Traumatised Netflix viewers vow to go vegan after watching stomach-churning new documentary

A new documentary about the problem of deadly food-borne illnesses in the US has hit Netflix and has shocked viewers swearing to go vegan.

Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food was released on the streaming platform on August 2 and has made viewers confess that they were “traumatized.”

The film features interviews with experts and victims’ families as filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig explores how the systemic failings of the US food industry are leading to lethal outbreaks of foodborne pathogens.

The film made a number of stomach-turning revelations, including that companies can sell chicken contaminated with salmonella.

One expert even said: ‘You should assume that (supermarket chicken) contains pathogens such as salmonella in the first place.’

Danger: One of the documentary’s frightening revelations is that companies can sell chicken contaminated with salmonella (stock photo)

Viewers shared their shock at the new documentary and quickly took to social media to confess that they wanted to go vegan after watching it.

One viewer said, “This Poisoned documentary on Netflix makes me want to go vegan.”

While another said, “Poisoning on Netflix TRAUMATIZED me.”

A third tweeted, “I urge everyone to start watching poisoned on Netflix. It’s scary to think about the kind of food we put in our bodies.’

Another commented, “This is frightening… Any of us could end up in the hospital and even die from eating a contaminated piece of lettuce or an undercooked piece of meat.”

Jeff Benedict’s book – Poisoned: The True Story Of The Deadly E. Coli Outbreak That Changed The Way Americans Eat – was the inspiration behind the documentary.

Others, however, were moved by the film, but were convinced that the gripping stories still wouldn’t be enough to convert them.

‘Scary’: Some viewers urged others to watch the documentary given the importance of the subject

Stubborn: Some viewers were still not convinced that the new documentary would change their eating habits

One of them said: ‘I will still eat what I eat, but to see how few rules there are is quite an eye-opener.’

Another joked, “This Netflix documentary is scary as hell…I’m still going to eat it.”

One of the documentary’s ultimate messages is that if the American public speaks up, regulators could be forced to impose tougher rules around food production and safety.

Soechtig has already released other documentaries that expose many elements of the food industry, including 2009’s Tapped and Fed Up in 2014.