COWSPIRACY The Sustainability Secret in about 15 minutes Short Version YouTube mp4

Summary

This video script explores the devastating environmental impact of animal agriculture, highlighting its significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water use, and species extinction. It compares the effects of livestock farming to the transportation sector, revealing that raising animals for food generates more emissions. The script also discusses the unsustainable nature of current meat and dairy consumption, the strain it places on global resources, and its connection to climate change. It concludes with the benefits of a plant-based diet in reducing environmental damage and conserving resources.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Climate change is rapidly approaching dangerous levels, with CO2 already exceeding 400 ppm and temperature increases nearing 2°C.
• 🌡️ A 2°C rise in temperature could result in severe consequences like droughts, famine, species extinction, and geopolitical conflicts.
• 🐄 Livestock, especially cows, produce more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector, with methane being far more destructive than CO2.
• 💧 Raising livestock consumes enormous amounts of water; for instance, producing a quarter-pound hamburger requires 660 gallons of water.
• 🌿 Animal agriculture is responsible for 51% of all human-induced greenhouse gases, contributing more to climate change than fossil fuels.
• 🔥 Livestock farming leads to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and ocean dead zones, making it the largest environmental threat.
• 🌾 A plant-based diet is significantly more sustainable, using less water, land, and energy compared to meat-based diets.
• 🐟 Overfishing is depleting marine ecosystems, with predictions of fishless oceans by 2048 if current practices continue.
• 🏞️ Animal agriculture occupies 45% of Earth’s land and is the leading cause of rainforest destruction and species extinction.
• 🌱 Vegan diets require far fewer resources and produce less pollution, making them a more sustainable option for feeding the global population.

Q & A

What is the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and how does it compare to safe levels?

The current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already at 400 parts per million, exceeding the safe level of 350 parts per million, which is considered the highest manageable level without severe environmental consequences.

What are the potential consequences of exceeding a 2°C increase in global temperature?

Exceeding a 2°C increase in global temperature could lead to severe droughts, famines, human conflicts, species extinctions, rising sea levels causing countries to go underwater, and climate-induced migration or wars.

How does livestock contribute to greenhouse gas emissions compared to the transportation sector?

Livestock produces more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector, contributing 18% of global emissions compared to 13% from transportation. Livestock emissions include methane, which is 25 to 100 times more destructive than carbon dioxide.

What is the environmental impact of methane emissions from livestock versus carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles?

Methane emissions from livestock are far more destructive to the environment, being 25 to 100 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Additionally, methane breaks down more quickly in the atmosphere, meaning reductions in methane can show environmental improvements faster than CO2 reductions.

What is the water consumption difference between animal agriculture and domestic water use in the United States?

Domestic water use in the United States accounts for only 5% of the total water consumption, while animal agriculture consumes 55%. For example, producing a single quarter-pound hamburger requires 660 gallons of water.

Why is grass-fed beef considered more unsustainable than factory-farmed beef?

Grass-fed beef is more unsustainable because it requires significantly more land. To meet the U.S. demand for meat using grass-fed methods would require clearing vast amounts of land, including forests and cities, which is not feasible.

How does animal agriculture impact rainforest destruction and species extinction?

Animal agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation and species extinction, responsible for up to 91% of Amazon rainforest destruction. This destruction also leads to loss of habitat and biodiversity.

What is the impact of overfishing on the world's oceans?

Overfishing is causing severe damage to marine ecosystems, with 75% of the world's fisheries being overexploited. Current practices also result in significant bycatch, which includes untargeted species like dolphins, whales, and turtles. This could lead to fishless oceans by 2048.

How does animal agriculture contribute to global food insecurity?

Animal agriculture exacerbates global food insecurity by consuming large amounts of crops that could otherwise be used to feed humans. For instance, 50% of the world's grain is fed to livestock, despite the world producing enough food to feed 12 to 15 billion people.

What are the health and environmental benefits of adopting a vegan diet?

A vegan diet reduces environmental impact by using less water, land, and fossil fuels. It produces half the CO2 emissions of an omnivorous diet, and adopting a vegan diet can save over 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forested land, and one animal's life daily.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Rising CO2 Levels and Climate Catastrophe

The world is already exceeding safe levels of carbon dioxide emissions, with current atmospheric levels at 400 ppm. Scientists recommend staying below a 2°C increase to avoid catastrophic effects such as drought, famine, and species extinction. The ongoing increase in emissions, combined with rising sea levels and drought, will lead to climate-related conflicts and migration. Methane emissions from livestock are a major contributor to this crisis, with cows producing more harmful methane than the entire transportation sector. The consequences of this, including hydraulic fracturing and water waste, far outweigh efforts to conserve water in daily life, emphasizing the significant impact of animal agriculture.

