Impakter
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Literature
    • Music
    • Photography
  • Style
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Fashion
    • Foodscape
    • Lifestyle
  • Society
    • Business
    • Environment
    • Foreign Affairs & Politics
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Science
    • Start-up
  • Impact
    • Eco Life
    • Circular Economy
    • COP26
    • CityLife
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Sustainability Series
      • SDGs Series
      • Shape Your Future
      • 2030: Dream or Reality
    • Philanthropy
      • United Nations
      • NGO & Charities
      • Essays
    • Your Voice
      • Empower Earth
      • Empower Equality
  • SUSTAINABILITY INDEX
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Contributors
    • Write for Impakter
    • IMPAKTER Italy
    • Republishing Content
    • Permissions and Copyright
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Literature
    • Music
    • Photography
  • Style
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Fashion
    • Foodscape
    • Lifestyle
  • Society
    • Business
    • Environment
    • Foreign Affairs & Politics
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Science
    • Start-up
  • Impact
    • Eco Life
    • Circular Economy
    • COP26
    • CityLife
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Sustainability Series
      • SDGs Series
      • Shape Your Future
      • 2030: Dream or Reality
    • Philanthropy
      • United Nations
      • NGO & Charities
      • Essays
    • Your Voice
      • Empower Earth
      • Empower Equality
  • SUSTAINABILITY INDEX
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Contributors
    • Write for Impakter
    • IMPAKTER Italy
    • Republishing Content
    • Permissions and Copyright
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Sacred Cow Documentary Makes the Case That Beef is Good for You, the Environment

byJason Woods
February 9, 2021
in Environment, Health, Society
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

This article is part of an editorial collaboration with Heifer International. It was first published on the Heifer International blog. 


Diana Rodgers wants you to know that eating red meat is good for you and, when raised well, good for the environment.

“Cattle have been unfairly scapegoated for our failing health and warming climate,” Rodgers said. “Eliminating livestock from our food system could do more harm than good.”

Rodgers is the producer and director of Sacred Cow, a documentary now streaming on iTunes, Amazon and Vudu that is based on her book by the same name. She is also a registered dietician whose professional opinion is that animal source foods are essential for optimal health, and beef is one of the most nutritious and widely accessible meats available.

“The global dialogue about the future of our food and how to nourish people while being eco-friendly focuses on eating vegan, vegetarian or certainly less meat,” she said. “I challenged that from a nutritional and environmental perspective.”

In the Sacred Cow book, Rodgers and coauthor Robb Wolf use scientific data to demonstrate how animal source foods contribute to healthy diets and a healthy planet. The lessons of the book provide the foundation for the film, which covers topics like the rise of industrialized agriculture and processed foods, the food pyramid, and school lunch menus to show how beef has been unfairly stigmatized. Butchers, professors, former vegans and, particularly, farmers take center stage to make a case for raising cattle.


Related Articles: David Attenborough’s Witness Statement | In Defense of Cows

“The film is really [teaching] lessons about regenerative agriculture through producers,” said Rodgers. As explained in the film, regenerative agriculture is “a practice that uses a diverse mix of animals and plants to mimic, rather than dominate, nature” while repairing the soil and increasing productivity on farms around the world.

To illustrate, the film highlights ranchers using such methods to raise cattle that are regenerating more than a million acres of Chihuahuan Desert back into grasslands without using seeds. When cows are frequently moved to graze in a way that mirrors wild herds of ruminants, their manure, saliva, urine and hoof impacts help promote plant regrowth, and overgrazing is prevented.

Sacred Cow is available on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and other streaming services.

When properly managed, Rodgers says, cattle help farmland mitigate climate change by storing carbon, which leads to improved water cycles. Of course, the majority of the world’s beef is not produced using regenerative agriculture, and one of the main criticisms of the cattle industry is that it contributes to global warming. While Rodgers acknowledges the problems factory farming presents in terms of animal welfare and poor environmental practices, she says the claim that eating less beef would help slow climate change is overblown.

“We don’t have more ruminant animals today in North America than we did in the 1600s before we nearly eliminated the bison,” she said. “They’re different ruminants, but we don’t have more methane-producing bodies out there.”

Sacred Cow also contends that the notion of the cattle industry producing more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry is not accurate. Rodgers points to Environmental Protection Agency data, which show that livestock in the U.S. account for 3.9% of methane emissions, with beef responsible for about half that. Transportation and electricity generation combine for almost 57%. Globally, Rodgers says, livestock account for 5% of direct greenhouse gas emissions compared to 14% for the transportation industry.

