A Complete Debunk of Every Cowspiracy Statistic
Greenhouse Gases
Cowspiracy Claims: “Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.” “Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions." Farming Truth:
Agriculture as a whole, including livestock and crop production, is responsible for only 13.5% of all world greenhouse gases. Also, a new technology is being used that filters the methane into a generator, and extracts the energy from it, yielding electricity. Whole farms are being self-run with energy left over to sell to households. |
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Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Cowspiracy Claim:
“Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.”
Farming Truth:
It is true that agriculture is responsible for the majority of nitrous oxide emissions. In the US, it’s actually responsible for 79%. However, the biggest bulk of this comes from the application of synthetic fertilizers… ironically something that can be prevented by using natural fertilizer from cattle manure. The amount of nitrous oxide emissions that come from livestock is actually around 4-6%.
Sources:
Cowspiracy Claim:
“Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.”
Farming Truth:
It is true that agriculture is responsible for the majority of nitrous oxide emissions. In the US, it’s actually responsible for 79%. However, the biggest bulk of this comes from the application of synthetic fertilizers… ironically something that can be prevented by using natural fertilizer from cattle manure. The amount of nitrous oxide emissions that come from livestock is actually around 4-6%.
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Water Consumption
Cowspiracy Claims:
“Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually.”
“Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption.”
“2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.”
“477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs; almost 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.”
“1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.”
“5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture.”
“Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.”
Farming Truth:
Please define consumed. Do you mean how much water is preserved all the way to the final product? Because over 70% of beef is water, chicken is 66% water, 74% of eggs are water, and milk is 87% water. Do you mean how much water is excreted out by the animals? Because, the majority of the time, that output is recycled as natural fertilizer, which is an eco-friendlier alternative to harmful synthetic fertilizers. As I previously discussed, synthetic fertilizer application is responsible for 75% of all nitrous oxide emissions in the US, but it is also more easily washed into streams as a pollutant. This isn’t even taking into account the harms of artificial fertilizer production. Or do you mean the water that is irrigated to feedcrops? Because that water is directly transferred into energy that ends up in the animal’s tissues (which end up on our plate), or that water is evaporated, and continues to undergo the water cycle.
Cowspiracy Claims:
“Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually.”
“Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption.”
“2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.”
“477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs; almost 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.”
“1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.”
“5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture.”
“Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.”
Farming Truth:
Please define consumed. Do you mean how much water is preserved all the way to the final product? Because over 70% of beef is water, chicken is 66% water, 74% of eggs are water, and milk is 87% water. Do you mean how much water is excreted out by the animals? Because, the majority of the time, that output is recycled as natural fertilizer, which is an eco-friendlier alternative to harmful synthetic fertilizers. As I previously discussed, synthetic fertilizer application is responsible for 75% of all nitrous oxide emissions in the US, but it is also more easily washed into streams as a pollutant. This isn’t even taking into account the harms of artificial fertilizer production. Or do you mean the water that is irrigated to feedcrops? Because that water is directly transferred into energy that ends up in the animal’s tissues (which end up on our plate), or that water is evaporated, and continues to undergo the water cycle.
Sources:
- http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/42a903e2-451d-40ea-897a-22dc74ef6e1c/Water_in_Meats.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
- http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/aitc/lessons/extras/facts/chickegg.html
- http://ansci.illinois.edu/static/ansc438/Milkcompsynth/milkcomp_water.html
- http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/using-manure-and-compost/
- http://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/ag/watercycle
Land Usage
Cowspiracy Claims:
“Livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land.”
“Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.”
“2-5 acres of land are used per cow.”
“15x more protein on any given area of land with plants, rather than animals.”
“Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year: Vegan: 1/6th acre, Vegetarian: 3x as much as a vegan, Meat Eater: 18x as much as a vegan.”
“1.5 acres can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food. 1.5 acres can produce 375 pounds of meat.”
“Nearly half of the contiguous US is devoted to animal agriculture.”
