A medical review of the documentary Cowspiracy
This 2014 documentary by Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn addresses the impact of animal agriculture on the environment and how environmental groups tend to ignore the issue, focusing instead on other environmental problems like fossil fuels. Kip makes his case through a series of interviews interspersed with animated infographics to illustrate his conclusions. The facts he sites in the documentary like:
“Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.”
are all listed on his website with references (this particular quote has 15 citations.)
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Kip makes a convincing case about the effect of meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood on habitat loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. He doesn’t view “sustainable” options as a solution because the level of human consumption is so high, there isn’t enough land needed to satisfy demand. His conclusion is to forego all meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood in favor of a vegan diet.
Animal agriculture
His most surprising revelation is how many environmental groups do not even address the issue of animal agriculture on their websites. I decided to check the websites of the groups he names to see if anything has changed in 2019, five years later.
The WWF and Greenpeace websites do discuss the impact of animal agriculture on the environment but hedge on their recommendations. Greenpeace recommends reducing meat in your diet but does not discuss a vegetarian or vegan diet. WWF has no discussion about reducing meat or a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Fairing even worse is the Sierra Club website where the animal agriculture issue remains absent. With a search, I was able to find articles both for and against eating meat. If the comments section in these articles is any indication, I was not the only one who found this disconcerting.
Overfishing
Kip meets with Oceana and argues the quantity of fish we eat is not sustainable even with sustainable fishing techniques. They don’t even attempt to disagree with him, yet their website still recommends sustainable fishing as the solution (as of 2019).
Rainforest destruction
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Kip notes how agribusiness is the leading cause of rainforest destruction, yet most charities focus on other causes like logging, palm oil, and coal. He questions why the Rainforest Action Network would limit discussion to these causes. Performing a search on their website, I was able to find a 2015 article on animal agriculture where they conclude that “commercial agriculture drives 71% of tropical deforestation.” Yet their main website still ignores animal agriculture in its climate section.
Amazon Watch also has a 2015 article addressing animal agriculture, seemingly in response to this documentary.
Environmental groups
Understanding why environmental groups are reticent to examine this issue is less clear. One interviewee suggests that they view it as a political loser that hurts with fundraising. We meet or hear about people who have spoken out against animal agriculture and experienced lawsuits or physical harm. Kip also makes the unsupported-albeit-plausible accusation that pro-livestock groups (like the Animal Agriculture Alliance he interviews) support environmental groups to silence them on this issue the way lobbyists use money to control politicians.
Kip then segues into a section with ominous music and shadowy lighting about how by even broaching this subject he has put himself in the crosshairs. He decides that he will make the ultimate sacrifice to risk … the defunding of his documentary. This melodrama lasts several minutes and induces heavy sighs in this viewer. Maybe the tension just isn’t there for me since I know he completes his documentary and then another food-based documentary in 2017, What the Heath.
Plant-based diet
The last section discusses a plant-based diet as a truly sustainable food option in an interview with Michael Pollan (who would release his own health documentary in 2015, In Defense of Food).
Kip interviews a doctor about how a vegan diet is perfectly healthy option (I guess people were unsure of this in 2014?) Kip also discusses plant-based dairy and meat, an option that probably seemed obscure at the time but has been gaining serious traction in 2019 with companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
Conclusion
The focus of this documentary is the heath of the planet rather than individual health, but these two issues are intimately linked. This is an eye-opening documentary on many levels. The heavy focus on interviews makes it less engaging than other films, but Kip Anderson has a unique perspective that is worth pondering. His discussion of the dangers of agribusiness and how even sustainable fishing, sustainable livestock farms, and organic dairies do not fully relieve the root of the problem – the sheer quantity of fish, meat, and dairy consumed by the world – makes a strong argument for us all to consider the limited resources of our planet and reassess what we eat.
Cowspiracy is available for streaming on Netflix.
About the Author
David Z Hirsch is the pen name of the author of the award-winning novels Didn’t Get Frazzled and Jake, Lucid Dreamer, both available for purchase on Amazon or may be read for free with Kindle Unlimited.
He is an internal medicine physician with an active practice in Maryland.
Check out my other reviews:
A medical review of the documentary The Magic Pill
A medical review of the documentary In Defense of Food
A medical review of the documentary Feel Rich
A medical review of the documentary Fed Up
A medical review of the documentary Sugar Coated
A medical review of the documentary Super Size Me
A medical review of the documentary Forks Over Knives
A medical review of the documentary What the Heath
