Cowspiracy
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret
Rating:★★★☆☆ | Duration: 91 minutes
Summary
This feature length documentary uncovers some of the biggest environmental problems that are ignored by virtually all of us and why everybody- even the leading conservation groups- are so afraid to talk about them.
Cowspiracy explores everything from carbon dioxide emissions to transport and energy usage; the ways these aspects affect the planet are compared and connected with current animal agriculture practises. Cowspiracy repeatedly utilises statistics and data to emphasise how the animal agriculture industry is by far the biggest contributor to many issues, including global warming, deforestation, dead ocean zones, etc.
The premise is based on the statistic that 51% of all greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere come from animal agriculture, something that is hinted at in the title. Kip Andersen, one of the producers of this documentary, interviewed numerous environmental conservation groups on why animal agriculture is rarely mentioned in their campaigns despite being one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Most of the responses were evasive and some even denied interview requests. He then presented staggering statistics about how much water is used in animal agriculture, how much waste animals produce, how much land they occupy, and how much grain is needed to feed these animals. All of these factors make animal agriculture one of the leading causes of serious issues like deforestation and global warming. Acres upon acres of rainforest are being cleared primarily for cattle grazing, which increases the balance of methane in the atmosphere. Methane is around 28 times more concentrated than carbon dioxide, meaning the sheer amount of methane being produced by cows traps heat in the atmosphere much better than CO2, which is the greenhouse gas typically focused on in discussions about global warming. If we stopped releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it would take decades for the temperature to return to normal. However, if we stop releasing methane into our atmosphere, temperatures would return to normal within a mere few years.
Overfishing is also leading to species extinction and ocean dead zones. Cowspiracy goes on to explore the consequences of human consumption of meat and dairy products. It ends with Andersen urging the viewer to convert to an entirely plant based diet in order for the world to sustain itself.
Review
I first heard about this documentary from my Biology teacher when we were studying Ecology. She mentioned a few documentaries that she found interesting and Cowspiracy was one of them. When I took the time to watch this documentary, I found the arguments compelling and the statistics used to support them shocking.
Cowspiracy is not just another documentary telling you to go vegan, though it does push for more people to adopt a plant-based diet, it also presents the viewer with some intriguing and valid arguments as to why you should go vegan. Although it often felt like Cowspiracy was simply trying to guilt trip viewers for our dairy and meat consumption habits, I do believe that this documentary succeeded in doing so. Rather, Cowspiracy urges us to change our consumption habits as, ultimately, our planet will not be able to sustain humanity’s eating habits for much longer.
However, before you watch Cowspiracy yourself, I must mention that there are numerous articles online debunking much of the information that Andersen has presented in his documentary. Cowspiracy has been accused of spreading propaganda to discredit the animal agriculture industry. Many notable scientists (including a nonprofit science advocacy organization, the Union of Concerned Scientists) claim that the figure 51% (which most of the film is centered around) is wildly inaccurate and that 18% is closer to the actual figure, though this has also been questioned.
In my opinion, though Cowspiracy raises awareness for the issues surrounding the animal agriculture industry, it may have fallen short in terms of actual scientific evidence to support their claims. I would advise anybody who is interested in animal agriculture to do some further research on top of watching this documentary as well.
Suggested articles against Cowspiracy’s claims:
