Cowspiracy subtitles

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You know, the world's
climate scientists tell us that...

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...the highest safe level
of emissions would be...

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...around 350 parts per million
of carbon dioxide...

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...and greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere. We're already at 400.

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They tell us that the sort of safest
we could hope to do...

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...without having perilous implications...

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...as far as drought, famine,
human conflict, major species extinction...

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...would be about a 2-degree Celsius
increase in temperature.

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We're rapidly approaching that,
and with all the built-in carbon dioxide...

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...that's already in the atmosphere,
we're easily going to exceed that.

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So on our watch, we are facing...

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...the next major extinction of species
on the earth...

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...that we haven't seen since the time
of the dinosaurs disappearing.

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When whole countries go underwater
because of sea-level rise...

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...when whole countries find
that there's so much drought...

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...that they can't feed their population...

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...and as a result,
they need to desperately...

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...migrate to another country
or invade another country...

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I mean, we're gonna have
climate wars in the future.

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And what about...?

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What about livestock
and animal agriculture?

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Well, what about it? I mean-

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My name�s Kip.

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This is me.
I had a clich� U.S.American childhood.

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My mom was a teacher.
My dad was in the military.

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And I have one sister.

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I played all sports growing up...

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...but I always loved
the outdoors and camping.

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Life was simple,
not a care in the world.

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And then this guy showed up.
Like so many of us...

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...I saw his film An Inconvenient Truth
about the impacts of global warming.

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It scared the Emojis out of me.

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In Al Gore's film,
he describes how Earth is in peril.

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Climate change stands to affect
all life on this planet.

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From monster storms, raging wildfires...

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...record droughts, ice caps melting...

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...acidification of the oceans,
to entire countries going underwater...

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...that could all be caused
by humans' demands on the Earth.

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With scientists warning
unless we take drastic measures...

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...to correct our environmental footprint,
our time on this planet maybe limited...

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...to only 50 more years,
I wanted to do everything I could to help.

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I made up my mind
right then and there...

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...to change how I lived
and to do whatever I possibly could...

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...to find away for all of us
to live together...

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...in balance with the planet,
sustainably, forever.

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I started to do all the things
Al told us to do.

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I became an OCE,
obsessive-compulsive environmentalist.

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I separated the trash and recycling,
I composted...

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...changed the light bulbs,
took short showers...

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...brushed with the water off,
turned off lights when leaving...

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...and rode my bike
instead of driving everywhere.

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But as the years went by,
it seemed as if things were getting worse.

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I had to wonder, with all the continuing
ecological crisis facing the planet...

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...even if every single one of us adopted
these conservation habits...

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...was this really gonna be enough
to save the world?

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It just seemed that there was
something more to the story.

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I thought I was doing everything I could
to help the planet.

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But then with one's friend's post
everything changed.

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The post sent me to a report online
published by the United Nations...

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...stating that cows
produce more greenhouse gases...

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...than the entire transportation sector.

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This means that raising cattle
produces more greenhouse gases...

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...than all cars, trucks, trains, boats,
planes combined.

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Thirteen percent compared
to 18 percent for livestock.

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This is because cows produce
a substantial amount...

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...of methane from their digestive process.

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Methane gas from livestock
is 25to 100 times...

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...more destructive
than carbon dioxide from vehicles.

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Here I'd been riding my bike everywhere
to help reduce emissions.

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But it turns out there's more
to climate change than just fossil fuels.

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I did more research. The U.N.
along with other agencies reported...

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...not only did livestock play
a major role in global warming...

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...it is also the leading cause
of resource consumption...

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...and environmental degradation
destroying the planet today.

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How is it possible
I wasn't aware of this?

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I thought this information would be
in the environmental community.

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I went to the nation's largest
environmental organizations' websites...

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350.org, Greenpeace, Sierra Club...

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...Climate Reality, Rainforest Action
Network, Amazon Watch...

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...and was shocked to see they had
virtually nothing on animal agriculture.

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What was going on?

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Why would they not have
this information on there?

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It seemed the main focus for many groups
was natural gas and oil production...

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...with fracking being the latest hot issue,
due to water usage and contamination.

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...with fracking being the latest hot issue,
due to water usage and contamination.

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Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas uses
an incredible amount of water.

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A staggering 100 billion gallons of water
is used every year in the United States.

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But when I compared this
with animal agriculture...

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...raising livestock just in the U.S.
consumes 34 trillion gallons of water.

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And it turns out the methane emissions
from both industries are nearly equal.

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Living in California, a state plagued
by drought and water shortages...

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...water use is a major concern
for many of us.

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The average Californian uses
about 1500 gallons per person per day.

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About half of that is related to the
consumption of meat and dairy products.

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So meat and dairy products
are incredibly water-intensive...

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...in part because the animals are using
very water-intensive grains.

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That's what they eat, and so...

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...all of the water embedded in the grain
and that the animal eats...

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...essentially is considered part...

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...of the virtual water footprint
of that product.

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I found out that one quarter-pound
hamburger requires...

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...over 660 gallons of water to produce.

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Here I've been taking
these short showers to save water...

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...and to find out just eating
one hamburger is the equivalent...

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...of showering two entire months.

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So much attention is given
to lowering home water use.

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Yet domestic water use is 5 percent
of what is consumed in the U.S...

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...versus 55 percent
for animal agriculture.

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That's because it takes upwards
of 2500 gallons of water...

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...to produce 1 pound of beef.

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I went on the government's
Department of Water Resources...

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...Save Our Water campaign. It outlines
behavior changes to conserve water.

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Like using low-flow shower heads,
efficient toilets...

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...water-saving appliances,
and fix leaky faucets and sprinkler heads.

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But nothing about animal agriculture.

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When I added up all
the government's recommendations...

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...I was saving 47 gallons a day.

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But still that's not even close
to the 660 gallons...

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...of water for just one burger.

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I wanted to see if I could talk
with the government about this.

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Just calling to see
if we could schedule an interview.

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Yeah, that would be good.

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What does your schedule look like
this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon?

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- Tomorrow afternoon.
- Tomorrow afternoon could be good.

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For the urban environment, a lot of
things can be done. Indoors, you know...

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...using low-flow shower heads,
low-flow faucets...

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...efficient toilets...

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...efficient water-using appliances.

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All of those are really good areas
that can help quite a lot.

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But the biggest water savings
is from outdoors.

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We have to be mindful of the way
we use water.

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We have to use it efficiently,
protect its quality...

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...and be good stewards
of the environment that depend on water.

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And checking the sprinklers.
A lot of times you get a lot of leaks...

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...and broken sprinklers
and things like that that waste water.

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Those are the areas that there is
a lot of room for conservation.

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It kept on coming up a lot,
was animal agriculture.

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Can you comment on that at all,
about how much that plays a role...

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...in water consumption and pollution?

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That's-I mean, that's not my area.

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There's one study that found
that 1 pound of beef...

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...2500 gallons of water.

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- Yeah.
- Yeah.

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Eggs are 477 gallons of water.
And cheese, almost 900 gallons.

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I mean, why isn't it on Save Our Water?

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It's kind of like if you went
to someone's house...

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...and my neighbour has a faucet,
you know, dripping.

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And then you see
this giant hose turned full-blast...

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...until 660 gallons of water
are shooting out into the street...

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...flooding the entire street.

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I think I would say,
"Hey, you know, turn that off, please."

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Seems like it's a huge thing
that we could be doing...

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...by far more than anything else.

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Just, like, if that is really the case.

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I think that the water footprint...

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...of animal husbandry is greater
than other activities.

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There's no ifs, ands or buts about it.

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That would be really powerful.

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Rather than waiting till we're in a drought,
what do you think about starting now?

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And say to whoever's in charge
of Save Our Water:

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"Hey, let's start encouraging people
to eat less meat now...

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...because these studies
are coming out"?

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- I don't think that'll happen.
- Why?

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- I don't think that'll happen.
- Why?

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Because of the way government
is set up here.

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That's interesting, though.
Why, though?

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One is water management
and the other is behavior change.

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Behavior of taking showers...

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...and not watering your lawn
and doing all that, that's behavior.

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Yeah.

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Clearly the government did not want
to talk about this issue.

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Their inability to answer...

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...along with the organization's silence
on the topic of animal agriculture...

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...made it seem
something more was going on.

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I did more investigating
on the impacts of livestock...

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I did more investigating
on the impacts of livestock...

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...and found out the situation
was actually worse than I'd thought.

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In 2009, two advisors
from the World Bank released...

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...an analysis on human-induced
greenhouse gases...

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...finding that animal agriculture
was responsible not for 18 percent...

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...as the U.N. stated, but was actually
51 percent of all greenhouse gases.

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Fifty-one percent.

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Yet all we hear about
is burning fossil fuels.

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This devastating figure is due
to clear-cutting rainforests for grazing...

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...respiration, and all the waste
animals produced.

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This makes animal agriculture
the number one contributor...

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...to human-caused climate change.

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But not only that, I found out
raising animals for food consumes...

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...a third of all the
planet's freshwater...

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...occupies up to 45 percent
of the Earth's land...

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...is responsible for up to 91 percent
of Amazon destruction...

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...is a leading cause
of species extinction...

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...ocean "dead zones"...

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...and habitat destruction.

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Yet the world's largest
environmental groups...

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...that are supposed to be saving
our world didn't mention this anywhere.

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I had to speak with them to find out why
they weren't addressing this issue.

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I sent off dozens of e-mails,
made call after call...

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...spent hours on hold.

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Days became weeks,
weeks became months...

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...and for some reason,
no one wanted to talk to me about this.

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So bizarre.

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I supported these organizations
for so long and now was met with silence.

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I was, however, able to connect
with a handful of environmental authors...

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...and advocates that were willing
to address this issue.

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I took my old, trusty van "Super Blue"
out of retirement and hit the road.

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So my calculations are...

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...that without using any gas or oil or
fuel ever again from this day forward...

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...that we would still exceed
our maximum carbon-equivalent...

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...greenhouse gas emissions,
the 565 gigatons, by the year 2030...

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...without the electricity sector
or energy sector even factored...

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...in the equation,
all simply by raising and eating livestock.

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You reduce methane emissions,
the level in the atmosphere goes down...

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...fairly quickly, within decades,
as opposed to CO2...

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...if you reduce the emissions
to the atmosphere...

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...you don't see a signal
in the atmosphere for 100 years or so.

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The single largest contributor to every
environmental ill known to humankind...

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Cutting down the forest
to graze animals...

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...and to grow soybeans,
genetically-engineered soybeans...

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...to feed to the cows and pigs
and chickens and factory-farmed fish.

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Ninety-one percent of the loss of rainforest
in the Amazon area thus far to date...

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...91 percent that's been destroyed
is due to raising livestock.

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The lead cause of environmental
destruction is animal agriculture.

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I just couldn't understand why the world's
largest environmental organizations...

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...weren't addressing this when their entire
mission is to protect the environment.

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That's the thing, too, is they say:

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"Use less coal, ride your bike."
What about "eat less meat"?

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I think they focus-grouped it
and it's a political loser.

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00:15:46,912 --> 00:15:49,912
Yeah, because they're membership
organizations, you know, a lot of them.

230
00:15:50,716 --> 00:15:53,716
They're looking to maximize the number
of people making contributions.

231
00:15:54,053 --> 00:15:57,053
And if they get identified
as being anti-meat...

232
00:15:57,056 --> 00:15:59,757
...or challenging people
on their everyday habits...

233
00:15:59,758 --> 00:16:02,999
...something that's so dear to people,
that it will hurt with their fundraising.

234
00:16:06,799 --> 00:16:09,701
They do not want to address
the primary driving cause...

235
00:16:09,702 --> 00:16:12,702
...of environmental devastation,
which is animal agriculture...

236
00:16:12,838 --> 00:16:15,473
...because they're businesses.

237
00:16:15,474 --> 00:16:18,474
And they want to make sure that
they have a reliable source of funding.

238
00:16:24,550 --> 00:16:27,385
I was invited to a meeting with Al Gore
some years ago...

239
00:16:27,386 --> 00:16:30,547
...made these methane arguments, and
he pushed back. That's just his argument.

240
00:16:31,056 --> 00:16:34,056
"It's hard enough to get people
to think about CO2. Don't confuse them."

241
00:16:37,329 --> 00:16:40,649
The problem with a lot of organizations
that are focused and have a laser focus...

242
00:16:41,433 --> 00:16:44,433
...don't go off message
because they don't wanna piss off...

243
00:16:45,504 --> 00:16:48,504
...another whole group of people
that will make their lives difficult.

244
00:16:52,478 --> 00:16:55,478
Major environmental organizations
don't tell you to do much...

245
00:16:55,481 --> 00:16:58,349
...besides live your life
the way you've been living it...

246
00:16:58,350 --> 00:17:00,618
...but change a light bulb
from time to time...

247
00:17:00,619 --> 00:17:02,987
...drive less, use less plastic,
recycle more.

248
00:17:02,988 --> 00:17:05,988
It's better for their fundraising
and better for their profile...

249
00:17:06,558 --> 00:17:09,558
...to create a victim-and-perpetrator
sort of plotline.

250
00:17:12,664 --> 00:17:15,744
It's like when we talk about the fact that
we have a dysfunctional family...

251
00:17:16,402 --> 00:17:19,402
...and the father's an alcoholic,
that's the one thing no one talks about.

252
00:17:19,905 --> 00:17:22,707
Everybody goes around that,
and yet it's the one thing...

253
00:17:22,708 --> 00:17:25,708
...that's causing the devastation
in the relationships in the family...

254
00:17:26,478 --> 00:17:29,414
...because no one wants to talk about it.

255
00:17:29,415 --> 00:17:31,416
How could these organizations
not know?

256
00:17:31,417 --> 00:17:34,417
The issue is right in front of them.
It's unmistakable at this point.

257
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,920
And just like these organizations,
they're falling over themselves...

258
00:17:38,891 --> 00:17:41,891
...to show the general public
that climate change is human-caused.

259
00:17:42,895 --> 00:17:45,975
And in doing so, they completely fail
to see what's right in front of them...

260
00:17:47,699 --> 00:17:50,699
...that animal agriculture,
raising and killing animals for food...

261
00:17:51,036 --> 00:17:54,036
...is really what's killing the planet.

262
00:17:54,973 --> 00:17:57,973
That was it. No more e-mails,
no more phone calls. I had enough.

263
00:17:58,644 --> 00:18:01,012
I realized if I wanted answers,
I'd have to go...

264
00:18:01,013 --> 00:18:04,013
...to these organizations'
headquarters in person.

265
00:18:05,751 --> 00:18:07,151
- Hi, how's it going?
- Good.

266
00:18:07,152 --> 00:18:10,152
We're doing a full-length
feature documentary...

267
00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:14,090
...and it's on sustainability
and how animal agriculture plays a role.

268
00:18:15,994 --> 00:18:18,994
And we're seeing if we could
talk to David Barre.

269
00:18:19,631 --> 00:18:21,399
- Barre? Okay.
- Yeah.

270
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,601
- Do you have an appointment with him?
- We've been trying for almost two months.

271
00:18:25,137 --> 00:18:28,137
We haven't even had
one receptive e-mail or anything.

272
00:18:29,174 --> 00:18:32,295
- Seeing if we could just set something up.
- Sure, let me... So let me just...

