Cowspiracy and Climate Change

In the last few weeks of term Form 3 have been looking at man's impact on the environment, most particularly the release of greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane, two major contributors to global warming. Initially we focused on fossil fuels, the most publicised source of greenhouse gasses, before moving onto a new frontier in climate change policy; increasing meat consumption. As part of their study they watched a 15 minute summary of Cowspiracy.

Cowspiracy,  a feature length documentary directed by Kip Anderson, is about the damage that cattle farming and livestock agriculture in general is having on the environment. It looks at a numbers of factors including, water usage, greenhouse gases, reductions in biodiversity, forest clearances for pasture and water pollution. There are some startling facts in the film, for example...

All facts from http://www.cowspiracy.com/infographic

The film calls for a massive campaigning refocus by environmental charities like GreenPeace and a fundamental shift in the human diet, away from meat and dairy products and towards Veganism. Unsurprisingly it ruffled quite a few feathers and led to an angry backlash from many, especially in the meat industry. Indeed Beef Daily, a farming magazine, responded with an article called 6 Reasons To Ignore The “Cowspiracy” And Eat A Burger

As a farmer's son and a Geographer I disagreed with some of his findings, but it did give me a lot to reflect on and has influenced they way I think about what I eat. You can download and buy the full documentary at http://www.cowspiracy.com/ or stream a 15 minute summary below. Whether you are convinced about the vegan argument or not, I thoroughly recommend watching the documentary.

Some suggested tasks for teachers:

TASK: Either through watching the full documentary, or taking the two cheat routes 1.) by watching the selected clips here, or 2.) Skipping to the minute and second flags, answer the following questions:

1.) How much time on the planet might we have left?  3 mins,17 seconds

2.) What produces more gasses than the entire transportation sector, how much more do they produce?  4 minutes 27 seconds

3.) How many gallons of water is used in the US annually for raising animals?  5 minutes, 57 seconds

4.) How many gallons of water is used to create and egg?  9 minutes, 30 seconds

5.) How fast is the rainforest being cut down   15 minutes, 03 seconds

6.) Describe the situation in the world's oceans 23 minutes, 30 seconds

Task 2: If you are not prepared to become a vegan, how might you reduce you impact on the environment? Come up with three ideas and explain how they will help.

Hint - think about things like water use, greenhouse gases, non-renewable resources.