12 Reasons Why ‘Cowspiracy’ Is the Next ‘Blackfish’

With California’s drought reaching near-crisis proportions, governor Jerry Brown has ordered mandatory water use reductions for the first time in history.

Just as Blackfish changed the game for animals in captivity, the documentary Cowspiracy has done the same for environmentalists. Here’s a look at 12 reasons from the documentary Cowspiracy why the best way to solve drought problems worldwide is by going vegan.

1. There are 7 billion people on the planet and 70 billion animals used for food.

Population Boom

2. Here’s how much food and water 7 billion humans consume, compared to just 1.5 billion cows.

Food and Water Usage

Humans: 5.2 billion gallons of water and 21 billion pounds of food Cows: 45 billion gallons of water and 135 billion pounds of food

3. Animal agriculture uses 55 percent of the water in the U.S.

Water Use by Animal Agriculture

Meanwhile, California is facing an unprecedented drought.

4. If you follow California’s recommendations for saving water, you’ll save 47 gallons a day.

Water Saved from Efficient Appliances

5. But it takes 660 gallons of water to produce 1/4 pound of hamburger meat.

Burger Water Use

And it takes 1,000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk.

6. Worldwide, the meat and dairy industries use 30 percent of our fresh water every day.

Water Used to Make a Burger

And water isn’t the only problem.

7. By some estimates, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all of the world’s transportation systems combined.

Industrial Smoke Stacks

8. Cows produce about 150 billion gallons of methane per day.

Overcrowded Cows

Methane is 25 to 100 times more damaging to the atmosphere than CO2.

9. Forty-five percent of the Earth’s land mass is used for animal agriculture.

Cows on Deforested Land

And nearly half of the continental U.S. is used for it, too.

10. Animal agriculture is directly responsible for 91 percent of Amazon rain-forest destruction

A Burnt Forrest

11. 136 million acres of the rain forest have been cleared for cattle grazing and growing feed crops.

Deforestation

And we lose another acre every single second.

12. Animal agriculture is the number one cause of species extinction, ocean “dead zones,” water pollution, and deforestation.

The meat, egg, and dairy industries are destroying the planet. So why are hardly ANY environmental groups talking about it? If you think more people need to see how they’re being misled, you can help. Just go to Tugg.com to find or organize your own screening of Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret. The more people who see this vitally important film, the faster we can save animals, people, AND the planet.

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