273
00:18:33,045 --> 00:18:35,179
They sent out their PR person instead.

274
00:18:35,180 --> 00:18:38,180
She refused to be filmed and told us
to turn off the camera...

275
00:18:38,183 --> 00:18:40,918
...but promised someone
from their Rainforest, Ocean...

276
00:18:40,919 --> 00:18:43,919
...and Climate Change Departments
would all speak with us, finally.

277
00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:49,959
Next stop was to give
Sierra Club a visit.

278
00:18:54,032 --> 00:18:57,032
They were a bit more receptive
to me showing up at their doorstep.

279
00:18:57,603 --> 00:19:00,603
Hey, how's it going?

280
00:19:02,074 --> 00:19:04,942
With the climate change,
what's the leading cause of that?

281
00:19:04,943 --> 00:19:07,943
Well, it's basically burning
too many fossil fuels.

282
00:19:09,114 --> 00:19:12,114
You know, so coal, natural gas, oil.

283
00:19:13,252 --> 00:19:15,119
Tarsands, oil shale.

284
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:18,120
All these new exotic fuels
that are kind of hybrids between them.

285
00:19:18,757 --> 00:19:21,757
But that's basically what
is loading up the atmosphere...

286
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,960
...so we have this greenhouse effect
where the heat is getting trapped...

287
00:19:25,564 --> 00:19:27,899
...and the temperatures are soaring...

288
00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:30,900
...at a rate that has never existed
in the history of the Earth.

289
00:19:32,004 --> 00:19:34,071
And what about...?

290
00:19:34,072 --> 00:19:37,072
What about livestock
and animal agriculture?

291
00:19:39,478 --> 00:19:41,512
Well, what about it? I mean...

292
00:20:46,144 --> 00:20:49,144
...but I'm afraid we're not going
to be able to help this time.

293
00:20:53,085 --> 00:20:55,353
Thanks again,
and we wish you the best of luck."

294
00:20:55,354 --> 00:20:57,822
Greenpeace's response reminded me
of the statistic...

295
00:20:57,823 --> 00:20:58,155
Greenpeace's response reminded me
of the statistic...

296
00:20:58,156 --> 00:21:01,156
...that 116,000 pounds
of farm animal excrement...

297
00:21:01,193 --> 00:21:04,193
...is produced every second
in the United States alone.

298
00:21:04,329 --> 00:21:07,369
That is enough waste per year to cover
every square foot of San Francisco...

299
00:21:08,567 --> 00:21:11,567
...New York City, Tokyo, Paris...

300
00:21:12,671 --> 00:21:15,671
...New Delhi, Berlin,
Hong Kong, London...

301
00:21:15,907 --> 00:21:18,907
...Rio De Janeiro, Delaware, Bali,
Costa Rica, and Denmark combined.

302
00:21:22,781 --> 00:21:25,781
Livestock operations on land
has caused, or created...

303
00:21:28,153 --> 00:21:30,655
...more than 500
nitrogen-flooded dead zones...

304
00:21:30,656 --> 00:21:32,290
...around the world in our oceans.

305
00:21:32,291 --> 00:21:35,291
Comprise more than 95,000 square miles
of areas completely devoid of life.

306
00:21:36,795 --> 00:21:39,795
So any meaningful discussion
about the state of our oceans...

307
00:21:40,332 --> 00:21:43,332
...has to always begin
by frank discussions...

308
00:21:44,903 --> 00:21:47,903
...about land-based animal agriculture...

309
00:21:48,607 --> 00:21:51,607
...which is not what
our conservation groups-

310
00:21:51,743 --> 00:21:54,743
Oceana being the largest one in the
world right now, the most influential.

311
00:21:55,414 --> 00:21:58,414
As well as others. That's not what is
at the apex of their discussions.

312
00:21:59,184 --> 00:22:02,184
I went on my favorite ocean-protection
organization's website...

313
00:22:02,287 --> 00:22:05,287
...Surf rider Foundation,
to see what they're doing about this.

314
00:22:05,290 --> 00:22:08,290
Mostly what I found were campaigns
about plastic bags and trash...

315
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,760
...but nothing about animal agriculture.

316
00:22:13,899 --> 00:22:16,834
What is the number one coastal water
quality-issue polluter?

317
00:22:16,835 --> 00:22:19,704
Like-? Yeah, I mean, a lot of it-

318
00:22:19,705 --> 00:22:22,705
It's actually-
We call it, like, the "toxic cocktail."

319
00:22:23,175 --> 00:22:26,010
Because it really is
this sort of diffuse source.

320
00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:29,051
So it's, you know, heavy metal from tires
and brakes and cars, heavy metals.

321
00:22:31,650 --> 00:22:33,451
It is these herbicides and pesticides.

322
00:22:33,452 --> 00:22:36,452
It's really just kind of picking up
everything we leave on the ground...

323
00:22:38,223 --> 00:22:41,223
...and collecting it together
and pushing it out into the ocean.

324
00:22:41,326 --> 00:22:44,326
So it's hard to actually target,
like, one thing.

325
00:22:44,363 --> 00:22:47,363
When we're doing our research
on this particular one, and run off...

326
00:22:48,467 --> 00:22:51,467
...just kind of increasingly as we're
interviewing more and more people...

327
00:22:52,170 --> 00:22:55,170
...it keeps coming up,
animal agriculture, as being...

328
00:22:56,174 --> 00:22:59,174
And we read animal agriculture
as being the number one water polluter...

329
00:23:00,879 --> 00:23:03,013
...considerably by more than any other...

330
00:23:03,014 --> 00:23:06,014
Yeah, that's interesting.I guess it depends
on the regions that you focus on.

331
00:23:06,852 --> 00:23:09,852
Like the urban areas, like where we are
here in Southern California...

332
00:23:12,491 --> 00:23:15,491
...we don't see that, because there's
not a lot of agricultural farms...

333
00:23:16,061 --> 00:23:18,162
...but if you look in the mid-Atlantic...

334
00:23:18,163 --> 00:23:20,831
...Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, that region...

335
00:23:20,832 --> 00:23:23,832
...I know there's a lot of poultry farms
and a lot of hog farms...

336
00:23:24,770 --> 00:23:27,037
...and it's a huge waste issue.

337
00:23:27,038 --> 00:23:30,038
I was surprised that not only did
they not focus on farm run off...

338
00:23:30,409 --> 00:23:32,843
...but they also didn't mention
any campaigns...

339
00:23:32,844 --> 00:23:35,012
...about how our oceans
are in near-collapse.

340
00:23:35,013 --> 00:23:38,013
The U.N. reported that three-quarters
of the world's fisheries...

341
00:23:38,183 --> 00:23:41,183
...are overexploited, fully exploited,
or significantly depleted...

342
00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:43,854
...due to overfishing.

343
00:23:43,855 --> 00:23:46,895
Oceans are under siege like never before.
Marine environments are in trouble.

344
00:23:49,828 --> 00:23:52,096
If we don't wake up
and do something about it...

345
00:23:52,097 --> 00:23:54,398
...we'll see fishless oceans
bytheyear2048.

346
00:23:54,399 --> 00:23:57,399
That's the prediction from scientists.

347
00:23:59,337 --> 00:24:02,337
When people look at fishing,
some times they only look at the animals...

348
00:24:02,874 --> 00:24:05,874
...who are actually consumed by humans,
so we don't necessarily look...

349
00:24:06,278 --> 00:24:09,079
...at all the animals
who are caught in the drift nets...

350
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,241
...all the other animals who are killed
in the industry. And when you look at...

351
00:24:13,819 --> 00:24:16,899
Even the shrimping industry has done
a lot to devastate the planet as well...

352
00:24:17,789 --> 00:24:20,057
...in terms of breaking down
natural barriers...

353
00:24:20,058 --> 00:24:22,326
...that we have to protect them,
the islands.

354
00:24:22,327 --> 00:24:25,327
We're at over28 billion animals
were pulled out of the ocean last year.

355
00:24:29,367 --> 00:24:32,367
They're never given a chance to recover.
They don't multiply quickly.

356
00:24:32,804 --> 00:24:35,539
They don't come back.
We're not giving them an opportunity.

357
00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:37,475
The oceans are in complete collapse.

358
00:24:37,476 --> 00:24:40,476
The large fish species
are nearing extinction.

359
00:24:41,213 --> 00:24:43,814
The way fishing is done today,
to feed the demand...

360
00:24:43,815 --> 00:24:46,815
...for90 million tons offish,
is primarily through massive fish nets.

361
00:24:48,253 --> 00:24:51,253
For every single pound offish caught,
there is up to 5 pounds...

362
00:24:51,523 --> 00:24:53,958
...of untargeted species trapped.

363
00:24:53,959 --> 00:24:56,959
Such as dolphins, whales, sea turtles
and sharks, known as bi-kill.

364
00:24:59,464 --> 00:25:02,066
If we're to imagine
this same practice happening...

365
00:25:02,067 --> 00:25:04,602
...on the African savannah,
targeting gazelle...

366
00:25:04,603 --> 00:25:07,438
...but in the process scooping up
every single lion...

367
00:25:07,439 --> 00:25:09,507
...giraffe, ostrich and elephant...

368
00:25:09,508 --> 00:25:11,842
...nobody would stand for it.

369
00:25:11,843 --> 00:25:14,843
Yet this is what is happening
in our oceans every single day.

370
00:25:18,316 --> 00:25:21,085
Between 40 and 50 million sharks
each year are killed...

371
00:25:21,086 --> 00:25:24,021
...in fishing lines
and fishing nets as bi-kill.

372
00:25:24,022 --> 00:25:26,457
Then their fins might be cut off,
or not cut off...

373
00:25:26,458 --> 00:25:29,458
...but they're caught initially as bi-kill,
and it's from fishing.

374
00:25:32,297 --> 00:25:35,297
It's from fishing in a sustainable manner,
in many cases...

375
00:25:36,835 --> 00:25:39,835
...for fish that are labeled "sustainable"
by, for instance, Oceana...

376
00:25:40,972 --> 00:25:43,874
...and the sustainable-certified
organizations.

377
00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:46,875
So my thought is, why would we want
to stop at banning shark-fin soup...

378
00:25:48,613 --> 00:25:50,481
...if you're concerned about sharks?

379
00:25:50,482 --> 00:25:53,482
Which all these organizations are,
and most of the public at large is now.

380
00:25:54,419 --> 00:25:57,419
If we really are concerned about sharks,
we would ban fishing.

381
00:25:57,489 --> 00:26:00,489
I went on the world's largest
ocean-conservation group's website...

382
00:26:00,859 --> 00:26:03,160
...Oceana, to see what they're
doing about this.

383
00:26:03,161 --> 00:26:06,161
On their site, along with a TED Talk
by CEO Andy Sharpless...

384
00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:09,199
...I was astounded to read
they actually recommend...

385
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,200
...that one of the best ways to help fish
is to eat fish.

386
00:26:12,571 --> 00:26:15,339
With the world's fish population
in near-collapse...

387
00:26:15,340 --> 00:26:18,340
...this seems like saying the best way
to help endangered pandas...

388
00:26:18,543 --> 00:26:19,910
...is to eat pandas.

389
00:26:19,911 --> 00:26:22,079
I couldn't understand
how Oceana could say...

390
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,080
...we could remove close to
100 million tons offish per year...

391
00:26:25,617 --> 00:26:28,617
...and that could somehow be sustainable
and good for our oceans.

392
00:26:29,387 --> 00:26:32,387
Many of the species that are
nearing extinction have done so...

393
00:26:33,491 --> 00:26:36,491
...been ravaged and become
nearly extinct, in a declining fashion...

394
00:26:40,999 --> 00:26:43,400
...and haven't recovered
on the watch of Oceana...

395
00:26:43,401 --> 00:26:46,337
...and on the watch
of Marine Stewardship Council...

396
00:26:46,338 --> 00:26:49,338
...and very much on the watch of Monterey
Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

397
00:26:50,241 --> 00:26:53,321
I mention in a lecture, they're aptly named,
because that's what they're doing.

398
00:26:54,112 --> 00:26:57,112
They're sort of watching this happen
instead of aggressively halting it.

399
00:27:00,585 --> 00:27:03,585
According to the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization...

400
00:27:06,458 --> 00:27:09,778
...roughly three-quarters of all fisheries
are either fully exploited or over exploited.

401
00:27:10,595 --> 00:27:13,595
So there's really not a whole lot
offish stocks out there...

402
00:27:14,633 --> 00:27:17,633
...that you might consider at
healthy levels for the ecosystem.

403
00:27:19,938 --> 00:27:22,938
Watching Andy's TED Talk
about feeding the world...

404
00:27:24,442 --> 00:27:27,442
...in 1988, fish catch, as you mention,
peaked at 85 million tons.

405
00:27:29,114 --> 00:27:32,114
How is it possible that we can sustainably
catch 100 million tons by 2050...

406
00:27:34,986 --> 00:27:37,986
...regardless if it's in a farm
or if it's in the ocean?

407
00:27:39,991 --> 00:27:42,259
If for every pound offish
you're taking out...

408
00:27:42,260 --> 00:27:45,260
...you're essentially taking out
5 pounds of wild fish...

409
00:27:45,430 --> 00:27:48,430
...no matter whether it's a pond
or it's in the ocean...

410
00:27:50,168 --> 00:27:53,168
...how can that be sustainable?

411
00:27:58,143 --> 00:28:00,244
The ultimate question, right...

412
00:28:00,245 --> 00:28:03,245
...is that there is a tremendous amount
of natural production...

413
00:28:05,283 --> 00:28:08,283
...that is, you know, basically
coming out of the oceans all the time.

414
00:28:10,155 --> 00:28:13,316
So we have major-A massive amount of
upwelling from our ocean conveyer belt...

415
00:28:15,060 --> 00:28:18,060
...that's bringing up ancient,
thousand-year-old nutrients...

416
00:28:19,364 --> 00:28:22,364
...and our ecosystems
a returning that into fish.

417
00:28:22,567 --> 00:28:25,169
Yes, they're eating each other
and you're losing...

418
00:28:25,170 --> 00:28:28,170
...some of that production
every step up in the food chain...

419
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:30,107
...but you get more every year.

420
00:28:30,108 --> 00:28:33,108
You can fish and take some out,
and next year there will be more.

421
00:28:34,446 --> 00:28:37,486
And if we do that right, without ultimately
hitting the fundamental driver...

422
00:28:39,384 --> 00:28:42,384
...it's sort of like living off
the interest, right?

423
00:28:42,454 --> 00:28:45,454
As long as you don't
bring your principal down, right...

424
00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:49,212
...if you invest in something, as long as
you don't hit into that principal...

425
00:28:49,761 --> 00:28:53,081
...your principal remains high, you could
potentially live off the interest forever.

426
00:28:53,798 --> 00:28:55,566
That's the basic idea with fish.

427
00:28:55,567 --> 00:28:58,567
With our population right now,
what we're doing...

428
00:28:59,571 --> 00:29:02,571
...if it's 75-percent depleted,
the fish is now depleted...

429
00:29:03,508 --> 00:29:06,508
And, you know, it's a good
analogy with money.

430
00:29:06,745 --> 00:29:09,745
We're not living off our interest,
we're in extreme debt.

431
00:29:10,181 --> 00:29:13,181
And if our population,
who's trying to live as a family...

