So I just finished watching COWSPIRACY, a documentary released on Netflix September 15th and WOW…
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones,” and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged.
As Andersen approaches leaders in the environmental movement, he increasingly uncovers what appears to be an intentional refusal to discuss the issue of animal agriculture, while industry whistleblowers and watchdogs warn him of the risks to his freedom and even his life if he dares to persist.
As eye-opening as Blackfish and as inspiring as An Inconvenient Truth, this shocking yet humorous documentary reveals the absolutely devastating environmental impact large-scale factory farming has on our planet, and offers a path to global sustainability for a growing population.
If you are interested in the environment, the human race, or worry about what you can do to make a difference, then you should definitely watch this film. I am already passionate about the food I choose to eat and always have been, so I’m probably more into this than a lot of people out there. However, I learned so many new and startling statistics from this film and it really makes you think about the choices you make on a daily basis. Even my meat eating boyfriend was quite interested and I’m sure he’s terrified I will try to force him into being a vegan now (bwahaha)!
With that said I have to do some serious thinking about my own food choices, the information is just too obvious to ignore and it has made me seriously consider heading back down the vegan path. I was a hardcore vegetarian for a decade (& by hardcore I mean I wouldn’t let people cook meat in my pots and pans, I didn’t eat any seafood and only ate a little bit of dairy). However, I started down that path in my late teens and I was not a healthy vegetarian. I have always been on the thin side and have a pretty fast metabolism so I always felt hungry except when I would fill up on bread and pasta. I hated salads because I would eat one and 20 minutes later I would be starving. I love fruits and vegetables, but I just didn’t eat a properly balanced vegetarian diet.
I began working out a lot (I have always been a runner but I started adding weights in as well). Then everyone started telling me that I couldn’t exercise and be a vegetarian, I needed meat in order to build muscle and stay healthy. I didn’t get back on the moo for awhile after that. It was a combination of things that got me to eat meat again, and among those were thinning hair and dark circles under my eyes. I know now that I wasn’t eating a properly balanced diet but at the time I slowly incorporated meat back into my diet to see if I could get those issues to disappear. I began to eat beef, chicken, and some fish although I’ve never been a huge meat eater and it would still gross me out a lot of the time.
I lived in Portland, OR for a few years and had a brief vegan stint. I felt great and enjoyed it while I was adhering to that plan. But after a series of life changing events, I ended up back in Southern California with a lot less time on my hands and so I was back to being an omnivore.
What got me back on the mainly plant based diet was a lunch with a coworker at a fast food Chinese chain restaurant. I ordered a stir-fry dish with chicken (I was going to get the tofu but changed my mind at the last minute). I got my food and started eating, but the food seemed to be extra crunchy. I kept eating, but something just wasn’t right. I finally looked at my bite of chicken and realized it was only white on the outside, the inside was not cooked. It took everything I had not to loose my lunch right then and there. I couldn’t even think about it without gagging and when my coworker asked what was wrong, I could barely tell her without getting physically ill. I stopped eating chicken again at that exact moment. Over the next two months I cut out everything else except fish.
So now after watching Cowspiracy, I really need to re-evaluate if I even want to eat fish anymore and beyond that, do I want to eat dairy? I could easily give up eating fish and probably will, dairy will be a little harder but I’ve done it before and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I can’t say what I will do for sure, but I can say that this film really has me thinking about my choices and what I can do to make a positive impact right now.
Even if if you are the biggest carnivore on earth and can’t go one meal without eating some form of animal, I would still recommend you check the film out. It may change the way you view your food and educate you on a whole list of other issues that you’ve probably never thought about in relation to your hamburger.
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