Vegetarian Issues & Etc

(Addicted to meat)

 Meat Generates Global Heat

Sep 18, 2008 By Devinder Sharma

Devinder Sharma's ZSpace Page / ZSpace

Science, economics and politics have a strong correlation. Whether it is the continuing debate on international trade or the growing heat on global warming, it is invariably politics that determines the final agenda.

So when R K Pachauri, chief of the Nobel prize winning UN Climate Change panel, appealed for a one day abstinence in a week from eating meat, it was expected to stir a hornet's nest or should I say was expected to literally shake up the barn. And it did. Beef farmers in the United States and Europe have already launched a stinging attack. In the days to come I wouldn't be surprised if the debate gets still murkier with cow dung being splashed all around.

I am not sure whether Dr Pachauri anticipated this. But the fact remains that whenever someone has dared to challenge the western lifestyle, there has been a quick and sharp retaliation. No wonder, in the entire debate on climate change, what is being tossed around is that global warming will bring massive destruction to the developing world - more floods, more droughts and freak storms in a devastating fury.  You don't hear of what it entails for the rich and industrialised countries

The underlying message therefore is loud and clear. The developing countries must protect and help in safeguarding the environment. Since the poor are going to be the worst sufferers, they must behave. And that makes me wonder when were the developing countries not suffering from incessant rains, floods and drought? Why has the world suddenly become so benevolent towards the poor? I will revert to the politics behind the climate change debate sometimes later, but first let us take a look at the bovine controversy.

Dr Pachauri quotes the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) to say that meat production accounts for nearly 18 per cent of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, expected to double by the year 2050. The UK National Beef Association has debunked this analysis saying that the 18 per cent figure has since been discredited. The analysis, it says was based on the clearing of the Amazon forests for rearing cattle and that too took the peak year figure of 26,000sq kms for rainforests cleared in 2004.

Whether the greenhouse gas emissions are 18 per cent or 15 per cent or less, the fact remains that about 70 per cent of the foodgrains produced in America are fed to cows and pigs for meat purposes. No wonder, meat industry proliferates in the US, and to a larger extent in other 30 rich and industrialised countries forming the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). To ensure that animals grow faster, cows and pigs are routinely fed with foodgrains and other nutrient feeds and not allowed to graze. In fact, the belief is that allowing cattle to graze saps their energy levels. And so the meat factories conserve and preserve the animal energy by keeping these animals confined to small enclosures.

An average American consumes about 125 kg of meat, including 46 kg of poultry meat. While the Indians are still lagging behind, the Chinese are fast catching up with the American lifestyle. The Chinese on an average consume about 70 kg of meat, inclusive of 8.7 kg of poultry meat every year. The Indian average is around 3.5 kg of meat, much of it (2.1 kg) coming from poultry. If you put all this together, the Chinese are the biggest meat eaters, and for obvious reasons devouring close to 100,000,000 tonnes every year. America is not far behind, consuming about 35,000,000 tonnes of meat in a year. India is trailing far behind with not more than 3 million tonnes of annual meat consumption.

The methane gas released by the meat animals is considered to be 23 times more potent as a climate change agent than carbon dioxide. Multiply this with 55,000 million cattle that are reared the world over for meat consumption, and you will have a fair idea of how much additional heat is being generated. Imagine if China and America alone were to reduce its meat consumption by just ten per cent every year, wouldn't the world's environment be much cleaner and cooler?

And this brings me to another aspect of the global warming debate. Cultivation of rice too is blamed for releasing methane into the environment. With 97 per cent of world's rice grown in Asia, the Asian rice paddies are being accused of adding on to global warming and also sucking the land dry. Since 5000 litres of water is required to produce one kilo of rice, Asian farmers are blamed for the falling groundwater levels. In the recent past, there have been suggestions to reduce the rice plantings so as to not only conserve water but also to save the world from warming up. 

