By Madelyn Lipszyc

It has been scientifically proven that factory farms and their inhumane manufacturing processes contribute not only to animal cruelty, but to severe environmental damage. The large number of cattle produced by factory farming has led to increased methane and waste that is often not properly disposed of - ultimately contaminating surrounding areas. Factory-farmed cattle are sometimes injected with chemicals to enlarge their udders and because humans ingest their milk and meat, these chemicals eventually reach all areas of the environment.

Filmmakers Jonah Sachs and Louis Fox have been informing and entertaining people since 1998. In Sachs' words, their company, Free Range Studios, "is an advertising and marketing firm that specializes in progressive non-profit and socially responsible businesses… best known for online storytelling." They make short films that expose the inhumane aspects of the environmental and social world. With so much creativity, these guys cannot just let their talent go to waste on unethical un-environmental companies. They select their clients with vigilance; "Free Range Studios is creativity with a conscience," working to market sustainable ideas that can change the world.

The pair is best known for their creation of the animated short film, The Meatrix (2003), a spoof on The Matrix (1999), starring Moopheus the cow who exposes the reality of factory farming. Store Wars (2005) focuses on the war against pesticides and harmful chemicals that destroy our lands and bodies. Both films spoof well-known movies, adding humour to a very serious situation - pollution - and they make the issues very easy to understand.

The team and their co-workers have garnished an astonishing 15 awards in a short period of time, including first place in the AIGA cause/effect award, in the environmental category, for The Meatrix. They were named a 2007 Fast 50, by Fast Company magazine as one of 50 companies saving the planet, and received the 7th Annual Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival Official Selection for "Green Gorilla" and "The Good Life."

The strong influence of design at Free Range Studios is expressed in the background of its website - glowing brown soil. In fact, Sachs and Fox claim to "enable clients to communicate key messages and empower individuals to transform society through the innovative use of digital media, storytelling, graphic design and strategy. We amplify the impact of our work by inspiring others through our values-driven business practices."

The studio is a B range corporation, or triple-bottom-line business. This concept does not primarily stress profit, but is equally concerned with humane labour standards and environmentally-friendly products. Free Range has advocated for such causes as: mountain top removal in West Virginia, Wal-Mart's and diamond mining's poor labour standards. In The Story of Stuff (2007), Free Range Studios collaborated with Annie Leonard to produce a film that is, according to Leslie Kaufman of the New York Times, "a cheerful but brutal assessment of how much Americans waste… embraced by teachers eager to supplement textbooks that lag behind scientific findings on climate change and pollution." Ms. Kaufman goes on to make the significant point that Sachs and Fox have an extraordinary ability to inform millions of viewers (6 million for The Story of Stuff), especially in a time when environmental education is seriously outdated and lacking in primary and elementary schools.

In the environmental world, with such astounding advances all around us, one might ask what is next for Free Range Studios? Victoria Everman of Green Options interviewed Jonah Sachs, who said, "We're working on a next-generation eco-footprint calculator that is going to take the best elements of video games, social networking and earth science to create an incredible experience of measuring your personal impact on the Earth and what you can do to reduce it. It's going to be amazing." Can't wait to see it.