432
00:29:14,586 --> 00:29:17,586
...on the same amount of money,
and it's increasing 35 percent...

433
00:29:18,823 --> 00:29:21,492
- ...to 9 billion people...
- Right.

434
00:29:21,493 --> 00:29:24,493
...Isn't it just,
"Hey, we gotta stop spending money"?

435
00:29:24,829 --> 00:29:26,497
- Yeah.
- "Stop eating fish."

436
00:29:26,498 --> 00:29:29,498
Well, if you could bring
the principal back.

437
00:29:31,736 --> 00:29:34,538
Fishing of any type is depleting
not only the species...

438
00:29:34,539 --> 00:29:37,899
...but you get into this serial depletion
where one fish species will be minimized...

439
00:29:38,610 --> 00:29:41,610
...and the fishing industry for that fishery
will move onto the next species.

440
00:29:43,615 --> 00:29:46,615
It's called serial depletion.
It's aptly named.

441
00:29:47,652 --> 00:29:49,653
In the process, the fish are being lost.

442
00:29:49,654 --> 00:29:52,654
Not only the species is being lost,
but the next in line is being lost.

443
00:29:54,359 --> 00:29:57,359
And then the mechanism
is still extremely destructive.

444
00:29:57,862 --> 00:30:00,862
So they're losing the fish species,
but it needs to be kept in mind...

445
00:30:01,432 --> 00:30:04,432
...they're also destroying habitat.

446
00:30:06,104 --> 00:30:08,572
They came up with this term
"sustainable fishing"...

447
00:30:08,573 --> 00:30:10,707
...to make us feel good
about eating fish...

448
00:30:10,708 --> 00:30:13,708
...and continuing to take fish
out of the oceans...

449
00:30:13,778 --> 00:30:16,380
...when, in fact,
it's Sea Shepherd's position...

450
00:30:16,381 --> 00:30:19,381
...that there is no such thing
as sustainable fishing.

451
00:30:21,586 --> 00:30:24,586
Fishing is not a sustainable protein source
for the feeding of the planet.

452
00:30:27,659 --> 00:30:30,659
For the people on the planet,
it's just not.

453
00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:35,471
People don't wanna hear it. That makes
them feel like they have to take action...

454
00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:38,902
...stop doing something,
and a lot of people don't want to.

455
00:30:38,903 --> 00:30:42,104
They don't put it out there, because it's
uncomfortable to tell people what to do.

456
00:30:43,408 --> 00:30:46,143
But we're at a point
where we all have to be cognizant.

457
00:30:46,144 --> 00:30:49,144
And we have to realize
and take an action.

458
00:30:49,814 --> 00:30:51,882
Our founder,
Captain Watson, likes to say:

459
00:30:51,883 --> 00:30:54,883
"If the oceans die, we die."
That's not a tagline. That's the truth.

460
00:30:55,286 --> 00:30:58,286
Perhaps the only other ecosystem
that is being destroyed...

461
00:30:58,289 --> 00:31:01,289
...at such a rapid rate
are the world's rainforests.

462
00:31:01,793 --> 00:31:04,793
Our global rainforests are
essentially the planet's lungs.

463
00:31:04,963 --> 00:31:07,963
They breathe in CO2
and exhale oxygen.

464
00:31:08,266 --> 00:31:11,266
An acre of rain forest is cleared
every second.

465
00:31:11,836 --> 00:31:14,836
And the leading cause is to graze animals
and grow their feed crops.

466
00:31:16,608 --> 00:31:19,608
That is essentially an entire football field
cleared every single second.

467
00:31:21,613 --> 00:31:23,947
And it is estimated that every day...

468
00:31:23,948 --> 00:31:26,948
...close to 100 plant, animal,
and insect species are lost...

469
00:31:27,919 --> 00:31:30,919
...due to rainforest destruction.

470
00:31:44,802 --> 00:31:47,802
What is the absolute leading cause
of rain forest destruction?

471
00:31:50,675 --> 00:31:53,477
Human intervention into rainforests
is the leading cause.

472
00:31:53,478 --> 00:31:56,478
And so it's either for logging
or it's for agribusiness.

473
00:31:56,547 --> 00:31:59,283
That's when you're looking at
the top global drivers...

474
00:31:59,284 --> 00:32:02,284
...it will vary a bit by the rainforest
that you're talking about...

475
00:32:02,654 --> 00:32:05,654
...but the way that we're choosing
to use these natural resources...

476
00:32:06,424 --> 00:32:09,424
...on a large industrial scale
is the leading driver.

477
00:32:11,329 --> 00:32:13,263
When I went on R.A.N.'s website...

478
00:32:13,264 --> 00:32:16,264
...I couldn't believe
I didn't see anything about cattle.

479
00:32:16,668 --> 00:32:19,603
But I did see they had a large
campaign against palm oil.

480
00:32:19,604 --> 00:32:22,845
Palm oil plantations cause tremendous
deforestation in the Indonesian rainforest.

481
00:32:23,942 --> 00:32:27,222
It is estimated that palm oil is responsible
for26 million acres being cleared...

482
00:32:29,547 --> 00:32:32,547
...though compared to livestock
and their feed crops...

483
00:32:32,750 --> 00:32:35,750
...they were responsible for136 million
acres of rainforest lost to date.

484
00:32:38,323 --> 00:32:41,323
But on their website, I was shocked
to find cattle was not included...

485
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,428
...as one of their four main key issues.

486
00:32:44,429 --> 00:32:47,429
Instead they focused on palm,
pulp and paper, coal, and tar sands?

487
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,800
How could they not have the leading
cause of rain forest destruction?

488
00:32:52,036 --> 00:32:55,036
I had to wonder, why focus
on fossil fuels and not cattle?

489
00:32:55,974 --> 00:32:58,974
Ls it more fossil fuels,
or is it more animal agriculture?

490
00:33:00,345 --> 00:33:02,646
I don't know why we would do
a one-or-the-other.

491
00:33:02,647 --> 00:33:05,647
I'm just wondering, what more is it?

492
00:33:06,084 --> 00:33:08,552
I don't necessarily know what it is.

493
00:33:08,553 --> 00:33:11,553
Could the executive director of one
of the world's largest...

494
00:33:11,823 --> 00:33:14,823
...rainforest protection groups
honestly not know what was going on?

495
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,760
Or even worse, were they hiding it
on purpose? And if so, why?

496
00:33:19,831 --> 00:33:22,399
I went to Amazon Watch
to see if they would say...

497
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,400
...what the leading cause
of rain forest destruction truly is.

498
00:33:28,373 --> 00:33:31,373
The most biologically and culturally
diverse place on the planet...

499
00:33:31,576 --> 00:33:33,477
...is under massive attack right now.

500
00:33:33,478 --> 00:33:36,478
The Amazon rainforest itself could be
gone in the matter of the next 10years.

501
00:33:38,883 --> 00:33:41,883
What is the leading cause
of rain forest destruction?

502
00:33:43,888 --> 00:33:46,888
The leading cause
of rain forest destruction...

503
00:33:51,529 --> 00:33:52,929
...I would say...

504
00:33:52,930 --> 00:33:55,930
Well, just to put it in the context
of what Amazon Watch works on...

505
00:33:57,769 --> 00:34:00,769
...there's many, many drivers
of deforestation, as we call them...

506
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,440
...many different reasons and ways
that rainforests are destroyed.

507
00:34:07,345 --> 00:34:10,345
The main-The ones that cause
the most damage...

508
00:34:10,415 --> 00:34:13,415
...and are the most wide spread
are mega projects...

509
00:34:14,619 --> 00:34:17,619
...such as oil and gas pipelines,
such as mining projects...

510
00:34:19,457 --> 00:34:22,359
...such as mega dam projects.
We're not talking about...

511
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:24,861
I felt like I was going in circles
with these groups.

512
00:34:24,862 --> 00:34:27,862
As if I were stuck in some strange
"cowspiracy" twilight zone...

513
00:34:27,965 --> 00:34:30,033
...where no one could talk about cows.

514
00:34:30,034 --> 00:34:32,936
I couldn't believe
these organizations just wouldn't say...

515
00:34:32,937 --> 00:34:35,937
...what the leading cause
of rain forest destruction truly is.

516
00:34:36,407 --> 00:34:39,376
I had to ask one more time.

517
00:34:39,377 --> 00:34:42,377
It's hard to say what is the leading cause
of deforestation of the Amazon...

518
00:34:44,148 --> 00:34:47,148
...because they're all destructive,
oil and gas, mining, dams, agriculture.

519
00:34:49,454 --> 00:34:52,454
But in terms of land use,
in terms of the amount of land...

520
00:34:53,991 --> 00:34:56,991
...that is destroyed by...

521
00:35:01,599 --> 00:35:04,760
When we talk about in comparison, all
those different causes of deforestation...

522
00:35:06,637 --> 00:35:09,637
...what is causing the most trees
to fall, for example...

523
00:35:13,478 --> 00:35:16,478
...I think it would definitely
be agriculture.

524
00:35:16,681 --> 00:35:19,681
Unfortunately one of the biggest
causes of deforestation...

525
00:35:23,221 --> 00:35:26,156
...definitely in the Brazilian Amazon,
is agribusiness.

526
00:35:26,157 --> 00:35:29,157
Cattle grazing
and soy production, in particular.

527
00:35:30,995 --> 00:35:33,029
This is really what's going on.

528
00:35:33,030 --> 00:35:35,699
Why do you think that's...?

529
00:35:35,700 --> 00:35:38,700
Like, no one at Greenpeace,
or no one's really saying the whole story.

530
00:35:40,805 --> 00:35:43,805
The whole story about
the main cause of deforestation?

531
00:35:44,509 --> 00:35:47,509
Yeah.

532
00:35:47,879 --> 00:35:50,447
You've brought up
some really good points about...

533
00:35:50,448 --> 00:35:53,150
...why isn't anybody
doing anything about this?

534
00:35:53,151 --> 00:35:56,151
And I think in Brazil, in particular,
when we look at, you know...

535
00:35:57,221 --> 00:36:00,221
...what happened
after the Forest Code was passed...

536
00:36:00,224 --> 00:36:03,304
...and people who were standing up
against the lobbyists and the interests...

537
00:36:04,629 --> 00:36:07,669
...the special interests, the cattle
industry, the agribusiness industry...

538
00:36:08,533 --> 00:36:11,533
...what was happening to them?
People who were speaking out got killed.

539
00:36:12,136 --> 00:36:15,136
And if you look at, you know,
Z Carlos, you look at Claudio...

540
00:36:15,940 --> 00:36:18,940
People who were putting
themselves out there...

541
00:36:19,143 --> 00:36:22,143
...and saying cattle ranching,
you know, is destroying the Amazon...

542
00:36:24,982 --> 00:36:27,982
...a lot of those people who really
put themselves out there...

543
00:36:27,985 --> 00:36:30,985
And look at Dorothy Stang,
you know, the nun who lived out in Para...

544
00:36:31,989 --> 00:36:34,989
...who was killed.

545
00:36:35,493 --> 00:36:38,493
A lot of people will speak up. A lot
of people just keep their mouths shut...

546
00:36:39,096 --> 00:36:42,096
...because they don't wanna be
the next one with the bullet to their head.

547
00:36:45,670 --> 00:36:47,771
Sister Dorothy Stang
was a U.S.-born nun...

548
00:36:47,772 --> 00:36:50,207
...living in the heart
of the Brazilian rainforest.

549
00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:52,842
Her life's work
was to protect the Amazon.

550
00:36:52,843 --> 00:36:55,843
She spoke out openly against
the destruction of rain forest...

551
00:36:55,846 --> 00:36:58,048
...from cattle ranching for years.

552
00:36:58,049 --> 00:37:01,049
Walking home one night,
she was brutally gunned down...

553
00:37:01,185 --> 00:37:04,185
...at point-blank range by a hired gun
from the cattle industry.

554
00:37:23,107 --> 00:37:25,775
After Greenpeace's initial denial
for an interview...

555
00:37:25,776 --> 00:37:28,278
...I wrote again,
begging they reconsider.

556
00:37:28,279 --> 00:37:31,279
Greenpeace got back again,
and said again:

557
00:37:32,683 --> 00:37:35,683
"I'm afraid we've explored the options
here in terms of helping you...

558
00:37:36,787 --> 00:37:39,787
...and are not going to be able
to be involved this time.

559
00:37:41,259 --> 00:37:43,860
You mentioned
you were also speaking to Oceana.

560
00:37:43,861 --> 00:37:46,730
I'm sure they'll be able to give you
some great quotes...

561
00:37:46,731 --> 00:37:48,665
...about ocean-related issues.

562
00:37:48,666 --> 00:37:51,666
Thanks again for thinking of us."

563
00:37:52,203 --> 00:37:53,770
Unbelievable.

564
00:37:53,771 --> 00:37:56,006
With Greenpeace unwilling
to be interviewed...

565
00:37:56,007 --> 00:37:58,275
...I had to find a different avenue
for answers.

566
00:37:58,276 --> 00:38:01,276
There's something really fishy
going on over there.

567
00:38:01,579 --> 00:38:04,347
Fortunately I found
a former Greenpeace board of director...

568
00:38:04,348 --> 00:38:07,348
...who now speaks openly
about the industry.

569
00:38:10,288 --> 00:38:13,688
Environmental organizations, like other
organizations, aren't telling you the truth...

570
00:38:14,592 --> 00:38:17,060
...about what the world needs
from us as a species.

571
00:38:17,061 --> 00:38:20,061
It's so frustrating when the information
is right before their eyes.

572
00:38:21,065 --> 00:38:24,065
It's documented in peer-reviewed
papers and journals.

573
00:38:25,236 --> 00:38:27,604
It's there for every body to see.

574
00:38:27,605 --> 00:38:30,605
But the environmental organizations
are refusing to act.

575
00:38:32,076 --> 00:38:34,077
Nowhere do you find in their policies...

576
00:38:34,078 --> 00:38:37,078
...and nowhere do you find
in the Greenpeace mission...

577
00:38:37,181 --> 00:38:39,616
...that diet is important...

578
00:38:39,617 --> 00:38:42,617
...that animal agriculture is the problem.

579
00:38:43,821 --> 00:38:46,756
They are refusing,
like other environmental organizations...

580
00:38:46,757 --> 00:38:48,892
...to look at the issue.

581
00:38:48,893 --> 00:38:51,893
The environmental community is failing us
and they're failing ecosystems.

582
00:38:54,932 --> 00:38:57,932
And it's so frustrating
to see them do this.

583
00:39:02,807 --> 00:39:05,807
"NRDC, the Earth's best defense."

584
00:39:06,010 --> 00:39:09,010
All right, so here they actually
do have a few things...

585
00:39:10,848 --> 00:39:13,848
...on animal agriculture.

586
00:39:17,922 --> 00:39:20,922
The leading cause of environmental
degradation is too much pollution...

587
00:39:22,893 --> 00:39:25,893
...and too many engines
churning too fast...

588
00:39:28,132 --> 00:39:31,132
...in too many places around the globe.

589
00:39:31,335 --> 00:39:33,903
Late in 2009, World watch reported...

590
00:39:33,904 --> 00:39:36,904
...that livestock causes 51 percent
of green house gas emissions...

591
00:39:38,175 --> 00:39:40,243
...and transportation's around 13.

592
00:39:40,244 --> 00:39:43,244
And on the low end,
the U.N. was around 18 to 30...