Rice cultivation is linked to billions of livelihoods and rice also happens to be the major staple food for the world. On the other hand, livestock farming for meat consumption is certainly not something that cannot be done away with. After all, meat is not a staple food and it is also an inefficient way of converting protein from foodgrains. In any case, as much as 16 kg of grains is required to produce one kilo of beef.

Still more devastating is the water requirement for meat consumption. Hold your breath, 70,000 litres of water is required to produce one kilo of beef. Isn't it ironical that while the world blames the small farmers in Asia for sucking the planet dry, no one seems to be perturbed at the way the meat factories are guzzling water. Why blame the Asian paddies, and not beef production? You guessed it right, because it affects the western lifestyle.

Charity they say begins at home. It is high time the moral guardians of the world begin to look inwards, and see what changes they need to make so that the world becomes a safe and a cool place for everyone. It is widely accepted that the western lifestyle leaves a devastating ecological footprint on the planet. Unless the western lifestyle undergoes a drastic change the world will continue to warm up. It is no use blaming the poor. The fault lies with the rich and the beautiful. Dr Pachauri's suggestion therefore must be followed in true letter and spirit.

Information in statistical research comes from the book “Nature’s First Law - the Raw Food Diet” by Arlin - Dini - Wolfe.

**Humans and Livestock** 1. Human population of the United States : @ 300 million 2. Number of humans that can be fed by the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.4 billion 3. Percentage of corn grown in U.S. eaten by livestock: 85%; percentage of corn eaten by humans: 15% (99.999% of which is cooked) 4. Percentage of oats grown in U.S. eaten by livestock: 95% 5. Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90% 6. Percentage of carbohydrate wasted by cycling grain through livestock:99% 7. Percentage of dietary fiber wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 100% 8. How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds 9. Amount of potatoes that can be grown on 1 acre (4,047 square meters of land: 20,000 lbs. (9,072 kg) 10. Amount of beef that can be grown on 1 acre (4,047 square meters) of land: 165 lbs. (75 kg) 11. Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef: 56% 12. Amount of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound (or kilogram) of feedlot beef: 16 lbs. (7.3 kg) 13. Amount of protein fed to chickens to produce 1 pound (or kilogram) of protein as chicken flesh: 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) 14. Amount of protein fed to hogs to produce 1 pound (or kilogram) of protein as hog flesh: 7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) 15. Number of children who starve to death every day: 40,000 16. Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed 1 person consuming meat-based diet: 20 (This number could becloser to 150 if youıre talking about pure raw-vegetarians.) 17. Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60,000,000 18. Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 60,000,000

**Soil** 19. Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil depletion 20. Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75% 21. Amount of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4 million acres (16,187 square kilometers) (size of Connecticut ) 22. Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: 85%

**Trees** 23. Amount of U.S forest which has been cleared to create cropland to produce a meat-centered diet: 260 million acres (1.05 million square kilometers) 24. How often an acre (4,047 square meters) of U.S. trees disappears: Every 8 seconds 25. Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to a pure vegetarian diet: 1 acre (4,047 square meters)

**Rainforests** 26. A driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests: American meat habit 27. Amount of meat imported annually by U.S. from Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Nicaragua , Honduras , and Panama : Less than the average house cat 28. Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests and related habitats: 1000 per year

**Water**

29. User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the United States : Livestock production 30. The quantity of water used in the production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer 31. Water needed to produce 1 pound (.45 kg) of wheat: 25 gallons (95 liters) 32. Water needed to produce 1 pound (.45 kg) of meat: 2,500 gallons (9,465 liters) 33. Cost of common hamburger meat if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by U.S. taxpayers: $35 per pound ($77 per kg) 34. Current cost for 1 pound (.45 kg) of protein from wheat: $1.50 35. Current cost for 1 pound (.45 kg) of protein from beefsteak: $15.40 36. Cost for 1 pound (.45 kg) of protein from beefsteak if U.S taxpayers ceased subsidizing meat industryıs use of water: $89

