Help Save the Planet! Go Veggie!
Help Save the Planet! Go Veggie!
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 waist 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
Breast cancer
Colon cancer
Prostate cancer
Pancreatic cancer Ovarian cancer
Cervical cancer
Stomach cancer Eudiometrical
cancer
Diabetes
Hypoglycemia
Kidney disease
Peptic ulcers
Constipation
Hemorrhoids
Hiatal hernias
Diverticulosis Obesity
Gallstones
Hypertension
Asthma
Irritable colon syndrome Salmonellosis
Trichinosis
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 Triathlon more than twice:
Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
World record holder for 24 triathlon (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 Olympi 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)
* Peter Burwash - Professional Tennis Coach
Feel free to copy and distribute REALITIES 1989.
We ask only
that you copy it in its entirety and that the reproduction
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