The Farming Truth:
Only 40% of the world’s agricultural land is usable for crop production. That means that livestock species can graze pastureland that, for whatever reason (i.e. too rocky, not enough nutrients, dense with trees, wrong climatic conditions), can’t sustain crop harvests, and turn it into usable food or fiber. Additionally, these statistics are only talking about food, and conveniently leave out all the byproducts we get from animals. They also are very misleading because it does not include a time element, which someone who is not familiar with farming practices would not understand at first. What do I mean? There is only a limited season for crop production: typically 3 months of harvest per year, per crop. The other eight months, those crop fields lay dormant because you can only plant one type of seed. However, livestock is a year-round harvest. Dairy cattle are milked all year long (except for when females are let out to be bred, but they aren’t all bred at the same time to keep production going), swine can have three litters a year, and chickens lay eggs multiple times a week, sometimes even daily.
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Cowspiracy Claims:
“Livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land.”
“Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.”
“2-5 acres of land are used per cow.”
“15x more protein on any given area of land with plants, rather than animals.”
“Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year: Vegan: 1/6th acre, Vegetarian: 3x as much as a vegan, Meat Eater: 18x as much as a vegan.”
“1.5 acres can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food. 1.5 acres can produce 375 pounds of meat.”
“Nearly half of the contiguous US is devoted to animal agriculture.”
The Farming Truth:
Only 40% of the world’s agricultural land is usable for crop production. That means that livestock species can graze pastureland that, for whatever reason (i.e. too rocky, not enough nutrients, dense with trees, wrong climatic conditions), can’t sustain crop harvests, and turn it into usable food or fiber. Additionally, these statistics are only talking about food, and conveniently leave out all the byproducts we get from animals. They also are very misleading because it does not include a time element, which someone who is not familiar with farming practices would not understand at first. What do I mean? There is only a limited season for crop production: typically 3 months of harvest per year, per crop. The other eight months, those crop fields lay dormant because you can only plant one type of seed. However, livestock is a year-round harvest. Dairy cattle are milked all year long (except for when females are let out to be bred, but they aren’t all bred at the same time to keep production going), swine can have three litters a year, and chickens lay eggs multiple times a week, sometimes even daily.
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Ocean Extinction
Cowspiracy Claims: “Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.” “Livestock operations on land have created more than 500 nitrogen flooded deadzones around the world in our oceans.” “Largest mass extinction in 65 million years.” The Farming Truth: I’ll address deforestation in a different section, so these sources are all directed towards ocean dead zones. This topic actually has no logical basis, and there is no mention of livestock being a cause of these issues in the sources that Cowspiracy lists. The majority of livestock operations are all inland, nowhere near oceans or large rivers that could transport waste to large bodies of water. Also, manure is handled in an extremely careful manner: being stored in a lagoon lined with non-penetrable fabrics until it is pumped out. This is exercised not only for environmental concerns, but also because manure is a huge economic asset in the form of natural fertilizer, bedding, and even energy! |
Sources:
- http://runoffinfo.uwex.edu/pdf/farm.lomanure.pdf
- http://www.grida.no/geo/GEO/Geo-2-260.htm (where the map came from)
Waste
Cowspiracy Claims:
“Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.”
“A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.”
“130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually. 5 tons of animal waste is produced per person in the US.”
“In the U.S. livestock produce 116,000 lbs of waste per second.”
“Animals produce Enough waste to cover SF, NYC, Tokyo, etc.
Farming Truths:
I’ve already covered this twice, so, just to reiterate, livestock waste is one of the most valuable products that comes from these animals, because it can be used for fertilizer, animal bedding, and energy.
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Cowspiracy Claims:
“Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.”
“A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.”
“130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually. 5 tons of animal waste is produced per person in the US.”
“In the U.S. livestock produce 116,000 lbs of waste per second.”
“Animals produce Enough waste to cover SF, NYC, Tokyo, etc.
Farming Truths:
I’ve already covered this twice, so, just to reiterate, livestock waste is one of the most valuable products that comes from these animals, because it can be used for fertilizer, animal bedding, and energy.
