Meat the Truth at climate summit in Copenhagen
Dutch climate film offers a fresh view on the climate issue
Copenhagen, 15 December 2009 – Meat the Truth, the very first documentary on livestock farming’s contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases, was invited to the KlimaForum09 in Copenhagen, on December 17th. Marianne Thieme, Member of Parliament in The Netherlands, will be attending and will be taking part in a debate after the screening.
Meat the Truth, presented by the Dutch Party for the Animals’ leader Marianne Thieme, forms an addendum to earlier documentaries on climate change, which failed to address one of the biggest causes of global warming. Numerous reports produced by renowned scientists from the World Watch Institute, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the Profetas project and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), were translated by researchers at the NGPF and the VU University Amsterdam into a concise visual document, which explains the impact of meat consumption on climate change, the use of natural resources and hunger in the world.
The film acts as an erratum to earlier films on climate change, such as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, which while convincingly drawing attention to the issue of global warming, failed to mention one of the most important causes thereof. Meat the Truth demonstrates that worldwide the livestock industry is a far greater cause of global warming than all of the cars, trucks, planes and ships added together. The issues of the impact of livestock farming on water shortages and the unequal distribution of food resources are also raised in this documentary.
At the end of the film, practical solutions to tackle climate change at the level of the individual consumer are presented. The solutions have been calculated by scientists at the VU University Amsterdam and make it pertinently clear just how simple it could be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in large amounts. Here is just one example: if all people in the US decided to eat no meat for three days a week, then they would save almost 300 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. This would have a greater impact on the climate than replacing all US cars with Toyota Prius models. Even if people in the US didn’t eat meat for just one day a week, that would make a huge difference. It would save 99.6 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. This would save 46 million return flights from New York to Los Angeles and back from Los Angeles to New York.
The NGPF is the scientific bureau of the Party for the Animals; the worlds’ very first party for ‘non-humans’ to be represented in parliament. For the documentary Meat the Truth, the producers filmed in Washington DC, Norfolk (Virginia), Seattle and Amsterdam. Many celebrities participated in the making of the film such as Pamela Anderson, Bill Maher, Emily Deschanel, Tony Denison, James Cromwell, Elaine Hendrix, Kate Flannery , Debra Wilson Skelton, Joy Lauren, Esai Morales, Wayne Pacelle, Howard Lyman, and many others. Meat the Truth was produced by Claudine Everaert and Gertjan Zwanikken of Alalena Media Productions. The documentary has been screened all over the world, in countries such as Taiwan, Australia, New-Zealand, Ecuador, Canada, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Singapore, Portugal and the UK, and was translated in 9 different languages: Dutch, Chinese, French, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Slovenian and Italian. At this moment Korean, Turkisch, Gujuradi and German translations are being produced.
The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation believes that the film will make a valuable contribution to the social discussion about a transition to a more plant-based and thus also a more humane society. The NGPF also hopes that the film will provide a showcase for prominent scientific reports, which have thus far proved inaccessible to the general public.
After the screening of MEAT THE TRUTH, Marianne Thieme will take place in a discussion panel. For more information: www.klimaforum.org
MEAT THE TRUTH @ KLIMAFORUM09
Date: December 17th 2009
Screening times: 21:00h
Location: DGI-byen, Green Hall
Address: Tietgensgade 65, 1704, Copenhagen
Website: www.meatthetruth.com
Meat the Truth invited to Copenhagen
Meat the Truth, the very first documentary on livestock farming’s contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases, was invited to the KlimaForum09 in Copenhagen, on December 17th. Klimaforum09 is a climate summit, the global civil society counterpart of the official UN conference (COP15) in the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. Marianne Thieme, Member of Parliament in The Netherlands, will be attending and will be taking part in a debate after the screening.
The documentary has been screened all over the world, in countries such as Taiwan, Australia, New-Zealand, Ecuador, Canada, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Singapore, Portugal and the UK, and was translated in 9 different languages: Chinese, French, Turkish, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Slovenian and Italian. At this moment Korean and German translations are being produced. And there are plans for a Slovenian version.
The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation believes that the film will make a valuable contribution to the social discussion about a transition to a more plant-based and thus also a more humane society. The NGPF also hopes that the film will provide a showcase for prominent scientific reports, which have thus far proved inaccessible to the general public.
After the screening of MEAT THE TRUTH, Marianne Thieme will take place in a discussion panel. For more information: www.klimaforum.org
MEAT THE TRUTH @ KLIMAFOUM09
Date: December 17th 2009
Screening times: 21:00h
Location: DGI-byen, Green Hall
Address: Tietgensgade 65, 1704, Copenhagen
Admission: FREE!
Press requests: m.vandijk@ngpf.nl
Discussion around Worldwatch report
The recent Worldwatch Institute report caused an interesting discussion about the different calculations of the extent of the emissions of greenhouse gases by the livestock farming industry. Henk Westhoek of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) says the WWI wrongfully includes the CO2 emissions through exhalation. Moreover, the effects of methane are spread out over a period of 20 years, whereas many other scientists use a period of 100 years.