593
00:39:44,415 --> 00:39:47,415
...which is more than all transportation
all put together.

594
00:39:48,786 --> 00:39:50,887
National-Internationally?

595
00:39:50,888 --> 00:39:53,456
- Or nationally?
- The entire globe. Yeah.

596
00:39:53,457 --> 00:39:56,457
I think energy production
and transportation...

597
00:39:58,996 --> 00:40:01,996
...are still major sources, so I think...

598
00:40:02,733 --> 00:40:05,733
I'm not gonna comment on that because
I'm not familiar with those numbers.

599
00:40:06,370 --> 00:40:08,238
So it's...

600
00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:11,239
Don't quote me on this,
but that's cow farts.

601
00:40:11,275 --> 00:40:13,777
That's, I think, what that is.

602
00:40:13,778 --> 00:40:16,146
It's...

603
00:40:16,147 --> 00:40:19,147
I think that's cow farts.

604
00:40:23,254 --> 00:40:25,088
Well, that's part of the story.

605
00:40:25,089 --> 00:40:27,957
Methane production from cows
and livestock's flatulence...

606
00:40:27,958 --> 00:40:30,958
...is a major contributor.

607
00:40:31,195 --> 00:40:34,195
But mostly it is due to deforestation
and the waste they produce...

608
00:40:34,398 --> 00:40:37,398
...which is 130times more waste
than the entire human population.

609
00:40:37,902 --> 00:40:40,902
Virtually all without the benefit
of any waste treatment.

610
00:40:41,772 --> 00:40:44,772
NRDC absolutely, as I said,
has a food program.

611
00:40:47,011 --> 00:40:50,011
In fact, we just... Every year we do
the Growing Green Awards...

612
00:40:50,548 --> 00:40:53,548
...and we recognize food innovators,
and this last year...

613
00:40:55,085 --> 00:40:58,085
...one of the awardees was
a sustainable pork producer, actually...

614
00:41:00,958 --> 00:41:03,958
...that doesn't use any antibiotics.

615
00:41:05,129 --> 00:41:08,129
And also the antibiotic use
that industrial food production...

616
00:41:10,568 --> 00:41:13,568
...in the United States uses
right now is...

617
00:41:14,271 --> 00:41:17,271
We're giving... The majority
of antibiotics in the United States...

618
00:41:18,843 --> 00:41:21,843
...are administered to healthy livestock.

619
00:41:25,583 --> 00:41:28,583
I wanted to visit one
of these sustainable farms.

620
00:41:29,220 --> 00:41:31,354
I found the Markegard Grass-Fed
beef farm...

621
00:41:31,355 --> 00:41:34,355
...on the lush, misty California coast.

622
00:41:42,500 --> 00:41:45,500
I met Erik and Doniga Markegard
and their four children.

623
00:41:48,272 --> 00:41:51,272
Lea and Larry are usually up at 6
and out milking the cows...

624
00:41:52,977 --> 00:41:55,977
...slopping the hogs.

625
00:42:03,153 --> 00:42:06,153
All together, we graze about
4500 acres.

626
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,360
And this is our home ranch.

627
00:42:12,496 --> 00:42:15,496
And this is 952 acres of that.

628
00:42:18,402 --> 00:42:21,402
On average, it's about one cow,
or a cow and a calf, per every 10 acres.

629
00:42:27,878 --> 00:42:30,878
We would produce annually
roughly 80,000 pounds...

630
00:42:32,349 --> 00:42:35,349
...of finished, plate-ready meat.

631
00:42:43,060 --> 00:42:46,060
We keep about 10 pigs
in roughly a50-acre area...

632
00:42:48,999 --> 00:42:51,999
...and we move them around
in 10-acre pastures.

633
00:42:53,170 --> 00:42:56,170
Some people think that pigs are dirty
and gross, but I really like them.

634
00:42:59,043 --> 00:43:02,043
They have... They know people,
and they'll befriends and really nice.

635
00:43:06,917 --> 00:43:09,917
And they could be like your best friend,
or could be like a sister.

636
00:43:11,989 --> 00:43:13,923
See?

637
00:43:13,924 --> 00:43:16,924
They know you
when you get to know them.

638
00:43:18,195 --> 00:43:21,195
I mean, I shouldn't be bonding,
but we have to have nice pigs.

639
00:43:21,198 --> 00:43:23,066
Why shouldn't you bond with them?

640
00:43:23,067 --> 00:43:26,067
Well, because they're gonna
turn into bacon.

641
00:43:26,537 --> 00:43:29,537
- These pigs are about 7 months old now.
- That's it?

642
00:43:32,142 --> 00:43:35,111
So these bigger ones
are getting ready to be killed.

643
00:43:35,112 --> 00:43:38,192
Those two smaller ones there, you know,
they could grow up a few more months.

644
00:43:41,485 --> 00:43:44,485
I love animals.
That's why I'm in the meat business.

645
00:43:50,060 --> 00:43:52,128
It's what more of society needs to see...

646
00:43:52,129 --> 00:43:55,129
...is that that packaged piece of meat
is a living animal.

647
00:43:57,701 --> 00:44:00,701
Living and breathing creature that...

648
00:44:02,439 --> 00:44:05,439
Yeah, it's hard, it's hard,
but like what Doniga said earlier...

649
00:44:08,045 --> 00:44:10,513
...we do it because we love them.

650
00:44:10,514 --> 00:44:13,216
With the land use,
there's anywhere between...

651
00:44:13,217 --> 00:44:16,217
With industrial, as low as
2to 2.5 acres per cow...

652
00:44:20,190 --> 00:44:23,351
...all the way up to some, depending-
It's not as lush as this. Up to 35 acres.

653
00:44:25,329 --> 00:44:28,197
Yeah, we have a ranch
in South Dakota that's 50 acres.

654
00:44:28,198 --> 00:44:31,198
- Fifty acres per...?
- Yeah, it's about 50 acres. Yeah.

655
00:44:31,735 --> 00:44:34,037
And why is that?

656
00:44:34,038 --> 00:44:37,038
Same thing, it was just farmed
and robbed of all the nitrogen...

657
00:44:37,307 --> 00:44:39,676
- The land was abused.
- It's also seasonal, right?

658
00:44:39,677 --> 00:44:41,678
And it's also seasonal.

659
00:44:41,679 --> 00:44:44,679
Ls it possible and is it practical
for the whole world to say:

660
00:44:47,084 --> 00:44:49,285
"Have grass-fed cattle"?

661
00:44:49,286 --> 00:44:51,654
I mean, like, say Brazil,
where, you know...

662
00:44:51,655 --> 00:44:54,655
...supposedly 80 percent of the rainforest
was destroyed for cattle...

663
00:44:57,795 --> 00:45:00,563
...what are your thoughts on that?

664
00:45:00,564 --> 00:45:03,564
They shouldn't be eating beef.

665
00:45:04,535 --> 00:45:07,535
If their environment wasn't
designed to raise beef...

666
00:45:09,339 --> 00:45:11,541
- ...then they shouldn't be eating it.
- Yeah.

667
00:45:11,542 --> 00:45:14,542
How do you offset
the carbon footprint of livestock?

668
00:45:19,450 --> 00:45:22,450
We don't feel like livestock
have a carbon footprint.

669
00:45:24,755 --> 00:45:27,056
I left there feeling confused.

670
00:45:27,057 --> 00:45:29,726
As far as grass-fed beef
not having a carbon footprint...

671
00:45:29,727 --> 00:45:32,028
...it sounded like it could make sense...

672
00:45:32,029 --> 00:45:34,764
...until added up the numbers
on land use and population.

673
00:45:34,765 --> 00:45:37,600
If we're to use the Markegard model
of raising animals...

674
00:45:37,601 --> 00:45:40,601
...which requires 4500 acres
producing 80,000 pounds of meat...

675
00:45:40,738 --> 00:45:43,639
...the average American eats
209 pounds of meat per year.

676
00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:46,640
If that was all grass-fed beef,
only 382 people could be fed on their land.

677
00:45:48,178 --> 00:45:51,178
That equates to 11.7 acres per person
times 314 million Americans...

678
00:45:53,417 --> 00:45:56,417
...which equals 3.7 billion acres
of grazing land.

679
00:45:57,054 --> 00:46:00,054
Unfortunately there are only I.9 billion
acres in the U.S.' lower48 states.

680
00:46:02,126 --> 00:46:05,327
Currently nearly half of all U.S. land
is already dedicated to animal agriculture.

681
00:46:06,864 --> 00:46:08,865
If we're to switch to grass-fed beef...

682
00:46:08,866 --> 00:46:11,866
...it would require clearing
every square inch of the U.S...

683
00:46:12,102 --> 00:46:15,102
...up into Canada, all of Central America,
and well into South America.

684
00:46:16,173 --> 00:46:19,173
And this is just to feed
the United States' demand on meat.

685
00:46:19,209 --> 00:46:22,145
But that figure doesn't even
take into consideration...

686
00:46:22,146 --> 00:46:24,847
...that much of that land isn't suited
to graze livestock.

687
00:46:24,848 --> 00:46:27,848
We would have to convert
all mountain ranges to grassland.

688
00:46:28,519 --> 00:46:31,519
Clear ancient forests
and national parks to grazing.

689
00:46:32,089 --> 00:46:35,089
And demolish every city
just to make room to graze cows.

690
00:46:35,859 --> 00:46:38,939
Just like Brazil, the United States isn't
suited to meet the demands for meat.

691
00:46:42,766 --> 00:46:45,368
It takes 23 months
fora grass-fed animal to grow...

692
00:46:45,369 --> 00:46:48,610
...to the size and age that it's slaughtered,
whereas a grain-fed takes 15 months.

693
00:46:49,406 --> 00:46:52,406
So that's an additional eight months
of water use, land use, feed, waste...

694
00:46:55,579 --> 00:46:58,579
...and in terms of a carbon footprint,
that's a huge difference.

695
00:46:59,183 --> 00:47:00,917
Turns out, due to land use...

696
00:47:00,918 --> 00:47:03,918
...grass-fed beef is more unsustainable
than even factory farming.

697
00:47:06,190 --> 00:47:09,190
I had to come to terms with the fact
there was no way to sustainably raise...

698
00:47:09,793 --> 00:47:12,793
...enough animals to feed
the world's current demand on meat...

699
00:47:12,830 --> 00:47:14,797
...and had my doubts on dairy as well.

700
00:47:14,798 --> 00:47:17,798
But I did want to talk
with a premier organic dairy company...

701
00:47:17,801 --> 00:47:21,002
...to see if they believed their product was
sustainable for the world's population.

702
00:47:21,839 --> 00:47:24,839
It requires a lot of inputs
to produce milk.

703
00:47:26,476 --> 00:47:29,178
The feed, the water, the land. It does.

704
00:47:29,179 --> 00:47:32,420
And it may not be practical to expect that
there can be enough dairy production...

705
00:47:35,319 --> 00:47:38,319
...produced in a sustainable way
to feed the entire world.

706
00:47:39,289 --> 00:47:42,289
I just don't think that
that's necessarily a given.

707
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,960
I think it's maybe too much to expect...

708
00:47:46,396 --> 00:47:49,396
...that the world can be fed with dairy
in a sustainable way.

709
00:47:52,402 --> 00:47:55,402
I don't know the answer,
but common sense would say...

710
00:47:55,772 --> 00:47:57,907
...that's along shot.

711
00:47:57,908 --> 00:48:00,776
I was shocked
to hear such an honest answer.

712
00:48:00,777 --> 00:48:03,777
If this is what the dairy CEO would say,
I wondered what the farmer would claim.

713
00:48:05,415 --> 00:48:08,415
Based on their marketing it seemed
their farms were an oasis for cows.

714
00:48:14,558 --> 00:48:17,558
It was not what I expected.

715
00:48:28,572 --> 00:48:31,572
Typically a cow will eat
140to 150 pounds of feed a day.

716
00:48:34,678 --> 00:48:37,678
- A hundred and forty...?
- Forty to 50 pounds of feed every day.

717
00:48:37,681 --> 00:48:40,681
And then she's also gonna drink
between 30 and 40 gallons of water.

718
00:48:41,218 --> 00:48:42,652
Oh, my Lord.

719
00:48:42,653 --> 00:48:45,653
Probably go through
about 20 tons per week.

720
00:48:47,257 --> 00:48:50,257
- Twenty tons of grain per week.
- Twenty tons of grain. For...?

721
00:48:50,661 --> 00:48:53,661
Primarily for our milking cows,
so about 250 cows.

722
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:59,235
Yeah, so the biggest part
of sustainability to me...

723
00:48:59,236 --> 00:49:02,236
...the number one thing on the list
should be profitability.

724
00:49:03,941 --> 00:49:06,941
So how the process completely works,
from start to finish...

725
00:49:06,977 --> 00:49:09,879
...is the cow needs to have a baby
in order to give milk.

726
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,615
And so she'll have her baby.
That baby's gonna stay...

727
00:49:12,616 --> 00:49:15,251
...with the mother for at least two days.

728
00:49:15,252 --> 00:49:17,887
The babies will go off
to our calf-raising facility...

729
00:49:17,888 --> 00:49:20,888
...so they have an individual hutch
that they'll be raised in.

730
00:49:20,924 --> 00:49:23,924
Since we're a dairy,
it's only the girl cows that give us milk.

731
00:49:24,628 --> 00:49:27,668
So the boys, on typical dairies,
they're sold off to beef-raising facilities.

732
00:49:28,966 --> 00:49:31,966
But we do keep approximately half
and we raise them for two years...

733
00:49:32,369 --> 00:49:34,870
...and sell them as organic
grass-fed beef.

734
00:49:34,871 --> 00:49:37,871
So all dairy cows eventually go
to the beef industry?

735
00:49:40,077 --> 00:49:41,978
At some point she'll really drop off.

736
00:49:41,979 --> 00:49:44,714
So you have to make a business decision
at that point:

737
00:49:44,715 --> 00:49:47,583
Are you gonna keep investing in her
to give milk...

738
00:49:47,584 --> 00:49:50,785
...or are you gonna sell her off again
to another dairy, or into the beef industry?

739
00:50:02,466 --> 00:50:05,466
There's very few places on this planet
that have this type of environment.

740
00:50:06,303 --> 00:50:09,303
But the demand on dairy-based protein
in the world is only gonna increase.

741
00:50:10,374 --> 00:50:12,508
And there's not enough land
on the planet...

742
00:50:12,509 --> 00:50:15,509
...to do this type of dairying
around the world.

743
00:50:15,579 --> 00:50:18,579
It's just the environment is not
gonna be that way. The land's not there.

744
00:50:20,417 --> 00:50:22,318
So I guess on a global scale...

745
00:50:22,319 --> 00:50:25,319
...the conclusion would be
dairy's not sustainable.

746
00:50:27,124 --> 00:50:30,124
Unless we start digging up houses
and putting pastures back.

747
00:50:32,562 --> 00:50:35,842
And the only way to start digging up houses
and development is to have less people.

748
00:50:36,833 --> 00:50:39,833
But we only know that the population
is gonna continue to grow.

749
00:50:42,506 --> 00:50:45,441
So that means more
commercial dairying, I'm sure.

750
00:50:45,442 --> 00:50:47,910
Either that or somehow
lower demand by the people?

