The Effect of Meat Consumption on the Climate
My story focuses on holding ourselves accountable for our contributions to climate change. Specifically, my story is centred around the consumption of meat and dairy products and how they play a part in climate change.
The main things that I centred my documentary pieces around were the following;
- Describing the impact of meat and dairy consumption through the use of statistics
- Encouraging people to have a better understanding of how their diet might effect the climate
- Allowing members of the public to give their opinions on this topic
The data on the effect of this industry is both interesting and shocking. It’s well known by most people that the meat and dairy industry has negative effects on the environment but many don’t quite understand to what extent the effects go to.
I decided quite early on that the best way to shred light on this topic was through the use of reliable data, which gives the audience to make their own informed decision. A website that displayed information surrounding the impacts of meat consumption very well was the site by CarbonBrief
This image shows the main character eating fried chicken while also covering their eyes. The shot is taken close up and allows the viewer to see the model biting into the chicken with their eyes firmly covered. This represents the consumers turning a blind eye to what they consume and, more specifically, eat. I decided to layout this image in a way as it sets the tone for the rest of the photos that tell the full story. The way in which the model is behaving in the image is set to grab a viewer’s attention, with the whole meaning left as a mystery until the other image are viewed.
This image shows the main character looking for ‘meat-focused’ fast food online. The simplicity of the image leaves the viewer to continue viewing and see where this image leads. This photo will most likely be a similar sight for those the get the delivery of fast food on apps like Uber eats Just eat or Deliveroo etc. This means that the viewer can already relate to the photos and the story, which is important so that they can understand the message and hopefully make a change to how they consume meat products.
In this image I wanted to show the effect of climate change on ‘everyday’ people that I am trying to represent, in this image the effect shown is excessive rainfall. To emphasis this the bag of fried chicken has gotten wet as well as the main character due to the rain.
This image is the start of the turning point for the main character. While the character is eating the meat they come across an Instagram post explaining that the over consumption of meat, which leads to climate change, is a cause for the excessive rain that they are experiencing. This is where it’s important that viewers can relate this the main character. Feeling things like surprise, confusion or maybe even guilt are what I envision the character in this photo feeling and I intended on pulling out some of these emotions from the viewer as well.
This image is the start of the turning point for the main character. While the character is eating the meat they come across an Instagram post explaining that the over consumption of meat, which leads to climate change, is a cause for the excessive rain that they are experiencing. This is where it’s important that viewers can relate this the main character. Feeling things like surprise, confusion or maybe even guilt are what I envision the character in this photo feeling and I intended on pulling out some of these emotions from the viewer as well.
Here we can see the main character deciding to make the switch to a more sustainable and climate-friendly diet based around more vegetables instead of meat products. I want the image to show that it’s not difficult to consume less meat and replace it with more vegetables. Hopefully, this inspires viewers to buy another lettuce instead of that extra pack of sliced meat for example.
