food for all his meals and try out every dish on the fast-food restaurant’s menu. Before experimenting, he gets a health check-up from a general practitioner, a cardiologist, and a gastroenterologist to ensure that the experiment brings out apt results.
The documentary is made to uncover the truth about big restaurant chains like McDonald’s selling fast food knowing their food composition is harmful to customers’ health. It also sets the stage for a vegan and well-balanced diet that can be much more healthy as compared to a diet that lacks a balance of nutrients.
Morgan Spurlock gets a daily check-up for 30 days and has shot this documentary to observe the effects of fast food and its lack of nutrients.
3. Forks Over Knives
IMDB Rating : 7.7/10
This documentary explores the claims that the majority of degenerative diseases that affect us can be managed, and even reversed in some instances by way of rejecting the current meal plans that comprise animal-based foods and processed food.
It traces the personal journeys of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a top surgeon at the highly-recognized Cleveland Clinic along with Dr. T.Colin Campbell, a nutritional scientist from the University of Cornell. Together, these gentlemen have conducted several groundbreaking studies, which include one of the most comprehensive health-related investigations.
Both researchers reach the same shocking conclusion, through individual and collective research. This documentary shows how several forms of cancer and degenerative diseases such as type 2 diabetes and health ailments can be prevented in the majority of cases and even reversed by following a plant-based diet consisting of whole foods.
4. Vegan Everyday Stories
IMDB Rating : 7.8/10
This documentary introduces the world to the everyday improvements in life as they go vegan. It unravels the lives of 4 big-time vegans and how veganism changed their lives for the better- an ultramarathon runner who overcomes his addiction to compete in a 100-mile race, a rancher’s wife who creates a cattle ranch turned farmed animal sanctuary in Texas, a food truck owner who comes up with novel plant-based foods, and an 8-year-old girl who convinces her 6 family members to go vegan.
The documentary sheds light on daily life upswing because of a vegan lifestyle and plant-based diet and this project is funded by the Northwest VEG community.
5. Hungry For Change
IMDB Rating : 7.4/10
This documentary explores the secrets that diet, weight loss, and food-based industries conceal from consumers. It takes you on a journey exposing the deceptive strategies that are employed to keep you coming back for more.
It offers a well-defined guide for users to transition from a lifestyle consisting of processed foods to a lifestyle that offers a wide variety of healthier alternatives
6. Unsupersize Me
IMDB Rating : 6.4/10
Unsupersize Me is created on the true story of Juan-Carlos Asse, a fitness trainer, and his belief that a vegan diet along with exercising can improve people’s health with small steps in everyday life.
The documentary imparts a strong message to the audience and gets supported by people who listened to the Unsupersize me project idea and accepted the changes suggested by Juan-Carlos Asse in their personal lives. Many people in the documentary came out front with the remarkable changes they experienced because of the vegan lifestyle.
7. At the Fork
IMDB Rating : 7.4/10
Omnivore and Filmmaker John Papola along with his vegetarian wife Lisa, offer a refreshing and unbiased look at how farm animals are raised for human consumption. Equipped with unprecedented access to large-scale conventional farms, Mr. Papola answers the tough questions behind every back-back rib, a glass of milk, and hamburger. The discoveries uncover the heartless practices followed by not only industrialists but America’s farmers as well.
This documentary takes you on a journey with real people who currently grapple with the moral dimensions of farming animals that are turned into food.
8. The Big Fat Lie
IMDB Rating : 4.9/10
The documentary focuses on human health and questions the companies manufacturing food products as they preach their best interests at heart for the customers. The focus is on a man who escapes from death due to a heart attack.
The New Zealander man starts entrenching deeply into the vegan plant-based diets after a heart attack and realizes the true concerns of humanity lie in knowing what they consume in reality and the red flags the food industry holds right up without people seeing them.
9. The Invisible Vegan
IMDB Rating : 7.4/10
This 2019 documentary independently explores the problem of unhealthy dietary patterns seen across the African-American community. It also explores the changes and possibilities that plant-based vegan diets and lifestyle choices can bring to the health sector.
It features personal interviews with highly acclaimed figures including Cedric the Entertainer (an actor and comedian), John Salley (ex-NBA player and wellness advocate), along with Clayton Gavin (one half of the hip-hop duo Dead Prez). It takes you on a journey that explores the history of slavery, 20th-century social inequalities, and the rise of Big Food, or massive fast-food chains that have caused an alarming increase in the consumption and dependence on meat, junk, processed, and fast food.
Notably, this documentary was inspired by Ralph Ellison’s 1952 account of facing alienation as an African-American. It also challenges the stereotypes surrounding veganism within the African-American community that has found their way into pop culture, social experience, and political debates.
10. Hogwood : A Modern Horror Story
IMDB Rating : 8.1/10
This documentary on the Hogwood farm that practices cannibalism, overcrowding of animals, and routine mutilation is sending out a strong message against the meat industry and their inhumane animal treatment that will compel people to adopt a vegan lifestyle.
Hogwood sheds light on the corrupt government system and animal agriculture and large corporations as they ignore the animal welfare standards and brainwash their customers with a lack of transparency about the reality of animal agriculture.
What is Veganism?
Though the documentaries on Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix are pretty intriguing to watch, let’s understand what exactly is veganism. Initially, being vegan was defined as not consuming milk and eggs. But now veganism implies a completely plant-based diet, no usage of animal skin or exotic hair, and no using cosmetics or other products manufactured with derivatives extracted from animals.
Veganism is a philosophy of life. As the Vegan Society says, “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals, and the environment.”
How Do Vegan Documentaries Impact Public Opinion?
It is common psychology that visual representation allows the brain to absorb the content more readily. Therefore, vegan documentaries become the right method to push people toward fighting for animal rights and cutting down on their consumption of animal products.
Changing the mindset is crucial to set the right tone for animal welfare, and the vegan documentaries on Amazon Prime have brought about huge changes in society as it is visible that the availability of vegan products in the marketplaces has increased manifold.
Conclusion
Just like vegan podcasts, vegan documentaries hold the immense power to influence the people’s vision for the better just like regular commercial cinema. They can intrigue you into reading more on the subject topic of the documentary. The vegan documentaries like A River of Waste, Forks Over Knives, Supersize Me, The Invisible Vegan, Hogwood, The Vegan Everyday Stories, Unsupersize me, Hungry for Change, At the Fork and The Big Fat Lie on Amazon Prime are just what you want to watch when beginning to walk in the direction of veganism.
