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Belgian Premiere of Meat the Truth

There was a great turnout at the Roma cinema in Antwerp for the Belgian premiere of the documentary Meat the Truth. Around 500 people attended this event, which was held on 12th February 2009 in the beautifully restored auditorium located in the Turnhoutsebaan in Antwerp.In addition to the film screening, there was also a great deal of interest in the VIP guests who arrived on the green carpet at around 8.15 pm: actor Pol Goossen, Dutch MP Marianne Thieme of the Party for the Animals, Karen Soeters (the film’s producer) and climate change heroes Nic Balthazar, ‘Low Impact Man’ ( Steven Vromman) and ‘Don Kyoto’ (Dimitri Leue) were all there.  Just as was Varken Knor (Piggie), who was accompanied by two bodyguards in a state of high alert since, after the Belgian TV series “Of flesh and blood”, a young butcher can be found lurking around every corner…The only Belgian politican present was Mieke Vogels. The introduction to the event was given by EVA director Tobias Leenaert, who gave a presentation showing just how necessary films and events like these are: “compared to the ecological crisis, the financial crisis is small potatoes. And the livestock sector is responsible for what is happening to the planet. Our steak should therefore be high on the political agenda”Steven Vromman and Nic Balthazar gave their speeches next, followed by Marianne Thieme, the leader of the Dutch Party for the Animals, who described the impact that the documentary has already had in the Netherlands and about the political debate that is now going on.Meat the Truth captivated the attention of the 500 people in the audience for the full 70 minutes it ran. The statistics on manure production, carbon dioxide emissions, often illustrated by rather graphic material, illustrated how the production and consumption of meat make a massive contribution to global warming. The facts that are presented in the film have also been corroborated by Wageningen University.Afterwards, the guests enjoyed Indian snacks, a convivial atmosphere and the music that was played by DJ Pierre Elitair in the reception area.

For an impression of this event, see also: http://www.vtm.be/asx/index.php?/agility/20090212_ZOOM (Dutch language)