**Petroleum and Energy**

37. Length of time worldıs petroleum reserves would last (with current technologies) if all human beings ate meat-centered diet: 13 years 38. Length of time worldıs petroleum reserves would last (with current technologies) if all human beings ate vegetarian diet: 260 years 39. Principal reason for U.S. intervention in Persian Gulf : Dependence on foreign oil 40. Barrels of oil imported daily by U.S. : 6.8 million 41. Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of most energy efficient farming of meat: 34.5% 42. Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of least energy efficient plant food: 328% 43. Amount of soy beans produced by the amount of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 pound (.45 kg) of feedlot beef: 40 lbs. (18.1 kg) 44. Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes presently consumed to produce current meat-centered diet: 33% 45. Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes needed to produce pure vegetarian diet: 2%

**Sewage Systems**

46. Production of excrement by total U.S. population: 12,000 lbs. (5443 kg) per second 47. Production of excrement by U.S. livestock: 250,000 lbs. (113,400 kg) per second 48. Sewage systems in U.S. cities: Common 49. Sewage systems in U.S. feedlots: Nil 50. Amount of waste produced annually by U.S. livestock in confinement operations which is not recycled: 1 billion tons (907 billion kg) 51. Relative concentration of feedlot wastes compared to raw domestic sewage: Ten to several hundred times more highly concentrated 52. Where feedlot waste typically ends up: Human water supply

** Medical School Nutritional Training**

53. Number of U.S. medical schools: 125 54. Number of U.S. medical schools with a required course in nutrition: 30 55. Training in nutrition received during 4 years of medical school by the average U.S. physician: 2.5 hours

**Heart Attacks**

56. How frequently a heart attack strikes in the U.S. : Every 25 seconds 57. How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S. : Every 45 seconds 58. Most common cause of death in U.S. : Heart attack 59. Risk of death from heart attack by average American man: 50% 60. Risk of death from heart attack by average American purely vegetarian man: 4% 61. Risk of death from heart attack by average American raw-foodist: 0% 62. Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 10%: 9% 63. Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 50%: 45% 64. Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 100%: 90% 65. Rise in blood cholesterol from consuming 1 egg per day: 12% 66. Rise in heart attack risk from 12% rise in blood cholesterol: 24%

