BLOG 154 COWSPIRACY
It’s baffling to think of how many people live on this Earth and how many resources each one of us uses per day. We are told to be mindful of our water use, to recycle, and to cut back on the energy sources. We are told these are the main culprits of environmental hazards, but there actually may be a large secret being kept from us…. what animal agriculture does to our planet. After watching the documentary on Netflix called, “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret”, I became aware of what our government doesn’t want us to know “environmentally” speaking.
I have never been an environmentalist, one who has “gone green”, and I’m a meat eater for sure. Red meat isn’t in my diet. But I’m not innocent to the concept of global warming. Climate change is very apparent. When Al Gore was Vice President, and his movie, “The Inconvenient Truth”, came out, environmentalists all over called upon society to do every little thing they can to help. We were told to take shorter showers, monitor sprinkler use, walk or ride our bikes for transportation, and of course to recycle.
But did you know that raising cattle produces more greenhouse gases than all planes, trains, and automobiles combined?? The cattle production line produces methane gas which is 86 times more destructive than the carbon released from vehicles. So why didn’t you know this??
More shockingly, 34 trillion gallons of water are used per year for livestock alone. Think of all the grains used to feed them. It takes 660 gallons to produce 1 hamburger, which is the equivalent of about 2 months of showering for a human. So why take shorter showers when it takes 2500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef??
Agriculture for livestock is only increasing because our population is growing. In 1812 there were 1 billion people on Earth and now there are over 7 billion or more. If the average person eats 9 ounces of meat per day, how can we sustain this?? Some say change to a plant-based diet others say buy grass fed beef. When in reality it takes 8 months longer to raise a grass-fed cow than it does a normal cow, so that just means they use more resources.
Big businesses tell us it’s the oil and coal industry, paper use, soy and palm oil agriculture, and gases, that are the cause of our struggling environment. In the past, when people have spoken out against the cattle industry, even to major environmentalist agencies that protect that rain forest and Amazon, the consequences have been dire. A nun named, Sister Dorothy Story, was actually gunned down in Brazil for bringing light to the cattle topic. In fact, in Brazil over 1,100 activists have been killed. A former member of Greenpeace USA when interviewed says big industries refuse to admit it’s the cattle.
It takes 10 acres to raise 1 cow.
Cattle produce 130 times more waist than humans do.
After watching this documentary it was hard to believe no one talks about it. Even if we all ate a plant- based diet, wouldn’t we use more water and more land?? How can our planet sustain the growing population?? What can you and I do?? The problem won’t be solved today or tomorrow, or maybe during our time on Earth, but it’s obvious changes need to be made. The “Cowspiracy” sure does makes you reconsider that hamburger.
“Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret”. (2017). Kip Anderson, Keegan Kuhn.