Considerations for a Vegetarian Diet


Environmental Impact

• Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create cropland to produce a meat-centered diet: 260 million
• How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: Every 5 seconds
• At present rate of deforestation, number of years before not a single tree will remain standing in the United States: 50
• Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to a pure vegetarian diet: 1 acre
• Driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests: American meat habit
• Amount of meat imported annually by U.S. from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: 200 million pounds
• Amount of meat eaten by average person in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: Less than the average American housecat consumes
• Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests and related habitats: 1,000 species a year

Waste

• Production of excrement by total U.S. human population: 12,000 pounds per second
• Production of excrement of U.S. livestock: 250,000 pounds per second
• Sewage systems in U.S. cities: Common
• Sewage systems in U.S. feedlots: Nil


Water

• Of all water used for all purposes in the United States, more than half goes to: livestock production
• Enough water goes into the production of the average cow to: float a U.S. Naval destroyer
• Water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25 gallons
• Water needed to produce a pound of meat: 2,500 gallons
• Cost of common hamburger meat if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by U.S. taxpayers: $35 a pound
• Current cost for pound of protein from wheat: $1.50
• Current cost for pound of protein from beefsteak: $15.40


Natural Resources

• Principal historic cause of demise of great civilizations: Topsoil depletion
• Percentage of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4 million acres (size of Connecticut)
• Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: 85
• Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate meat-centered diet: 13 years
• Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if allhuman beings ate vegetarian diet: 260 years
• Principal reason for U.S. military intervention in Persian Gulf: Dependence on foreign oil
• Barrels of oil U.S. would have to import to meet present demand if 10% of population became fully vegetarian: None


Human Health

• Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
• Number of U.S. medical schools with a required course in nutrition: 30
• Training in nutrition received during 4 years of medical school by average U.S. physician: 2.5 hours
• How frequently a heart attack strikes in U.S.: Every 25 seconds
• How frequently a heart attack kills in U.S.: Every 45 seconds
• Risk of death from heart attack by average American man: 50%
• Risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian man: 15%
• Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products, and eggs by 100%: 90%
• Rise in blood cholesterol from consuming 1 egg per day: 12%
• Rise in heart attack risk from 12% rise in blood cholesterol: 24%
• Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries even if your blood cholesterol is "normal": over 50%
• Your risk of dying of a disease if you do not consume saturated fat and cholesterol: 5%
• Leading source of saturated fat and cholesterol in American diets: Meat, dairy products and eggs
• Hollywood celebrity paid by Meat Board to tout beef as "Real food for real people": James Garner
• Medical event experienced by James Garner in 1988: Quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery


Pesticides

• Leading source of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet: Meat—55%
• Second leading source of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet: Dairy products—23%
• Total pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by vegetables: 6%
• Total pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4%
• Total pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1%
• Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing dangerous levels of DDT: 99%
• Pesticide contamination in breast milk of meat-eating mothers compared to pesticide contamination in breast milk of vegetarian mothers: 35 times as high
• Main reason for sterility and sperm count reduction in U.S. males: Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (including PCBs, dioxin, DDT, etc.); one ounce of dioxin can kill 1 million people
• The USDA claims: Your meat is inspected
• The USDA doesn't say: Less than 1 out of every quarter million slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
• For years, the USDA reassured us by stamping meats "Choice" or "U.S. No. 1 USDA" with: Violet Dye No. 1
• Reason USDA no longer does this: Violet Dye No. 1 proven carcinogenic and banned


Survival

• Only man to win Ironman Triathalon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
• Food choices of Dave Scott: vegetarian
• Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Last sighting of Tyrannosaurus Rex: 100 million B.C.


World Hunger

• Human population of United States: 270 million
• Human beings who could be fed the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.3 billion
• Percentage of food grown in United States eaten by human beings: 20
• Percentage of food grown in United States eaten by livestock: 80
• Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef alone: 56
• Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16
• Pounds of protein fed to chickens to produce 1 pound of protein as chicken flesh: 5 pounds
• Pounds of protein fed to hogs to produce 1 pound of protein as hog flesh: 7.5 pounds
• How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds
• Number of children who starve to death every day: 40,000
• Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60 million
• Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed 1 person consuming meat-based diet: 20
• Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if
• Americans reduced their intake of meat by only 10%: 60 million


Ethics

• McDonalds tells us: 75 million sold
• McDonalds doesn't tell us: 65 million slaughtered and butchered
• McDonalds clown, Ronald McDonald, doesn't tell children: Hamburgers areground up cows who've had their throats slit by machetes or their heads beaten in with sledgehammers
• Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff Juliano
• Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian
• Number of animals killed for meat per second in U.S.: 300
• Number of animals killed for meat in U.S. each year: 10 billion — or more than the entire human population on Earth


For the entire story about how your food choices affect your health, happiness and the future of life on Earth, read Diet for a New America by John Robbins. Information obtained from AnimalVoice.com website.

Source:
http://www.drba.org/dharma/veggie/vegconsider.asp

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