Cowspiracy: fact checks

Movie Clips

“You can’t be an environmentalist and eat animal products. Period.”
—Howard Lyman, former cattle rancher, author, Mad Cowboy

CLIMATE CHANGE

Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than all transportation combined.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “Spotlight: Livestock Impacts on the Environment.” www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm
[NOTE: In 2013 the UN-FAO lowered livestock’s GHG emissions to 14.5%, due to reducing the contribution to deforestation and reducing the global warming potention of methane.

Transportation is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

[Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation.]
Environmental Protection Agency. “Global Emissions.” www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html

Livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32,000 million tons of CO₂ per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Goodland R, Anhang J. “Livestock and Climate Change: What if the Key Actors in Climate Change Were Pigs, Chickens and Cows?”
Worldwatch, November/December 2009. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC, USA. pp. 10–19. www.worldwatch.org/node/6294

Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day.

Ross, Philip. “Cow Farts Have ‘Larger Greenhouse Gas Impact’ Than Previously Thought; Methane Pushes Climate Change.” International Business Times. 2013. www.ibtimes.com/cow-farts-have-larger-greenhouse-gas-impact-previously-thought-methane-pushes-climate-change-1487502
[A single cow can produce between 66-132 gallons of methane a day.]

Methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO₂.

“Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions.” Science Magazine. www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5953/716.figures-only

Methane has a global warming power 86 times that of CO₂.

NASA. “Methane: Its Role as a Greenhouse Gas.” Jet Propulsion Laboratory. www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/pdfs/podest_ghg.pdf

Livestock is responsible for 65% of all emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas 296 times more destructive than carbon dioxide and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.

“Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006. www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm

WATER

Animal agriculture uses 34-76 trillion gallons of water annually.

Pimentel, David, et al. “Water Resources: Agricultural And Environmental Issues.” BioScience 54, no. 10 (2004): 909-18. http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/10/909.full
Barber, N.L., “Summary of estimated water use in the United States in 2005: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2009–3098.” http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3098/
[Although there are Cornell studies sighting the water consumption of the US livestock industry at over 66 trillion gallons every year, we decided to go with a much more conservative figure of 34 trillion gallons based on the 2005 USGS figures putting the US total consumptive water use at 76 trillion gallons annually (non-consumptive is for thermoelectric and hydroelectric use that is typically returned directly back to its source immediately). The USDA says that agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption and growing the feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of that water, bringing the total water consumption of the livestock industry to 34 trillion gallons.]

Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption.

“USDA ERS — Irrigation & Water Use.” United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. 2013. www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/irrigation-water-use/background.aspx

Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US.

Jacobson, Michael F. “More and Cleaner Water.” In Six Arguments for a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-Based Diet Could Save Your Health and the Environment.
Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006. www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/pdf/arguments4.pdf

One hamburger requires 660 gallons of water to produce – the equivalent of 2 months’ worth of showers.

[1/4 lbs burger = 2 months showering: based on taking a 4-minute daily shower with a 2.5 gpm shower head.]
Catanese, Christina. “Virtual Water, Real Impacts.” Greenversations: Official Blog of the U.S. EPA. 2012. http://blog.epa.gov/healthywaters/2012/03/virtual-water-real-impacts-world-water-day-2012/
“50 Ways to Save Your River.” Friends of the River. www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/PageServer?pagename=50ways

2,500 gallons of water are required to produce 1 pound of beef.

Robbins, John. “2,500 Gallons, All Wet?” EarthSave www.earthsave.org/environment/water.htm
Meateater’s Guide to Climate Change & Health.” Environmental Working Group. www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/interactive-graphic/water/
“Water Footprint Assessment.” University of Twente, the Netherlands. www.waterfootprint.org
Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print

477 gallons of water are required to produce 1 pound of eggs; 900 gallons of water are needed for cheese.

“Meateater’s Guide to Climate Change & Health.” Environmental Working Group. www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/interactive-graphic/water/

1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.

“Water trivia facts.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm#_edn11

5% of water in the US is used by private homes. 55% of water in the US is used for animal agriculture.

Jacobson, Michael F. “More and Cleaner Water.” In Six Arguments for a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-Based Diet Could Save Your Health and the Environment. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006. www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/pdf/arguments4.pdf
Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

The meat and dairy industries combined use nearly 1/3 (29%) of all the fresh water in the world today.

“Freshwater Abuse and Loss: Where Is It All Going?” Forks Over Knives. www.forksoverknives.com/freshwater-abuse-and-loss-where-is-it-all-go

LAND

Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.

Thornton, Phillip, Mario Herrero, and Polly Ericksen. “Livestock and Climate Change.” Livestock Exchange, no. 3 (2011). https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/10601/IssueBrief3.pdf

Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of Amazon destruction.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.
Margulis, Sergio. Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Rainforest. Washington: World Bank Publications, 2003. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15060

The leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feedcrops.