We cannot and wish not to take a position in this debate at this moment, as yet we are holding on to the 18% the FAO calculated. We are however pleased that this report boosts the discussion. Whether one would use the 18% of the FAO or the 51% of the Worldwatch Institute, in both cases the livestock farming industry is the largest contributor to climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases.
WWI report: livestock responsible for 51% of greenhouse gases
Meat the Truth was based on the 2006 FAO report, which calculated that livestock farming is responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions world wide. This fact could already be called revolutionary, but in a recent Worldwatch Institute report Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang provide a critical addition to the FAO figures and claim that no less than 51% of the greenhouse gases must be attributed to livestock farming. The authors, both linked to the World Bank Group, point to livestock related greenhouse gas emissions that were not counted before. These figures would make the message of Meat the Truth even more urgent. Click here to read the report.
Meat the Truth huge success in Turin
Last Saturday Meat the Truth was met with great enthusiasm at the CinemAmbiente Environmental Film Festival in Turin, Italy. The film, presented by Marianne Thieme, which demonstates that livestock farming is one of the most important causes of climate change, was officially selected for the twelfth edition of the annual festival.
Marianne Thieme and producer Monique van Dijk had been invited to participate in a debate with the audience after the screening in Cinema Massimo’s large auditorium.
On Sunday evening Meat the Truth was screened in the municipality of Cirié, where the Chairman of Environment attended to introduce the film. The auditorium was completely sold out.
A third screening is planned on the 21st of October during the CinemAmbiente Environmental Film Festival.
Meat the Truth in American news
The American news website The Huffington Post recently posted an article by Mikko Alanne in which he expresses his appreciation of Meat the Truth. The author points out how everybody could make a contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by simply avoiding meat for at least one day a week. Click here to read the article.
Honorable Mention for Meat the Truth in Brazil
Meat the Truth, the climate film presented by Marianne Thieme of the Dutch Party for the Animals, received an Honorable Mention Award in Brazil. The highly acclaimed documentary, which demonstrates livestock farming being one of the biggest causes of global warming, was screened at the 1st International Film Festival for Animal Rights, which took place on August 29th and 30th in Curitiba, Brazil. Meat the Truth was one of the three films to receive an award at the festival.
Meat the Truth received an earlier Honorable Mention Award on November 15th, 2008 from the Film Council of Greater Columbus, during the Columbus International Film and Video Festival in the United States.
The documentary has been screened allover the world, in countries such as Taiwan, Australia, New-Zealand, Ecuador, Canada, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Singapore, Portugal and the UK, and was translated in 6 different languages: Chinese, Croatian, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovenian and Italian. At this moment, Turkish, German and French translations are being produced. The Dutch, English and Portuguese under titled versions are currently placed online for free, to introduce the film to a broad audience: http://www.meatthetruth.nl (Dutch and English version) en http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk7LPUHes8U (Portuguese version).
Meat the Truth is a production by the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation (NGPF), the scientific bureau for the Dutch Party for the Animals.
Meat the Truth on Spanish TV
From 5th -7th June 2009, Meat the Truth was featured at the Emisión Cero Film Festival in Madrid, Spain. On Sunday 7th June, the screening was followed by a debate in which Karen Soeters, director of the NGPF, participated. Meat the Truth drew the attention of the Spanish TV company TVE, which aired an item about the film, including an interview with Karen Soeters. Click ‘read more’ to watch the broadcast.
Premiere Meat the Truth New York great success
On Sunday May 17th the premiere of Meat the Truth in New York attracted a great deal of interest. A total of over 400 people attended the two screenings at the New York Film Academy. Because there were so many people that wanted to see the film, an extra screening had to be added.
Prior to the premiere the annual Veggie Pride Parade took place. Thousands of vegetarians and vegans formed a colourful procession through the streets of the Meatpacking District. Marianne Thieme, Niko Koffeman and Karen Soeters led the way for Meat the Truth with a banner and many volunteers handed out flyers that asked attention for a more vegetarian and animal-friendly way of life. The parade finished at Union Square, where people massed together to hear Marianne Thieme speak. The fact that The Netherlands is the first country to have a political party devoted to animal welfare elected to a national parliament, was met by the crowd with a prolonged applause. In her speech Thieme stressed the huge impact livestock farming has on the environment and climate change.
After the Veggie Pride Parade Karen Soeters, director of the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation, presented the New York premiere of Meat the Truth for an audience of over 400 people. To give everybody a chance to watch the documentary an extra screening was added. The audience reacted to the film with great enthusiasm. For this premiere scientists at the Institute for Environmental Studies of the Free University Amsterdam have calculated the carbon savings that could be achieved in the U.S. as a result of the reduction in meat consumption. After the premiere the visitors seized the chance to discuss these carbon savings tables with Marianne Thieme. The tables show for example that if all Americans would stop eating meat for 1 day a week, this would result in the same carbon savings as taking 19.2 million cars off the road, or 99.6 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Screening Meat the Truth as side event during United Nations conference in New York
On Wednesday May 13th at 4 pm the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation will present Meat the Truth as a side event during the 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, a United Nations conference on sustainable agriculture that will be attended by Marianne Thieme, Dutch MP for the Party for the Animals. This screening is also a preview for the big New York premiere of Meat the Truth on Sunday May 17th.