751
00:50:47,911 --> 00:50:50,479
Yeah, or some other product's
gonna take its place.

752
00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:53,480
We see there are all sorts
of soy milks and almond milk...

753
00:50:54,084 --> 00:50:56,652
...and a lot of other products
that are coming out.

754
00:50:56,653 --> 00:50:59,653
And different blends, you know,
where you take juices and proteins.

755
00:51:00,857 --> 00:51:02,825
I think you'll see a lot more of that.

756
00:51:02,826 --> 00:51:05,826
He was right.
How could cows' milk be sustainable?

757
00:51:06,029 --> 00:51:09,029
For one gallon of milk, it takes upwards
of 1000 gallons of water to produce.

758
00:51:11,668 --> 00:51:13,669
Doing research
on grass-fed livestock...

759
00:51:13,670 --> 00:51:16,472
...I kept coming across
the work of Allan Savory.

760
00:51:16,473 --> 00:51:19,473
Almost a third of the planet's land
is becoming desert...

761
00:51:19,643 --> 00:51:22,643
...with the vast majority
due to livestock grazing.

762
00:51:22,646 --> 00:51:25,646
Savory claims that the best way
to reverse this desertification...

763
00:51:26,583 --> 00:51:29,085
...is to actually graze more animals.

764
00:51:29,086 --> 00:51:32,086
This reminded me of Oceana saying
the best way to help fish is to eat fish.

765
00:51:33,423 --> 00:51:34,723
This is the same man...

766
00:51:34,724 --> 00:51:37,460
...during the 1950s
working as a research officer...

767
00:51:37,461 --> 00:51:39,962
...for the Game Department
of what is now Zimbabwe...

768
00:51:39,963 --> 00:51:42,963
...came up with a theory,
in spite of scientific evidence...

769
00:51:43,100 --> 00:51:46,100
...that actually elephants were
the cause of desertification there.

770
00:51:46,670 --> 00:51:49,670
And his solution was convincing
the government to kill 40,000 elephants.

771
00:51:55,979 --> 00:51:58,979
Yet after 14years of relentless slaughter,
the conditions only got worse.

772
00:52:03,086 --> 00:52:06,086
His theory was wrong.

773
00:52:06,423 --> 00:52:08,557
The culling finally ended...

774
00:52:08,558 --> 00:52:11,558
...but not until tens of thousands
of elephants and their families were killed.

775
00:52:13,096 --> 00:52:16,096
This is not someone I would ever
take ecological advice from.

776
00:52:27,210 --> 00:52:30,210
It turns out the cattle industry
is having the same effect...

777
00:52:30,547 --> 00:52:33,249
...on wildlife in the United States.

778
00:52:33,250 --> 00:52:36,250
The government has been
rounding up horses en masse.

779
00:52:37,621 --> 00:52:40,621
We now have more wild horses and
burros in government holding facilities...

780
00:52:41,158 --> 00:52:44,158
Fifty-thousand wild horses and burros.
...Than we have free on the range.

781
00:52:44,928 --> 00:52:47,928
Basically you have ranchers
who get to graze on our public lands...

782
00:52:48,765 --> 00:52:50,900
...for a fraction of the going rate.

783
00:52:50,901 --> 00:52:54,181
They're getting this huge tax subsidy.
It's about one-fifteenth of the going rate.

784
00:52:55,105 --> 00:52:57,273
And the Bureau of Land Management
has to say:

785
00:52:57,274 --> 00:52:59,575
"How much forage and water
is on the land?"

786
00:52:59,576 --> 00:53:00,910
And then they divvy it up.

787
00:53:00,911 --> 00:53:03,911
They give so much to the cows,
so much to, you know, "wildlife"...

788
00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:06,248
...and so much to
the wild horses and burros.

789
00:53:06,249 --> 00:53:09,249
And what we see is the lion's share
of the forage and water...

790
00:53:10,153 --> 00:53:12,154
...is going to the livestock industry.

791
00:53:12,155 --> 00:53:14,857
And then they scapegoat
the horses and burros and say:

792
00:53:14,858 --> 00:53:17,858
"Oh, there are too many horses
and burros. Let's remove them."

793
00:53:18,728 --> 00:53:21,728
I always tell people, wild horses
and burros are just one of the victims...

794
00:53:22,265 --> 00:53:25,265
...of the management of our public lands
for livestock...

795
00:53:25,502 --> 00:53:28,037
...because we also see
the predator-killing going on.

796
00:53:28,038 --> 00:53:31,038
We know wolves are now being targeted
by ranchers, to get rid of wolves.

797
00:53:32,642 --> 00:53:35,642
USDA has aircraft, and all they do
is aerial gunning of predators.

798
00:53:36,980 --> 00:53:39,980
All a rancher does is call up
and say, "I've got coyote here."

799
00:53:39,983 --> 00:53:42,117
They'll come over and shoot the coyote.

800
00:53:42,118 --> 00:53:44,753
Or they'll shoot the mountain lion
or the bobcat.

801
00:53:44,754 --> 00:53:47,556
And this is all for ranching.

802
00:53:47,557 --> 00:53:50,557
In Washington State, after cattle
were found to be attacked...

803
00:53:54,531 --> 00:53:57,233
...on public lands
where they were grazing under permit...

804
00:53:57,234 --> 00:54:00,234
...Washington State decided to
kill the entire Wedge pack of wolves.

805
00:54:03,607 --> 00:54:06,607
And those wolves were not introduced.
They had in-migrated from Canada.

806
00:54:07,844 --> 00:54:09,845
But they're no longer there.

807
00:54:09,846 --> 00:54:12,846
And it starts at the local level,
with the Bureau of Land Managements...

808
00:54:13,283 --> 00:54:16,283
...but then it goes all the way
to Congress.

809
00:54:17,153 --> 00:54:19,154
And we see Congress willing to allow...

810
00:54:19,155 --> 00:54:22,155
...this type of mismanagement
of our public lands to continue.

811
00:54:22,158 --> 00:54:25,158
It is the insistence of,
and the lobbying power of...

812
00:54:26,563 --> 00:54:29,563
...the animal agriculture industry...

813
00:54:29,699 --> 00:54:32,699
...that continues to see wolves killed...

814
00:54:33,303 --> 00:54:36,303
...continues to see an insistence
that predators be maintained...

815
00:54:36,806 --> 00:54:39,806
...at a low level
that does not benefit ecosystems.

816
00:54:41,678 --> 00:54:44,839
I've seen so many pieces of land, looked
at so many environmental assessments...

817
00:54:45,382 --> 00:54:47,383
...from the
Bureau of Land Management...

818
00:54:47,384 --> 00:54:50,384
...where they say the range lands
are not meeting standards.

819
00:54:50,587 --> 00:54:53,587
And they say, straight-up,
livestock grazing...

820
00:54:53,623 --> 00:54:55,824
...is a cause for
not meeting range standards.

821
00:54:55,825 --> 00:54:58,825
And yet they will continue
to allow livestock grazing.

822
00:54:58,895 --> 00:55:01,895
They're at the very core
of making sure...

823
00:55:03,300 --> 00:55:06,300
...that cougars are treed by hounds...

824
00:55:06,603 --> 00:55:08,871
...and that wolf packs are run down...

825
00:55:08,872 --> 00:55:11,872
...and that hunting seasons
are opened up year-round...

826
00:55:13,109 --> 00:55:15,944
...and that traps are set
so that they can suffer.

827
00:55:15,945 --> 00:55:18,945
If anyone cares about wild horses
and wildlife and public lands...

828
00:55:20,150 --> 00:55:23,052
...and the environment,
you can't ignore the livestock...

829
00:55:23,053 --> 00:55:26,413
The negative impact that livestock grazing
is having on our public lands in the West.

830
00:55:28,224 --> 00:55:31,224
I've added up the costs
of animal food production...

831
00:55:32,829 --> 00:55:35,798
...that the producers don't
actually bear themselves.

832
00:55:35,799 --> 00:55:38,367
These are the hidden costs
or the externalized costs...

833
00:55:38,368 --> 00:55:40,336
...that they impose on society.

834
00:55:40,337 --> 00:55:43,337
And those are in categories like
health care, environmental damage...

835
00:55:44,441 --> 00:55:47,441
...subsidies, damage to fisheries,
and even cruelty.

836
00:55:48,678 --> 00:55:51,678
If you take those externalized costs,
which are about $414 billion...

837
00:55:53,450 --> 00:55:56,530
...if the meat and dairy industries were
required to internalize those costs...

838
00:55:58,822 --> 00:56:01,123
...if they had to bear
those costs themselves...

839
00:56:01,124 --> 00:56:04,124
...the costs of the retail prices
of meat and dairy would sky rocket.

840
00:56:05,762 --> 00:56:08,762
So a$5 carton of eggs would go to $13.

841
00:56:09,999 --> 00:56:12,935
A $4 Big Mac would go to $11.

842
00:56:12,936 --> 00:56:15,936
The problem with these externalized costs
being imposed on society...

843
00:56:17,674 --> 00:56:19,775
...is that whether you eat meat or not...

844
00:56:19,776 --> 00:56:22,411
...whether you're an omnivore
oran herbivore...

845
00:56:22,412 --> 00:56:25,412
...you are paying part of the costs
of somebody else's consumption.

846
00:56:26,883 --> 00:56:28,951
So when somebody goes
into a McDonald's...

847
00:56:28,952 --> 00:56:30,819
...and buys a Big Macfor$4...

848
00:56:30,820 --> 00:56:33,820
...there's another$7 of costs
that's imposed on society.

849
00:56:34,357 --> 00:56:37,357
I'm paying that. You're paying that,
whether you eat meat or not.

850
00:56:40,263 --> 00:56:43,504
When you look at who's benefiting, and
who lobbied for this system of agriculture...

851
00:56:44,300 --> 00:56:46,902
...it's the largest food producers
in the country...

852
00:56:46,903 --> 00:56:48,971
...and the largest meat producers.

853
00:56:48,972 --> 00:56:51,972
And once they become so
large and wealthy...

854
00:56:52,142 --> 00:56:55,142
...then they can dictate the federal policies
around producing food...

855
00:56:58,381 --> 00:57:01,381
...because they have
so much political power.

856
00:57:01,718 --> 00:57:04,353
Was this why Al Gore,
even during his vice presidency...

857
00:57:04,354 --> 00:57:06,989
...never addressed the issue
of animal agriculture...

858
00:57:06,990 --> 00:57:09,858
...and failed to talk about it
in An Inconvenient Truth...

859
00:57:09,859 --> 00:57:12,327
...or his organization,
The Climate Reality Project?

860
00:57:12,328 --> 00:57:15,328
Was this truth just too inconvenient
for even him?

861
00:57:15,965 --> 00:57:18,965
I felt let down by the man
who inspired me on this entire path.

862
00:57:20,804 --> 00:57:23,804
I knew I needed to talk
to an animal agriculture lobby group...

863
00:57:23,873 --> 00:57:25,741
...to see what they had to say.

864
00:57:25,742 --> 00:57:28,742
If they could silence the government,
are they influencing...

865
00:57:28,745 --> 00:57:31,745
...and possibly have connections
to these environmental groups as well?

866
00:57:32,248 --> 00:57:35,248
Animal Agriculture Alliance,
one of the biggest livestock lobby groups...

867
00:57:35,852 --> 00:57:38,852
...has agreed to an interview.
Greenpeace won't give us an interview...

868
00:57:39,289 --> 00:57:42,289
...but Animal Agriculture Alliance
has agreed to an interview.

869
00:57:42,525 --> 00:57:44,560
Now, that...

870
00:57:44,561 --> 00:57:46,929
Now, that is saying something.

871
00:57:46,930 --> 00:57:49,930
People hear the word GMOs,
and that's a really scary term.

872
00:57:53,036 --> 00:57:56,076
Agriculture's kind of struggled to explain
what that means, but in reality...

873
00:57:56,806 --> 00:57:59,806
...what we've done is to use technology
to make advancements...

874
00:58:01,044 --> 00:58:04,044
...in how we raise crops
and how we raise animals.

875
00:58:04,147 --> 00:58:07,147
We're not gonna feed the world
going back to how it was 100 years ago...

876
00:58:07,951 --> 00:58:10,853
...where all the animals were,
you know, pasture-fed.

877
00:58:10,854 --> 00:58:13,854
We didn't just move animals inside
and just implement...

878
00:58:14,424 --> 00:58:17,424
...these large vertically-integrated
systems because of sustainability.

879
00:58:18,261 --> 00:58:21,096
It certainly reduces
the environmental impact...

880
00:58:21,097 --> 00:58:24,097
...while improving animal well-being
and food safety.

881
00:58:24,934 --> 00:58:27,934
So you're saying that animals like it
just as much being inside...

882
00:58:28,805 --> 00:58:31,805
...say, the chickens and the cows
like being just as much inside...

883
00:58:32,108 --> 00:58:33,442
...as pasture grass-fed?

884
00:58:33,443 --> 00:58:36,443
In a lot of cases, it's been a significant
improvement in their well-being...

885
00:58:38,181 --> 00:58:41,181
...just in terms of the amount of care
they can get, individualized care.

886
00:58:42,185 --> 00:58:44,486
Does the meat and dairy industry
ever support...

887
00:58:44,487 --> 00:58:47,456
...or donate
to environmental non-profits?

888
00:58:47,457 --> 00:58:50,259
I don't know that I would want
to comment on that.

889
00:58:50,260 --> 00:58:52,494
Yeah, I... I don't...

890
00:58:52,495 --> 00:58:55,495
I don't know.

891
00:58:58,301 --> 00:59:00,903
I don't know that we would know
what they donate to.

892
00:59:00,904 --> 00:59:03,904
Does meat and dairy industry ever support
or donate to, say, Greenpeace?

893
00:59:07,043 --> 00:59:10,043
Again, I don't know
that I would feel comfortable...

894
00:59:12,949 --> 00:59:15,117
Hey, sorry we didn't
get back to you earlier.

895
00:59:15,118 --> 00:59:17,419
I have some bad news.

896
00:59:17,420 --> 00:59:20,420
We are no longer able
to fund your film project.

897
00:59:20,657 --> 00:59:23,657
We had a meeting and due to the growing
controversial subject matter...

898
00:59:24,394 --> 00:59:26,995
...we have some concerns
and have to pull out.

899
00:59:26,996 --> 00:59:29,932
Why was this subject so controversial?

900
00:59:29,933 --> 00:59:32,933
The first person I could think to speak with
was Howard Lyman...

901
00:59:33,036 --> 00:59:36,036
...who had been sued by cattlemen
for simply speaking the truth...

902
00:59:36,205 --> 00:59:39,205
...about animal agriculture
on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

903
00:59:41,344 --> 00:59:44,344
I was born on the largest dairy farm
in the state of Montana in 1938.

904
00:59:48,384 --> 00:59:49,518
Grew up my entire life
on a livestock farm.

905
00:59:49,519 --> 00:59:52,519
Grew up my entire life
on a livestock farm.

906
00:59:54,190 --> 00:59:57,190
Went to Montana State University,
got a degree in Agriculture.

907
00:59:58,928 --> 01:00:01,928
Came back and started
a mega agriculture endeavor...

908
01:00:06,002 --> 01:00:09,002
...where I had 10,000 acres of crop...

909
01:00:10,073 --> 01:00:13,073
...7000 head of cattle...

