Director & Co-Producer: Gautam Sonti
Producer & Co-Director: Nirupama Sarma
The cow slaughter ban, raids on meat shops and withdrawal of eggs from midday meals, has made vegetarianism suspect, seeming as it does to support the majoritarian politics of the Indian government. The film asks if it is possible to construct an alternative narrative around the ethics of eating that recognises the sanctity of all living beings.
What is one willing to kill in order to stay alive? Integral to this question are issues of social justice, morality, religion, economy and the environment. Many of these get play in contemporary India with its curious juxtapositions - a government that bans beef consumption within the country, while aiming to become the largest exporter of beef and dairy products; a society where minority and marginalized communities are attacked for eating beef, while upper-caste (and traditionally vegetarian) communities turn voracious meat eaters, fueled by a consumerist economy that celebrates food as a marker of status, progressiveness and pleasure. In this context, meat eating in India is no neutral act.
