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Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

  • 2014
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
27K
YOUR RATING
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer2:14
1 Video
99+ Photos
Documentary

Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustaina... Read allFollow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.

  • Directors
    • Kip Andersen
    • Keegan Kuhn
  • Writers
    • Kip Andersen
    • Keegan Kuhn
  • Stars
    • Bruce Hamilton
    • Kip Andersen
    • Al Gore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    27K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Kip Andersen
      • Keegan Kuhn
    • Writers
      • Kip Andersen
      • Keegan Kuhn
    • Stars
      • Bruce Hamilton
      • Kip Andersen
      • Al Gore
    • 137User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:14
    Trailer

    Photos99

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    + 96
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    Top cast46

    Edit
    Bruce Hamilton
    Bruce Hamilton
    • Self - Sierra Club, Deputy Executive Director
    Kip Andersen
    Kip Andersen
    • Self - Film Co-Director
    Al Gore
    Al Gore
    • Self - Former U.S. Vice President
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Heather Cooley
    Heather Cooley
    • Self - Pacific Institute, Water Program Co-Director
    Manucher Alemi
    Manucher Alemi
    • Self - CA Dept. Water Resources, Chief, Water Use and Efficiency Branch
    Kamyar Guivetchi
    Kamyar Guivetchi
    • Self - CA Dept. Water Resources, Statewide Integrated Water Management
    Richard Oppenlander
    Richard Oppenlander
    • Self - Environmental Researcher - Author, 'Food Choices and Sustainability (as Dr. Richard Oppenlander)
    Kirk R. Smith
    Kirk R. Smith
    • Self - Professor of Global Environmental Health, University of California Berkeley
    Demosthenes Maratos
    Demosthenes Maratos
    • Self - The Sustainability Institute, at Molloy College
    Will Tuttle
    Will Tuttle
    • Self - Environmental and Ethics Author (as Dr. Will Tuttle)
    Michael Pollan
    Michael Pollan
    • Self - Best Selling Food Author, 'In Defense of Food'
    Michael Besancon
    Michael Besancon
    • Self - Former Whole Foods Market Executive
    Chad Nelsen
    Chad Nelsen
    • Self - Surfrider Foundation, Environmental Director (as Dr. Chaed Nelsen)
    Lisa Agabian
    Lisa Agabian
    • Self - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
    Lauren Ornelas
    Lauren Ornelas
    • Self - Food Empowerment Project, Executive Director
    Susan Hartland
    Susan Hartland
    • Self - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
    Geoff Shester
    Geoff Shester
    • Self - Oceana, California Program Director (as Dr. Geoff Shester)
    Lindsey Allen
    Lindsey Allen
    • Self - Rainforest Action Network, Executive Director
    • Directors
      • Kip Andersen
      • Keegan Kuhn
    • Writers
      • Kip Andersen
      • Keegan Kuhn
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews137

    8.127K
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    Featured reviews

    10meltinzone

    Been a Vegeterian since I watched Earthlings around 2007. Today I'm vegan.

    Not like a normal review, read another to find out about the film! This time it's just praise!

    Excellent documentary. This will quickly become a key issue if we all talk about it and share it with others. For every person that makes any change to their diet, the better off we all are. Imagine if right now all omnivores became overnight vegetarians? That's a huge step in the right direction, what if all the vegetarians became overnight vegans? Also the only 1 star review as of December 2nd 2014 was from a new account, every other review (6 others, mine makes it 8 total reviews) was 10 stars. I personally was told about this film and was encouraged to watch it, so glad I did.

    Unlike the Earthlings that was just horrible to watch all the cruelty, this documentary still makes you angry, while only a few really hard scenes to stomach or look away from for a few seconds. *Warning ducks* Give it a watch, share it and let's make a difference, *psst our generation out numbers those old dying baby boomers, so the earth is literally in our hands, not the hands of old people who don't know about the amount of power the sharing internet has!
    10runamokprods

    A doc that just may effect how you live

    Wow. This unassuming, even occasionally goofy documentary packs one hell of a punch. It aims to be a sort of follow up to "An Inconvenient Truth". But in some ways this is arguably an even more powerful film.

    It asks a couple of simple questions, and finds answers that are so disturbing that it's the rare film that had an immediate impact on my behavior. Basically the film asks "how much does modern animal farming contribute to global warming and other pollution problems?" And the answer is, more than cars, trucks, planes and all other transportation combined. Maybe a LOT more depending on what metrics you use. It also asks, 'given these facts, why are no major environmental groups aggressively trying to change how we farm and eat, the way they're trying to change how we drive or power our houses? ' The answers are several and disturbing, and there's a bit of the thriller in how the filmmakers get sources to explain, or more chillingly suddenly clam up on camera as they realize what's being asked.