05:00

🌱 Animal Agriculture and Environmental Destruction

Animal agriculture is the largest contributor to climate change, surpassing all other industries. Livestock accounts for 51% of human-caused greenhouse gases, driving deforestation, species extinction, and water scarcity. While most discussions focus on fossil fuels, animal farming is the main source of environmental devastation. In fact, raising livestock consumes vast amounts of water and land, contributing to the destruction of rainforests and ocean ecosystems. The emissions from livestock methane far exceed the impact of carbon dioxide, making animal farming a top contributor to climate change. Despite these alarming facts, major environmental organizations remain largely silent on this issue.

10:01

🐄 The Sustainability Crisis of Dairy Farming

The global demand for dairy is unsustainable due to the immense amount of water required for production. A single gallon of cow's milk requires up to 1,000 gallons of water. Large corporations profit from this system, controlling policies with political influence. The animal agriculture industry wields enormous power, shaping federal laws around food production. While some claim overpopulation is the problem, the real issue is the overproduction of livestock. Humans use excessive resources to raise animals, which exacerbates global hunger and environmental damage. Experts agree that dairy farming cannot sustainably meet the growing demand.

15:02

🥛 The Harmful Effects of Cow’s Milk

Cow’s milk is designed to turn a small calf into a 400-pound cow, containing hormones and proteins meant for growth. Consuming cow’s milk is not only unnecessary for humans but also harmful. It can lead to various health issues, such as breast lumps and fibroids in women and 'man boobs' in men. Plant-based diets, on the other hand, require far less land and resources, making them much more sustainable. A vegan diet uses significantly fewer resources, such as water and fossil fuels, compared to an omnivorous diet, and can dramatically reduce an individual's carbon footprint.

Keywords

💡Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. In the video, it is mentioned that CO2 emissions are already at 400 parts per million, surpassing the 'safe' threshold of 350 ppm. This is directly tied to the larger issue of climate change, with CO2 being a major factor in the increase of global temperatures and environmental degradation.

💡Methane

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, far more destructive than CO2 in the short term. The video emphasizes that livestock, especially cows, produce large amounts of methane through their digestive processes, making animal agriculture a significant contributor to climate change. Methane emissions from livestock are compared to those from the transportation sector, illustrating its environmental impact.

💡Animal Agriculture

Animal agriculture refers to the raising of livestock for food, and is portrayed in the video as the leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water consumption, and species extinction. It is argued that this industry is more responsible for climate change than even the fossil fuel industry, highlighting its massive environmental footprint.

💡Deforestation

Deforestation is the large-scale clearing of forests, often for agriculture. The video explains that deforestation, particularly in the Amazon rainforest, is driven by the need to create grazing land for livestock and grow feed crops. This practice leads to the destruction of biodiversity, contributes to carbon emissions, and reduces the Earth's capacity to absorb CO2.

💡Water Scarcity

Water scarcity is a critical issue addressed in the video, with animal agriculture being one of the largest consumers of freshwater. It is noted that producing one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water, and that raising livestock consumes a disproportionate amount of the planet's water resources compared to domestic or industrial use.

💡Climate Change

Climate change refers to the long-term alteration of temperature and weather patterns, primarily due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels and animal agriculture. The video focuses on how the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases, especially methane and CO2, is leading to rising temperatures, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and species extinction.

💡Species Extinction

Species extinction is the permanent loss of species, often due to habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change. The video discusses how animal agriculture is a leading cause of habitat destruction, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, leading to the extinction of numerous plant and animal species, particularly in rainforests and oceans.

💡Rainforest Destruction

Rainforest destruction involves the clearing of tropical rainforests, primarily for agricultural purposes like grazing livestock. The video highlights how this practice leads to the loss of biodiversity, contributes to climate change, and disrupts ecosystems. It is emphasized that rainforests are crucial for absorbing CO2 and producing oxygen.

💡Overfishing

Overfishing is the depletion of fish stocks due to unsustainable fishing practices. The video warns that if current trends continue, the oceans could become fishless by 2048. It also explains the concept of 'bycatch,' where non-target species such as dolphins, turtles, and sharks are accidentally caught and killed in fishing nets, further contributing to marine ecosystem collapse.

💡Grass-fed Beef

Grass-fed beef refers to cattle raised on natural pastures instead of feedlots. While often considered more humane or sustainable, the video argues that grass-fed beef is actually more land-intensive and unsustainable on a global scale. It would require clearing vast amounts of land, including forests and cities, to meet the current demand for meat.

