I am not religious, but I once stood in a church in Bethlehem, Palestine, and listened to the story of how Jesus Christ fed 5,000 people, with 5 loaves of bread, and 2 fish. Who knew that Jesus was in fact, a champion of animals, who taught people to be vegetarian (vegan), and that the “fishy” part of the story was bunk (the addition of “2 fish” was a mis-translation, introduced by something called “The Gospel of John”)? This was just one of the many enlightening stories that are shared in the flawed, but highly engaging, and educational documentary, Christpiracy. Kip Anderson, who has directed the classic movies Cowspiracy, What the Health, and Seaspiracy, is one of the film’s creators, and here he works with Kameron Waters, as they set out to answer the ethical questions, (1) Is there a spiritual way to kill an animal?, and (2) How would Jesus Kill an Animal?”
Click here for the film’s official website.
Click here for a list of all references and sources for Christpiracy.

Before I get to the good, the bad, and the ugly, I have to say that despite the film’s powerful messaging and inspiring moments, overall, it was still a disappointment. How can you make a documentary that asks ethical questions in the year 2024, and completely ignore Israel’s US backed GENOCIDE in Palestine? And to make matters worse, I just learned that the filmmakers are donating 10% of Christpiracy’s proceeds to PETA (a GENOCIDE supporting organization). Strangely, the film does briefly imply that the violence in Israel/Palestine is tied to Hamas and a red heifer (a young female cow). I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised as many of the executive producers, and players in the film are the same “leaders” in the vegan movement (including Philip Wollen, Sailesh Rao, Melanie Joy, Damien Mander, Will Tuttle, and PETA), who have all remained appallingly SILENT, or worse, while the US and Israel have been committing massacre, after massacre, in a GENOCIDE that has spanned 14 months, and has now killed between 300,000-400,000 Palestinians (70% of whom are women and CHILDREN!). These phony-baloney, so-called leaders of “conscience”, have done great work for animals, but that is where it ends. Silence is complicity, and their continued support of Israel’s US backed GENOCIDE in Gaza is abhorrent, as is their inclusion in this film, which undermines its credibility.
Click here for the latest report from Amnesty International, which concluded that Israel is committing a GENOCIDE in Gaza. 
Click here to learn more about how Israel’s US backed Genocide in Gaza exposes the vegan movement’s true colors.

Okay, so here is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on Christpiracy (as per the film, and my “over the top” note-taking):

THE GOOD 

– Always Be Kind is a basis for all religions.
– Jesus sacrificed his life for humans, and for animals as well.
– One thing that unites all religions is compassion for all beings.
– Jesus, John the Baptist, Matthew, and Peter embraced Nazarens, and vegetarianism. 
– James, the brother of Jesus, “lived on seeds and plants, not meat…James was holy from his Mother’s womb, nor did he eat flesh”. He was brutally murdered by the same gang of priests who killed Jesus, and largely written out of the New Testament.
– Christianity is the largest religion in the world (2.3 billion). 65% of the USA is Christian & all US presidents are/were Christian. 
(is it just a coincidence that most were/are war criminals as well?)
– Most Christians are taught that God commanded people to eat animals.
– Countless priests and religious figures still tell people that Jesus ate fish.
– “Americans kill 46 million turkeys every Thanksgiving, and kill 16 million pigs for Christmas. And all of this to celebrate someone, Jesus, who may have never eaten animals.”
– Daniel (a prophet in the Bible) refused meat, and only ate plant foods, yet something called the DanielPlan promotes meat based recipes, and is popular in the Southern United States. This reminds me of the otherwise superb, Legacy Museum, in Montgomery, Alabama, which ignores its hypocrisy, and supports animal factories by serving cruelty based animal “foods” to its visitors. The film mentions the Ark Encounter Museum and explains that “Noah” was once a vegetarian, “I give you every seed bearing plant. They will be yours for food.” The Ark Encounter Museum (like the Legacy Museum) also serves meat, of course.

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil, to one who is striking at the root.” – Henry David Thoreau

– What did Jesus do at the Temple that led to his crucifixion? Jesus was striking at the root of evil which was the killing of animals for profit, and “food”. Jesus drove out all of the animals, including sheep, and cows, and famously said, “You have made my house of prayer, a den of thieves”
– During the time of Jesus Christ, thieves (peretz) could also mean violent one, or murderers, which is what Jesus called all of the priests who were profiting from the killing of animals.
– On the eve of his crucifixion at the last supper, Jesus said the following: “I have come to abolish the sacrifices. This is my flesh (bread), and this is my blood (wine).” In other words, this is all we need. we don’t need the lamb.
– How has this truth about Jesus been covered up for years? Oxford Academic, Andrew Linzey: “Meat eaters won. History is the province of the winners, and now we are living with the consequences.”
– As per Father Munro from the Humanitarian Church: “It’s easier to cover up the truth, than to talk about it.”
– St. Paul was a meat eater, and kept his meat writings. He burned books that didn’t align with his personal beliefs.
– Animals were amongst the first forms of money, and financial power. Livestock = LIVE Stock (money, commodities). People turned animals into property. CAPITAL originates from the Headcount of the herd.  
– Governments and religions collaborated to kill animals for profit for thousands of years. During the time of Jesus, these Temples (slaughterhouses), funded the Roman Empire and made tons of money by killing ANIMALS for meat & profit.
– Killing Animals for profit became a big business (Big Ag). Stats from film: $500 to $1,000 to be USDA organic certified, 1K to 40K to become Kosher certified, Future Market share: $25 billion for Kosher, and $1.1 trillion for Halal.
– Biggest name mega churches and evangelists all declined to be interviewed for the film. Is it any coincidence that they all promote the LIES of meat eating? (US dollar – In God We Trust)
– Christian organizations, like the Southern Baptist Convention, have strong ties to Big Ag (which tortures animals, and destroys our planet), and include, In and Out Burger, Chick-Fil-A, Sysco, Smithfield, and Tyson Foods.
– Jesus taught us to be vegetarian. Fish were never mentioned originally. “Don’t you remember how I fed 5,000 with 5 loaves?”

“There is no right way to do the wrong thing…Dominion doesn’t mean to dominate—it means to serve. We were meant to protect and care for animals, not control them. Let’s live by that truth” – Renee King Sonnen (Rowdy Girl Sanctuary)

– DOMINION guides all western views.
– Regenerative Agriculture is Bogus. (Click here to learn more about why regenerative farming is a flawed concept.)
– Mark Ching, a young activist, cried while saying the words, “Not eating animals is the first step towards humanity.”
– First precept of Buddhism: “Refrain from killing any sentient being.” Yet the Dalai Lama eats meat, and ignored all of Kip Anderson’s requests to be interviewed for the film.
– A reverend at the Vatican repeated the lie that Jesus ate meat. When the filmmakers suggested that Jesus didn’t kill or eat animals, the Vatican Reverend squirmed, and said, “I think we need to wrap things up.”
– Oxford Theologian, Professor Andew Linzey: Animals and Religion – “Disrespecting the Creature, is disrespecting the Creator.”
– Cleansing of the Temple: There was “enormous animal sacrifice occurring, which prompted Jesus to say, “This is a house of prayer. You have turned it into a Den of Thieves.”
– They were buying and selling animals for sacrifice. Jesus was outraged, and this specific historic event led to his crucifixion. Regarding the “Den of Thieves” quote, historians and priests only talk about money, and ignore the Animals.
– The Temple was a mass slaughterhouse at the time of Jesus Christ (priests held BBQs on altars). Rabbi Rosen: “The drainage channel from the temple produced rivers of blood from millions of Animals. It was a huge problem.” Large amounts of animal bones were found near the temple.
– Religion and killing animals: In prehistoric societies, animals were sacred until 6-8,000 years BC. Enough people then realized that huge profits could be made from the killing of animals.
– Guru Singh: “Great thinkers throughout history were vegetarians and vegans”.
– Pythagoras (cool dude): Inspired by Buddha, he was a lifetime vegetarian, and pacifist, who spoke out against animal sacrifice.
– Karmapa (highest Buddhist Monk): “There is no way to kill compassionately. It will be like killing your parents.”
– The Kosher farms in Israel that claim to be the “most vegan friendly”, turned down the filmmakers’ requests for visits.
– Slaughterhouses use ex-prisoners on parole to kill animals. A lose, lose, proposition for everyone.
– Carol J. Adams appears in the film and explains that many people feel that they can do anything to animals, just like they can do anything to women. They seem to think that both are their domain, and just pieces of meat.
– I used to have great admiration for Damien Mander. In the film, he uses the term, “desperate masculinity”, to help explain the bullying mentality of those who choose to hunt and kill someone who can’t fight back (a way to feel less vulnerable by exploiting someone who is vulnerable). *Again, Damien Mander has remained SILENT on Israel’s US backed Genocide in Palestine.
– All major religions: 10 commandments of Christianity, Hebrew, Yoga Yamas, 5 precepts of Buddhism, and the Islamic Commandments, all espouse “not harming others”.
– “Jesus was a lamb who liberated the lambs…If Jesus were alive today, he would be considered a Terrorist. He would be a threat to Public order.” What Jesus did was an act of Animal Liberation.
– Animal agriculture uses slave labor (human slavery), and pays its workers as little as 93 cents per day.
– Filmmaker Kip Anderson’s apartment was ransacked as the USDA Beef Board regards Anderson’s films to be a “potential crisis”. Big Ag, lobbyists, and government allies all over the world, kill over 75 billion animals per year.
– In 2004, the FBI designated animal rights movements the #1 domestic terror threat in the United States, despite these movements never harming a single person.
– The Gadhimai Temple is where 4 million people gather every 5 years in Nepal, for a mass murder of animals (“sacrifice”). The filmmakers obtained remarkable drone footage that would make anyone’s heart stop. The locals compared the event to the mass “sacrifice” of animals for Thanksgiving in the United States, and the filmmakers compared it to the Temple of Jerusalem, 2,000 years ago (priests, police, military/governments, killed animals in exchange for MONEY). The locals demanded that they stop filming the mass sacrifice/slaughter. As per Kip Anderson, “I may never find a spiritual way to kill an animal”.
Click here to learn more about the world’s largest animal sacrifice at the Gadhimai Temple, in Nepal.
– Matthieu Ricard’s book, A Plea for the Animals: Mr. Ricard is a Vegan Buddhist Monk, and when he meditates on compassion for animals, he records the highest Gamma waves ever recorded!
– Dr. Marc Bekoff (Biologist) – “Vegans have higher engagement of empathy areas…Deep connections, Felt connections.”
Click here to learn more about Dr. Bekoff’s research that shows how vegans are more empathic than omnivores.