**Meat, Dairy, and Egg Industries**

67. Meat, dairy and egg industries claim there is no reason to be concerned about your blood cholesterol as long as it is: ³normal² 68. Risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries (atherosclerosis) if your blood cholesterol is ³normal²: over 50% 69. Risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries (atherosclerosis) if you do not consume saturated fat and cholesterol: 5% 70. Leading sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in American diets: Meat, dairy products, and eggs 71. World populations with high meat intakes who do not have correspondingly high rates of colon cancer: none 72. World populations with low meat intakes who do not have correspondingly low rates of colon cancer: none 73. 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 74. Egg Boardıs advertising slogan: ³The incredible, edible egg.² 75. 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 76. Milk producerıs original advertising campaign slogan: ³Everyone needs milk.² 77. What the Federal Trade Commission called the ³Everyone needs milk² slogan: ³False, misleading and deceptive.² 78. Milk producerıs revised campaign slogans: ³Milk has something for everybody,² and ³Milk does a body good.² 79. 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 80. Part of female chickenıs body that produces eggs: Ovaries 81. 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 82. Food males in the U.S. are conditioned to think of as ³manly²: Animal products (mostly meat) 83. Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meats,cheese, milk and eggs daily compared to men who eat these foods sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times higher 84. The Meat Board tells you: ³Todayıs meats are low in fat.² 85. The Meat Board shows you: A serving of beef they claim has ³only 300 calories.² 86. The Meat Board does not tell you: The serving of beef they show you is only 3 ounces (85 grams), which is half the size of an average serving of beef, and has been surgically de-fatted with a scalpel. 87. The dairy industry tells you: Whole milk is 3.5% fat. 88. The dairy industry does not tell you: That 3.5% figure is based on weight and most of the weight in milk is water. 89. The dairy industry does not want you to know: The amount of calories as fat in whole milk is 50%. 90. The meat company Oscar Mayer tells you: It is a ³myth² that hot dogs are fatty. 91. Oscar Meyer demonstrates their point by comparing the fatness of hot dogs to such high-fat bastions as mayonnaise, margarine, salad dressing, and cream cheese. 92. The Dairy Council tells you: Milk is Natureıs most perfect food. 93. The Dairy Council does not tell you: Milk is Natureıs 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 (136 kg) within a year. 94. The Dairy Council tells children to: Grow up big and strong and drink lots of milk. 95. The Dairy Council occasionally tells children: The enzyme necessary for digestion of milk is lactase. 96. The Dairy Council never tells children: 20% of Caucasian children and 80% of black children have no lactase in their intestines (Humanity has gone so far as to create a pill that aids in the digestion of dairy products. This is just as insane as taking a pill before you drink motor oil to help in the digestion of that motor oil. If your body is not designed to naturally digest a certain substance then maybe you should not consume it). 97. The meat, dairy and egg industries tell you: Animal products constitute 2 of the ³Basic 4² food groups. 98. The meat, dairy and egg industries do not tell you: There were originally 12 basic food groups, before these industries applied enormous political pressure on behalf of their products. 99. The meat, dairy and egg industries tell you: You are well-fed only with animal products. 100. The meat, dairy and egg industries do not tell you: The diseases which are commonly prevented, consistently improved, and even cured by a vegetarian diet include: Heart disease, strokes, osteoporosis, kidney stones, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, stomach cancer, endometrial cancer, diabetes, hypoglycemia, kidney disease, peptic ulcers, constipation, hemorrhoids, hiatal hernias, diverticulosis, obesity, gallstones, hypertension, asthma, irritable colon syndrome, salmonellosis, trichinosis, etc.

³We live in a crazy time, when people who make food choices that are healthy and compassionate are often considered weird, while people are considered normal whose eating habits promote disease and are dependent on enormous suffering.² -- John Robbins

**Pesticides in Livestock**

101. Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in the U.S. diet: Supplied by meat: 55% 102. Supplied by dairy products: 23% 103. Supplied by vegetables: 6% 104. Supplied by fruits: 4% 105. Supplied by grains: 1% 106. Percentage of U.S. motherıs milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99% 107. Percentage of U.S. vegetarian motherıs milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8% 108. Relative pesticide contamination in breast milk of meat-eating mothers compared to pesticide contamination in breast milk of vegetarian mothers: 35 times as high 109. Percentage of male college students sterile in 1950: .5% 110. Percentage of male college students sterile in 1978: 25% 111. Sperm count of average American male compared to 35 years ago: Down 30% 112. Principle reason for sterility and sperm count reduction of U.S. males: Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (including dioxin, DDT,etc.) 113. Percentage of hydrocarbon pesticide residues in American diet attributable to meats, dairy products, fish, and eggs: 94% 114. The Meat Board tells you not to be concerned about the dioxins and other pesticides in todayıs beef because: The quantities are so small. 115. The Meat Board does not want you to know: How potent dioxin and other pesticides are. 116. The Meat Board particularly does not want you know: A mere ounce (28.4 grams) of dioxin could kill 10 million people. 117. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tells you: Your meat is inspected. 118. The USDA does not tell you: Less than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues. 119. The dye used for many years by the USDA to stamp meats ³Choice,² ³Prime,² or ³U.S. No.1 USDA²: Violet Dye No.1 120. Current status of Violet Dye No.1: Banned as a proven carcinogen.

