In support of what Eliza has said, I recommend you to visit the Church of
Euthanasia, at:
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/coe/e-sermons/funfacts.html
Here are just a few facts from the information given there (taken from
'Diet for a New America' by John Robbins, and other sources):
o Human population of United States: 270,000,000 (and counting)
o Number of human beings who could be fed by the grain and soybeans
eaten by U.S. livestock: 1,300,000,000
o Sacred food of Native Americans: Corn
o Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by human beings: 20
o Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by livestock: 80
o Percentage of soy grown in United States eaten by livestock: 90
o Percentage of oats grown in United States eaten by livestock: 95
o Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
o Percentage of carbohydrate wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 99
o Percentage of dietary fiber wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 100
o How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2.3 seconds
o Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on 1 acre of land: 20,000
o Pounds of beef that can be produced on 1 acre of land: 165
o Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef: 56
o Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16
o Pounds of protein fed to chickens to produce 1 pound of protein as chicken
flesh: 5 pounds
o Pounds of protein fed to hogs to produce 1 pound of protein as hog
flesh: 7.5 pounds
o Number of children who starve to death every day: 38,000
o Amount of total U.S. grain production consumed by livestock: 70%
o Amount of U.S. grain exports consumed by livestock: 66%
o Amount of world grain harvest consumed by livestock throughout the
1980s: half
o Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed
to feed 1 person consuming meat-based diet: 20
o Number of people who will starve to death this year: 20,000,000
o Number of people who could be adequately fed if Americans reduced their
intake of meat by 10%: 100,000,000
o Amount of increase in global cattle population during the last 40
years: 100%
o Amount of increase in global fowl population during the last 40
years: 200%
o Ratio of livestock to people on Earth: three to one
o Amount of Earth's land mass grazed by livestock: half
o Amount of U.S. cropland producing livestock feed: 64%
o Amount of U.S. cropland producing fruits and vegetables: 2%
o Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
o Amount of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4,000,000 acres,
the size of Connecticut
o Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock
raising: 85
o Amount of original U.S. cropland permanently removed from production
due to excessive soil erosion: one-third
o Pounds of topsoil lost in the production of one pound of feedlot steak: 35
o Current annual topsoil loss on agricultural land in the U.S.: over
5 billion tons
o Current annual topsoil loss on agricultural worldwide: 26 billion tons
o Time required for nature to form one inch of topsoil: 200 to 1000 years
o Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil depletion
o Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create cropland
to produce a meat-centered diet: 260,000,000
o How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: Every 8 seconds
o Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to a pure
vegetarian diet: 1 acre
o Estimated area of rainforest destroyed annually: 125,000 square miles
o The driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests:
American meat habit
o Amount of meat imported annually by U.S. from Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: 200,000,000 pounds
o Amount of meat eaten by average person in Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: Less than the average
American housecat
If you don't have access to the WWW, mail me and I'll gladly mail the entire
text to you.
Love,
Arie Zonshine.
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Jan 10 08:43:19 1996
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 09:45:04 -0600
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Elisabeth Norton)
Subject: food
There has been persistent comment that fast food saves time. This may
appear to be true at the moment, when the food is handed to you and you eat
it right then, leaving more time to do other things, including making
money. However...
There are other factors involved than just that moment. How many hours of
work does it take to earn the money to purchase generally high priced fast
foods? How much time (including sick days and time sitting in a waiting
room) and money is spent on doctors bills [and insurance] to cover
illnesses which could be avoided or lessened by a nutritional diet? How
much money is spent on "stomach relief" products such as antacids and
bismuth liquids? How much gets spent on gyms and aerobics classes to "work
off" that fatty lunch or dinner? How much time working does it take to
earn the money to pay for these extras?
The culture constantly gives us messages that spending time thinking,
really thinking, about what we eat is wasted time. We are given
seemingly infinite options of quick eats, including most of the processed
foods on the grocery shelves (has anyone taken the time to note that nearly
all canned and processed foods contain sugar or corn syrup?). Americans
are generally overfed yet undernourished.
Taking time to think of our bodies, how to keep them healthy and well
nourished should be at the core of a feminist's thoughts. Taking time to
figure out how much of our time we are selling to someone else (often to
make that someone else money ) to pay for our health is equally important.
We pay for our health by spending extra time and money on nutritional foods
going in or by paying doctors and pharmaceutical companies to fix us up.
Taking good care of ourselves is not a trivial matter, it is critical to
success in whatever direction we put our energy.
EliSabeth Norton po box 307 Columbia MO 65205 USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"the future needs me, well-rested, well-nourished, and well-exercised"
