Can We Afford NOT To Change Our Diet?

The harmful effects of a meat-based diet are felt everywhere:

ON THE WATER:

-more than half of all water used in the US goes into livestock production, reducing the water table as well as the amount available for other human uses.

-the water to produce livestock comes mainly from irrigation projects and government subsidies which are paid for by the taxpayers. If the meat industry had to absorb these costs, meat would cost as much as $30 a pound.

-2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of meat, compared to only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat.

-it takes less water to feed a pure vegetarian for a year than it takes to feed a meat-eater for less than a month.

ON THE LAND:

-260 million acres of US forest land have been cleared to create cropland to produce a meat-based culture.

-200 million of those acres could be returned to forest if we stopped using them for animal feed and grazing.

-one acre of trees per year are saved every time one individual switches to a vegetarian diet.

ON ENERGY USE:

-33% of all raw materials consumed in the US are used in the production of meat/dairy-based diet. Fossil fuels and electric energy are used to clear and fertilize the land; grow the crops; transport feed, animals and waste; maintain temperature controlled housing; process the food; ship and refrigerate the meat and so on.

-78 calories of fossil fuels are expended to get one calorie of protein from beef compared to only 2 calories of fossil fuel to get the same protein from soybeans.

-growing grains, vegetables and fruit for food uses less than 5% the raw material consumption used in the production of meat.

ON HUMAN HEALTH:

-20 million people die from malnutrition in the world every year. Over 90% of all protein, carbohydrates and fiber is wasted by cycling grain through livestock.

-as many a 60 million people could be adequately fed by the grain saved if American reduced their intake of meat by 10%.

-switching to a vegan diet reduces your risk of heart attack by 90%.

-eating meat, eggs and dairy products less than once a week, significantly reduces the incidence of breast, ovarian, colon and prostate cancers, hypertension, kidney disease and strokes.

-55% of total antibiotics used in the US are fed to livestock. Hormones, pesticides, insecticides, toxic dyes and compounds are routinely used on meat animals. Less than one out of every quarter million slaughtered animals is tested for residues.

-feedlot waste usually ends as run-off on our water supply. Methane gas, a by-product of livestock production, contributes to global warming.

ON THE ANIMAL WORLD:

-wildlife is systematically destroyed in predator control programs. Habitat for wildlife is preempted for livestock feeding.

-five billion animals live short, unhealthy and unnatural lives of confinement and suffering and are then slaughtered for meat every year in the US.

-most farm animals are not protected by the law, from inhumane conditions or treatment and routinely undergo all sorts of painful procedures, such as; branding; castration; debeaking; suffocation; light deprivation; overcrowding; and transport.

-more animal suffering is caused by the meat and dairy industry than all other causes of animal suffering combined.

Taken from Ecological Cooking by Joanne Stepaniak and Kathy Hecker.