Additionally, carbon cycles for livestock are different from fossil fuels. “It’s part of a natural cycle,” Rodgers said. “After 10 years, methane turns into water and carbon dioxide, which then goes into the water cycle and gets reabsorbed by plants. Some of it can get sequestered in the soil. It’s like a balanced equation.”

Infographic provided by Diana Rodgers via www.sacredcow.info.

From a nutritional standpoint, Rodgers argues that animal-sourced foods are essential because they contain a higher density of nutrients, and humans can better break down and utilize those nutrients when compared to plant-based foods. Some vitamins and minerals — like B12 and iron, which account for two of the largest nutrient deficiencies worldwide — are much easier to get from animals. This is particularly important for growing children and low-income families.

“If we want to feed people who are hungry or undernourished, the most nutrient-dense foods are animal source foods,” Rodgers said. “In developing countries, they can’t just go get their B12 supplement at a CVS Pharmacy, right? Most of the world can’t do that. They require animals for their livelihood and nutrition.”

Sacred Cow also tackles the notion that red meat consumption is the driver of serious health problems in the United States like obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

“When we look nutritionally at a country where 70% of people are either overweight or obese, our beef intake is actually pretty low,” Rodgers said. “It’s gone down since 1970. The average American only eats about two ounces of beef per person per day.”

With both iterations of Sacred Cow, Rodgers wants to show that meat isn’t the problem and, in fact, is part of the solution. “I’m hoping to effect some policy and make some noise about regenerative agriculture on a bigger scale with the film,” she said. “Now is the perfect time, with COVID,” Rodgers said. “We really see the disruption in industrial meat supply chains and the value people are placing on more regional food systems and better food in general.”


Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Sacred Cow Main Title — Woman leading goats across green grass. Featured Photo Credit: www.sacredcow.info

 

 

 

Tags: BeefDocumentaryEnvironmentHeifer InternationalSacred Cow
Previous Post

The Periodic Table of Veg, A Great Resource To Make Healthy Food Choices

Next Post

Demand Side of Pandemic: More Investment Needed to Get People On Board

Jason Woods

Jason Woods

Jason Woods is a writer and editor for sustainable development organization Heifer International, where he focuses on storytelling that builds connections, amplifies voices and informs by providing depth. You can find his work at www.heifer.org/blog and the organization’s quarterly World Ark magazine. Previous to his work on the communications side, Woods served as a program officer for Heifer’s Americas Area.

Related Posts

COP28 president oil
Climate Change

Oil Baron Elected President-Designate of COP28: How Has the UN Allowed This? 

January 30, 2023
The Apocalypse Is Just 90 Seconds Away, Says the Doomsday Clock
Politics & Foreign Affairs

The Apocalypse Is Just 90 Seconds Away, Says the Doomsday Clock

January 30, 2023
Tobacco and Lung Cancer: Increasingly Women Are the Primary Victims 
Health

Tobacco and Lung Cancer: Increasingly Women Are the Primary Victims 

January 29, 2023
Next Post
Demand Side of Pandemic: More Investment Needed to Get People On Board

Demand Side of Pandemic: More Investment Needed to Get People On Board

Recent News

U-Turn on Nudity Policy: Are Facebook and Instagram About to ‘Free the Nipple’?

U-Turn on Nudity Policy: Are Facebook and Instagram About to ‘Free the Nipple’?

January 30, 2023
COP28 president oil

Oil Baron Elected President-Designate of COP28: How Has the UN Allowed This? 

January 30, 2023
The Apocalypse Is Just 90 Seconds Away, Says the Doomsday Clock

The Apocalypse Is Just 90 Seconds Away, Says the Doomsday Clock

January 30, 2023
impakter-logo-light

Impakter informs you through the eco news site and empowers your sustainable lifestyle with its eco products marketplace.

Visit here IMPAKTER ECO for your eco products needs.

Registered Office Address

32 Lots Road, London
SW10 0QJ, United Kingdom


IMPAKTER Limited

Company number: 10806931

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

About Us

  • Team
  • Contributors
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Partners

By Audience

  • Lifestyle
  • Green Finance
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Style
  • Impact

Impakter Platforms

  • Media
  • Index

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • ECO Products Shop – Try now!
  • Culture
  • Style
  • Society
  • Impact
  • Sustainability Index
  • About
    • Partners
    • Team
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

Impakter.com uses cookies to enhance your experience when visiting the website and to serve you with advertisements that might interest you. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.