Preview

Cowspiracy The Sustainability Secret Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
587 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cowspiracy The Sustainability Secret Essay
Cow gas cooks the earth
Animal Agriculture is the number one factors contributing to the destruction of this earth. Deforestation, excessive water consumption and major pollution are all by-products of cattle farming. This main animal agriculture animal is the cow; these animals may appear innocent but the waste they drop is destructive to the earth. Cattle are responsible for more greenhouse gases than the entire transport industry. People clear one acre of forest a second to make land for animals or plant soybeans to feed animals. What people don’t realise while they’re cutting down forests is they’re creating species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones,” and virtually every other environmental ill.

The documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret opens with a tsunami of information along with pathos. director and filmmaker Kip Andersen makes a courageous and largely successful attempt to interview many environmentalists about animal agriculture and why it is cooking the earth. Andersen researches interviews with many people exploring the reported damage that
…show more content…
“Can you comment the effect of animal agriculture in water consumption and pollution.” Before the chiefs answered the question, Andersen kept turning his camera to the two people back and forth waiting for a response but nothing came out only that’s not my area. Andersen did this to show the viewers that the chiefs are either trying to keep secret or they don’t understand the question. Andersen asked a personal but a vigorous question about the government. Andersen added in sad slow string instrument soundtrack while he was going into detail with the question. The chiefs answer “that’s not how the government works here.” Andersen added this music affect to pull the audience in, making the audience like they’re in the interview and feeling the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Bill McKibben’s essay “The Only Way to Have a Cow” establishes a sense of comfort as his approach to the meat eating controversy is superbly logical. The current industrial approach to livestock has birthed an issue pertaining to the sustainability and healthy feeding of our lives. Yet there is another problem in relation to our consumption, which tends to be overlooked. If the pricing of meat reflected in the damage done to our environments, feedlot beef would cost more than grass-fed beef both financially and environmentally. It is the rapid, inhumane dietary feeding of the cow which is insulting, not the consumption of it, and taking no responsibility for the run-off is an offense to the earth and it’s inhabitants. These costs alone are part of the reasoning for the current system which is inefficient and uneconomically feasible. The…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The thesis of this video is that home/family-run farms run the right way and naturally but efficiently can be more successful than corporate factory farms while having cleaner and natural produces (meat) and harvests. The rhetorical appeals of this video is based on ethos - representing credibility and appeal. The 2 examples of ethos appeal in this video are, first in general, displaying himself as a family/natural farmer conducting his daily chores and working on the farm the "right way" by his definition. Secondly, the farmer is showing the natural conductivity's effectiveness on his farm while bashing the corporate farms and slaughter houses/factories for their ignorance on the way they run their factories and the abuse of integrity on…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For example, in the beginning of the documentary the narrator states: animal agriculture is responsible for 51% of human cause climate changed, 30% of water consumption, 45% of earths land, 91% of amazon destruction, the leading cause of ocean dead zones, habitat loss and species extinction. This is just amazing that animal agriculture is responsible for all of these environmental problems. Just think that all of these problems will be resolved if there was no agriculture. If only people can come to terms of what this will do to help the planet. With the pathos and logos come to a close, it is now to talk about…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Only Way to Have a Cow" by Bill McKibben tries to inform humans to decrease the intake of meat eating and how this habit could harm our environment. Cow would release harmful substance like methane when they fart or belch. These actions could actually lead to a bigger problem, global warming. Turning into vegans could make environment more friendly. Eating grass fed cows are more healthy that eating corn fed cows. However another problem forms, grass fed cows are more expensive then corn fed grass which causes people with low incomes couldn't afford to eat…

    • 97 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bill Mckibben, author and environmentalist, explains why being a vegetarian is beneficial for the environment in the article "The Only Way to Have a Cow." He argues that the manufacturing of corn and beef releases harmful gasses into the atmosphere. Eating less meat would decrease the amount of those gasses and improve the environment. I believe there is some truth to what McKibben is saying but his tone is slightly like that of someone who is or thinks they are superior.…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    watchmen vs dark knight

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Environmental safety is the most important issue to be considered in this modern life. Joseph Pace in this article talks about how Animal-based agriculture is one of the most environmentally destructive industries on the face of the earth.Pace also talks about how the lands would be if people shifted away from meat.He…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    an average quality hay is 24 pounds per head and the hay that they are consuming is 88% dry matter. 1,200 pound cows consume 27 pounds per head per day on an as-fed basis. growing feed crops for livestock consumes 46% of water in the US grass fed is more demanding on the land than grain feed it has more impact on the environment because it takes eight more months for it to be ready to be slaughtered that's more waste and water. It only takes 15 months for grain and 22 month for grass because with grain they get fat faster. the government kills other animals for more land. (wild horses are caught elephants were killed. ) cattle alone eat 45 billions gallons of…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Cowspiracy documentary explores the connections that animal agriculture has to greenhouse gasses, water, land, waste, oceans, rainforest, wildlife, and humanity. Correspondingly, it dispels the myths that attribute the majority of the declines in bio-diversity and deprivations of the ecosystem to the transportation industry instead of the animal agriculture industry. Additionally, it exposes environmentalists’ vast avoidance in the acknowledgement of the effects that cattle production inflicts on the earth. Considering the passionate natures of the central narrators, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, the film is provocative, conscious, and awfully inspiring.…