910
01:00:13,610 --> 01:00:16,111
...and about 30 employees.

911
01:00:16,112 --> 01:00:19,112
Solspent45 years of my life
in animal agriculture.

912
01:00:20,617 --> 01:00:23,617
And so I've been there, done that.

913
01:00:25,488 --> 01:00:28,488
When I was on The Oprah Show,
we had the food disparagement law.

914
01:00:29,125 --> 01:00:32,125
Now, the food disparagement law,
in my opinion, was unconstitutional...

915
01:00:34,130 --> 01:00:37,130
...but what it basically said,
that it was against the law...

916
01:00:38,134 --> 01:00:41,134
...to say something you knew to be false
about a perishable commodity.

917
01:00:44,007 --> 01:00:47,007
I didn't say anything on The Oprah Show
I thought to be false.

918
01:00:47,543 --> 01:00:50,245
I went there and told the truth.

919
01:00:50,246 --> 01:00:53,246
Now, it took five years
and hundreds of thousands of dollars...

920
01:00:56,052 --> 01:00:59,052
...to end up extricating myself...

921
01:00:59,389 --> 01:01:02,389
...from the suits from the cattle industry.

922
01:01:04,093 --> 01:01:07,093
But if I was to go
on The Oprah Show today...

923
01:01:09,032 --> 01:01:12,032
...say exactly the same thing today
that I said back then...

924
01:01:14,103 --> 01:01:16,171
...I would be guilty.

925
01:01:16,172 --> 01:01:19,172
And for me, when they were talking
about the food disparagement law...

926
01:01:21,544 --> 01:01:24,544
...it was the fact of whether
I told the truth or not.

927
01:01:26,249 --> 01:01:29,249
You can go today and tell the truth...

928
01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:33,355
...and you will be guilty...

929
01:01:33,356 --> 01:01:36,356
...because if you cause a disruption...

930
01:01:37,126 --> 01:01:40,126
...in the profits of the animal industry...

931
01:01:41,698 --> 01:01:44,698
...you're guilty under the Patriot Act.

932
01:01:45,334 --> 01:01:48,334
Do you think there should be any concern
of us making this documentary?

933
01:01:50,640 --> 01:01:52,274
Of course.

934
01:01:52,275 --> 01:01:54,643
If you don't realize right now...

935
01:01:54,644 --> 01:01:57,644
...that you're putting your neck
on the chopping block...

936
01:01:58,181 --> 01:02:01,181
...you know, you better take that camera
and throw it away.

937
01:02:06,355 --> 01:02:09,355
Animal agriculture is one of
the most powerful industries on the planet.

938
01:02:09,792 --> 01:02:12,792
I think most people in this country
are aware of the influence...

939
01:02:13,096 --> 01:02:16,297
...of money and industry on politics,
and we really see that clearly on display...

940
01:02:17,366 --> 01:02:19,234
...with this industry in particular.

941
01:02:19,235 --> 01:02:22,436
Most would be shocked to learn that animal
rights and environmental activists...

942
01:02:23,106 --> 01:02:26,106
...are the number one domestic terrorism
threat according to the FBl.

943
01:02:26,542 --> 01:02:29,244
- And why is that?
- It's difficult to answer...

944
01:02:29,245 --> 01:02:32,245
...why these groups are at the top
of the FBI's priorities.

945
01:02:32,548 --> 01:02:35,283
I think a big part of it is that they...

946
01:02:35,284 --> 01:02:38,053
...more than really
any other social movements today...

947
01:02:38,054 --> 01:02:40,322
...are directly threatening
corporate profits.

948
01:02:40,323 --> 01:02:43,323
You know, when we try to find out
how factory farms...

949
01:02:43,326 --> 01:02:46,326
...and how animal agriculture
is polluting the environment...

950
01:02:46,329 --> 01:02:49,064
...they try to claim exemptions
to that information...

951
01:02:49,065 --> 01:02:52,065
...either under national security terms
or public safety.

952
01:02:52,268 --> 01:02:55,268
Trademark issues.
It's a business secret.

953
01:02:55,805 --> 01:02:58,240
All these attempts to keep people
in the dark...

954
01:02:58,241 --> 01:03:00,142
...about what they're actually doing.

955
01:03:00,143 --> 01:03:03,423
One of the largest industries on the planet
with the biggest environmental impact...

956
01:03:04,180 --> 01:03:06,615
...keeping us in the dark
about how it's operating.

957
01:03:06,616 --> 01:03:09,616
Through the Freedom of Information Act,
we obtained documents...

958
01:03:09,719 --> 01:03:11,620
...from the counter-terrorism unit...

959
01:03:11,621 --> 01:03:13,822
...that show they're
monitoring my lectures...

960
01:03:13,823 --> 01:03:16,823
...media interviews, like this one,
my website, my book.

961
01:03:17,593 --> 01:03:20,128
Are we at risk filming this
and showing it?

962
01:03:20,129 --> 01:03:23,129
You're going up against people
that have massive legal resources.

963
01:03:23,733 --> 01:03:26,733
I mean, it's just overwhelming,
the amount of money at their disposal.

964
01:03:27,303 --> 01:03:28,637
And you have nothing.

965
01:03:28,638 --> 01:03:31,638
And I think that fear is a big part
of the tactic as well.

966
01:03:32,542 --> 01:03:35,243
Will was right.I was scared.

967
01:03:35,244 --> 01:03:37,879
When I learned about activists
being killed in Brazil...

968
01:03:37,880 --> 01:03:39,881
...I was disturbed, but I felt removed.

969
01:03:39,882 --> 01:03:42,684
But to learn about American
activists and journalists...

970
01:03:42,685 --> 01:03:45,120
...being targeted
by the industry and FBl?

971
01:03:45,121 --> 01:03:46,788
My funding being dropped?

972
01:03:46,789 --> 01:03:49,789
I was genuinely worried
and hit close to home.

973
01:03:49,826 --> 01:03:52,826
Was this why no one was willing
to talk about the issue?

974
01:03:53,262 --> 01:03:56,262
I decided to take precautionary measures
with all the footage I shot.

975
01:04:05,341 --> 01:04:08,341
I was beyond frightened to imagine
what could possibly happen...

976
01:04:08,477 --> 01:04:11,279
...if I pursued this subject any further.

977
01:04:11,280 --> 01:04:14,320
It seemed the only decision to make was
to put down the cameras and walk away.

978
01:04:19,188 --> 01:04:21,590
But then I realized
this issue was way bigger...

979
01:04:21,591 --> 01:04:24,591
...than any personal concern
I could ever have for myself.

980
01:04:25,161 --> 01:04:28,161
This was about all life on Earth
hanging in the balance of our actions.

981
01:04:28,865 --> 01:04:31,865
Now you either live for something,
or die for nothing.

982
01:04:32,235 --> 01:04:34,769
And I actually had no choice all along.

983
01:04:34,770 --> 01:04:37,439
I decided to surrender
not to fear from the secret...

984
01:04:37,440 --> 01:04:39,941
...but rather to a cause towards truth.

985
01:04:39,942 --> 01:04:42,677
I couldn't be like these
environmental organizations...

986
01:04:42,678 --> 01:04:45,799
...and sit silently while the planet
was eaten alive right in front of our eyes.

987
01:04:46,616 --> 01:04:49,616
I had to stand up and continue on.

988
01:04:56,692 --> 01:04:59,692
Some people would say the problem
isn't really animal agriculture...

989
01:04:59,962 --> 01:05:02,962
...but actually human overpopulation.

990
01:05:04,734 --> 01:05:07,734
In 1812, there were 1 billion
people on the planet.

991
01:05:07,737 --> 01:05:10,505
In 1912, there were 1.5 billion.

992
01:05:10,506 --> 01:05:13,506
Then just 100 years later, our population
exploded to 7 billion humans.

993
01:05:16,245 --> 01:05:18,914
This number is rightly given
a great deal of attention...

994
01:05:18,915 --> 01:05:21,915
...but an even more important figure
when determining world population...

995
01:05:22,518 --> 01:05:25,518
...is the world's 70 billion
farm animals humans raise.

996
01:05:28,291 --> 01:05:31,291
The human population drinks
5.2 billion gallons of water every day...

997
01:05:32,795 --> 01:05:35,795
...and eats 21 billion pounds of food.

998
01:05:35,798 --> 01:05:38,500
But just the world's
1.5 billion cows alone...

999
01:05:38,501 --> 01:05:41,501
...drink 45 billion gallons
of water every day...

1000
01:05:41,771 --> 01:05:44,771
...and eat 135 billion pounds of food.

1001
01:05:45,274 --> 01:05:47,709
This isn't so much
a human population issue.

1002
01:05:47,710 --> 01:05:50,710
It's a human-eating-animals
population issue.

1003
01:05:50,713 --> 01:05:53,248
Environmental organizations
not addressing this...

1004
01:05:53,249 --> 01:05:56,249
...is like health organizations trying
to stop lung cancer...

1005
01:05:56,252 --> 01:05:58,253
...without addressing cigarette smoking.

1006
01:05:58,254 --> 01:06:01,254
But instead of secondhand smoking,
it's secondhand eating...

1007
01:06:01,290 --> 01:06:04,290
...which affects the entire planet.

1008
01:06:05,328 --> 01:06:08,449
We're growing enough food right now
to feed between 12 and 15 billion people.

1009
01:06:08,931 --> 01:06:10,765
We only have 7 billion people.

1010
01:06:10,766 --> 01:06:13,766
We have roughly a billion people
starving every single day.

1011
01:06:15,404 --> 01:06:18,404
Worldwide, 50 percent of the grain
and legumes that we're growing...

1012
01:06:19,475 --> 01:06:20,976
...we're feeding to animals.

1013
01:06:20,977 --> 01:06:23,712
So they're eating huge amounts
of grain and legumes.

1014
01:06:23,713 --> 01:06:27,193
In the United States, it's more like closer
to 70, 80, depending on which grain it is.

1015
01:06:28,451 --> 01:06:31,451
About 90 percent of the soybeans.

1016
01:06:33,022 --> 01:06:35,957
Eighty-two percent of starving children
live in countries...

1017
01:06:35,958 --> 01:06:38,660
...where food is fed to animals
in livestock systems...

1018
01:06:38,661 --> 01:06:41,596
...that are killed and eaten
by more well-off individuals...

1019
01:06:41,597 --> 01:06:44,597
...in developed countries
such as the U.S. and Europe.

1020
01:06:46,969 --> 01:06:48,970
The fact of it is that we could feed...

1021
01:06:48,971 --> 01:06:51,940
...every human being on the planet today
an adequate diet...

1022
01:06:51,941 --> 01:06:54,941
...if we did no more than take the feed
that we're feeding to animals...

1023
01:06:57,546 --> 01:07:00,546
...and actually turn it into
food for humans.

1024
01:07:01,083 --> 01:07:04,083
And so somebody trying
to justify GMOs...

1025
01:07:05,021 --> 01:07:08,021
...that's like trying to give
a drowning man a drink of water.

1026
01:07:09,091 --> 01:07:12,091
You can produce, on average,
15 times more protein...

1027
01:07:14,096 --> 01:07:17,096
...from plant-based sources than
from meat on any given area of land...

1028
01:07:18,667 --> 01:07:21,136
...whether it's...
Using the same type of land...

1029
01:07:21,137 --> 01:07:24,137
...whether it's a very fertile area
in one area of the world...

1030
01:07:24,340 --> 01:07:26,041
...or it's an area that's depleted.

1031
01:07:26,042 --> 01:07:29,042
If we would reduce the amount of meat
we're eating, and dairy and eggs...

1032
01:07:29,812 --> 01:07:32,447
...we could allow
all these mono-cropped fields...

1033
01:07:32,448 --> 01:07:34,816
...of genetically-engineered
corn and soybeans...

1034
01:07:34,817 --> 01:07:37,817
...to revert back to forest again,
to be habitat for animals.

1035
01:07:38,587 --> 01:07:41,587
You know, any time somebody tells you
that we can't grow food for humans...

1036
01:07:44,493 --> 01:07:47,493
...on the land that we're growing
feed for animals...

1037
01:07:48,364 --> 01:07:49,831
...this is somebody that-

1038
01:07:49,832 --> 01:07:52,832
Evoking the number one crop
out in California.

1039
01:07:52,968 --> 01:07:56,169
The fact of it is if you can grow corn
to stuff down the throat of an animal...

1040
01:07:59,108 --> 01:08:02,108
...you can actually grow corn
and feed it to a human.

1041
01:08:03,979 --> 01:08:06,979
You encourage people to eat less meat,
for the resources required...

1042
01:08:07,383 --> 01:08:09,050
...and the toll on the environment.

1043
01:08:09,051 --> 01:08:11,052
- And on the animal.
- And on the animals.

1044
01:08:11,053 --> 01:08:14,053
And the workers in the system.
It's a brutal system at every level.

1045
01:08:14,423 --> 01:08:17,423
As the world population continues to grow
to almost 9 billion people...

1046
01:08:19,395 --> 01:08:22,097
...do you foresee someday
that we might just completely...

1047
01:08:22,098 --> 01:08:24,966
...have to stop eating meat altogether?

1048
01:08:24,967 --> 01:08:27,001
I don't know that we'll completely stop.

1049
01:08:27,002 --> 01:08:29,971
I think that the amount
of meat-eating will decline.

1050
01:08:29,972 --> 01:08:32,740
There's no way to support
9 ounces per person per day...

1051
01:08:32,741 --> 01:08:35,477
...which is what Americans
are eating now.

1052
01:08:35,478 --> 01:08:38,046
If the Chinese alone decide
they wanna eat that much...

1053
01:08:38,047 --> 01:08:40,215
And they've decided
they wanna eat that much.

1054
01:08:40,216 --> 01:08:43,216
We just can't...
We don't have enough world...

1055
01:08:43,519 --> 01:08:46,221
...to produce the grain
to generate that much meat.

1056
01:08:46,222 --> 01:08:49,222
I think a plant-based diet
is the most sustainable.

1057
01:08:51,160 --> 01:08:54,160
What do you recommend to see
for9 billion people can eat...

1058
01:08:54,196 --> 01:08:57,165
...for the planet
to not only sustain, but to thrive?

1059
01:08:57,166 --> 01:08:59,901
Would you throw out a numb...?
Like an ounce, one ounce?

1060
01:08:59,902 --> 01:09:02,570
- Oh, per meat?
- And including dairy.

1061
01:09:02,571 --> 01:09:05,571
Yeah, I don't think I know enough.

1062
01:09:06,075 --> 01:09:09,075
But, yeah, it would be on the order
of a couple ounces a week.

1063
01:09:09,178 --> 01:09:12,178
You know, it's not gonna be
the way we're eating it now.

1064
01:09:12,948 --> 01:09:15,783
We're gorging on meat.
We're eating huge amounts.

1065
01:09:15,784 --> 01:09:18,086
- Does that include cheese too?
- Yeah, yeah.

1066
01:09:18,087 --> 01:09:20,088
- Like, two ounces total?
- Yeah, cheese and milk.

1067
01:09:20,089 --> 01:09:21,689
- Like, two ounces total?
- Yeah, cheese and milk.

1068
01:09:21,690 --> 01:09:23,925
Only2 ounces a week
seem like nothing.

1069
01:09:23,926 --> 01:09:26,628
People could probably raise that
in their own backyard.

