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Joaquin Phoenix Rescues Baby Cow in New Short Documentary Indigo

This Academy Award winning actor is making strides in the vegan movement—here are the details on his latest project!

Indigo
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This Academy Award winning actor is making strides in the vegan movement—here are the details on his latest project!

On Earth Day, Los Angeles Animal Save released a short documentary by Earthlings filmmaker Shaun Monson titled Indigo, which features vegan actor Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix joined LA Animal Save just one day after he won the Academy Award for best actor, and in doing so helped to rescue a mother and baby cow from a Los Angeles slaughterhouse. He named the pair Liberty and Indigo, after his sister and nephew.

In the film, Phoenix speaks about the rescue and visits Liberty and Indigo at their new sanctuary home.

“We spend one day each year paying homage to our planet, Earth Day, but the other 364 days, we consume with impunity,” Phoenix said in a statement. “It’s undeniable the detrimental impact that animal agriculture has on the environment. This simple act of rescuing Liberty and Indigo … in some ways, it’s just as simple as sparing the lives of these creatures. But it’s also an acknowledgment of not only the destruction they feel at our hands but the environment as a whole. By our actions, we either have the choice to continue to destroy other beings and the environment, or we begin the process of reversing the damage that we’ve done.”

You can watch Indigo for free here. There is also a Q&A with the filmmakers that aired following the premiere, which you can watch here.

Photo credit: Farm Sanctuary

Kayla Pasko

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Kayla, a Midwest girl living in NYC, is a writer with a background in media sales. When she’s not scoping out trendy vegan spots, she’s usually taking a yoga class, shopping at Trader Joe’s, or catching a Packers game.

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