    • 90 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    • 884 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The Carnivore’s Dilemma”, an essay by Nicolette Hanh Niman, incorporates rhetorical elements, such as logos, ethos, and rhetorical questions, in an attempt to convince the audience that meat itself is not the root of global warming. Written from a rancher’s point of view, the essay relies on studies and logic to prove itself. Niman starts out with a short acknowledgement that the meat industry has a hand in the increasingly noticeable global climate change. She then quickly changes gears, stating that the studies that show the meat industry is a major player in global warming only take the prevailing methods of producing meat into account and spews facts that show the flip side of the food industry.…

    • 884 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Robert Kenner’s documentary, Food Inc., gives insight into operations in the food industry. The documentary depicts the people’s desire for money, with resultant implications characterized by mass production through varying approaches. Indeed, Kenner seeks to sensitize the society on the manner in which animals are exposed to inhumane conditions, severe health conditions that result from mass production in the food industry, and unmoral circumstances under which farmers operate. Whereas various flaws are depicted in the movie, it remains important in relation to societal operations and development. This positional essay provides a critique of Robert…

    • 1595 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Factory farms, large buildings that can house thousands of birds, have grown in popularity because they make raising large numbers of livestock easier and more efficient. (“Factory Farms, Adverse Effects of.”) The availability of feed and the discovery of antibiotics have both helped factory farming grow as an industry. (“Factory Farms, Adverse Effects of.”) Feed has become easier and cheaper to purchase because of the use of synthetic fertilizer and the large numbers of it that are being produced (“Air Quality”). With these advantages though also come disadvantages, like animal cruelty, and pollution to the environment. Factory farms are contributing to deforestation and air and water pollution, domestic livestock produce 60 million tons…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The term ‘Anthropocene’ is used to define the time period in which humans were affecting the earth’s atmosphere. Crutzen and Stoermer (2000) used this term to define the industrial era in which humans were affecting the greenhouse gas concentrations, however Ruddiman (2003) argues that the Anthropocene started thousands of years ago with early agricultural processes and plagues (Ruddiman 2003). Before industrialization there has been evidence to prove that humans had some impact on the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases as there were anomalous values in the concentration levels that didn’t follow the pattern of expected by ‘natural‘ behaviour suggesting that early human activities may have been responsible (Ruddiman 2003). This is as a result of anthropogenic agricultural practices as they involve deforestation and trees and much of the biomass cleared for farming were carbon stores and made up 25% of the world’s carbon stores (Ruddiman 2003) and many of these trees were burnt causing the release of CO2. The draining of wetlands and ploughing of rangelands have also contributed to the increased CO2 in the atmosphere dueto the decomposing of organic carbon(Salinger 2005) The growing of rice and farming of cows also contributes as it releases methane, and as humans…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Much land has been cleared to allow the growing of maize and soya which is required to feed the cattle and due to the amount of feed required China was the world’s largest importer of soya beans in 2008 (Fawssett, Morris and Warren, 2009, p104). However the large scale operation of intensive farming also means that large areas of land are cleared which not only affects the ecosystems and biodiversity of natural habitats but also forces farming communities to seek alternative land or employment. A major environmental impact of intense farming of ruminant livestock is the increasing amount of methane released into the atmosphere through belching and through their manure. It is believed that around 80 million tonnes per annum of methane is emitted this way (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2009) and should the meat consumption continue to grow this will have a serious impact on the environment by additional land clearing for farming but also the release of greenhouse gases which will contribute to an increase in global…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Animal Agriculture Satire

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Animal agriculture is ruining our planet. Scientists say that animal agriculture is responsible for more than 18 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than the combined exhaust gases from all transportation in the world. Therefore, this means that riding your bike, walking or taking the bus will not help if you want to be kind to our earth. Although I do understand that some people might enjoy eating meat and that they might not feel complete without it the consequences of it has no mercy.…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Animal agriculture has an impact impact on the environment. It is estimated it accounts for 75% of greenhouse gas emissions in the developing world(walsh). About two thirds of agricultural land is used to feed livestock(Brooks). This is pretty bad I mean we could be using this land to feed the world; but instead we are using it for what? Bacon.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays