The University News

Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Heather Sprigler Dr. James Sheppard discussed the ethics of milk production in a documentary.

In March 2007, "Milk in the Land - Ballad of an American Drink," premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Mont.

The film - directed and produced by Ariana Gerstein and Monteith McCollum, creators of the documentary "Hybrid" - features an interview with Dr. James W. Sheppard, assistant professor of Philosophy.

The 90-minute film is a poetic essay/documentary. It tells the story behind one of America's iconic beverages, milk.

The film contains several interviews with farmers, ethicists and activists, which allows it to properly convey how milk became the replacement of liquor and flourished into an immense industry.

The film features animations and collages coupled with stop-motion and other visual effects to sensationalize the story of so-called "greed vs. need."

The story portrays the myth behind "happy" cows and shows how America's unadulterated land has been bastardized by industrial farming.

Sheppard comments on the ethics involved in milk production and consumption in the film. He provides notes on the ethical treatment of non-human animals such as cows.

He also discusses life on a farm in Wisconsin, where he grew up and where the film focuses its attention. Sheppard remarked on the footage he had seen.

"Well, it's unusual," he said.

spillari@unews.com

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