    At times the film seems so personal and home-grown that I might have tended to dismiss it as the work of someone on the fringe, but doing some follow up reading it became clear that all this is pretty well grounded in solid science. (There are a some controversial claims here, but what becomes clear on further looking is that the basic points are hard to dismiss. For example, there's a review on here questioning the film's numbers about the greenhouse effect of methane. But if you go to the film's website, they list almost all the claims in the film, explain where they come from, and give links to the paper or article. In the case of methane it's from a NASA study on the upper atmosphere -- hardly some wild eyed fringe group.)

    And some of the facts themselves are rather astounding. In a world short of clean water, do you really feel OK eating a burger that takes 660 gallons of clean water to produce?

    Like all the best 'issue' documentaries, this will likely leave you examining your own lifestyle choices in a new light. What more can one ask from a 85 minute film?
    10beee5-137-546322

    Google Movie 10/10. You have to watch.

    This should be seen by everyone. By very taboo that this is, not only on the internet but as the people around us, why not for a long time something will change, for better or for worse but will change, and the choice will not pass through the big multi-nationals, but by the choices of each A documentary not lose without a doubt! Excellent movie you have to watch and get the knowledge. The planet's most destructive industry, Governments and environmental organizations strive to conceal from the public the real cause of climate change and global warming. Good Movie. 10/10. A documentary that everyone should see and reflect .... I'm honest, I'm not able to stop eating steak and burgers but I think one day, my children or my grandchildren (if you have them), will be forced to do without this luxury ... As this documentary explained so well, it's impossible to go on like this!?!

    A real open eyes, which make me search for sustainable food or a vegetarian..
    8Giz_Medium

    Animal liberation as environmental action.

    Probably one of the most interesting documentary on the subject of environmental protection I've gotten to watch in years. the documentary is about the taboo of animal husbandry's impact on climate change through the three-fold of gas-emitions, deforestation and water polution. the film-makers cover the subject, the impossibility of any type of animal husbandry to become sustainable, as well as the unwillingless of NGO's to mention the subject in their campaigns. It then goes on with possible answers to the question of self-censorship, mostly through the legal crackdown on any opposition to the meat & dairy industry through the animal enterprise terrorism act. The soundtrack is by Keegan Kuhn a.k.a xTrue Naturex. In a sense, I also enjoyed the movie for bringing up environmental reasons to be vegan, which could help making sense to a lot of people for whom the ethical reason of not considering any being as properties, and bridge lifestyle change with social change again.
    10susan-225

    Courageous Eye-Opener to the #1 Environmental Problem: Animal Agriculture

    This is a major movie event, a real eye opener, documenting why animal agriculture is the #1 contributor to greenhouse gases, the #1 environmental problem , the leading cause of rain forest destruction and habitat loss, creating massive amounts of untreated waste and using far more of our precious aquifers than if we all simply ate a plant-based diet.

    It's not a message most meat eaters and dairy users want to hear, as it's not easy to eat vegan in a culture so oriented to meat consumption. And it's not a message environmental groups acknowledge, a mystery explored by this courageous film maker. After learning that over 1100 activists were murdered in Brazil after protesting conversion of rain forests to animal agriculture, he considered putting the lid on this project.

    But it was too important not to get the message out, he realized. The answer to so many environmental problems is right in front of us. It costs nothing, can be implemented today and simply requires people to switch to a plant based diet, which could amply feed several times our current population with the same production as today.

    One of the most startling statements of the film was this: even if we stopped all systems of transportation (cars, trains, trucks, planes etc.) and turned off our utilities, we would still have irreversible damage from global warming, so long as we continued to raise so many animals for food.

    The take away from this film is, go ahead and conserve energy, put solar on your roof, change to LED light bulbs, minimize long trips. But first, switch to a plant-based diet.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Co-director Kip Andersen became obsessed with (saving) the environment after seeing Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth (2006), eventually leading up to this documentary.
    • Quotes

      Howard Lyman: Do what you can do as well as you can do it every day of your life and you will end up dying one of the happiest individuals that ever ever died.

    • Connections
      Featured in Days of Revolt: The Assault of the Animal Agriculture Industry (2016)

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    FAQ13

    • How long is Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 15, 2015 (Argentina)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Instagram
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Cowspiracy
    • Production companies
      • A.U.M. Films
      • First Spark Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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