Documentary: pigs are people too

Mad cows are out of the news, but the mad cowboy's message is in.

Friday night, the Center for the Arts screening room had a packed house of people of all ages gathered for the Western New York premiere of Howard Lyman's "Mad Cowboy: The Documentary."

This was no ordinary screening. The subject of the film, Howard Lyman, the self-described "Cattle Rancher who won't eat meat," was present at the screening to answer questions.

UB Green Coordinator Walter Simpson spoke on behalf of the Animal Advocates of Western New York, a group that sponsored the event.

Lyman, speaking to the audience, started the discussion with his thoughts on the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. He criticized America's higher authorities about not taking charge and helping people in a time of crisis.

"Our leaders were absolutely shocked that the poor people could not get in their Hummers and leave New Orleans before the storm," Lyman said.

Later on, Lyman got into the more expected vegetarian discussion, informing people of the severity of risks that people take when consuming animals.

Lyman's aggressive discussion was a fitting segue to the provocative film.

"Mad Cowboy" gives insight into modern agriculture and highlights the dangers of consuming meat and animal byproducts.

Lyman is a fourth-generation farmer from Montana. While attending Montana State University, he discovered the dangers of modern agricultural methods. Traditional organic farming is being replaced with new, artificial methods brought on by a need for greater output and expansion of the nation's farming system.

Tragedy struck on a personal level for Lyman when his brother died from agriculture-related chemical poisoning and Lyman nearly lost his ability to walk from a spinal cord tumor caused by exposure to insecticides and other poisons.

In the documentary, Lyman also pays a visit to an anonymous farm to capture the meat-production method. The camera zooms in for some close-up shots of pigs ready to be slaughtered. The footage made it difficult not to sympathize with the pigs to an extent that could make even the most avid meat eater think twice about ordering that side of bacon with their pancakes at IHOP.

The film contained grotesque scenes inside of the slaughterhouse, which, to say the least, were not for the squeamish.

The cinematography during the scene was intriguing. Farmland was shot at a tilted angle to symbolize that farming isn't what it used to be, that there is a skewed perspective in the modern process.

Later in the film, Lyman went to other parts of the world, such as Switzerland and England, to inform the viewer of how conditions are in other countries.

In England, for instance, there was prevalence of a condition in humans known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, more commonly known as Mad Cow disease, plagued the meat supply. The documentary contains a touching and heartbreaking interview of a British mother recalling her daughter's last days while suffering from CJD.

In the end, the documentary voiced a very clear and precise message: "The animals we kill end up killing us."

Howard Lyman concluded the night by taking several questions from an audience that looked petrified by what they just had witnessed. Certain questions were asked about alternative preparations, such as kosher methods, and how safe they were.

"The only difference in kosher meat," Lyman explained, "is the way that the animals are slaughtered. Other than that they are exactly the same."

The only "pro-meat" comment made by Lyman came after he was asked about how safe certified organic meat was.

"There have been significant studies out there that show the nutritional value of organic is astronomically higher than those that are grown chemically," he said.

Still, Lyman was not about to promote the purchasing of meat. He cited animal products' high content of fat, protein and cholesterol and complete lack of fiber.

Lyman's message to the astonished crowd at the screening room rang clear. He said humans should be informed about how unhealthy our eating habits are, and that the agricultural system is the cause of the high demand for meat in this country.