Guest post by Matthew Stern
After seeing ‘The Game Changers,’ it became obvious that Netflix was here to change the game in more ways than one.
On the one hand, the company has ushered in a new wave of content streaming, evolving from the age of mere DVD rentals. Now, they have built on that by giving us in-depth, unique angle shows on the vegan lifestyle.
While we have mentioned some amazing vegan shows and documentaries to stream on Netflix before, we cannot talk about them all in a single piece.
Today, we not only drop an update to that other list but show you how you can get the best out of your Netflix streaming experience in the process of enjoying these shows and movies too.
The Netflix Vegan Movies/ Shows to Stream in 2021
If you have been looking for some great titles, here are some – alongside why they have caught our attention in the first place.
The Milk System
When discussing the impact of animal exploitation, by-products are often not represented well enough.
For example, it is easy to see how killing an animal for its meat is inhumane and might be very unnecessary. Making such an argument for, say, taking eggs and milk from the animals that produce them might not hold the same weight, though.
This is most likely why Andreas Pichler, the Italian director, decided to explore this aspect of the by-products.
As the name of the show implies, the focus here was on the diary system and how environmentally damaging the processes were. He also hammered on the ways that the system could be changed for good so it’s a win for everyone.
It is one fine body of work that you should see today.
What the Health
This movie takes a rather bold approach to the food industry and it was no surprise that it got harsh criticism on the back of that.
The movie producers explored the fact that there could be an agreement between the major food companies and other top institutions, especially those dedicated to cancer research and the likes. This could be to ensure the latter had a steady supply of customers or to prevent them from warning the public about the true depth of damage that such food items do to their bodies.
One of the salient points which the movie addresses is the use of antibiotics on cattle on farms. These create resistance in humans who consume such meat which is ultimately harmful to them.
Watching this movie, there would be no doubt some questions raised in your mind about how the world works too – and if there are truly some top players just manipulating things to their ends.
Okja
The first thing that stands out about this movie is the A-list star cast. In the end, we are grateful that it is not just one of those flicks where stars are studded in just to get it some screen time with a lot of users.
The story follows the life and time of a young girl who tries to save her eponymous pet from the slaughterhouse. Throughout the story, though, what we see are the ills of capitalist society which doesn’t seem to stop to think about the impacts of what it does as long as it turns a profit.
A good watch for anyone – not even vegans only.
Rotten
For those who want a much more immersive experience, Rotten is the show for you.
This six-part series takes a deep dive into the entire food industry, tearing into everything unpleasant that it meets in its way. From meat, fish, and eggs to just about anything else edible, Rotten had a hand in it.
The aim of the series is not to discourage people from the food that they eat, though. Even the description states that viewers should be skeptical enough and start questioning the origin of the food that they put into their bodies.
With such awareness on a global scale, the food industry will be forced to step up and make better at delivering value to the multi-trillion-dollar industry.
Food Matters
Food Matters might have been released in the year 2008 but the show is still as relevant today as can be.
The fact that the producers chose to go with scientific research instead of sentiments lends more credence to the final claim in the movie. Above all other things, going vegan is the most eco-friendly approach to human feeding – and it doesn’t take anything away from a human either.
Thus, a huge question mark hangs around every other thing that we have been taught to believe about the food industry and what we need to take for sustainable living.
Food Inc.
Food Inc. has to be the boldest approach to documentaries that we have seen in a very long time.
The producers left no stone unturned as they directly criticized the top players in the food industry. They did not do so without reason either.
Coming in three different parts, the documentary had an entire section dedicated to meat and even vegetables. That should tell you how thorough they were in their research.
To give the audience a better context of why things might not change anytime soon, they also delved deeper into the economic and financial power that these companies carry all over the world.
Tips to Enjoy your Movies/ Shows Better
It is one thing to know that you can stream these on Netflix – and yet another thing to get the best out of Netflix when streaming them too.
Whether you are an existing user on the platform or will just go create an account, these tips are for you:
Tip #1 Share your subscription
Why pay more for the same content when you can pay less and not miss a thing?
The good thing here is that you don’t have to do anything illegal. Just look for some family, friends, or other acquaintances that are also interested in having a Netflix account to share with.
Head over to the official Netflix pricing page and you will see that the more people pay for a package, the lesser they must pay per head.
Tip #2 Create a Profile
If you don’t have a Netflix profile associated with your account, you are missing out on too much.
This is especially important if you are sharing the account.
A Netflix profile treats even a shared account as a personal one. This means all your settings and preferences are saved to that profile – and you can even secure it with a password.
The best thing about this is that the algorithm works best for you when you have a personal profile. So, now, before you are done with one Netflix show, you already have another one automatically suggested for you.
Tip #3 Access Locked Content
Depending on where you are streaming from, you might not get access to all the titles mentioned above – or other Netflix titles in general.
That is not because they are not present on the platform, but a feature (known as geo-blocking) is preventing you from accessing the said content. This is where a Netflix VPN comes in.
