Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014) Reviews

• The Most Motivating Documentary Of All Time

  pspdfoundation2014-11-03

  Be prepared to get blown away by the SHOCKING truth that world leaders, charities and even the BIGGEST environmental organizations don't have the courage or willpower to address. Chickens, turkeys pigs and cows are collectively the LARGEST producers of methane in the U.S... Methane is 20x more powerful at trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide. The meat, egg and dairy industries produce 65% of the worldwide nitrous oxide emissions... Nitrus oxide is 300x more powerful at trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide... What does this mean? Well... Regardless of the fact that most agree we 'could and should' be powering the world with solar within the next 10 years, all of our attempts to burn less fuel, install solar panels, use less water, recycle, drive hybrid etc. etc. etc. are shocking diversions away from the far far FAR more relevant environmental hazards that are inherent to the way the meat industry is operating today... Whether you believe in climate change or not, this movie will appeal to everyone who enjoys learning about powerful institutions being dishonest and misleading to the public in order to protect profits. And after watching this movie it becomes clear that those 'promoting' the climate change train of thought are not BEING HONEST about the true causes and sources of green house gasses! Another great thing about this movie is the clever animation cuts that offer the viewers not only a great experience but also chance to end up feeling much more knowledgeable with some new seriously interesting facts! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. HIGHLY RELEVANT.

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• Longest overdue film

  chel-147-8301912014-09-28

  Kip's "life was simple, not a care in the world", until he saw a documentary on global warming and everything changed. Not too happy about our planet's ghastly prognosis, he wanted to do his best to conserve our limited resources. He became an "O.C.E." - Obsessive Compulsive Environmentalist - and began recycling, composting, taking shorter showers, turning the faucet off while brushing his teeth, replacing inefficient light bulbs, turning lights off when leaving a room and riding his bike everywhere he went. None of his efforts seemed to help much, instead, as years went by, things were getting worse. Kip then read an unprecedented United Nation's report and once again, everything changed... this time for good. The "sustainability secret" was unveiled and that's when this fun journey begins. "Cowspiracy" is the longest overdue film; it is audacious, poignant and funny. Kip's interviews expose the selfish and shameless agenda behind some of the biggest "Environmental" Organizations in a way that both opens eyes and entertains. Those who take pleasure in witnessing the unmasking of the powerful and negligent who only are moved by dollar signs will find "Cowspiracy" to be an aphrodisiac.

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• Courageous Eye-Opener to the #1 Environmental Problem: Animal Agriculture

  susan-2252014-09-29

  This is a major movie event, a real eye opener, documenting why animal agriculture is the #1 contributor to greenhouse gases, the #1 environmental problem , the leading cause of rain forest destruction and habitat loss, creating massive amounts of untreated waste and using far more of our precious aquifers than if we all simply ate a plant-based diet. It's not a message most meat eaters and dairy users want to hear, as it's not easy to eat vegan in a culture so oriented to meat consumption. And it's not a message environmental groups acknowledge, a mystery explored by this courageous film maker. After learning that over 1100 activists were murdered in Brazil after protesting conversion of rain forests to animal agriculture, he considered putting the lid on this project. But it was too important not to get the message out, he realized. The answer to so many environmental problems is right in front of us. It costs nothing, can be implemented today and simply requires people to switch to a plant based diet, which could amply feed several times our current population with the same production as today. One of the most startling statements of the film was this: even if we stopped all systems of transportation (cars, trains, trucks, planes etc.) and turned off our utilities, we would still have irreversible damage from global warming, so long as we continued to raise so many animals for food. The take away from this film is, go ahead and conserve energy, put solar on your roof, change to LED light bulbs, minimize long trips. But first, switch to a plant-based diet.