1070
01:09:26,629 --> 01:09:29,564
Maybe backyard farming
was a sustainable solution.

1071
01:09:29,565 --> 01:09:30,999
I have 42 ducks.

1072
01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:34,000
I started off with three ducks
three years ago.

1073
01:09:35,237 --> 01:09:38,206
And then those burdened
into a population.

1074
01:09:38,207 --> 01:09:41,207
I buy a 75-pound bag of seed...

1075
01:09:41,577 --> 01:09:44,577
...and that seed bag will last me,
right now, about two weeks.

1076
01:09:45,681 --> 01:09:48,681
The ducks now that we're gonna be
culling are about 2 years old.

1077
01:09:50,619 --> 01:09:53,054
When you're living with them,
they get used to you.

1078
01:09:53,055 --> 01:09:55,857
You know, they're not intimidated
or whatever.

1079
01:09:55,858 --> 01:09:58,858
And so they make all their
vocal sounds, like natural.

1080
01:10:00,162 --> 01:10:03,162
Slow down.

1081
01:10:04,200 --> 01:10:07,200
Easy, easy, easy.

1082
01:10:08,804 --> 01:10:11,804
Okay.

1083
01:10:13,542 --> 01:10:16,542
No, we're gonna keep you.

1084
01:10:17,780 --> 01:10:20,780
Ron, these two go first.

1085
01:10:24,687 --> 01:10:27,687
Being smart-wise?

1086
01:10:30,226 --> 01:10:33,226
Compared to a chicken,
they're probably the same.

1087
01:10:38,968 --> 01:10:41,968
- That one's nice, see?
- Yeah, he is.

1088
01:10:44,907 --> 01:10:47,907
Alrighty.

1089
01:10:50,145 --> 01:10:53,145
Okay.

1090
01:10:54,049 --> 01:10:57,049
Right there.

1091
01:11:11,600 --> 01:11:13,268
That's gonna be a little gruesome.

1092
01:11:13,269 --> 01:11:15,803
How could that still be alive?

1093
01:11:15,804 --> 01:11:18,373
How could that still be alive?

1094
01:11:18,374 --> 01:11:20,041
They're not.

1095
01:11:20,042 --> 01:11:21,743
That's nerves.

1096
01:11:21,744 --> 01:11:24,744
A nerve reaction.

1097
01:11:27,016 --> 01:11:29,784
Five years old or something like that,
I think it was...

1098
01:11:29,785 --> 01:11:32,785
...the first time my dad came out
and made us watch...

1099
01:11:34,123 --> 01:11:37,123
...as we did rabbits.

1100
01:11:37,359 --> 01:11:40,359
And we'd raise probably
a couple dozen rabbits each year.

1101
01:11:44,099 --> 01:11:47,099
And then we would take those rabbits
and skin them...

1102
01:11:48,604 --> 01:11:50,772
...and clean them up
and keep them for food.

1103
01:11:50,773 --> 01:11:53,773
As a young kid, I was kind of...

1104
01:11:54,610 --> 01:11:57,610
I don't want to say it was hard,
but it was kind of, from my memory...

1105
01:12:00,282 --> 01:12:03,251
Because some of the rabbits
I had named.

1106
01:12:03,252 --> 01:12:06,252
So I was kind of like going...

1107
01:12:08,123 --> 01:12:11,123
But after doing it a couple times,
you kind of just learned...

1108
01:12:11,126 --> 01:12:14,126
...it's just something that
has to be done.

1109
01:12:19,335 --> 01:12:22,335
Not the fingers.

1110
01:12:30,846 --> 01:12:32,447
I just can't do it.

1111
01:12:32,448 --> 01:12:35,448
I don't think I could have someone else
do it for me, if I can't do it.

1112
01:12:36,085 --> 01:12:39,085
If I can't do it, I don't want
someone else doing it for me.

1113
01:12:40,756 --> 01:12:42,256
And then sustainability...

1114
01:12:42,257 --> 01:12:45,257
For sustainability,
75 pounds is 2 pounds per-

1115
01:12:47,996 --> 01:12:50,996
So it's a pound per week per duck.

1116
01:12:52,101 --> 01:12:55,101
Fifty-two weeks, 110...

1117
01:12:55,904 --> 01:12:58,904
So it's 110 pounds of food...

1118
01:12:59,975 --> 01:13:02,975
...for I to 1.5 pounds of meat.

1119
01:13:02,978 --> 01:13:05,978
So on a sustainability issue,
it's 100to 1.

1120
01:13:08,384 --> 01:13:11,384
And that grain gets... You know,
who knows where that grain comes from?

1121
01:13:12,488 --> 01:13:15,528
But, I mean, when it gets to this point,
it's not even about sustainability...

1122
01:13:16,492 --> 01:13:18,459
...it was just...

1123
01:13:18,460 --> 01:13:21,129
You know, I don't feel real good inside.

1124
01:13:21,130 --> 01:13:23,231
It was the first time I've ever seen that.

1125
01:13:23,232 --> 01:13:26,232
So kind of...

1126
01:13:27,169 --> 01:13:30,169
Yeah.

1127
01:13:30,339 --> 01:13:33,339
I'd been so caught up in the destruction
caused by animal agriculture...

1128
01:13:33,909 --> 01:13:36,909
...I realized I'd never truly dwelled
on the obvious reality...

1129
01:13:36,945 --> 01:13:39,514
...that every one of these animals
was killed.

1130
01:13:39,515 --> 01:13:42,515
It was always a disconnected,
abstract fact of eating meat.

1131
01:13:42,885 --> 01:13:45,885
But when it became personal,
face to face, the story changed.

1132
01:13:48,891 --> 01:13:51,891
I had scheduled weeks in advance
to film another backyard slaughter...

1133
01:13:52,294 --> 01:13:54,529
...of a chicken
that stopped producing eggs.

1134
01:13:54,530 --> 01:13:57,530
I didn't know how I was gonna possibly
go through another slaughter.

1135
01:13:59,201 --> 01:14:02,201
So I didn't.

1136
01:14:19,121 --> 01:14:22,161
Animal Place is a farm animal sanctuary
in Northern California that focuses...

1137
01:14:24,827 --> 01:14:27,762
...on rescuing animals
from the animal agriculture industry.

1138
01:14:27,763 --> 01:14:30,843
A lot of people don't realize, meat-breed
chickens like this guy behind us...

1139
01:14:31,834 --> 01:14:34,834
...they're generally slaughtered
at about42 days old.

1140
01:14:34,837 --> 01:14:37,837
Whereas chickens that are bred
for egg production are killed...

1141
01:14:38,807 --> 01:14:41,776
...when their productivity starts
to decrease...

1142
01:14:41,777 --> 01:14:44,777
...when they start laying less eggs.

1143
01:14:45,347 --> 01:14:48,347
And that generally happens
about 18 months to 20 months.

1144
01:14:51,453 --> 01:14:54,453
It doesn't matter if you buy caged eggs,
eggs from cage-free farms...

1145
01:14:54,890 --> 01:14:56,891
...or free-range or pasture-based farms.

1146
01:14:56,892 --> 01:14:59,892
Hi, Carol. It doesn't matter.

1147
01:14:59,895 --> 01:15:02,895
Turns out there's a successful movement
of sustainable animal-alternative...

1148
01:15:03,465 --> 01:15:06,167
...food producers
based right here in California...

1149
01:15:06,168 --> 01:15:09,168
...funded by big names
like Bill Gates and Biz Stone.

1150
01:15:12,241 --> 01:15:14,575
When egg-laying hens eat
all that soy and corn...

1151
01:15:14,576 --> 01:15:17,445
...you have an energy conversion ratio
at about 38 to 1...

1152
01:15:17,446 --> 01:15:19,881
...whereas alternatively
you can find plants...

1153
01:15:19,882 --> 01:15:22,882
...you can grow those plants
and convert those plants into food.

1154
01:15:22,985 --> 01:15:25,985
The energy conversion ratio
for the plants we're using...

1155
01:15:27,389 --> 01:15:30,389
...to replace the eggs is about 2to 1,
compared to 38to 1 for eggs.

1156
01:15:31,260 --> 01:15:34,260
So our explicit goal is to have
the maximum amount of impact...

1157
01:15:35,497 --> 01:15:38,817
...by creating this new model that makes
the global egg industry entirely obsolete.

1158
01:15:43,005 --> 01:15:44,505
We're making Omega products...

1159
01:15:44,506 --> 01:15:47,506
...proving we make better tasting food
that's great for you...

1160
01:15:47,509 --> 01:15:50,509
...and it takes one-twentieth of the land
and resources that dairy do.

1161
01:15:52,981 --> 01:15:55,981
If you could have the fiber structure,
satiating bite, protein...

1162
01:15:56,118 --> 01:15:59,438
...and all the nutritional benefits of meat
without having animal protein itself...

1163
01:16:00,422 --> 01:16:03,190
...and by doing that
you could address climate change...

1164
01:16:03,191 --> 01:16:06,191
...the human health epidemics
that we're seeing, animal welfare...

1165
01:16:06,595 --> 01:16:09,595
...and natural resource conservation,
would you make the change?

1166
01:16:09,865 --> 01:16:12,233
But what if people just ate
less animal products?

1167
01:16:12,234 --> 01:16:15,234
Like going meatless on Mondays.

1168
01:16:17,606 --> 01:16:20,606
When you go meatless on Monday,
you essentially contribute...

1169
01:16:20,642 --> 01:16:22,443
...to climate change, pollution...

1170
01:16:22,444 --> 01:16:25,444
...depletion of our planet's resources
and your own health...

1171
01:16:25,447 --> 01:16:28,447
...then on only six days of the week,
instead of seven.

1172
01:16:28,584 --> 01:16:31,584
You're creating a false justification,
clearly a false justification...

1173
01:16:33,388 --> 01:16:35,890
...for what you're doing
on those other six days.

1174
01:16:35,891 --> 01:16:38,891
So in other words, we really shouldn't
be resting on our laurels...

1175
01:16:39,194 --> 01:16:42,194
...of what you do right
only one-seventh of the time.

1176
01:16:45,601 --> 01:16:48,601
You can't be an environmentalist
and eat animal products, period.

1177
01:16:49,271 --> 01:16:52,271
Kid yourself if you want, if you want
to feed your addiction, so be it.

1178
01:16:53,909 --> 01:16:56,909
But don't call yourself
an environmentalist.

1179
01:16:57,412 --> 01:17:00,412
I knew I had to stop eating
all animal products.

1180
01:17:00,616 --> 01:17:03,616
I wanted to help the planet be sustainable,
but I needed to sustain myself.

1181
01:17:04,686 --> 01:17:07,686
I had doubts about being healthy
and not eating meat, dairy and eggs.

1182
01:17:08,123 --> 01:17:10,691
All I knew was the standard American diet
I grew up on.

1183
01:17:10,692 --> 01:17:13,692
Ls it even possible
to be a healthy vegetarian or vegan?

1184
01:17:14,963 --> 01:17:17,963
Ls it possible to be
a healthy vegetarian or vegan?

1185
01:17:20,535 --> 01:17:23,535
I became vegan for, let's see,
32 years ago now.

1186
01:17:23,939 --> 01:17:26,674
And I run several miles every day.

1187
01:17:26,675 --> 01:17:29,610
I go biking 40, 50 miles
through the countryside.

1188
01:17:29,611 --> 01:17:31,245
I work long hours.

1189
01:17:31,246 --> 01:17:34,246
I feel great. It's nice waking up
in alight, trim body everyday.

1190
01:17:34,716 --> 01:17:37,385
And so many of my vegan
friends and patients...

1191
01:17:37,386 --> 01:17:40,386
...are just thriving since
their transition to a vegan diet.

1192
01:17:41,189 --> 01:17:44,189
So, yes, and I've seen vegan moms
go through healthy vegan pregnancies...

1193
01:17:45,060 --> 01:17:47,061
...and deliver healthy vegan children...

1194
01:17:47,062 --> 01:17:50,062
...and raise them to tall, full-sized,
intelligent vegan adults.

1195
01:17:51,199 --> 01:17:54,479
And, yes, certainly all the nutrients are
there in the plant kingdom to do this...

1196
01:17:56,104 --> 01:17:57,738
...that is correct.

1197
01:17:57,739 --> 01:18:00,739
Think anyone should be
consuming dairy?

1198
01:18:01,543 --> 01:18:03,778
I really don't.

1199
01:18:03,779 --> 01:18:06,614
When you think about it,
the purpose of cows' milk...

1200
01:18:06,615 --> 01:18:09,615
I did most of my growing up
on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.

1201
01:18:09,785 --> 01:18:12,785
The purpose of cows' milk is
to turn a 65-pound calf...

1202
01:18:14,289 --> 01:18:17,289
...into a400-pound cow
as rapidly as possible.

1203
01:18:19,728 --> 01:18:22,728
Cows' milk is baby-calf growth fluid.

1204
01:18:24,232 --> 01:18:26,333
It's what the stuff is.

1205
01:18:26,334 --> 01:18:29,334
Everything in that white liquid,
the hormones, the lipids, the proteins...

1206
01:18:31,239 --> 01:18:33,607
...the sodium,
the growth factors, the IGF...

1207
01:18:33,608 --> 01:18:36,608
...every one of those is meant to blow
that calf up to a great big cow...

1208
01:18:37,279 --> 01:18:40,081
...or it wouldn't be there.

1209
01:18:40,082 --> 01:18:42,750
And whether you pour it
on your cereal as a liquid...

1210
01:18:42,751 --> 01:18:45,751
...whether you clot it into yogurt...

1211
01:18:46,455 --> 01:18:49,223
...whether you ferment it into cheese...

1212
01:18:49,224 --> 01:18:52,224
...whether you freeze it into ice cream...

1213
01:18:52,661 --> 01:18:55,661
...it's baby-calf growth fluid.

1214
01:18:55,731 --> 01:18:58,666
And women eat it
and it stimulates their tissues...

1215
01:18:58,667 --> 01:19:01,667
...and gives women breast lumps,
it makes the uterus get big...

1216
01:19:02,137 --> 01:19:05,137
...and they get fibroids and they bleed
and they get hysterectomies...

1217
01:19:05,474 --> 01:19:08,474
...and they need mammograms
and gives guys man boobs.

1218
01:19:10,045 --> 01:19:11,779
This is...

1219
01:19:11,780 --> 01:19:14,548
Cows' milk is the lactation secretions...

1220
01:19:14,549 --> 01:19:17,549
...of a large bovine mammal
who just had a baby.

1221
01:19:17,619 --> 01:19:20,121
It's for baby calves.

1222
01:19:20,122 --> 01:19:22,256
I tell my patients, "Go look in the mirror.

1223
01:19:22,257 --> 01:19:24,825
Do you have big ears, a tail,
are you a baby calf?

1224
01:19:24,826 --> 01:19:27,826
If you're not, don't be eating
baby-calf growth fluid."

1225
01:19:28,663 --> 01:19:28,829
In any level,
there's nothing in it people need.

1226
01:19:28,830 --> 01:19:31,632
In any level,
there's nothing in it people need.

1227
01:19:31,633 --> 01:19:34,633
It was a relief to hear I didn't have
to eat animal products...

1228
01:19:34,669 --> 01:19:36,504
...to be healthy and even thrive...

