Did You Know This About Meat? by John Robbins

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Did you know this about eating MEAT?
by John Robbins
Author: Diet for a New America
Founder: 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 their intake of meat by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.3 billion
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 protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of 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 a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 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 mllion
Amount of meat U.S. imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and Panama: 200,000,000 pounds
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and Panama: less than eaten by average U.S. house cat
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound hamburger: 55 sq. ft
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1000 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
For women who eat eggs daily vs. less than once a week: 3 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 3 or more times a week vs. less than once: 3 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 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 to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons to produce a pound of meat: 2,500
Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer: $35 a pound
Current cost of a pound of protein from beefsteak, if water was no longer subsidized: $89.
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
Barrels of oil imported into U.S. daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil fuel energy returned as food energy by the most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5 percent.
Percentage returned from least efficient plant food: 328 percent
Perccentage of raw materials consumed by U.S. to produce present meat-centered diet: 33

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 for average U.S. man who avoids the meat centered diet: 15 percent
Risk for average U.S. man who consumes no meat, dairy products or eggs at all: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate these foodstuffs from your diet entirely: 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": over 50 percent

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

Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by vegetables: 6
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by dairy products: 23
Percentage of pesticide residues in the U.S. 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 including dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004

The Ethical Argument

Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 500,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Cost to render animal unconscious with "captive bolt pistol" before slaughter: 1 cent
Reason given by meat industry for not using "captive bolt pistol": too expensive

The Survival Argument

Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex

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