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• One of the most important films ever made.

  ariji2015-02-15

  I have never written a film review before, but was inspired to by reading some of the negative ones attached to this film (fortuantely all the recent ones have been overwhelmingly positive). I can agree with the early reviewers that there may be some statistical inconsistencies in this film. However, they are radically overshadowed by the overall message, which is all too accurate. In fact, I am curious why those reviewers did not focus on the most salient points, which came from studies conducted by the World Health Organization and the United Nations? For example, the WHO concluded that going vegan does more to reduce greenhouse gases than switching from a gas guzzler to a hybrid, and the UN had similar findings... I first heard about these issued in 2001, when a friend loaned me a video of author John Robbins speaking about the inefficiency of meat production (among other issues it creates). Later, I heard of the UN and WHO studies, reading articles that up to 70% of farmland in the US is used to grow grain or corn to feed to livestock. These animals have been multiplied at an unnatural rate to feed our whims, and what to mention all the insane cruelty, hormone injections, waste production, ruining oceans (see the film), etc, but the water and land use to raise these animals for several years far exceeds anything that is remotely sustainable. When you kill one of these sentient, feeling creatures to satisfy your taste buds, you also get only 1 or a few meals out of it. Just imagine how many people could be fed off that land if there were no livestock to feed? The reality is that most people think they cannot survive as a vegan. They lack the will power or something. Well, I had many middle school students go vegan when they learned about this important topic, and most of them are still going strong as vegans. There are countless successful athletes who are vegan or vegetarian, and you will certainly be at less risk for coronary diseases, arterial plaque (see "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 2" for medical evidence), colon cancer, and many other diseases. Even osteoporosis is reduced among those who eat a healthy plant based diet. It turns out the acidity of meat signals our body to pull calcium into our bloodstream to balance it - and that the only available calcium comes from our bones. There was a Harvard study showing fewer hip fractures in China and third world countries with far less dairy and meat consumption. The calcium in leafy green vegetables is simply far more digestible. One other point I can't help but make...many of the greatest thinkers of all time have concluded the necessity of abstaining from meat. Many religious and spiritual leaders have as well, usually for the same reasons. You will therefore be in great company if you can but make the sacrifice for the sake of life... Here are a few quotes: "A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral." ― Leo Tolstoy "I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men." ― Leonardo DA Vinci "It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind." ― Albert Einstein "Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." ― Albert Schweitzer "People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times." ― Isaac Bashevis Singer "By eating meat we share the responsibility of climate change, the destruction of our forests, and the poisoning of our air and water. The simple act of becoming a vegetarian will make a difference in the health of our planet." ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology "Ethically they had arrived at the conclusion that man's supremacy over lower animals meant not that the former should prey upon the latter, but that the higher should protect the lower, and that there should be mutual aid between the two as between man and man. They had also brought out the truth that man eats not for enjoyment but to live." ― Mahatma Gandhi "Elsewhere the paper notes that vegetarians and vegans (including athletes) 'meet and exceed requirements' for protein. And, to render the whole we-should-worry-about-getting-enough-protein-and- therefore-eat-meat idea even more useless, other data suggests that excess animal protein intake is linked with osteoporosis, kidney disease, calcium stones in the urinary tract, and some cancers. Despite some persistent confusion, it is clear that vegetarians and vegans tend to have more optimal protein consumption than omnivores. " ― Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals Anyway, please see the film and try not to let yourself discredit the whole thing if you find one or two statistics that might be a little off.

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• Mindblowingly good!

  mike-ryan4552015-01-11

  You already know the subject, animal husbandry. You all know the thesis - that animal husbandry is simply ecologically unsustainable with our current population numbers. What Cowspiracy does is take one person through a very personal journey to show just how there is only one course of action that will allow this species to have a reasonable chance of surviving at the current population levels. We can change and adapt and go to a more healthy diet or we can wait for a massive ecological change and have our population levels and civilization crash like so many others have before. Is it perfect? No, but it is still that good. I wish broadcast TV had the guts to run it. I wish it were played in schools. Unfortunately they never will.

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