Cows are at the center of some big conversations about the future of food.
How do we feed a growing population? How do we protect the environment? And what role do livestock play in providing nutritious food and supporting communities around the world?
Those questions are at the heart of World Without Cows, a new documentary from filmmakers Michelle Michael and Brandon Whitworth.
After five years of filming across 22 countries and more than 40 locations, the filmmaking team brings together perspectives from farmers, ranchers, scientists and environmental experts to take a closer look at cows and their place in the food system.
Rather than make another film arguing for or against cattle, the filmmakers say they want viewers to take a closer look at the bigger picture.
“The journey showed us that there is no single simple solution to the world’s greatest challenges,” Michael says. “I don’t think the world wants simple answers. It wants a better understanding of how our global food systems work, and that need has never been more urgent than it is right now.”
Cows in the Climate Conversation
Livestock production is under increasing scrutiny as conversations about greenhouse gas emissions, land use and sustainability continue. But cows are more than a number in a climate discussion. They provide food, support rural economies and contribute to agricultural systems in different ways around the world.
World Without Cows explores those different roles across five continents, looking at how cattle fit into food systems and communities in very different parts of the world.
For farmers and ranchers, some of the conversations may feel familiar. Cattle can be discussed in broad terms, while the realities of raising animals vary widely depending on geography, production system and available resources.
Whitworth says the film is meant to open the door for more of those conversations.
“Our hope is that World Without Cows creates a new baseline for how people engage in hard conversations,” Whitworth says. “The film wasn’t made to be an echo chamber. It was made to bring people together to ask difficult questions about complex issues and be open to different perspectives.”
Taking the Conversation on the Road
Beginning in October, World Without Cows is scheduled to travel to select cities across North America, including a large-scale tour through the U.S. heartland. International screenings also are planned across South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, including several places where the filmmakers captured footage.
Many screenings will include panel discussions, giving farmers and ranchers a chance to sit alongside scientists, students, educators, environmental voices and others involved in food and agriculture.
Communities also can request their own screening through a partnership with Gathr, bringing the film to local theaters. The documentary is available in more than 25 languages, helping expand its reach beyond the initial theatrical tour.
“Cows have become a symbol in the climate conversation, but the reality is far more complex,” Lyons says. “By exploring this issue from many angles and in such diverse geographies, the filmmakers give us a much more insightful and hopeful outlook than we might have expected.”
With the film now heading into theaters, World Without Cows is asking viewers to look past the usual arguments and take a closer look at how cows fit into the future of food, agriculture and the planet.