³It is our alarming misfortune that so primitive a science has armed itself with the most modern terrible weapons, and that in turning them against the insects it has also turned them against the Earth.² -- Rachel Carson

**Inhumane Treatment of Livestock**

121. Wingspan of average leghorn chicken: 26 inches (66 cm) 122. Space average leghorn chicken is given in egg factories: 6 inches 15.3 cm) 123. Number of 700+ lb. (318+ kg) pigs confined to space the size of a twin bed in typical factory farm: 3 124. Reason todayıs veal is so tender: Calves are never allowed to take a single step. 125. Reason todayıs veal is whitish-pink: Calves forced-fed on anemia producing diet 126. McDonaldıs brags: billions and billions sold 127. McDonaldıs does not brag about: millions and millions butchered 128. McDonaldıs clown, Ronald McDonald, tells children: Hamburgers grow in hamburger patches and love to be eaten. 129. McDonaldıs clown, Ronald McDonald, does not tell children: Hamburgers are ground up, cooked cows who have had their throats slit by machetes or their brains bashed in with sledgehammers. 130. Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff Juliano 131. Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian 132. Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S. : 500,000 133. Occupation with highest turnover rate in the U.S. : Slaughterhouse worker 134. Cost to render an animal unconscious prior to slaughter with captive bolt pistol so that process in done humanely: $.01 135. Reason given by meat industry for not utilizing captive bolt pistol: Too expensive.

³The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.² --Gandhi

**Antibiotics in Livestock**

136. Percentage of total antibiotics used in the U.S. fed routinely to livestock: 55% 137. Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 960: 13% 138. Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91% 139. Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock. 140. Effectiveness of all ³wonder-drug² antibiotics: Declining rapidly 141. Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock. 142. Response by entire European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Ban 143. Response by American meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support

**Vegetarian Athletes**

144. Only man to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner) 145. Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian 146. World record holder for 1 day triathlon (Swim 4.8 miles (7.7 km), cycle 185 miles (298 km), run 52.5 miles (84.5 km)): Sixto Lenares 147. Food choices of Sixto Lenares: Strict vegetarian 148. Athlete who most totally dominated Olympic sport in track and field history: Edwin Moses (undefeated in 8 years, 400 meter hurdles) 149. Food choices of Edwin Moses: Vegetarian 150. Other notable vegetarian athletes: * Stan Price (world record bench-press) * Carl Lewis (worldıs fastest man, 8 Olympic gold medals, 7 world records) * Robert Sweetgall (worldıs premier ultra-distance walker) * Paavo Nurmi (20 world records in distance running, 9 Olympic medals) * Bill Pickering (world record - swimming English Channel) * Murray Rose (world records - swimming 400 and 1500 meter freestyles * Andreas Cahling (winner - Mr. International body-building championships) * Roy Hilligan (winner - Mr. America body-building championships) * Pierro Verot (world record for downhill endurance skiing) * Estelle Gray and Cheryl Merek (world record for cross-country tandem cycling) * James and Jonathan deDonato (world record for distance butterfly stroke swimming) * Ridgely Abele (winner of 8 national championships in Karate, including U.S. Karate Association World Championships) * Peter Burwash (highest fitness index of any athlete in Canada) * Alan Jones (world record for continuous sit-ups - 17,003) 151. Raw-foodist athletes: * George Allen (held the world record for walking form Landıs End in Cornwall to John OıGroats at northern tip of Scotland; he lives mostly on raw vegetables). * Barbara Moore (broke George Allenıs walking record). * Fausto Coppi and Luis Ocana (world-renowned cyclists trained on raw-foods by French herbalist Maurice Messegue). * Dick Gregory (In 1974 he ran 900 miles (1450 kilometers) exclusively on fruit juice; a one-time American comedian, he is now a raw-food nutritionist who often works in the sport of boxing -- he has worked with boxers such as heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe.) * Joe "The Atom" Greenstein (American strongman who enjoyed wide popularity in the 1930s.)

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