Highlights

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has already surpassed 400 ppm, and we are rapidly approaching a 2°C temperature increase, which could have perilous implications such as drought, famine, and species extinction.

Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector, contributing 18% compared to 13% from transportation.

Methane gas from livestock is 25 to 100 times more destructive than carbon dioxide, making animal agriculture a significant contributor to climate change.

Raising livestock in the U.S. consumes 34 trillion gallons of water annually, far surpassing the 100 billion gallons used by hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.

A quarter-pound hamburger requires over 660 gallons of water to produce, making it far more impactful than household water-saving efforts.

World Bank advisors found that animal agriculture is responsible for 51% of all greenhouse gases, not just 18% as previously reported by the UN.

Animal agriculture consumes one-third of the planet's freshwater and is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon rainforest destruction.

Without even using fossil fuels, current livestock production alone could lead to exceeding the maximum carbon emissions by 2030.

Free-living animals made up 99% of the biomass 10,000 years ago, but today, humans and their domesticated animals constitute 98% of the biomass.

One hundred sixteen thousand pounds of farm animal excrement is produced every second in the U.S., contributing to massive pollution and waste.

If current trends continue, the oceans could be fishless by 2048 due to overfishing and marine ecosystem destruction.

An acre of rainforest is cleared every second, primarily for grazing livestock and growing feed crops.

If the U.S. switched to grass-fed beef, it would require clearing every inch of land in the U.S., Canada, and parts of Central and South America.

A vegan diet uses significantly fewer resources: it produces half the CO2, uses 1/11th the fossil fuels, 1/13th the water, and 1/18th the land compared to a diet rich in meat, dairy, and eggs.

Each day, choosing a vegan diet can save over 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forest, 20 pounds of CO2 emissions, and one animal's life.

Transcripts

you know the world

tell us that the highest

level of emissions would around 350

parts per million of carbon dioxide

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were

already at 400 they tell us that the

sort of safest we could hope to do

without having perilous implications as

far as drought famine human conflict

major species extinct would it be about

a 2 degrees celsius increase in

temperature we're rapidly approaching

that and with all the built-in carbon

dioxide that's already in the atmosphere

we're easily going to exceed that so on

our watch we are facing the next major

extinction of species on the earth that

we haven't seen since the time of the

dinosaurs disappearing you know when

whole countries go underwater because of

sea level rise when whole countries find

that there's so much drought that they

can't feed their population and as a

result they need to

desperately migrate to another country

or invade another country I mean we're

going to have climate Wars in the future

the post sent me to report online

published by the United Nations stating

that cows produce more greenhouse gases

than the entire transportation sector

this means that raising cattle produces

more greenhouse gases than all cars

trucks trains boats planes combined

thirteen percent compared to eighteen

percent for livestock this is because

cows produce a substantial amount of

methane from their digestive process

methane gas from livestock is 25 to a

hundred times more destructive than

carbon dioxide from vehicles hydraulic

fracturing for natural gas uses an

incredible amount of water a staggering

a hundred billion gallons of waters used

every year in the United States but when

I compare this with animal agriculture

raising livestock just in the u.s.

