Earthlings is an award winning documentary that questions the treatment of animals in our society. The ethical treatment of animals is a much-debated topic around the world, but few people bother to delve deeper into the topic than simply talking about it. Shaun Monson, the writer and director behind Earthlings, spent five years doing in-depth research to find out exactly how animals are being treated in our society. Sadly, what he found through extensive undercover research and hidden cameras, is that animals are being neglected, abused and tortured for human profit across the world, including in our own backyards here in the United States.

The Earthlings movie explores five ways that humans inhumanely treat animals. The five ways range from something as seemingly benign as purchasing dogs for pets (which results in tens of millions of shelter pets dying each year as well as inhumane puppy mills) to how we get the meat on our plates. Throughout the film, viewers are privy to video taken from the inside of animal shelters, zoos, puppy mills, farms and slaughterhouses. The disturbing, graphic images are nearly unbelievable. People are shown using animals with complete disregard to the fact that they can feel pain, understand what is going on around them, and are living creatures. If you thought that civilized first world countries were treating animals well, this film is an eye opening and disheartening experience that needs to be watched. It's easy to see why PETA and the Humane Society praised Earthlings as a must-see documentary.