THE BAD

– Although the Pay it Forward platform for the film is a great idea, it is poorly executed. In order for the filmmakers to have more creative control, they distributed Christpiracy in such a way that allows most people to see the film at a discounted price (after viewing the film, you can pay $5 or more for someone else’s access to the movie). A lovely, and generous friend of mine took care of my fee, and I tried to pay it forward for other friends as well (unfortunately, some of the links didn’t work). Had I known that the filmmakers were donating 10% of their proceeds to PETA (a Genocide supporting organization), I would have declined. Lastly, Christpiracy’s stream doesn’t allow mirroring with other devices. As a result, I had to watch the film on my computer, which was uncomfortable, but did allow for excessive note-taking!
– Alex Hershaft has done great work, but he also has a shady reputation. I have mixed feelings about wokeness, and the #metoo movement. Although it is game changing, and oftentimes desperately needed, I also know that many innocent people have been cancelled unfairly too. Having said that, there are a lot of credible women who have come forward and accused Mr. Hershaft of being inappropriate, and behaving badly. Why would the filmmakers choose Alex Hershaft to share the powerful quote, “In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka”, by Isaac Bashevis Singer?
Click here to learn more about the accusations surrounding Alex Hershaft.

THE UGLY

– While Israel and the United Sates are committing a GENOCIDE in Palestine, the film still promotes the idea that Tel Aviv is one of the most vegan friendly cities in the world.
Click here to learn how Israel kills more chickens per capita, than any other country in the world.
– The film ignores Israel’s US Backed GENOCIDE in Gaza, and makes no mention of the vegan movement’s leaders who remain SILENT, or worse, on Genocide. Again, How can you make a documentary that asks ethical questions in the year 2024, and completely ignore Israel’s US backed GENOCIDE in Palestine?

The Bottom Line: Despite being flawed, and hypocritical, Christpiracy is still an entertaining, and educational film, mostly with regard to the connections it makes between animal slaughter, and religion. In this respect at least, there was a lot to learn, and I am grateful for that aspect of the documentary. Having said that, the filmmakers involvement with GENOCIDE supporting “leaders” in the Vegan movement, and their failure to even mention Israel’s US Backed Genocide in Palestine (the evil of all evils), was a huge disappointment, and one that sours my feelings about the film.  

Until Next time…