consumes 34 trillion gallons of water

and it turns out the methane emissions

from both industries are nearly equal I

found out that one quarter pound

hamburger requires over 660 gallons of

water to produce here I've been taking

these short showers trying to save water

and to find out just eating one

hamburger is the equivalent of showering

two entire months so much attention is

given to lowering our home water use yet

domestic water use is only 5% of what is

soon in the US vs fifty-five percent for

animal agriculture that's because it

takes upwards of twenty five hundred

gallons water to produce one pound of

beef there's one study that found that

one pound of beef

2,500 gallons of water yeah yeah um bags

is 477 gallons water and she's almost

900 gallons okay this one simple why

isn't it on save our water just it's

kind of like if you went to someone's

house and my neighbor has a faucet you

know dripping you're doing and then you

see it this giant hose turned full blast

until 660 gallons of water are shooting

out into the street flooding the entire

street I

think I would say hey you know turn that

off please seems like it's a huge thing

that we could be doing by far more than

anything else I started doing more

investigating on the impacts of

livestock and found out this situation

was actually worse than I had thought in

2009 two advisors from the World Bank

released an analysis on human induced

greenhouse gases finding that animal

agriculture was responsible not for

eighteen percent as un stated but was

actually 51 percent of all greenhouse

gases 51% yet all we hear about is

burning fossil fuels this devastating

figure is due to clear cutting

rainforest for grazing respiration and

all the ways to animals produce this

makes animal agriculture the number one

contributor to human caused climate

change but not only that i found out

raising animals for food consumes a

third of all the planets freshwater

occupies up to forty-five percent of the

earth's land is responsible for up to

ninety one-percent of amazon destruction

is a leading cause of species extinction

ocean dead zones and

habitat destruction

yet the world's largest environmental

groups that are supposed to be saving

our world didn't mention this anywhere

so my calculations are that without

using any gas or oil or fuel ever again

from this day forward that we would

still exceed our maximum carbon

equivalent greenhouse gas emissions now

the 565 gigatons by the year twenty

thirty without the electricity sector

even or energy sector even factoring in

the equation all simply by eating

raising and eating livestock if you

reduce the amount of methane emissions

the level when the atmosphere go down

goes down fairly quickly and within

decades as opposed to co2 if you reduce

the emissions to the atmosphere you

don't really see a signal in the

atmosphere for 100 years or so the

single largest contributor to

every known environmental ill known to

humankind deforestation land use water

scarcity the destabilization of

communities world hunger the list

doesn't stop it's an environmental

disaster that's being an ignored by the

very people who should be championing

free living animals made up 10,000 years

ago made up ninety-nine percent of the

biomass and human beings we only made up

one percent of the biomass today only

10,000 years later which is really just

a fraction of time we human beings and

the animals that we own as property make

up ninety-eight percent of the biomass

and wild free living animals make up

only two percent we basically completely

stole in the world the earth from free

living animals to use for ourselves in

our cows and pigs and chickens in

factory farmed fish in the oceans have

been even more

devastated Greenpeace is response

reminded me the statistic that a hundred

and sixteen thousand pounds of farm

animal excrement is produced every

second in the United States alone that

is enough waste per year to cover every

square foot of San Francisco New York

City Tokyo Paris New Delhi Berlin Hong

Kong London Rio de Janeiro Delaware

Valley Costa Rica and and Mark come by

UN reported that three-quarters of the

world's fisheries are overexploited

fully exploited are significantly

depleted due to overfishing the oceans

are under siege like never before and

marine environments are in trouble and

if we don't wake up and do something

about it we're going to see fishless

oceans by the year twenty forty eight

that's the prediction from scientists

the way fishing is done today to feed

the demand for ninety million tons of

fish is primarily through massive fish

nets for every single pound of fish

caught there's up to five pounds of

untargeted species trapped such as

dolphins whales sea turtles and sharks

known as my kill if we were to imagine

this same sort of practice happening on

the African savannah targeting gazelle

but in the process scooping up every

single lion giraffe oestrogen elephant

nobody would stand for it yet this is

what is happening in our oceans every

single day our founder captain Watson

likes to say if the oceans die we die

that's not a tag line that's the truth

perhaps the only other ecosystem that is

being destroyed at such a rapid rate of

the world's rainforests our global

rainforests are essentially the planets

lungs they breathe in co2 and exhale

oxygen an acre of rainforest is cleared

every second and the leading cause is to

graze animals and grow their feet crops

that is essentially an entire football

field cleared every single second and it

is estimated that every day close to a

hundred plant animal and insect species

are lost due to rain forest destruction

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palm oil plantations are causing

