Reasons Why Vegetarians and Vegans Eat the Way They Do ;)

Yay, new post!  Okay, so the original title of this article is: "How to Win An Argument With a Meat-Eater" (http://www.vegsource.com/news/2009/09/how-to-win-an-argument-with-a-meat-eater.html).  I decided to change it up a bit, though, because the point that I'm trying to make here is not that vegetarians/vegans and carnists (a.k.a. meat-eaters) should be arguing about who's right or who's diet is better.  The point is that vegetarians/vegans and meat-eaters alike should be aware of these powerful facts (a.k.a. "arguments").  Thanks for reading. :)



The Hunger Argument
Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16


The Environmental Argument
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year


The Cancer Argument
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
Increased risk of fatal 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 Cholesterol Argument
Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent


The Natural Resources Argument
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2


The Antibiotic Argument
Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support


The Pesticide Argument
Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level


The Ethical Argument
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker


The Survival Argument
Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)



Source: "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins (http://www.johnrobbins.info/)

Want to really help the planet? Eat less meat.

I'm not much of a meat-eater myself.  I guess at the moment I'd call myself a flexitarian (I choose to eat vegetarian whenever possible, but I'm not going to refuse to some meat if it's offered to me).  I have, however, given up red meat almost completely (except for the occasional meatball or two at a potluck)  ever since I watched the film Super Size Me.  That movie pretty much changed my whole view of meat and the fast food industry....for the better, I might add. :)   I am currently reading two books about how our diet affects not only our own health but also the health of the planet.  The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone, and Harvest for Hope: A Guide for Mindful Eating, by Jane Goodall, have both reminded me of the importance of eating less meat. 

Not only does meat cause all sorts of problems for our health--heart disease, osteoporosis, even cancer--but it is also depleting our planet of vital resources (i.e. water, land, as well as crops grown not for human consumption, but for animal feed).  Furthermore, methane produced by livestock is the leading cause of pollution, surpassing carbon dioxide emissions from the cars we drive.  Now, those reasons right there are enough for me to step back and really consider cutting out meat from my diet completely.  However, for those of you who love your meat, that's okay.  But, I ask you to really make an effort to eat a little less meat--and a little more veggies or legumes--during the week.  And, when you do eat meat, buying organic, grass-fed meat (preferrably from a local farmer) is really the way to go.  Not only will that meat be a lot better for you--no growth hormones or antibiotics--but it will also mean that we are supporting people actually cares about animals and the land (as opposed to supporting factory farms, which are cruel to animals and are creating havoc for our environment).  I'm not asking anyone to completely give up meat, I'm just asking you to think twice about the meat you do eat, where it comes from, and how it affects your body and our environment. 

You don't have to just take my word for it.  Here are some resources I recommend you check out. :)

http://www.earthsave.org/environment/foodchoices.htm
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/78/3/660S
http://www.csupomona.edu/~admckettrick/projects/ag101_project/html/destruction.html
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/latest/7397