“Livestock impacts on the environment.” Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations (fao). 2006. www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm

136 million rainforest acres cleared for animal agriculture.

“Amazon Destruction.” Monga Bay. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html

1-2 acres of rainforest are cleared every second.

“Avoiding Unsustainable Rainforest Wood.” Rainforest Relief. www.rainforestrelief.org/What_to_Avoid_and_Alternatives/Rainforest_Wood.html
Facts about the rainforest. www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_007.htm
Rainforest facts. www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

110 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction.

“Rainforest Statistics and Facts.” Save the Amazon. www.savetheamazon.org/rainforeststats.htm
Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

2-5 acres of land are used per cow.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work.
Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Nearly half of the contiguous US is devoted to animal agriculture.

[Grassland & pasture = 26%; cropland = 20%. 25% of all privately held acres in the US is used for grazing livestock. Harvested specifically for livestock feed: 35 million hectares of all corn in the US (36%) + 31.1 million hectares of all soybeans grown in the US (72%) + 24.4 million hectares of hay (nearly all hay production). www.cast-science.org/file.cfm/media/products/digitalproducts/CAST_WaterLand_Issues_IP_50_final_w_6AC28B58B3918.pdf]

30% of the Earth’s entire land surface is used by the livestock sector.

“Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006. www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm
Versterby, Marlow; Krupa, Kenneth. “Major Uses of Land in the United States.” Updated 2012. USDA Economic Research Service. www.ers.usda.gov/publications/sb-statistical-bulletin/sb-973.aspx#.VAoXcl7E8dt
“Rearing Cattle Produces More Greenhouse Gases Than Driving Cars, UN Report Warns.” UN News Centre, 2006. www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772

1/3 of the planet is desertified due to livestock.

“UN Launches International Year of Deserts and Desertification.” UN News Centre, 2006. www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17076#.VAodM17E8ds
Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

POLLUTION

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.
[“A typical five-acre hog waste lagoon releases 15-30 tons of ammonia into the air annually. Approximately half of the ammonia rises as a gas and generally falls to forests, fields, or open water within 50 miles, either in rain or fog. The rest is transformed into dry particles that travel up to 250 miles. Ammonia is the most potent form of nitrogen that triggers algae blooms and causes fish kills in coastal waters. The North Carolina Division of Water Quality estimates that hog factories constitute the largest source of airborne ammonia in North Carolina, more than cattle, chickens, and turkeys combined. In 1995, Hans Paerl, a marine ecologist from the University of North Carolina, reported that airborne ammonia had risen 25% each year since 1991 in Morehead City, 90 miles downwind of the hog belt.”]
“What’s the Problem?” United States Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/region9/animalwaste/problem.html
“Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006. www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm
“Fire Up the Grill for a Mouthwatering Red, White, and Green July 4th.” Worldwatch Institute. www.worldwatch.org/fire-grill-mouthwatering-red-white-and-green-july-4th
Oppenlander, Richard A. “Biodiversity and Food Choice: A Clarification.” Comfortably Unaware. 2012 http://comfortablyunaware.com/blog/biodiversity-and-food-choice-a-clarification/
“Risk Assessment Evaluation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Office of Research and Development. 2004. http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=901V0100.txt

130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually, 5 tons of animal waste for every person.

Animal agriculture: waste management practices. United States General Accounting Office. www.gao.gov/archive/1999/rc99205.pdf
[“The US meat industry produced some 1.4 billion tons of waste in 1997— five tons of animal waste for every US citizen. (USDA)” www.worldwatch.org/fire-grill-mouthwatering-red-white-and-green-july-4th]

Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.

[This doesn’t include the animals raised outside of USDA jurisdiction or in backyards, or the billions of fish raised in aquaculture settings in the US.]
“What’s the Problem?” United States Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/region9/animalwaste/problem.html
“How To Manage Manure.” Healthy Landscapes. www.uri.edu/ce/healthylandscapes/livestock/how_manure_overall.htm
[Dairy Cows: 120 lbs of waste per day × 9 million cows. Cattle: 63 lbs of waste per day × 90 million cattle. Pigs: 14 lbs of waste per day × 67 million pigs. Sheep/Goats: 5 lbs of waste per day × 9 million sheep/goats. Poultry: 0.25 lbs of waste per day × 10 billion birds. Total: 3.745 trillion pounds waste (manure & urine) per year.]

335 million tons of “dry matter” is produced annually by livestock in the US.

“FY-2005 Annual Report Manure and Byproduct Utilization National Program 206.”
USDA Agricultural Research Service. 2008. www.ars.usda.gov/research/programs/programs.htm?np_code=206&docid=13337

A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.

“Risk Assessment Evaluation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Office of Research and Development. 2004. http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=901V0100.txt

SEA

90 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year.

“World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture.” United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2012. www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2727e/i2727e01.pdf
100 million tons of fish are caught annually.
Montaigne, Fen. “Still Waters: The Global Fish Crisis.” National Geographic. http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/global-fish-crisis-article/
Fish catch peaks at 85 million tons.
“World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture.” United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2012. www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2727e/i2727e01.pdf

For every 1 pound of fish caught, an average of 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.

