London – Greenpeace UK and Brazilian actor Wagner Moura teamed up to release “There’s a monster in my kitchen”, a powerful short film that highlights the devastating impact industrial meat production is having on forests like the Amazon. Wagner Moura, who plays drug lord Pablo Escobar in the popular Netflix series Narcos, narrates the animated video, a sequel to the viral hit RangTan.
“There are few more incredible and precious places on earth than rainforests like the Amazon. Yet many don’t know that the meat and dairy products sitting in our refrigerators could be responsible for the fires and chainsaws devastating the Amazon and other vital forests. Meat companies continue to clear forests at an astonishing rate, all to produce the meat in our kitchens. We need to take action before it’s too late.
“I’m so pleased to be working on this crucially important film with Greenpeace. This fight has never been more urgent. Together we can stand against the industrial meat companies razing our precious forests. I hope this film inspires many more to join our mission to protect forests.” said Wagner Moura.
As of the end of September, 226,485km2 of land had burned across Brazil, an area almost the size of the UK. The Amazon has seen the worst fire season in a decade and 2020 has seen record-breaking fires in the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands[1]. The production of meat and livestock feed is the biggest driver of deforestation worldwide. This destruction is catastrophic for Indigenous Peoples, who often face violence as ranchers and land-grabbers seek to take their land, and is a threat to the global climate and to wildlife. Out of an estimated population of 2,000 jaguars, approximately 600 have been put in danger due to the fires in the Pantanal.
“Meat is the biggest driver of deforestation in the world. It is vital for people across the world to know what’s at stake along with the future of our forests. In less than 20 years, the Amazon may collapse and this is being driven by the lack of action by global companies to prevent the meat they are selling from coming from deforested and burned areas. The effects of the Bolsonaro government’s anti-environmental agenda are confirmed by the increase in deforestation, forest fires and violence in the countryside, which has also been having a negative impact in the country’s economy”, said Rômulo Batista, from Greenpeace Brazil.
“There’s a monster in my kitchen” tells the story of a young boy who learns about the heartbreaking reality of rampant deforestation in places like the Amazon from the jaguar’s point of view. With the jaguar, the young boy explores how the industrially produced meat in our kitchens is fueling the clearance of precious forests and vows to mobilise people to fight the monsters.
The video has been made by creative agency Mother and produced by four-time Oscar-nominated studio Cartoon Saloon. It is being supported by Meat Free Monday, the campaign launched by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney which aims to raise awareness of the detrimental environmental impact of animal agriculture.
ENDS
Photo & video collections: Animation stills and behind the scenes gallery are available here.
Notes:
[1] Across the six terrestrial biomes in Brazil, 226,485km2 of land has burned so far in 2020 (data to end of September). That’s an area almost the size of the UK (242,495 km²). All data taken from INPE, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research: http://www.inpe.br/
Contact:
Greenpeace UK Press Desk: [email protected], +44 7973 889 700
Greenpeace International Press Desk: [email protected], +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)
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