| Food Realities from 1989 and it is much
worse now! Human
population of United States: 243,000,000
Number of Human beings who could be fed by the grain and
soybeans eaten by U. S. livestock: 1,300,000,000
Sacred food of Native Americans: Corn
Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by human
beings: 20
Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of oats grown in United States eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
Percentage of carbohydrate wasted by cycling grain through livestock:99
Percentage of dietary fiber wasted by cycling grain through livestock:100
How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on 1 acre of land: 20,000
Pounds of beef that can be produced on 1 acre of land: 165
Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef:
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
Number of children who starve to death every day: 40,000
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 will starve to death this year: 60,000,000
Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain
saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by
10%: 60,000,000
Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil depletion
Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Amount of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4,000,000 acres (size of Connecticut)
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create cropland to produce a meat-centered diet: 260,000,000
How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: Every 8 seconds
Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to a pure vegetarian diet:
1 acre
A 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: Less than the average American housecat
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of
tropical rainforests and related habitats: 1000/year
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes
in the United States:
Livestock production
Quantity of water used in the production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25
gallons
Water needed to produce 1 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/pound
Current cost for pound of protein from wheat: $1.50
Current cost for pound of protein from beefsteak: $15.40
Cost for pound of protein from beefsteak if U.S. taxpayers ceased subsidizing meat industry's use of water: $89
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 all human beings ate vegetarian diet: 260 years
Principal reason for U.S. military intervention in Persian Gulf: Dependence on foreign oil
Barrels of oil imported daily by U.S.: 6,800,000
Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of most energy efficient farming of meat: 34.5%
Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of least energy efficient plant food: 328%
Pounds of soybeans produced by the amount of fossil fuel
needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 40
Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all
purposes presently consumed to produce current
meat-centered diet: 33
Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes needed to produce fully vegetarian diet: 2
Production of excrement by total U.S. human population: 12000 lb/sec
Production of excrement by U.S. Livestock: 250,000 pounds/second
Sewage systems in U.S. cities: Common
Sewage systems in U.S. feedlots: Nil
Amount of waste produced annually by U.S. livestock in confinement operations which is not recycled: 1 billion tons
Relative concentration of feedlot wastes compared to raw domestic sewage: Ten to several
hundred times more highly concentrated
Where feedlot waste often ends up: In our water
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
Most common cause of death in U.S.: Heart
attack
Risk of death from heart attack by average American man:
50%
Risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian man: 15%
Risk of death from heart attack by average American purely vegetarian man: 4%
Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 10%: 9%
Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 50%: 45%
Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 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%
Meat, dairy and egg industries claim there is no reason to be concerned about your blood cholesterol as long as it is:
"normal"
Your risk of dying a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal": over 50%
Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if you do not consume saturated fat and cholesterol: 5%
Leading sources 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 April, 1988: Quintuple
coronary artery bypass surgery
World populations with high meat intakes who do not have
correspondingly high rates of colon cancer: None
World populations with low meat intakes who do not have correspondingly low rates of colon cancer:
None
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat
daily compared to women who eat meat less than once
a week: 4 times higher
Egg Board's advertising slogan: The incredible edible egg
Photographs often accompanying the egg board's slogan: Young
women in bathing suits, emphasizing the shape of their breasts
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily compared to women who eat eggs less than once a week: 3 times
higher
Milk Producer's original ad campaign slogan: "Everyone needs milk."
What the Federal Trade Commission called the "Everyone needs milk" slogan: "False, misleading and deceptive"
Milk Producer's revised campaign slogan: "Milk
has something for everybody."
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat butter
and cheese 3 or more times a week compared to women
who eat these foods less than once a week: 3 times higher
Part of female chicken's body that produces eggs: Ovaries
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week compared to women who eat eggs less than
once a week: 3
times higher
Foods males in U.S. are conditioned to think of as
"manly": Animal products
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meats, cheese, eggs and milk daily compared to men who eat these foods sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times higher
The Meat Board tells us: "Today's meats are low in
fat."
The Meat Board shows us: A serving of beef they claim has "only
300 calories".
The Meat Board doesn't tell us: The serving
of beef they show us is only 3 ounces (half the size
of an average serving of beef) and has been
surgically defatted with a scalpel.
The dairy industry tells us:
Whole milk is 3.5% fat.
The dairy industry doesn't tell us: That 3.5% figure is based on weight and most of the weight in milk is water.
The dairy industry doesn't want us to know: The
amount of calories as fat in whole milk is 50%.