Armed with one of those, you only have to connect to a server location (we prefer the US or UK) where the said content is available, and you can stream without hassles.
P.S. A good Netflix VPN is a trusted companion when traveling also. Besides unblocking Netflix for you, it also secures your internet and allows you access to other services you might have otherwise been denied.
Tip #4 Remove Other Users
We’ve all been there.
Someone asks to use our Netflix password just once and now, they won’t stop using the account.
You might not have access to their devices, but you can still log them out from your unit. Thanks for that, Netflix.
Head into the settings dashboard and Sign out of all devices.
Know that if you don’t do it, they might probably boot you out. That, and Netflix is already testing a feature to keep multiple users off one account – so don’t be the one the algorithm kicks off automatically.
Tip #5 Keyboard Shortcuts
For streamers using their computer monitor, desktops, or laptop units, you don’t always have to navigate the mouse to specific screen actions.
Netflix wants to make the streaming experience as seamless for you as possible. Thus, they have introduced a host of keyboard shortcuts for you to take advantage of.
From enabling/ disabling full-screen mode to pausing/ playing your content and accessing other on-screen controls, Netflix has got you covered with this extensive list of dedicated shortcuts.
Final Words
As promised, we delivered not only the best vegan shows to stream today but also the tips to get you streaming them better. Doesn’t get better than that, eh?
We’ll keep our eyes opened and our ears to the ground for more interesting vegan shows that might come out soon – or which we’re yet to see. As soon as we find a great one, trust that it makes this list.
If there is one amazing vegan movie/ show on Netflix which we didn’t mention here, do well to share with us all in the comments section too.
Fascinating, I had never heard of geo-blocking before. I’m interested to see which of these shows I may or may not have access to now.
As much as I appreciate the documentary/expose approach, I was hoping there might be a vegan cooking show on this list. Are there any that you’re aware of?
Hi Leah,
So far I’m not aware of any vegan cooking shows on Netflix. There are, however, some great vegan cooking shows on YouTube. Omari McQueen, the youngest vegan chef, shares some delicious recipes on his YT channel.There are also other ones, such as “What’s Cooking in Esther’s Kitchen”, “Brown Vegan”, The Vegan Zombie”, and more.
I would like to watch “What the Health”. Yeah, some have told me that they don’t agree with the suggestion this movie makes that there are some top players just manipulating things to their ends. But besides that, it seems to be a very in-depth documentary, eye-opening in many ways!
What the Health is an excellent documentary that has received many great reviews. Indeed, very in-depth and eye-opening.
Thanks for your comment!
Hey, thanks for sharing all these great shows. It seems that all these shows on Netflix deal with criticism and negative aspects of the food industry. I support the content, but I would like to watch something more positive. Do you have any suggestions on topics like the benefits of a vegan diet or how to become a vegan? I would like to learn more about the diet itself and all the health benefits that come from being vegan. Thanks in advance!
Hi Ivan,
The Forks over Knives documentary will show you all the benefits of being a vegan. At the same time they also feature recipes and they even published a cookbook called Forks over Knives, which became a bestseller.
I remember watching the Food Matters a while back when we had the Netflix subscription. I have heard people talking about the Milk System and Okja. I would like to watch What the Health next when we have the Netflix again – just looking for someone to share the subscription with us. 😉
Thank you for sharing your incredible vegan related knowledge with us all.
Hi Habib,
Okja has received many wonderful reviews. I haven’t seen it yet, but I think I will watch it soon.
Thanks for your comment!
Hello Cristine, I tried Netflix for one month, and we all on the family enjoyed this platform shows, films, as programs. We are thinking of subscribing again for a long period. Thank you for sharing your tips about it, and for sharing the top vegan shows to see. I like to have various information about food and cooking vegan food is part of my interest.
Best
Alketa
Hi Alketa,
That’s great! I love Netflix and I watch a lot of series and also some documentaries on it. Netflix really has amazing documentaries.
Thank you for your comment!
Christine,
I actually searched for your blog because I remember that you’ve written about vegan foods in the past. And, I’ll admit, I was never really interested in trying too many of them until I made the switch. It was Netflix that did it.
I saw something on FB a week ago where everyone was talking about Seaspiricy and how we needed to watch it. After seeing it twice, I decided to give it a go. After watching that, I can’t fathom buying seafood anymore from the store knowing what it’s done to all the dolphins, sharks and whales. In Alaska, everyone wants fish! Every major restaurant is fish! Changed my life.
Then, of course, Netflix loves to recommend other movies or shows based on what you’ve watched. So, What the Health popped up. I am disgusted. Pissed off. And, I switched.
Yes, I knew in my mind kind of…what was being done, but I didn’t know the depths of it. I went to a school of science, I went for 5 years! I learned about everything food. It was all a lie. Everything that the National Dietetics Association has said is all false. I thought I KNEW what we needed. Based on everything they taught me in school. And to know that the National Cancer Assoc is backed by Yoplait and Dannon, The American Heart Institute backed by major meat distributors. The American Diabetes Assoc backed by the major meat companies.