Sources:
Aquaculture
Cowspiracy Claims:
“3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.”
“We could see fishless oceans by 2048.”
“90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year.”
“As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.”
“For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.”
“As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.”
“Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.”
“40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.”
Farming Truths:
These statistics are also completely false and are not reflected in the sources Cowspiracy lists. For example, the statistic that says that 40% of fish caught aren’t used is not true. The sources actually say that 40% of fish caught are bycatch, which means it’s not the species that the fishermen were intended to catch. However, even these species still have a purpose. Another of Cowspiracy’s sources says that for every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 lbs of another marine species are also captured. It’s important to remember that “marine species” also includes plants. Even so, the source under that says that unintended bycatch has decreased to a quarter of the amount since those measurements were taken. Pertaining to the excessive amount of fish we are getting out of the oceans, these numbers are being decreased by fisheries and species conservation laws.
Sources:
Cowspiracy Claims:
“3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.”
“We could see fishless oceans by 2048.”
“90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year.”
“As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.”
“For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.”
“As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.”
“Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.”
“40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.”
Farming Truths:
These statistics are also completely false and are not reflected in the sources Cowspiracy lists. For example, the statistic that says that 40% of fish caught aren’t used is not true. The sources actually say that 40% of fish caught are bycatch, which means it’s not the species that the fishermen were intended to catch. However, even these species still have a purpose. Another of Cowspiracy’s sources says that for every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 lbs of another marine species are also captured. It’s important to remember that “marine species” also includes plants. Even so, the source under that says that unintended bycatch has decreased to a quarter of the amount since those measurements were taken. Pertaining to the excessive amount of fish we are getting out of the oceans, these numbers are being decreased by fisheries and species conservation laws.
Sources:
- http://oceana.org/reports/wasted-catch-unsolved-problems-us-fisheries (from Cowspiracy)
- http://www.fao.org/docrep/W6602E/w6602E09.htm (from Cowspiracy)
Deforestation
Cowspiracy Claims:
“Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.”
“The leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feedcrops.”
“136 million rainforest acres cleared for animal agriculture.”
Farming Truth:
These statistics have no basis in truth, and it’s no surprise that the only scholarly source they included in their facts sheet is no longer working. The reality is that land that was previously home to tropical rainforests is not suitable for agriculture. The reason for this is that so much moisture is in the soil that it leeches out all of the nutrients. Although it’s true that, due to the dead organic matter that’s left behind from the trees and animals, the soil will be fertile for the first few years, deforested land cannot sustain more than four years of crop production. For large scale producers that would export grain to first world countries for livestock, this is completely impractical as it is a waste of time, money, and resources. I also feel compelled to point out that the rainforests play a huge role in climatic circulation, and destroying them will hurt farmers of the future. Believe me when I say that current producers take this very seriously, and are, for the most part, against deforestation as a whole.
Sources:
Cowspiracy Claims:
“Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.”
“The leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feedcrops.”
“136 million rainforest acres cleared for animal agriculture.”
Farming Truth:
These statistics have no basis in truth, and it’s no surprise that the only scholarly source they included in their facts sheet is no longer working. The reality is that land that was previously home to tropical rainforests is not suitable for agriculture. The reason for this is that so much moisture is in the soil that it leeches out all of the nutrients. Although it’s true that, due to the dead organic matter that’s left behind from the trees and animals, the soil will be fertile for the first few years, deforested land cannot sustain more than four years of crop production. For large scale producers that would export grain to first world countries for livestock, this is completely impractical as it is a waste of time, money, and resources. I also feel compelled to point out that the rainforests play a huge role in climatic circulation, and destroying them will hurt farmers of the future. Believe me when I say that current producers take this very seriously, and are, for the most part, against deforestation as a whole.
Sources:
Predator Control
Cowspiracy Claim:
“USDA predator killing of wild animals to protect livestock.”
