Marianne Thieme Interview

Marianne Thieme is not only the co-founder of the Party for the Animals, but also its party leader. In October 2002, she set up the Party for the Animals together with some other animal protectionists. In February 2004, the Party chose her as party leader for the European elections of 10th June 2004. After these elections, Marianne Thieme became the director of Stichting Wakker Dier, an organisation that campaigns for the abolition of the factory farming industry. In her capacity as director of this organization, the agricultural magazine Boerderij  proclaimed her the most influential woman in the Netherlands with respect to the social and economic position of farmers. In November 2006, she won a seat in the Dutch House of Representatives and also became party chair. In addition to her political post, Marianne Thieme is also a board member of the Stichting Faunabescherming, an organisation for the protection of wild animals.

EG: Tell us about Meat the Truth.

Meat the Truth forms an addendum to earlier documentaries on climate change, which failed to address one of the biggest causes of global warming. Numerous reports produced by renowned scientists from the World Watch Institute, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, the Profetas project and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), were translated by researchers at the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation (NGPF) and the VU University Amsterdam into a concise visual document, which explains the impact of meat consumption on climate change, the use of natural resources and hunger in the world.

The film acts as an erratum to earlier films on climate change, such as Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, which while convincingly drawing attention to the issue of global warming, failed to mention one of the most important causes thereof. Meat the Truth demonstrates that worldwide the livestock industry is a far greater cause of global warming than all of the cars, trucks, planes and ships added together. The issues of the impact of livestock farming on water shortages and the unequal distribution of food resources are also raised in this documentary.

At the end of the film we present practical solutions to tackle climate change at the level of the individual consumer. The solutions have been calculated by scientists at the VU University Amsterdam and make it pertinently clear just how simple it could be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in large amounts. Here is just one example: if all people in the US decided to eat no meat for three days a week, then they would save almost 300 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. This would have a greater impact on the climate than replacing all US cars with Toyota Prius models. Even if people in the US didn't eat meat for just one day a week, that would make a huge difference. It would save 99.6 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. This would save 46 million return flights from New York to Los Angeles and back from Los Angeles to New York.

The NGPF is the scientific bureau of the Party for the Animals; the worlds' very first party for ‘non-humans' to be represented in parliament. For the documentary Meat the Truth, the producers filmed in Washington DC, Norfolk (Virginia), Seattle and Amsterdam. Many celebrities participated in the making of the film such as Pamela Anderson, Bill Maher, Emily Deschanel,  Tony Denison, James Cromwell, Elaine Hendrix, Kate Flannery , Debra Wilson Skelton, Joy Lauren, Esai Morales, Wayne Pacelle, Howard Lyman, and many others.

The documentary has been screened all over the world, in countries such as Taiwan, Australia, New-Zealand, Ecuador, Canada, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Singapore, Portugal and the UK, and was translated in 5 different languages: Chinese, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. At this moment, Turkish, Korean, German and French translations are being produced. And there are plans for a Slovenian version.

EG:  Where does the title come from?

The title is actually a wink to Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth'. Al Gore left out one of the most important causes of climate change in his film: livestock farming. And now it is time to meet the truth. We changed meet into meat, as a play of words.

EG:  What motivated you to make documentary Meat the Truth?

The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation believes that the film will make a valuable contribution to the social discussion about a transition to a more plant-based and thus also a more humane society. The NGPF also hopes that the film will provide a showcase for prominent scientific reports, which have thus far proved inaccessible to the general public.

EG:  How can people see your film?

The film is playing all over the world, in cinemas, art house theatres, conferences, film festivals. Dates can be found on the Meat the Truth website.  

Meat the Truth is also available on DVD.

The Dutch film can be ordered here. 

The English NTSC version can be ordered on Amazon.

And the English PAL version can be ordered through the NGPF: info@ngpf.nl.

EG: What are you hoping the audience will take away?

We believe that the film will make a valuable contribution to the social discussion about a transition to a more plant-based and thus also a more humane society. We want to stimulate people not necessarily to become vegetarian or vegan, even though that would be best for the environment, but to become aware of the critical situation we are in and to act on it, by eating vegetarian 1 or 2 days a week.

EG:  Please comment your statement that a vegetarian in a Hummer is 'better' for the environment than a meat eater in a Toyota Prius.

A Hummer is known to be a very environmentally unfriendly car. A Toyota Prius is known for the opposite: it's a hybrid car, with less emissions. By eating vegetarian, a person will contribute less to global warming than a meat eater. The difference in greenhouse gas emission is so significant, that a vegetarian driving a hummer, causes less greenhouse gas emissions than a meat eater driving a Toyota Prius!

EG: Will be the next question in your movement 'How green is it to eat five-a-day'?

'Five-a-day' points at the UK campaign to urge its citizens to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Of course this would benefit people's health, but the author of 'How green is it to eat five-a-day' correctly states that importing fruit and vegetables causes a lot of carbon emissions and that greenhouses also need a considerable amount of energy. So it would be best to eat local, seasonal produce. Of course we agree with this message, but as the Party for the Animals, our focus is most on animal-rights issues.

EG:  Is your Meat the Truth critique of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth?

Al Gore did a great job putting the issue of global warming on the map. But he failed to mention one of the most important causes thereof. Worldwide the livestock industry causes 18% of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. While all transport on our planet (all cars, trucks, planes and ships added together) cause 13% of all green house gas emissions. And livestock farming is not mentioned once in An Inconvenient Truth.

EG:  What are the five most important things people can do for the environment except one vegetarian day?

• Reduce your animal-protein intake to a minimum – not only meat but also fish and dairy products
• Choose locally produced, organic food that is in season
• Take your bike in stead of your car whenever possible
• Buy durable products that will last a long time in order to reduce your waste
• Reduce energy waste in your home by e.g. using energy saving light bulbs and turning appliances off in stead of leaving them in stand-by mode

EG:  What are you working on now and what are your future plans?

Our scientific bureau, the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation, is working on a book that is intended as a companion and follow-up to Meat the Truth. In this anthology scientists contribute essays on livestock production, sustainability and climate change. The next project of the scientific bureau will be to make a documentary about the impact of the fishing industry on the environment.