tremendous deforestation in Indonesian

rainforest it is estimated that palm oil

is responsible for 26 million acres

being cleared though compared to

livestock in their feed crops they were

responsible for a hundred and thirty six

million acres of rainforest lost today

barca guard model of raising animals

which requires 4,500 acres producing

80,000 pounds of meat the average

American eats 209 pounds of meat per

year that was all grass fed beef only

382 people could be fed on their land

that equates to 11.7 acres per person

times 314 million Americans which equals

3.7 billion acres of grazing land

unfortunately there are only 1.9 billion

acres in the US as lower 48 states

currently nearly half of all United

States land is already dedicated to

animal agriculture if we were to switch

over to grass-fed beef it will require

clearing every square inch of the United

States up into Canada all of Central

America and well into South America and

this is just to feed the United States

demand on meat but that figure doesn't

even take into consideration that much

of that land isn't suited to graze

livestock we would have to convert all

mountain ranges to grassland clear

ancient forests and national parks to

grazing and demolish every city just to

make room to graze cows just like Brazil

the United States isn't suited to meet

the demands for meat turns out due to

land use grass-fed beef is more

unsustainable than even factory farming

I had to come to terms with the fact

there was no way to sustainably raised

enough animals to feed the world's

current demand on meat and had my doubts

on dairy as well but I did want to talk

with a premier organic dairy company to

see if they believe their product was

sustainable for the world's population

but the demand on dairy based protein in

the world is only going to increase and

there's not enough land on the planet to

do this type of daring around the world

that it's just the environment is not

going to be that way the lands are not

there so I guess on a global scale a

conclusion of the dairy is not

sustainable

unless we start digging up houses and

putting pastures back how could cow's

milk be sustainable for when one gallon

of milk it takes upwards of a thousand

gallons of water to produce

when you really look at who's benefiting

and who's lobbied for this system of

Agriculture it's the largest food

producers in the country and the largest

meat producers and once they become so

large and wealthy than they can dictate

the federal policies around producing

food because they have so much political

power

the animal agriculture industry is one

of the most powerful industries on the

planet I think most people in this

country are aware of the influence of

money and Industry on politics and we

really see that clearly on this play

with this industry in particular most

people would be shocked to learn that

animal rights and environmental

activists are the number one domestic

terrorism threat according to the FBI

some people would say the problem isn't

really animal agriculture but actually

human overpopulation

in 1812 there are 1 billion people on

the planet in 1912 their 1.5 billion

then just 100 years later our population

exploded 27 billion humans this number

is rightly given a great deal of

attention but an even more important

figure when determining world population

is the world 70 billion farm animals

humans raise

the human population drinks 5.2 billion

gallons of water everyday needs 21

billion pounds of food but just the

world's 1.5 billion cows alone drink 45

billion gallons of water every day and

eat a hundred and thirty five billion

pounds of food this isn't so much a

human population issue it's a human

eating animals population issue

environmental organizations not

addressing this is like health

organizations trying to stop lung cancer

without addressing cigarette smoking but

instead of second-hand smoking it's

secondhand eating which affects the

entire planet we're growing enough food

right now in the world to feed between

12 and 15 billion people we only have

seven billion people we have roughly a

billion people starving every single day

worldwide fifty percent of the grain and

legumes that were growing we're feeding

the animals so they're eating huge

amounts of green and legumes in the

United States it's more like closer to

70 80 depending on which grain it is

ninety of ninety percent of the soybean

eighty-two percent of the world's

starving children live in countries

where food is fed to animals in the

livestock systems that are then killed

and eaten by more well off individuals

in developed countries is even possible

to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan is

the possibility a healthy vegetarian or

vegan I

became vegan for see 32 years ago now

and I run several miles every day I go

biking 40 50 miles through the

countryside I work long hours I feel

great it's nice waking up in a light

trim body every day and so many of my

vegan friends in patients you know are

just you know they're thriving as since

their transition to a vegan diet so yes

and I've seen vegan moms go through

healthy vegan pregnancies and deliver

healthy vegan children and raise them

into tall full-size intelligent vegan

adults and yes certainly all the

nutrients are they are in the plant

kingdom to do this that is correct I

think anyone should be

consuming dairy I really don't when you

think about it the purpose of cow's milk

I did most of my growing up on a dairy

farm in Wisconsin

the purpose of cow's milk is to turn a

65 pound calf into a 400 pound cow as

rapidly as possible

cow's milk is baby calf growth fluid

that's what the stuff is

everything in that white liquid the

hormone so lipids the proteins of sodium

the growth factors that I GF all every

one of those is meant to blow their calf

up to a great big cow it wouldn't be

there and whether you poured on your

cereal is a liquid whether you clot it

into yogurt whether you've it into

cheese whether you freeze it into ice

cream its baby calf growth fluid and

women eat it and it stimulates their

tissues and gives women breast lumps it

makes the uterus get big and they get

five words and they bleed in the gay

hysterectomy and they need mammograms

and and gives guys man boobs this is

cow's milk is the lactation secretions

of a large bovine mammal who just had a

baby it's for baby calves you know I

tell my patient go look at the mirror

now do you have big ears you have a tail

are you baby calf if you're not don't be

eaten baby calf growth through it in in

any level there's nothing in it people

need to feed a person on an all

plant-based vegan diet for a year

requires just one-sixth of an acre of

land to feed that same person on a

vegetarian diet that includes eggs and

dairy requires three times as much land

to feed an average u.s. citizens high

consumption diet of meat dairy and eggs

requires 18 times as much land this is

because you can produce

37,000 pounds of vegetables on one and a

half acres but only 375 pounds of meat

on that same plot of land I also learned

the comparison doesn't end with land use

a vegan diet produces half as much co2

as an American omnivore uses 111th the

amount of fossil fuels 113th the amount

of water and an 18th of the amount of

land after adding this all up I realized

I had the choice every single day to

save over 1,100 gallons of water 45

pounds of grain 30 square feet of

forested land the equivalent 20 pounds

of co2 and one animal's life every

single day

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