Farming Truth:
The fact that farmers kill wild animals to protect their harvest is not only subject to livestock production. Crop farmers actually do much more predator control compared to livestock raisers. A local example to the US that I’m sure many are far too familiar with is feral hogs. These creatures are often put on bounty meaning counties will pay people for killing the varmints because they root up fields hundreds of acres at a time. America is home to more than 5 million feral hogs that travel along rivers… the land where the most fertile soil is for farming. Other examples of pesky animals that are hunted/exterminated to prevent them from eating the harvests include deer, mice, prairie dogs, ground hogs, armadillo, bison, and wild mustangs.
Sources:
Cowspiracy Claim:
“USDA predator killing of wild animals to protect livestock.”
Farming Truth:
The fact that farmers kill wild animals to protect their harvest is not only subject to livestock production. Crop farmers actually do much more predator control compared to livestock raisers. A local example to the US that I’m sure many are far too familiar with is feral hogs. These creatures are often put on bounty meaning counties will pay people for killing the varmints because they root up fields hundreds of acres at a time. America is home to more than 5 million feral hogs that travel along rivers… the land where the most fertile soil is for farming. Other examples of pesky animals that are hunted/exterminated to prevent them from eating the harvests include deer, mice, prairie dogs, ground hogs, armadillo, bison, and wild mustangs.
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Antibiotics
Cowspiracy Claim:
“80% of antibiotic sold in the US are for livestock.”
Farming Truth:
There is a common misconception that there are antibiotics in food that comes from animals. The truth is that there is no antibiotics in any food you get from any agricultural product, whether it’s milk, chicken, pork, beef, or eggs. Another thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that, in 2013, the FDA made it illegal to use antibiotics or synthetic hormones with the intent of growth production. This is enforced by making the only way to obtain antibiotics be through a certified veterinarian. Now, the only time antibiotics are used is whenever an animal is sick or injured and needs the medicine to get better.
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Cowspiracy Claim:
“80% of antibiotic sold in the US are for livestock.”
Farming Truth:
There is a common misconception that there are antibiotics in food that comes from animals. The truth is that there is no antibiotics in any food you get from any agricultural product, whether it’s milk, chicken, pork, beef, or eggs. Another thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that, in 2013, the FDA made it illegal to use antibiotics or synthetic hormones with the intent of growth production. This is enforced by making the only way to obtain antibiotics be through a certified veterinarian. Now, the only time antibiotics are used is whenever an animal is sick or injured and needs the medicine to get better.
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World Hunger
Cowspiracy Claims:
“We are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people.”
“Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock.”
“82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.”
Farming Truth:
It’s a common misconception that the food we are feeding to livestock is enough to feed the hungry. The reality is, however, that we already do produce enough food to feed the world’s population… and have some left over! In the US, for instance, farmers produce enough food to feed 140% of the American population, yet over 16% of that population faces hunger. Additionally, very little of what is fed to livestock is actually fit for human consumption. Most of it is seeds such as corn seed and cotton seed. There is some whole soybean and sugarcane (in the form of molasses), but products from animals that consumed these can be easily avoided by being educated about the nutrition of the livestock owned by farmers. If you account for the number of excess crops that would have to be produced if we went on a vegan diet (remember that we get a lot more than just food from livestock), than our current methods seem very sustainable in comparison.
Sources:
Cowspiracy Claims:
“We are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people.”
“Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock.”
“82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.”
Farming Truth:
It’s a common misconception that the food we are feeding to livestock is enough to feed the hungry. The reality is, however, that we already do produce enough food to feed the world’s population… and have some left over! In the US, for instance, farmers produce enough food to feed 140% of the American population, yet over 16% of that population faces hunger. Additionally, very little of what is fed to livestock is actually fit for human consumption. Most of it is seeds such as corn seed and cotton seed. There is some whole soybean and sugarcane (in the form of molasses), but products from animals that consumed these can be easily avoided by being educated about the nutrition of the livestock owned by farmers. If you account for the number of excess crops that would have to be produced if we went on a vegan diet (remember that we get a lot more than just food from livestock), than our current methods seem very sustainable in comparison.
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