Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret Page #8

The Climate Reality Project?

Was this truth just too inconvenient

for even him?

I felt let down by the man

who inspired me on this entire path.

I knew I needed to talk

to an animal agriculture lobby group...

...to see what they had to say.

If they could silence the government,

are they influencing...

...and possibly have connections

to these environmental groups as well?

Animal Agriculture Alliance,

one of the biggest livestock lobby groups...

...has agreed to an interview.

Greenpeace won't give us an interview...

...but Animal Agriculture Alliance

has agreed to an interview.

Now, that...

Now, that is saying something.

People hear the word GMOs,

and that's a really scary term.

Agriculture's kind of struggled to explain

what that means, but in reality...

...what we've done is to use technology

to make advancements...

...in how we raise crops

and how we raise animals.

We're not gonna feed the world

going back to how it was 100 years ago...

...where all the animals were,

you know, pasture-fed.

We didn't just move animals inside

and just implement...

...these large vertically-integrated

systems because of sustainability.

It certainly reduces

the environmental impact...

...while improving animal well-being

and food safety.

So you're saying that animals like it

just as much being inside...

...say, the chickens and the cows

like being just as much inside...

...as pasture grass-fed?

In a lot of cases, it's been a significant

improvement in their well-being...

...just in terms of the amount of care

they can get, individualized care.

Does the meat and dairy industry

ever support...

...or donate

to environmental non-profits?

I don't know that I would want

to comment on that.

Yeah, I... I don't...

I don't know.

I don't know that we would know

what they donate to.

Does meat and dairy industry ever support

or donate to, say, Greenpeace?

Again, I don't know

that I would feel comfortable...

Hey, sorry we didn't

get back to you earlier.

I have some bad news.

We are no longer able

to fund your film project.

We had a meeting and due to the growing

controversial subject matter...

...we have some concerns

and have to pull out.

Why was this subject so controversial?

The first person I could think to speak with

was Howard Lyman...

...who had been sued by cattlemen

for simply speaking the truth...

...about animal agriculture

on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

I was born on the largest dairy farm

in the state of Montana in 1938.

Grew up my entire life

on a livestock farm.

Grew up my entire life

on a livestock farm.

Went to Montana State University,

got a degree in Agriculture.

Came back and started

a mega agriculture endeavor...

...where I had 10,000 acres of crop...

...7000 head of cattle...

...and about 30 employees.

Solspent45 years of my life

in animal agriculture.

And so I've been there, done that.

When I was on The Oprah Show,

we had the food disparagement law.

Now, the food disparagement law,

in my opinion, was unconstitutional...

...but what it basically said,

that it was against the law...

...to say something you knew to be false

about a perishable commodity.

I didn't say anything on The Oprah Show

I thought to be false.

I went there and told the truth.

Now, it took five years

and hundreds of thousands of dollars...

...to end up extricating myself...

...from the suits from the cattle industry.

But if I was to go

on The Oprah Show today...

...say exactly the same thing today

that I said back then...

...I would be guilty.

And for me, when they were talking

about the food disparagement law...

...it was the fact of whether

I told the truth or not.

You can go today and tell the truth...

...and you will be guilty...

...because if you cause a disruption...

...in the profits of the animal industry...

...you're guilty under the Patriot Act.

Do you think there should be any concern

of us making this documentary?

Of course.

If you don't realize right now...

...that you're putting your neck

on the chopping block...

...you know, you better take that camera

and throw it away.

Animal agriculture is one of

the most powerful industries on the planet.

I think most people in this country

are aware of the influence...

...of money and industry on politics,

and we really see that clearly on display...

...with this industry in particular.

Most would be shocked to learn that animal

rights and environmental activists...

...are the number one domestic terrorism

threat according to the FBl.

- And why is that?

- It's difficult to answer...

...why these groups are at the top

of the FBI's priorities.

I think a big part of it is that they...

...more than really

any other social movements today...

...are directly threatening

corporate profits.

You know, when we try to find out

how factory farms...

...and how animal agriculture

is polluting the environment...

...they try to claim exemptions

to that information...

...either under national security terms

or public safety.

Trademark issues.

It's a business secret.

All these attempts to keep people

in the dark...

...about what they're actually doing.

One of the largest industries on the planet

with the biggest environmental impact...

...keeping us in the dark

about how it's operating.

Through the Freedom of Information Act,

we obtained documents...

...from the counter-terrorism unit...

...that show they're

monitoring my lectures...

...media interviews, like this one,

my website, my book.

Are we at risk filming this

and showing it?

You're going up against people

that have massive legal resources.

I mean, it's just overwhelming,

the amount of money at their disposal.

And you have nothing.

And I think that fear is a big part

of the tactic as well.

Will was right.I was scared.

When I learned about activists

being killed in Brazil...

...I was disturbed, but I felt removed.

But to learn about American

activists and journalists...

...being targeted

by the industry and FBl?

My funding being dropped?

I was genuinely worried

and hit close to home.

Was this why no one was willing

to talk about the issue?

I decided to take precautionary measures

with all the footage I shot.

I was beyond frightened to imagine

what could possibly happen...

...if I pursued this subject any further.

It seemed the only decision to make was

to put down the cameras and walk away.

But then I realized

this issue was way bigger...

...than any personal concern

I could ever have for myself.

This was about all life on Earth

hanging in the balance of our actions.

Now you either live for something,

or die for nothing.

And I actually had no choice all along.

I decided to surrender

not to fear from the secret...

...but rather to a cause towards truth.

I couldn't be like these

environmental organizations...

...and sit silently while the planet

was eaten alive right in front of our eyes.

I had to stand up and continue on.

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