“Discards and Bycatch in Shrimp Trawl Fisheries.”
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). www.fao.org/docrep/W6602E/w6602E09.htm
[The figures for by-kill rates can be as high as 20lbs of untargeted species trapped for every pound of targeted animals killed.]

As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.

Goldenberg, Suzanne. “America’s Nine Most Wasteful Fisheries Named.” The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/20/americas-nine-most-wasteful-fisheries-named

Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.

Goldenberg, Suzanne. “America’s Nine Most Wasteful Fisheries Named.” The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/20/americas-nine-most-wasteful-fisheries-named
[Oppenlander says 1-2 trillion fish are extracted (incl. “bycatch,”) from our oceans each year (“by fishing methods such as trawling, purse seine, long lines, explosives, and other techniques that are damaging ecosystems”) http://comfortablyunaware.com/blog/biodiversity-and-food-choice-a-clarification/]

POPULATION

The average American consumes 209 pounds of meat per year.

Haney, Shaun. “How Much Do We Eat?” Real Agriculture. 2012. [276 lbs/yr] www.realagriculture.com/2012/05/how-much-meat-do-we-eat/
“US meat, poultry production & consumption.” American Meat Institute. 2009. [233.9 lbs/yr] www.meatami.com/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/48781
Barnard, Neal. “Do we eat too much?” Huffington Post. [200 lbs/yr] www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-barnard-md/american-diet-do-we-eat-too-much_b_805980.html

70 billion farmed animals are reared annually worldwide. More than 6 million animals are killed for food every hour.

A Well-Fed World. Factory Farms. www.awfw.org/factory-farms/
Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Throughout the world, humans drink 5.2 billion gallons of water and eat 21 billion pounds of food each day.

Based on rough averages of 0.75 gallons of water and 3 lbs of food per day.

Worldwide, cows drink 45 billion gallons of water and eat 135 billion pounds of food each day.

Based on rough average of 30 gallons of water and 90 lbs of feed per day.

Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year: Vegan: 1/6 acre. Vegetarian: 3× as much as a vegan. Meat Eater: 18× as much as a vegan.

“Our Food Our Future.” Earthsave. www.earthsave.org/pdf/ofof2006.pdf

1.5 acres can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food.
1.5 acres can produce 375 pounds of meat.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

A person who follows a vegan diet uses 50% less carbon dioxide, 1/11 the oil, 1/13 the water, and 1/18 the land compared to a meat-eater.

CO₂: “Dietary Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Meat-Eaters, Fish-Eaters, Vegetarians and Vegans in the UK.” Climatic Change, 2014. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-014-1169-1/fulltext.html
Oil, Water: “Sustainability of Meat-Based and Plant-Based Diets and the Environment.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full
Land: “Our Food Our Future.” Earthsave. www.earthsave.org/pdf/ofof2006.pdf

Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forested land, 20 lbs CO₂ equivalent, and one animal’s life.

“Water Footprint Assessment.” University of Twente, the Netherlands. www.waterfootprint.org
Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.
“Measuring the daily destruction of the world’s rainforests.” Scientific American, 2009. www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-daily-destruction/
“Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK.” Climactic change, 2014. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-014-1169-1/fulltext.html
“Meat eater’s guide to climate change and health.” The Environmental Working Group. http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/meateaters/pdf/methodology_ewg_meat_eaters_guide_to_health_and_climate_2011.pdf
[Water: The per capita consumption of freshwater in the US for animal agriculture is 405,000 gallons of freshwater per year, representing 206 pounds of meat per year (46 pounds of pig, 58 pounds of cow, and 102 pounds of chicken and turkey), 248 eggs, and 616 pounds of dairy products, which equates to 1,100 gallons of water each day. Grain: Ounces of each meat consumed daily per person times the feed conversion factor for each animal. Rainforest: It is estimated that 80,000 acres of rainforest are cleared each day with an additional 80,000 degraded, with 70-91% of that degradation for the livestock industry. CO₂: Based on feed conversion ratios and the average US meat consumption of 209 lbs per year per person: beef: 22-27 kg CO₂ Eq per kg produced/consumed × 2.5 ounces/day = 1.75 kg or 3.85 lbs; cheese/milk: 13.5 kg per kg product × 2 pounds/day = 12.15 kg or 12.5 lbs; pork: 12 kg per kg product × 2 ounces/day = 0.68 kg or 1.5 lbs; chicken and turkey: 7 kg per kg product × 4.48 ounces/day = 0.89 kg or 1.96 lbs minimally (using only chicken; turkey would be 11 kg per kg product); eggs: 5 kg per kg product × 2/3 egg per day = (50 g/egg) or 0.55 lbs; total: 20.36 lbs of CO₂ Eq per day. 1 animal’s life: add dimished habitat and fishing bycatch.