Blackfish (2013)

If you haven’t yet seen Blackfish, you need to watch it. Right now.

It tells of the story of Tillikum, an orca who has been kept in captivity by Sea World in Orlando, Florida. He went on to attack and kill his trainer, Dawn Brancheau in 2010.

SeaWorld put it down to the animal accidentally grabbing Dawn’s pony tail and dragging her into the water. But what if it’s more than that?

If you were kept in a bathtub for 25 years, don’t you think you’d get a little psychotic?

Blackfish looks into the behaviour of whales in captivity and investigates whether SeaWorld has been covering things up to protect its profits.

The documentary questions whether they really educating us about marine life or are they just using these wild animals for entertainment and financial purposes.

It’s a truly eye-opening and distressing look into animals in captivity. It will truly make you never want to watch any sort of animal show again.

Since it’s release, SeaWorld has suffered huge blows. They lost $15.9 million in 2014, visitor numbers were down significantly and their chief executive James Atchison resigned.

Watch Blackfish on iTunes here

The Cove (2009)

It’s no surprise this film won Best Documentary at the Oscars in 2010.

With the help of Ric O’Barry, former trainer of the famous dolphin Flipper, the makers of The Cove go undercover to reveal the dark truth behind Japan’s dolphin hunting practices.

“They said if the world finds out what’s going on here, we’ll be shut down…”

In Taiji, Wakayama, Japan, dolphins are being brutally slaughtered and others captured to be shipped to entertainment parks across the globe.

Many people, include the Japanese population, didn’t realise what was occurring. There were many protests and attempts to block the documentary from being screened, particularly in Japan, after it was released.

It carries a powerful message that will linger with you long after the film is over.

Watch The Cove on Amazon or iTunes

Food, Inc. (2008)

“The way we eat has changed more in the past fifty years than the past 10,000…”says the narrator in Food, Inc. It’s not in a good way.

Food Inc. takes a look inside the American food industry to reveal what we’re really eating.

Remember the horse meat scandal in the UK a few years back? Well, this is like that – but a whole lot worse.

The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you’re eating, because if you knew, you might not want to eat it…

From caged hens to cruel meat production to the shocking amount of corn used to feed America, this documentary will show you the side of food you did not want to see.

Not only does it show you what’s wrong with mass produced food, but it spins it on it’s head – and explains what you should do about it. A must-watch.

Watch Food Inc. on Netflix here

YERT (2011)

How do you make people sit up and listen about environmental issues? It’s something activists have struggled with for years. These guys think they’ve worked it out.

Two guys and one girl climbed into a hybrid truck and set off to visit 50 states in one year to discover what America is doing to save the environment.

Don’t live in denial. It ain’t just a river in Egypt…

From climate change to toxic pollution to water scarcity, they talk to local farmers, wind farm owners, electric car manufacturers to see if it’s viable to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Oh, and YERT stands for Your Environmental Road Trip – and that’s exactly what this film is. A seriously epic road trip.

Watch Yert on their website here