Oscar Mayer tells us:
It is a "myth" that hot dogs are fatty.
Oscar Mayer demonstrates their point favorably comparing the fattiness of hot dogs to such low fat bastions as: Margarine,
mayonnaise, salad dressing and cream cheese.
The Dairy Council tells us:
Milk is nature's most perfect food.
The Dairy Council doesn't tell us: Milk is
nature's most perfect food for a baby calf, who has
four stomachs, will double its weight in 47 days,
and is destined to weigh 300 pounds within a year.
The Dairy Council tells children: To grow up
big and strong drink lots of milk.
The Dairy Council occasionally tells children: The
enzyme necessary for digestion of milk is lactase.
The Dairy Council never tells children: 20%
of Caucasian children and 80% of Black children have
no lactase in their intestines.
The meat, dairy and egg industries tell us: Animal products constitute 2 of the "Basic 4" food groups.
The meat, dairy and egg industries don't tell us: There
were originally 12 official basic food groups,
before these industries applied enormous political
pressure on behalf of their products.
The meat, dairy, and egg industries tell us: We
are well-fed only with animal products.
The meat, dairy, and egg industries don't tell us: The
diseases which are commonly prevented, consistently
improved, and sometimes cured by a low-fat vegetarian
diet include
| Strokes |
Heart disease |
Osteoporosis |
Kidney Stones |
| Colon cancer |
Prostate cancer |
Pancreatic cancer |
Ovarian cancer |
| Cervical cancer |
Stomach cancer |
Endometrial cancer |
Breast cancer |
| Hypoglycemia |
Diabetes
|
Kidney disease |
Peptic ulcers |
| Constipation |
Hemorrhoids |
Hiatal hernias |
Diverticulosis |
| Obesity |
Gallstones |
Hypertension |
Asthma |
| Salmonellosis |
Trichinosis |
Irritable colon syndrome |
Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in the U.S.
diet:
Supplied by meat:
55%
Supplied by dairy products: 23%
Supplied by vegetables: 6%
Supplied by fruits: 4%
Supplied by grains: 1%
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%
Relative pesticide contamination in breast milk of meat-eating mothers compared to pesticide contamination in breast milk of
vegetarian mothers:
35 times as high
Percentage of male college students sterile in 1950: .5
Percentage of male college students sterile in 1978: 25
Sperm count of average American male compared to 30 years ago: Down 30%
Principle reason for sterility and sperm count reduction of U.S. males: Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (including dioxin,
DDT, etc.)
Percentage of hydrocarbon pesticide residues in American diet attributable to meats, dairy products, fish and eggs: 94%
The Meat Board tells us Not to be concerned about the
dioxins and other pesticides in today's beef
because: the quantities are so small
The Meat Board doesn't want us to know: How
potent dioxin and other pesticides are
The Meat Board particularly doesn't want us to know:
A mere ounce of dioxin could kill 10 million
people
The USDA tells us: Our
meat is inspected
The USDA doesn't tell us: Less than 1 out of
every quarter million slaughtered animals is tested
for toxic chemical residues
The dye used for many years by the USDA for many years to stamp meats "Choice", "Prime", or
"U.S. No. 1 USDA": Violet dye No. 1
Current status of Violet Dye No. 1: Banned as
proven carcinogen
Wingspan of average Leghorn chicken: 26 inches
Space average leghorn chicken given in egg factories:
6 inches
Number of 700 plus pound pigs confined to space the size of a twin bed in typical factory farm: 3
Reason today's veal is so tender: Calves
never allowed to take a single step
Reason today's veal is whitish-pink: Calves
force fed on anemia producing diet
McDonald's brags: 60
Billion sold
McDonald's doesn't brag about: 50 million
butchered
McDonald's clown, Ronald McDonald, tells children: Hamburgers
grow in hamburger patches and love to be eaten.
McDonald's clown, Ronald McDonald, doesn't tell children: Hamburgers
are ground up cows who've had their throats slit by
machetes or their brains bashed in by sledgehammers.
Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff
Juliano
Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in U.S.: 500,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.:
Slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with highest employee rate of injury in U.S.:
Slaughter- house worker
Cost to render an animal unconscious prior to slaughter
with captive bolt pistol so that process is done
humanely: 1 penny
Reason given by meat industry for not utilizing captive bolt pistol: Too expensive
Percentage of total antibiotics used in U.S. fed routinely
to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91
Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant
bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of
antibiotics to livestock
Effectiveness of all "wonder-drug" antibiotics: Declining rapidly
Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant
bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of
antibiotics to livestock
Response by entire European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock:
Ban
Response by American meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support
Only man to win Ironman Triathalon more than twice: Dave Scott (6
time winner)
Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
World record holder for 24 triathalon (Swim 4.8 miles,
Cycle 185 miles, Run 52.5): Sixto Linares
Food choices of Sixto Linares: Strict
vegetarian
Athlete who most totally dominated Olympic sport in track
and field history:
Edwin Moses (undefeated in 8 years, 400 meter hurdles)
Food choices of Edwin Moses: Vegetarian
Other notable vegetarian athletes:
* Stan Price (World record-bench press)
* Robert Sweetgall (World's premier ultra-distance walker)
* Paavo Nurmi (20 World's records in distance running, 9 Olympic medals)
* Bill Pickering (World record - swimming English Channel)
* Murray Rose (World records - 400 and 1500 meter freestyles)
* Andreas Cahling (Winner - Mr. International body-building
championships)
* Roy Hilligan (Winner - Mr. America body-building championships)
* Pierro Verot (World's record for downhill endurance skiing)
* Estelle Gray and Cheryl Marek (World's record for cross- country
tandem cycling)
* James and Johnathon deDonato (World's record for distance
butterfly stroke swimming)
* Ridgely Abele (Winner of 8 national championships in Karate, including U.S. Karate Association World Championships)
Source: This is a reprint of REALITIES 1989, which are
facts excerpted from the Pulitzer Prize nominated "Diet for a New America" by
John Robbins. Mr. Robbins is the heir of the Baskin Robbins fortune; and instead of
following in his dad's footsteps, he did some research on how the American flesh eating
diet affects everyone's lives.
Feel free to copy and distribute REALITIES 1989. We ask only that you copy it in its
entirety and that the reproduction be of good quality. EarthSave, P.O. Box 949, Felton,
CA, 95018-0949 Earthsave is a non-profit, charitable organization working to educate
people as to what they can do to help create an ecologically sustainable future. |
![Veganism also strict or pure vegetarianism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.[1][2] Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind.[3] The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, or human health, and spiritual or religious concerns.[4][5][2] Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming. Various polls have reported vegans to be between 0.2%[4] and 1.3%[6] of the U.S. population, and between 0.25%[5] and 0.4%[7] of the UK population. The Times estimated in 2005 that there were 250,000 vegans in Great Britain. Vegan diets are a subset of vegetarian diets, which are credited with lowering the risk of colon cancer, heart attack, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, prostate cancer, and stroke.[8] However, vegan diets can be low in levels of calcium, iodine, and vitamins B12 and D. Vegans are therefore encouraged to plan their diet and take dietary supplements as appropriate. The word vegan, pronounced[help] /'vi?g?n/,[10] was originally derived from vegetarian in 1944 when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson, frustrated that the term vegetarianism had come to include the eating of dairy products, founded the UK Vegan Society.[11] They combined the first three and last two letters of vegetarian to form vegan, which they saw as the beginning and end of vegetarian.[11][12] The British Vegan Society defines veganism in this way The word veganism denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude - as far as is possible and practical - all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals. Other vegan societies use similar definitions. Data regarding the number of vegans is available in some countries. A 2002 Time/CNN poll found that 4% of American adults consider themselves vegetarians, and 5% of self-described vegetarians consider themselves vegans, which implies that 0.2% of American adults are vegans.[4] A 2006 poll conducted by Harris Interactive in the United States listed specific foods and asked respondents to indicate which items they never eat, rather than asking respondents to self-identify. The survey found that of the 1,000 adults polled 1.4% never eat meat, poultry, fish, seafood, dairy products, or eggs and were therefore essentially vegan in their eating habits. The survey also found that about 1.4% of men and 1.3% of women have vegan diets. In 2002, the UK Food Standards Agency reported that 5% of respondents self-identified as vegetarian or vegan. Though 29% of that 5% said they avoided all animal products, only 5% reported avoiding dairy products.[5] Based on these figures, approximately 0.25% of the UK population follow a vegan diet. In 2005, The Times estimated there were 250,000 vegans in Britain, which suggests around 0.4% of the UK population is vegan.[7] However, a 2007 survey for DEFRA into the UK population attitudes and behaviour towards the environment found that 2.24% of the population identified themselves as vegan.[16] In the same study, vegetarians who did not also eat chicken or fish made up 2.7% of the population. The DEFRA study also indicated that slightly more men than women are vegan, that more vegans live were vegan](vegan.gif){kind=small}
