Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
In this short Surge documentary, released on #WorldVeganDay, we meet Doug, Susana and Carl, ex-slaughterhouse workers from the UK, Mexico and New Zealand. Each share their experiences working in the business of killing animals and shine a light on an industry that exists in the shadows of society.
In 1906, the author Upton Sinclair released his novel The Jungle. The book, which became an international bestseller, is a fictionalised account of Sinclair’s experiences interviewing slaughterhouse workers and researching the conditions that they were working in.
In the novel, Sinclair describes the workers becoming so desensitised to violence that the number of brawls, rapes and murder began to rise: “There is but scant account kept of cracked heads in back of the [stock] yards, for men who have to crack the heads of animals all day seem to get into the habit, and to practice on their friends, and even on their families, between times.”
The reality is, we expect people who spend every working day repetitively stabbing chickens, pigs, cows and lambs to hang up their bloody aprons at the end of the day and then just integrate back into normal society. Slaughtering animals is an inherently violent thing to do and the emotional burden of doing so day after day is not something that can shrugged off lightly.
A huge thank you to Doug, Susana and Carl for sharing their stories and to everyone who worked on this Surge Media production.
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🌱 Join my Substack to read regular articles from me and to support my work - thank you so much! earthlinged.substack.com/welcome
🌿 To donate to my work (thank you!): earthlinged.org/support & paypal.me/EdWintersEE
My books:
📚 How to Go (and Stay) Vegan: howtogoandstayvegan.com
📚 How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time): geni.us/howtoarguepb
📚 This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You): geni.us/vppb
🖊️ Personalised/signed books: earthlinged.org/shop
Watch next:
My viral university speech: youtu.be/Z3u7hXpOm58
My latest short film: youtu.be/lRyKX5WPTfY
Listen and subscribe to The Disclosure Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/disclosurepodapple
Spotify: bit.ly/disclosurepodspotify
📱 Find more content: instagram.com/earthlinged / tiktok.com/@earthlinged / facebook.com/earthlingedpage
About Ed:
Ed Winters is a best-selling author, vegan educator, public speaker and host of The Disclosure Podcast. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and at every Ivy league college, including as a guest lecturer and Media & Design Fellow at Harvard University.
In this short Surge documentary, released on #WorldVeganDay, we meet Doug, Susana and Carl, ex-slaughterhouse workers from the UK, Mexico and New Zealand. Each share their experiences working in the business of killing animals and shine a light on an industry that exists in the shadows of society.
In 1906, the author Upton Sinclair released his novel The Jungle. The book, which became an international bestseller, is a fictionalised account of Sinclair’s experiences interviewing slaughterhouse workers and researching the conditions that they were working in.
In the novel, Sinclair describes the workers becoming so desensitised to violence that the number of brawls, rapes and murder began to rise: “There is but scant account kept of cracked heads in back of the [stock] yards, for men who have to crack the heads of animals all day seem to get into the habit, and to practice on their friends, and even on their families, between times.”
The reality is, we expect people who spend every working day repetitively stabbing chickens, pigs, cows and lambs to hang up their bloody aprons at the end of the day and then just integrate back into normal society. Slaughtering animals is an inherently violent thing to do and the emotional burden of doing so day after day is not something that can shrugged off lightly.
A huge thank you to Doug, Susana and Carl for sharing their stories and to everyone who worked on this Surge Media production.
---
🌱 Join my Substack to read regular articles from me and to support my work - thank you so much! earthlinged.substack.com/welcome
🌿 To donate to my work (thank you!): earthlinged.org/support & paypal.me/EdWintersEE
My books:
📚 How to Go (and Stay) Vegan: howtogoandstayvegan.com
📚 How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time): geni.us/howtoarguepb
📚 This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You): geni.us/vppb
🖊️ Personalised/signed books: earthlinged.org/shop
Watch next:
My viral university speech: youtu.be/Z3u7hXpOm58
My latest short film: youtu.be/lRyKX5WPTfY
Listen and subscribe to The Disclosure Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/disclosurepodapple
Spotify: bit.ly/disclosurepodspotify
📱 Find more content: instagram.com/earthlinged / tiktok.com/@earthlinged / facebook.com/earthlingedpage
About Ed:
Ed Winters is a best-selling author, vegan educator, public speaker and host of The Disclosure Podcast. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and at every Ivy league college, including as a guest lecturer and Media & Design Fellow at Harvard University.
