It’s earth week at Howe Sound Secondary, and to spread awareness the entire school watched the documentary, “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret” produced by Kip Anderson. Although the whole school watched the documentary, there are likely a few students who were absent and are wondering what they missed. This is quick, very condensed overview of the movie!
Some earth-shattering facts from the documentary (brace yourselves):
Cattle account for 51% of global greenhouse emissions, while the transportation sector (cars, planes, trucks, etc) is only responsible for 13%
100 billion gallons of water are used for fracking, but 34 billion gallons of water are used for livestock farming
To produce one quarter pound hamburger, 660 gallons of water is required
50% of grains and legumes we are growing, are being fed to animals
Why cows contribute to greenhouse gas emissions
Cows produce a lot of methane from their digestive processes, which then contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions in the earth's atmosphere. A cow releases 70 kg to 120 kg of methane per year. The effect of methane on climate is 23 times higher than the effect of carbon dioxide.
Marine life
In the documentary, it is said that marine environments are in trouble due to overfishing. Scientists say, if we don’t do something about this issue, we will see fishless oceans by the year 2048.
Rainforest Destruction
We often hear about palm oil production being the main cause of rainforest destruction, and while it is responsible for 26 millions acres of rainforest to be cut down, that doesn’t even compare to the 136 million acres of destruction caused by the meat industry. Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of the demolition of the Amazon Rainforest.
Not-so-fun fact: Grass fed beef is even more unsustainable than factory farmed beef.
Dairy Consumption
We now know that meat is unsustainable, but did you know that consuming dairy isn’t great either? 1000 gallons of water is required to produce only 1 gallon of milk.
“Once meat companies become large and wealthy, they start to dictate federal policies around producing food because they have so much political power” - Wenonah Hauter, Food and Water Watch
Is it possible to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan?
According to Dr. Michael A. Klaper, a vegan of 32 years, a vegan diet is absolutely sustainable and healthy. Dr. Klaper also says that it is unnatural for humans to be drinking cows milk, as it is a liquid that is produced to help a baby cow grow and not a baby human.
What to take away from this documentary
The most effective way to cut down on your carbon footprint and help decrease carbon emissions is to decrease your consumption of meat and dairy. If we continue living the way we currently are, we will end up destroying our home. Go vegan! Go vegetarian! Start doing meatless mondays! Do your part!
Everyday you have the power to save:
110 gallons of water
45 lbs of grain
30 sq ft of forest
20 lbs of CO2
1 animals life
Think about it…...