Ep 26: Environmentalism with Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn

Here at The ChickPeeps we’ve talked about being vegan for the animals and vegan for our health but we haven’t talked about being vegan for the health of humankind and animals together aka. THE ENVIRONMENT! To address this topic, we interview the mastermind filmmakers Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn who put the environmental impact of veganism into focus with their groundbreaking documentary, Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret. In this interview Kip and Keegan expand on the information shared in Cowspiracy and explain precisely what impact one individual can have on the environment by being vegan. Also on this epsiode… Kip and Keegan explain why they are actually ethical vegans. Robbie gets nerdy with Keegan about the true cost of animal agriculture on the environment. ‘Literally anything you could care about in the environmental world, raising animals for food is the primary driver of its destruction, and yet it’s basically overlooked. How organic or grass-fed meat is worse for the environment. Why animal agriculture is also a people problem: ‘If there wasn’t such a demand for meat dairy and eggs in the so-called "developed world", we wouldn’t see these rates of poverty that we see - and starvation and hunger - in the developing [world].’ What difference can one person going vegan actually make? Non-vegan environmentalists: how to talk to hardcore environmentalists who reject veganism. Mangoes from India? Avocados from Mexico? The environmental impact of importing foods from around the world, and do we need to be focusing on local produce? Are almond farms causing drought? ‘This is a movement from the grassroots up, I think it’s going to need to be us hitting a critical mass as vegans and vegetarians and environmentalists and compassionate people.’ Is veganism enough? Kip expands on how else we can be mindful of Mother Earth. Kip and Keegan talk about their exciting upcoming projects. Some listener feedback from the companion pets episode and an unusual ensemble for your cat. CORRECTION: In this episode Keegan mentions that cows can drink 150 gallons of water per day.  He meant to say 150 litres of water per day.  https://www.fas.scot/article/the-importance-of-water/ Links: Check out the documentary: Cowspiracy The Sustainability Secret. Keegan's newest documentary: Running For Good. Meet Your Meat documentary (mentioned by Keegan). Article from listener, Jessica, by the RSPB on how to reduce cat predation. The BirdBeeSafe Collar aka. an excuse to make your cat look like a fluffy clown. Follow Cowspiracy on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Social Media Twitter: @ChickPeepsPod Instagram: @ChickPeepsPod Facebook: @ChickPeepsPodcast Momoko Hill: @oh_momoko Robbie Jarvis: @robbjarvis Tylor Starr: @tylorstarr Evanna Lynch: @msevylynch