1229
01:19:36,505 --> 01:19:39,505
...but I still thought you needed animal
manure to grow organic agriculture.

1230
01:19:40,208 --> 01:19:42,209
Turns out there's an entire movement...

1231
01:19:42,210 --> 01:19:45,079
...with people growing food
without any animal inputs.

1232
01:19:45,080 --> 01:19:48,080
I visited Earthworks Urban Farm
in Detroit.

1233
01:19:48,383 --> 01:19:51,318
They work with and grow food
for the low-income community.

1234
01:19:51,319 --> 01:19:54,319
We tend to see ourselves
as individuals in a bubble...

1235
01:19:56,725 --> 01:19:59,725
...and forget that we in habit this land
and this earth with other creatures.

1236
01:20:00,428 --> 01:20:03,428
So we have to learn how
to share more, I guess.

1237
01:20:03,865 --> 01:20:06,865
Jah here is working on his garden.

1238
01:20:08,303 --> 01:20:11,303
You'd be surprised what you can do
with not a lot of space.

1239
01:20:11,406 --> 01:20:13,340
About a4-by-8, yeah.

1240
01:20:13,341 --> 01:20:16,341
What's your goal this year? How much
do you think you can maximize?

1241
01:20:16,711 --> 01:20:19,711
- I would push for 100 at least.At least.
- A hundred pounds.

1242
01:20:20,549 --> 01:20:22,216
That's amazing.

1243
01:20:22,217 --> 01:20:25,217
The one full year
after this was constructed...

1244
01:20:26,421 --> 01:20:29,421
...we doubled our yield
to over 14,000 pounds of food.

1245
01:20:29,758 --> 01:20:32,758
Fourteen-thousand pounds?
On about how many acres?

1246
01:20:32,794 --> 01:20:34,628
About two and a half.

1247
01:20:34,629 --> 01:20:37,629
So as much food as we produce
and we grow...

1248
01:20:37,666 --> 01:20:39,934
...or the earth helps us grow...

1249
01:20:39,935 --> 01:20:42,837
...we also have to return
those nutrients back to the soil.

1250
01:20:42,838 --> 01:20:44,939
We think of our work
as being regenerative.

1251
01:20:44,940 --> 01:20:47,940
That we're putting as much
life-giving substance in the ground...

1252
01:20:48,810 --> 01:20:51,312
...as we're taking out.

1253
01:20:51,313 --> 01:20:54,313
So is it just kind of healthier and safer
to use vegetarian...

1254
01:20:55,250 --> 01:20:58,250
- ...or vegetable composting stuff?
- Yeah, that's what we found.

1255
01:20:58,653 --> 01:21:01,653
But also because it takes less time
and it's a lot easier to manage.

1256
01:21:01,957 --> 01:21:03,424
- A lot easier, yeah.
- Yeah.

1257
01:21:03,425 --> 01:21:06,425
- And the soil is just as rich?
- Yeah, absolutely.

1258
01:21:08,363 --> 01:21:11,363
Not only is veganic more compassionate,
it's also more efficient.

1259
01:21:11,766 --> 01:21:14,766
And in a society with this many
billions of people...

1260
01:21:15,170 --> 01:21:17,671
...we need to be as efficient as possible.

1261
01:21:17,672 --> 01:21:20,672
Some people might go back and say
if we embraced this primitive approach...

1262
01:21:22,878 --> 01:21:25,878
...of only wild animals everywhere...

1263
01:21:26,281 --> 01:21:28,883
...and we go back
to, like, a hunter-gatherer system...

1264
01:21:28,884 --> 01:21:30,417
...that sounds great.

1265
01:21:30,418 --> 01:21:33,418
But that was 10 million people
on the entire continent.

1266
01:21:33,722 --> 01:21:36,722
Maybe a little bit more, a little bit less,
no one really knows.

1267
01:21:37,259 --> 01:21:39,793
Today, now we have what?

1268
01:21:39,794 --> 01:21:42,794
We have 320 million in the U.S.,
25 million in Canada...

1269
01:21:43,565 --> 01:21:46,565
...another 100 and so-many-million
in Mexico.

1270
01:21:46,902 --> 01:21:49,902
So, North America is up to almost,
you know, 450 million people.

1271
01:21:53,208 --> 01:21:56,208
Trying to figure out away
to bring animal agriculture...

1272
01:21:56,411 --> 01:21:59,411
...in balance with450 million
hungry people is impossible.

1273
01:22:03,952 --> 01:22:06,952
This is amazing, I didn't believe it
when I first learned it...

1274
01:22:06,988 --> 01:22:09,957
...but 216,000 more people are born
to the plant every day.

1275
01:22:09,958 --> 01:22:12,226
Everyday.

1276
01:22:12,227 --> 01:22:13,961
It's extraordinary.

1277
01:22:13,962 --> 01:22:16,962
But what's really extraordinary
is you need, per day...

1278
01:22:17,666 --> 01:22:20,034
...34,000 new acres of farmable land.

1279
01:22:20,035 --> 01:22:22,369
It's not happening.

1280
01:22:22,370 --> 01:22:24,705
To feed a person
on a vegan diet for a year...

1281
01:22:24,706 --> 01:22:27,441
...requires just one-sixth
of an acre of land.

1282
01:22:27,442 --> 01:22:29,743
To feed that same person
on a vegetarian diet...

1283
01:22:29,744 --> 01:22:32,744
...that includes eggs and dairy
requires three times as much land.

1284
01:22:33,281 --> 01:22:35,983
To feed an average U.S. citizen's
high-consumption diet...

1285
01:22:35,984 --> 01:22:38,984
...of meat, dairy and eggs
requires 18 times as much land.

1286
01:22:39,688 --> 01:22:42,688
This is because you can produce
37,000 pounds of vegetables...

1287
01:22:43,258 --> 01:22:46,258
...on 1.5 acres, but only 375 pounds
of meat on that same plot of land.

1288
01:22:48,930 --> 01:22:51,565
The comparison doesn't end
with land use.

1289
01:22:51,566 --> 01:22:54,566
A vegan diet produces half as much CO2
as an American omnivore...

1290
01:22:54,803 --> 01:22:57,338
...uses one-eleventh
the amount of fossil fuels...

1291
01:22:57,339 --> 01:23:00,419
...one-thirteenth the amount of water
and an eighteenth of the amount of land.

1292
01:23:01,009 --> 01:23:04,009
After adding this all up, I realized I had
the choice every single day...

1293
01:23:04,946 --> 01:23:07,946
...to save over 100 gallons of water,
45 pounds of grain...

1294
01:23:09,718 --> 01:23:12,718
...30 square feet of forested land,
the equivalent of20 pounds ofCO2...

1295
01:23:14,322 --> 01:23:17,322
...and one animal's life every single day.

1296
01:23:20,095 --> 01:23:22,963
If we all did go vegan
and moved away from animal foods...

1297
01:23:22,964 --> 01:23:25,566
...and toward a plant-based diet,
what would happen?

1298
01:23:25,567 --> 01:23:28,567
If we didn't kill all these cows
and eat them...

1299
01:23:29,371 --> 01:23:31,805
...then we wouldn't have
to breed all these cows...

1300
01:23:31,806 --> 01:23:34,806
...because we're breeding cows
and chickens and pigs and fish.

1301
01:23:34,843 --> 01:23:37,644
We're breeding them
over and over again, relentlessly.

1302
01:23:37,645 --> 01:23:40,645
So if we didn't breed them,
then we wouldn't have to feed them.

1303
01:23:41,349 --> 01:23:44,349
Then we wouldn't have to devote
all this land...

1304
01:23:45,120 --> 01:23:48,120
...to growing grains and legumes
and so forth to feed to them.

1305
01:23:48,123 --> 01:23:51,123
And so then the forest could come back.

1306
01:23:51,493 --> 01:23:53,327
Wildlife could come back.

1307
01:23:53,328 --> 01:23:56,328
The oceans would come back.
The rivers would run clean again.

1308
01:23:56,364 --> 01:23:59,364
The air would come back.
Our health would return.

1309
01:24:02,637 --> 01:24:05,637
Renewable energy infrastructure,
such as solar and wind generators...

1310
01:24:05,940 --> 01:24:08,776
...to reduce climate change,
that's a pretty good idea...

1311
01:24:08,777 --> 01:24:11,145
...but it's projected to take
at least 20 years...

1312
01:24:11,146 --> 01:24:14,146
...and at least, minimally,
$18 trillion to develop.

1313
01:24:15,350 --> 01:24:18,551
You know, it's important to realize that
we don't have that long of a time frame.

1314
01:24:19,888 --> 01:24:22,888
We just talked about how it might be
a four-year time frame...

1315
01:24:22,891 --> 01:24:26,092
...so we don't have 20 years and we don't
have $18 trillion to develop these...

1316
01:24:27,362 --> 01:24:30,362
...so another solution to climate change:
We could stop eating animals.

1317
01:24:32,967 --> 01:24:35,967
And it could be done today.
It doesn't have to take 20years...

1318
01:24:36,371 --> 01:24:39,371
...and it doesn't have to take $18
trillion, because it costs nothing.

1319
01:24:42,544 --> 01:24:44,745
Some say, "Fix CO2,
then worry about methane."

1320
01:24:44,746 --> 01:24:47,907
It's the other way. Do something about
methane, you'll get a response right away.

1321
01:24:50,985 --> 01:24:53,985
The most powerful thing that someone
can do for the environment...

1322
01:24:54,155 --> 01:24:56,890
...no other lifestyle choice has
a farther reaching...

1323
01:24:56,891 --> 01:25:00,012
...and more profoundly positive impact
on the planet and all life on Earth...

1324
01:25:00,929 --> 01:25:03,929
...than choosing to stop consuming
animals and live a vegan lifestyle.

1325
01:25:07,535 --> 01:25:09,536
Do you realize
75 percent of Americans...

1326
01:25:09,537 --> 01:25:12,537
...consider themselves
to be environmentalists?

1327
01:25:14,008 --> 01:25:17,008
You don't think we couldn't solve
this problem in a heartbeat?

1328
01:25:18,113 --> 01:25:21,113
I'll tell you what, all we would need...

1329
01:25:22,016 --> 01:25:25,016
...is for the environmentalists to live
what they profess...

1330
01:25:26,621 --> 01:25:29,621
...and we'd be on a new course
in the world.

1331
01:25:34,796 --> 01:25:37,464
We will not succeed
until we stop animal agriculture.

1332
01:25:37,465 --> 01:25:39,032
And by "succeed," I mean...

1333
01:25:39,033 --> 01:25:42,033
...we will not save ecosystems
to the extent necessary...

1334
01:25:42,470 --> 01:25:45,470
...we will not have enough food
for people around the planet...

1335
01:25:45,740 --> 01:25:47,975
...we will not stop global warming...

1336
01:25:47,976 --> 01:25:50,976
...we will not stop pollution
in the dead zones that run off...

1337
01:25:51,012 --> 01:25:54,012
...all the fields of corn and soy
that are grown to feed livestock...

1338
01:25:56,651 --> 01:25:59,651
...and we will not stop the hunting
of wolves and other predators.

1339
01:26:02,157 --> 01:26:05,358
Organic farming is one step in the right
direction, but we need to keep walking.

1340
01:26:06,027 --> 01:26:09,027
We need to get beyond organics.
We need to get to sustainability.

1341
01:26:11,833 --> 01:26:14,833
When you take the animal out,
you take the greenhouse gas issue out...

1342
01:26:15,170 --> 01:26:17,171
...you take the food safety
issues out...

1343
01:26:17,172 --> 01:26:20,172
...you take some other externalities
related to food scarcity out.

1344
01:26:20,508 --> 01:26:23,508
But one thing that's amazing is
I think you put our values back in.

1345
01:26:25,580 --> 01:26:28,580
You put values like compassion
and integrity and kindness...

1346
01:26:30,585 --> 01:26:33,585
...values that are natural
to human beings, you put that in...

1347
01:26:35,023 --> 01:26:38,023
...you build that back
into the story of our food.

1348
01:26:38,693 --> 01:26:41,773
And I think as this begins to progress,
I think it also helps people to pause...

1349
01:26:44,632 --> 01:26:47,501
...before they eat that egg,
before they eat that steak...

1350
01:26:47,502 --> 01:26:49,636
...before they eat that chicken nugget...

1351
01:26:49,637 --> 01:26:52,637
...and ask themselves,
is that really what they want?

1352
01:26:53,875 --> 01:26:56,875
Or do they actually want
something more?

1353
01:26:57,045 --> 01:26:59,046
I had to come to the full conclusion...

1354
01:26:59,047 --> 01:27:02,047
...the only way to sustainably
and ethically live on this planet...

1355
01:27:02,250 --> 01:27:05,290
...with 7 billion other people is to
live an entirely plant-based vegan diet.

1356
01:27:06,721 --> 01:27:09,721
I decided instead of eating others,
to eat for others.

1357
01:27:10,225 --> 01:27:13,466
At first, like these environmental groups,
I was afraid of what it'd mean to change.

1358
01:27:14,295 --> 01:27:16,029
But now I embrace it.

1359
01:27:16,030 --> 01:27:19,191
All this talk about sustainability sounded
like our planet was on life support.

1360
01:27:20,535 --> 01:27:23,535
And I don't want her to simply survive
or to sustain, but to thrive.

1361
01:27:24,672 --> 01:27:27,672
Life today is not about sustainability.
It's about "thrive-ability."

1362
01:27:28,676 --> 01:27:31,676
She's given so much to us for so long,
it was time to give back.

1363
01:27:33,014 --> 01:27:35,649
A hundred-and-eight percent
of everything we have.

1364
01:27:35,650 --> 01:27:38,650
It felt good. It was an alignment.

1365
01:27:40,989 --> 01:27:43,989
And we see this movement,
not just about providing cheaper...

1366
01:27:43,992 --> 01:27:46,992
...inexpensive food that everyone
can have, but also a spiritual move.

1367
01:27:47,295 --> 01:27:49,796
A move towards understanding
who we really are...

1368
01:27:49,797 --> 01:27:51,798
...and how we can connect
to each other.

1369
01:27:51,799 --> 01:27:54,799
Do what you can do
as well as you can do it...

1370
01:28:05,179 --> 01:28:08,179
We become part of a gathering
momentum of other people.

1371
01:28:08,383 --> 01:28:11,383
It's happening. This is really
what's happening. This is the new.

1372
01:28:11,786 --> 01:28:13,887
Selflessness is a nice way to be.

1373
01:28:13,888 --> 01:28:16,928
It has all these benefits for yourself,
as well as the planet and other people.

1374
01:28:18,059 --> 01:28:20,661
So it's a beautiful way to live.

1375
01:28:20,662 --> 01:28:22,963
Ecologically, it just feels better.

1376
01:28:22,964 --> 01:28:25,666
This is about massively transforming...

1377
01:28:25,667 --> 01:28:28,667
...how our society eats,
because it's a necessity.

1378
01:28:30,071 --> 01:28:33,071
It's acting on what we know.

1379
01:28:33,141 --> 01:28:36,141
And acting kindly and gently
on the whole planet...

1380
01:28:36,911 --> 01:28:39,911
...and with other people
to accomplish the goals of living better.

1381
01:28:42,317 --> 01:28:45,317
We can do it,
but we have to choose to do it.

1382
01:28:48,056 --> 01:28:51,056
You can change the world.