Okja (Film, 2017)

It’s not very often these days that I eagerly await new film releases. Perhaps it’s because I’ve stopped reading film magazines, after finding that my enjoyment of films increases the less I know beforehand, and so I don’t actually have much of a clue about what’s imminent. This week, however, has seen the release of two films which I’ve been very excited about: Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, and Bong Joon-ho’s Okja (co-written by the awesome Jon Ronson). I haven’t yet seen Baby Driver, but last night my wife and I did watch Okja on Netflix, and here are my thoughts.

Before I get on to the film itself, it’s worth mentioning that I was a vegetarian for approximately three years, but I gave this up around ten years ago. The reason I went back to eating meat is pretty simple: I missed it. Unlike some vegetarians, I’m not disgusted by meat. In fact, I love it. I love a rare steak. I love KFC. I love bacon. And yet, since giving up vegetarianism I have always felt guilty that my weaknesses overrode my long-standing belief that animals have a right to be treated well. My wife and I try buy ethically sourced meat and we also eat a number of vegetarian meals each week, but could we take it further?

I don’t necessarily believe that eating meat is wrong, but modern production methods are nothing short of disgusting. The horse-meat scandal in the UK a couple of years ago exposed the incredibly convoluted meat production chain which had led to none of us being sure where our meat came from, or even what animal we were actually eating.

Furthermore, in recent years I’ve become ever more disheartened at the way that meat is increasingly marketed not as part of a balanced diet but as a disposable, tasty snack. Billions of animals are mistreated every year in order to fulfil our appetites for repulsive products such as Rustlers microwave burgers and Fridge Raiders (which are basically lumps of chicken paper mache).

For decades there has been a widening gap between meat production and consumer awareness. I think Okja may be a turning point for many people.

Okja tells the story of a multi-national corporation that seeks to introduce a new breed of “super-pigs” to meet the appetite of the world’s growing population. Twelve super-pigs are sent out to selected farmers across the world, with the idea being that in ten years’ time there will be a competition to identify the best super-pig (the contest also doubling as a launch platform for scrummy super-pig products). The titular Okja is one of these super-pigs, raised for a decade by a Korean farmer and his granddaughter, Mija, on an idyllic mountainside in South Korea. When the time comes and Okja is removed from her home to be taken to New York for the competition, Mija sets out to get Okja back.

Without going into too much detail, Okja does not pull any punches when it comes to the reality of mass meat production. Although there are a few distressing scenes, the film is not particularly graphic: the punch it packs is emotional. And it’s a punch that Floyd Mayweather Jnr would be proud of.

Perhaps my reaction was also due to a difficult week at work and other personal stresses, but I was crying like a baby by the end of the film. It’s difficult to imagine anybody not questioning their meat consumption after watching the film. I’ve no doubt that Okja will be dismissed by some as touchy-feely nonsense, but it’s not. It’s really not. If anything, it’s a sanitised representation of an appalling industry.

Today I find myself in a position where I cannot help but feel a small amount of disgust whenever I think of meat. Not because meat itself is disgusting, but because I cannot avoid thinking about how it gets to my plate. And let’s not kid around, most of us do have a vague idea of how meat reaches us. We know that animals are bred in cramped conditions. We know that they are slaughtered in unimaginable numbers with too-little regard for their welfare. We know that every single bit of an animal – no matter how repulsive – is ground up and reconstituted to feed us convenient lasagnes and juicy sausages. But we turn the other way, because meat is tasty.

I still don’t think that eating meat is inherently wrong, but we do need to be more aware of how it is produced. We all have a duty to consider where our meat comes from. It’s not good enough to see a burger as simply a burger.

I’m not sure that I will ever be able to go fully vegetarian again, but I’m definitely going to be reconsidering my levels of meat consumption. We all should, because Okja shows us a future that isn’t really that far-fetched at all...