Are Burgers Ruining the World? 'Cowspiracy' Documentary Says 'Yes'

“Cowspiracy,” a documentary exploring the affect of animal agriculture on the environment, will be shown in Royal Oak and Ann Arbor next month.

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VegMichigan is sponsoring two local showings of “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret,” filmmaker Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn’s feature-length documentary that explores the effect of animal agriculture on the environment and what Andersen says is environmental groups’ unwillingness to address them.

Southeast Michigan residents have two opportunities to see the film on Tuesday, Oct. 28:

• Landmark Main Art Theater, Royal Oak, 118 N. Main St., 7:30-9:30 p.m.
• Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, 603 E. Liberty St., 7-9 p.m.

The film premiered in San Francisco in June. Kate Irwin, in her review for The Daily Californian, said that “what’s shocking about ‘Cowspiracy’ is that while some are aware of the detrimental impact eating animals has on our environment, many of the world’s largest and most famous nonprofit environmental organizations suppress, do not acknowledge or are ignorant of this basic truth.”

“Despite its depressing and at times grim subject matter, film directors Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn construct the documentary to mirror Andersen’s individual journey as he begins to question the world around him after watching Al Gore’s famous film ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’ After realizing that Gore ignores the No. 1 contributor to climate change, Andersen takes it upon himself to craft a film that exposes what Gore’s does not.”

Tell Us:

• Truth or hyperbole? Have documentaries such as this one and others exploring food production practices changed your eating habits?

Seating is limited, so VegMichigan encourages those who want to see it to order tickets early. You can do that here.

In his film, Andersen interviews and cites sources who call animal agriculture the most destructive on the planet today.

You can fact check sources here, but in general, the research suggests “animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean ‘dead zones’ and virtually every other environmental ill,” according to promotional materials.

“Yet it goes on,” Andersen says, “almost entirely unchallenged.”

Here are some reviews of the film:

• Burgers Are Ending the World, Says ‘Cowspiracy’
• More Meat, More Problems in ‘Cowspiracy’
• “Cowspiracy The Sustainability Secret” Video Hits a Homerun