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The
Facts About Eating Animal Products...
by John Robbins, author
of "Diet for a New America" and founder of Earthsave International.
The Hunger Argument:
Number of People worldwide
who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who
could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced meat
intake by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America:
243 million
Number of people who
could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by US livestock: 1.3 billion
Percentage of corn
grown in US eaten by people: 20%
Percentage of corn
grown in US eaten by livestock: 80%
Percentage of protein
wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%
Percentage of oats
grown in US eaten by livestock: 95%
How frequently a child
starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes
that can be grown on an acre: 20,000 lbs
Pounds of beef produced
on an acre: 165 lbs
Percentage of US farmland
devoted to beef production: 56%
Pounds of grain and
soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16 lbs.
The
Environmental Argument:
Cause of global warming:
greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse
effect: Carbon Dioxide from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed
to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 times more
Percentage of US topsoil
lost to date: 75%
Percentage of US topsoil
loss directly related to livestock raising:
85%
Number of acres of
US forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
acres
Amount of meat US
imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Panama: 200,000,000 pounds
Average per capita
meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salveador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Panama: Less than eaten by average US house cat
Area of tropical rainforest
consumed in every quarter-pounder hamburger:
55 sq. ft.
Current rate of species
extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing
and other uses: 1,000 species extinct per year
The
Cancer Argument:
Increased risk of breast
cancer for women who eat meat four times a week vs. less than once a week:
4 times
Increased risk of
breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily vs less than once a week: 3
times
Increased risk of
breast cancer for women who eat cheese and butter 3 or more times a week
vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of
ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs less than
once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of
fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily
vs sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times
The
Natural Resources Argument:
User of more than half
of all water used for all purposes in the US:
Livestock production
Amount of water to
produce a pound of wheat: 25 gallons
Amount of water to
produce a pound of meat: 2,500 gallons
Cost of common hamburger
if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by US taxpayer: $35/pound
Current cost of pound
of protein from beefsteak, if water was no longer subsidized: $89
Years the world's
known oil reserves will last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
years
Years the world's
known oil reserves will last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260 years
Barrels of oil imported
into US daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil
fuel energy returned as food energy by most efficient factory farming of
meat: 34.5 percent
Percentage returned
as food energy from least efficient plant food:
328%
Percentage of raw
materials consumed by US to produce present meat-centered diet: 33%
The
Cholesterol Argument:
Number of US Medical
Schools: 125
Number requiring a
course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training
received by average US physician during four years in medical school: 2.5
hours
Most common cause
of death in the US: Heart attack
How frequently a heart
attack kills in the US: Every 45 seconds
Average US man's risk
of death from heart attack: 50%
Risk for average US
man who avoids the meat-centered diet: 15%
Risk for average US
vegan man: 4%
Amount you reduce
risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 10
percent: 9%
Amount you reduce
risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 50
percent: 45%
Amount you reduce
risk by changing to a vegan diet: 90 percent
Meat, dairy, and egg
industries claim you should not be concerned about your blood cholesterol
if it is: "normal"
Your risk of dying
of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal":
>50%
The
Antibiotic Argument:
Percentage of US antibiotics
fed to livestock: 55%
Percentage of staph
infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13%
Percentage of staph
infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91%
Response of European
Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Ban
Respons of US meat
and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock:
Full and complete support
The
Pesticide Argument:
Percentage of pesticide
residues in the US diet supplied by grains:
1%
Percentage of pesticide
residues in the US diet supplied by fruits:
4%
Percentage of pesticide
residues in the US diet supplied by vegetables:
6%
Percentage of pesticide
residues in the US diet supplied by dairy products:
23%
Percentage of pesticide
residues in the US diet supplied by meat: 55%
Pesticide contamination
of breast milk from meat eating mothers vs non-meat eating: 35 times higher
What USDA tells us:
Meat is inspected
Percentage of slaughtered
animals inspected for residues of toxic chemicals such as dioxin and DDT:
<0.00004%
The
Ethical Argument:
Number of animals killed
for meat per hour in US: 500,000
Occupation with highest
turnover rate in US: Slaughterhouse Worker
Occupation with the
highest rate of on-the-job injury in US: Slaughterhouse Worker
Cost to render animal
unconscious with "captive bolt pistol": 1 cent
Reason given by meat
industry fo not using "captive bolt pistol": Too expensive
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