What's new

Food Realities 1989

Satori

先輩
27 Aug 2003
3,161
27
58
Food Realities 1989

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 tropicalrainforests 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 whichare 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 bymeat: 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 thePulitzer 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 theAmerican flesh eating diet affects everyone's lives.
Feel free to copy and distribute REALITIES 1989. We ask onlythat 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 toeducate people as to what they can do to help create an ecologically sustainable future.

Drug Addiction Help and Alcohol Recovery Services | Crescent Life
 
scare tactics...

while i dont really buy into the whole veggie burger thing. for now im only going to take issue with the following part:

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 tropicalrainforests and related habitats: 1000/year

this is trying to blame meat eaters for the depletion of the rain forests and species in it. yet it also states that the annual imported meat from central america is "less than the average american housecat." so how is a cats weight in meat a year a "driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests?"
 
this is trying to blame meat eaters for the depletion of the rain forests and species in it.


Hi Jeisan,

I believe it's referring to the American cattle industry, as opposed to the meat eaters themselves. The cattle industry are the ones who are clearing rain forests in order to provide grazing land for the cattle.

In any event, I just posted this article more along the lines of: "Things that make you go hmmm," nothing more. It's not meant to convert.

Satori
:)
 
aye, but the american cattle industry is only in business because of the meat eaters, and all its cattle farms are here in the US, which doesnt have any tropical rainforests...

though it is a "thing that makes you go hmmm" it should still be factual
 
aye, but the american cattle industry is only in business because of the meat eaters, and all its cattle farms are here in the US, which doesnt have any tropical rainforests...

First of all, the American cattle industry is in business to make money, period. They are not doing it for the meat-eaters, but for the money they can make off of pushing their meat products onto meat-eaters. And secondly, all of their cattle farms are not in here in the U.S. It's always been my understanding that they have been involved in the destruction of the rain forests to make room for cattle grazing. In fact, I remember seeing a movie on this very thing about 10 years ago.
 
Originally posted by Satori
First of all, the American cattle industry is in business to make money, period. They are not doing it for the meat-eaters, but for the money they can make off of pushing their meat products onto meat-eaters.

i meant without the meat eaters there would be no cattle industry to speak of, e.g. the meat eaters are the only reason the cattle industry exists, well on as large of a scale as it does anyway, people still want baseball gloves and jackets. but beyond that it said "american meat habit" not cattle industries

And secondly, all of their cattle farms are not in here in the U.S. It's always been my understanding that they have been involved in the destruction of the rain forests to make room for cattle grazing. In fact, I remember seeing a movie on this very thing about 10 years ago.


rainforest_image2-1.gif

ok so if you compare the what countries the US imports beef from to what countries actually have rainforests in them you will see that less than 2% of all beef for american consumption could possibly be knocking down rainforests. hardly a "driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests" when you consider logging and slash and burn farming.
i excluded australia because their rainforests for the most part are protected, they have alot of other space to be doing cattle farming, and as much as i looked i couldnt find beef farming destroying australian rainforests. while i did find such facts about brazil and costa rica, they werent just selling beef to the US.

either way its a gross exaggeration of the facts, and thats what my point was all along. just makes me wonder if thats the only exaggeration in there...
 
It's always been my understanding that they have been involved in the destruction of the rain forests to make room for cattle grazing.

Jeisan,

When I made the above quote, I was actually referring to the fact that the American cattle industry does business with cattle industries of other nations, and therefore their hands are not clean of tearing down rain forests. They have been profiting off of the cattle business in other countries as well as here in the U.S. That's just always been my understanding of it. Of course, I could be wrong!! LOL!

Satori
 
i just wish people didnt eat creatures, ok im guilty of organic sausages once in a while but i cant stomach dead cows or birds! if there was a vegan alternative id take it-but veggie and vegan sausages are nutty and im not good with nut or soy,hmmmmm, i know it doesnt make up for it but i rescued 36 horses from slaughter 2 years ago i still have 18, they are my babies-how can people kill them they all have little personalities and souls-its murder!!! (please dont say its because i eat sausages i feel guilty enough as it is)excellent reading your study though i am really into helping the environment, i am quite into not wasting stuff and i buy organic food mainly, it has improved my health, even when i couldnt afford it years ago i figured if i bought a little every time i went food shopping it would encourage manufacturer of these quality goods, i also lobbied in my local store for more organic and health products and they gave in and there is quite alot now, also the council were going to build an incinerator plant near my home, i went to a meeting and stood nervously infront of my town and explained to the government official why we shouldnt build one in our area and he had it stopped!!!!!! i was contacted by a local government official and said as a direct result of my speech the plant was halted!, now on the land they keep 4large horses which pull a recycling cart and it travels around the village collecting everything, isnt that cool?, if only i had more knowledge maybe one day i could do some real good, ive only been on this site for a while but im so inspired by it, especially satori, i dont meet many people who are passionate about doing good, it gives me hope that im not alone or mad with my thoughts for a pleasanter world.
 
ponynut said:
i just wish people didnt eat creatures, ok im guilty of organic sausages once in a while but i cant stomach dead cows or birds! if there was a vegan alternative id take it-but veggie and vegan sausages are nutty and im not good with nut or soy,hmmmmm, i know it doesnt make up for it but i rescued 36 horses from slaughter 2 years ago i still have 18, they are my babies-how can people kill them they all have little personalities and souls-its murder!!! (please dont say its because i eat sausages i feel guilty enough as it is)excellent reading your study though i am really into helping the environment, i am quite into not wasting stuff and i buy organic food mainly, it has improved my health, even when i couldnt afford it years ago i figured if i bought a little every time i went food shopping it would encourage manufacturer of these quality goods, i also lobbied in my local store for more organic and health products and they gave in and there is quite alot now, also the council were going to build an incinerator plant near my home, i went to a meeting and stood nervously infront of my town and explained to the government official why we shouldnt build one in our area and he had it stopped!!!!!! i was contacted by a local government official and said as a direct result of my speech the plant was halted!, now on the land they keep 4large horses which pull a recycling cart and it travels around the village collecting everything, isnt that cool?, if only i had more knowledge maybe one day i could do some real good, ive only been on this site for a while but im so inspired by it, especially satori, i dont meet many people who are passionate about doing good, it gives me hope that im not alone or mad with my thoughts for a pleasanter world.


That's so nice of you to say, Ponynut!! And I am so very, very impressed by how you have saved horses' lives, as well as what you were able to do for the environment! That's fantastic!!! Good for you! We need more people like you in the world!! :)

Satori
:)

P.S. By the way, sorry this response is so late. I had left the forum for a little while (personal and financial problems going on), so I didn't see your response. Sorry!! I just came back last month and am playing "catch up" as a consequence. I hope you're still around! I am a HUGE animal-lover, myself, especially horses!! :)
 
Hi! I just found this thread. Vegetarian/animal volunteer living in Kobe.
Wish I could get the same info about all the meat the Japanese import (including a lot from American owned companies in rainforest countries).
I get very frustrated that the younger generation blindly follows the "American" way of life with all the bad health problems that comes with it. Drug companies are doing really good business with all the health problems related to the diet they are following. It is their grandparents who stick to a traditional diet that are the ones that have the long life expectance!
 
Back
Top Bottom