I hate that I paid $70K for a degree that was lies all based on what the USDA has told everyone that they’re supposed to eat animal protein. And it’s the leading cause of diabetes. Not sugar and processed carbs like every Nutritionist and Dietitian claims.
When my husband was told by his doctor that he was going to have a heart attack in less than 10 years, and he was already diagnosed with diabetes type 2, I went to extremes. I went on the Keto diet and yes, of course, he lost 40 lbs in 2 months. Awesome great. I was still killing my family by feeding them whole dairy products, meat, and of course veggies. I knew I missed carbs, I love carbs. I’ve always been that oatmeal, whole grain kind of person. But my hubby was scared to death of taking pills and possibly dying in just 10 years. He’s 44 for Pete’s sake!
So, I put him on a strict diet, to lose the weight fast. It’s worked for so many people. Little did I know that chicken is rated a number 1 carcinogen. Up there with Asbestos. I was literally killing us slowly, and I didn’t even know it.
Those movies, they changed everything for me. I’m still angry about the lack of education, the government killing us, and doing it on purpose. Teaching us in school that fish and chicken are good for us. Eat more dairy, it prevents disease and osteoporosis. Wrong. It actually causes death and cancer.
I went from Keto Saturday, to plant based Sunday. Everything in my freezer, cupboards, all meat. Dairy. Literally, all the food I have is for a Keto based diet. I’ve now given away 3 full totes of meat and canned goods. Tuna fish, chili with meat, ham, everything. All the frozen chicken, the nuggets, the cheese, butter an entire 5 dozen eggs I just bought Sat.
I thought, I’m going to try this for 2 weeks, see if I can change my husbands health. We can eat the meat on the weekends until it’s all gone, as long as I’m not buying it, I’m not contributing to the downfall of the planet. I can’t even. I can’t even THINK about putting that shit in my body anymore. I gave it all away. I’m actually sickened to the thought of consuming it to where I believe it would make me sick.
These documentaries, thankfully, have changed my life. And my families. I know my friends and family are going to go crazy hearing about it. We’ve yet to see them. It’s been 4 days. And frankly, I know I’m probably going to get heated when they make fun of me. I mean, we were BBQers. Every weekend, meat. All summer. Heck, we have a huge grill on our boat and we grill the whole time on the water. Now, I’ll grill veggies.
But imagine, our friends hearing of us going from Keto (so much crap) to Plant Based. It’ll be interesting, that’s for sure.
But, at least now I know where to get recipes from, because honestly, I’ve watched a lot in the last few days. Trying to come up with good food because honestly, I’ve turned completely around.
I do feel great though! I have to admit! No headaches, no stomach aches, it’s actually nice.
One other you should mention on Tubi that I watched last night, is Forks Over Knives. Great, great movie!
Anyway, I’ll be watching for some of your recipes! Thanks Christine! Sorry I cursed!!
Wow, Katrina, you’ve made some big changes! And I am happy you are feeling the positive changes, both you and your husband. I know, these documentaries are a wake up call, and it’s unlike anything we’ve been taught in school.
Forks over Knives definitely belongs here too, in fact, they have a really good cookbook, if you’d like to get more recipes 🙂
Yes, family and friends will make comments, that’s part of the vegan package 😉 you’ll get used to it and learn how to deal with it, and in time those comments will either stop or turn to interested questions when they see how good a plant based diet is for you.
Big congratulations to you!
Thank you! I’ll check out the recipes actually. I’m definitely trying to learn to cook more with beans and lentils since I’m just so used to cooking with meat!
I will say, I’m the dedicated one of the family. My husband was talking about BBQing some kalbi ribs he bought last week and they came in, and I’m like, “I’m good, I don’t want any.” My Mom said she’ll miss her eggs on the weekends and her sausage, but I had her try the Just Eggs and the Beyond Meat Bfast sausage. I’m hoping they both change their minds, but if they’re mainly meat-free 6 days a week, I suppose I’ll have to be okay with that. But I told them, I’m not cooking your meat, nor am I buying it and I’m the sole cook in the house…..so, we’ll see!
Thanks for the recipe link!!
Katrina
Beyond Meat is an excellent brand, many say that it tastes like meat, so maybe your mom will like it 🙂
A friend was telling me that I would never view food the same way after viewing the documentary Food Inc. He even stated that I wouldn’t want to eat a hamburger again in my life (that I wouldn’t had prepared the meat myself). I feel those are pretty bold statements, LOL.
I know this food industry is very powerful. But I don’t have any context about what they could be capable of doing. This documentary seems to be a good one to view this industry in perspective.
Hi Henry,
These documentaries will definitely put things into perspective for you. Your friend is right, you won’t view food the same way anymore. Food Inc is a good documentary to start with.
Thanks for your comment!