http://fusionanomaly.net/vegetarianism.html
* It takes 2,500 gallons of water, 12 pounds of grain, 35 pounds of topsoil and the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline to produce one pound of feedlot beef.
* 70% of US grain production is fed to livestock.
* 5 million acres of rainforest are felled every year in South and Central America alone to create cattle pasture.
* Roughly 20% of all currently threatened and endangered species in the US are harmed by livestock grazing.
* Animal agriculture is a chief contributor to water pollution.
* America's farm animals produce 10 times the waste produced by the human population.
[...]
Land Utilization and Soil Erosion
One-half of the Earth's land mass is grazed by livestock.[1]
More than 60% of the world's rangelands were damaged by overgrazing during the past half century.[2]
As much as 85% of rangeland in the western US is being degraded by overgrazing.[3]
Overgrazing is by far the most pervasive cause of desertification.[4]
35 pounds of topsoil are lost in the production of one pound of grain-fed beef.[5]
64% of US cropland produces livestock feed.[6]
Only 2% of US cropland produces fruits and vegetables.[7]
Pounds of edible product that can be produced on an acre of prime land:
Apples 20,000
Carrots 30,000
Potatoes 40,000
Tomatoes 50,000
Beef 250
Water Consumption
The number of gallons of water needed to produce one pound of edible product: [9,10]
Apples 49
Carrots 33
Potatoes 24
Tomatoes 23
Beef 2,500
Endangered Species
At least 100 animals are added to the endangered species list each year.[11]
Between 19 and 22% of all threatened and endangered species are harmed by livestock grazing.[12]
Rainforest Destruction
5 million acres of rainforest are felled every year in South and Central America to create cattle pasture.[13]
Cattle ranching has destroyed more Central American rainforest than any other activity.[14]
70% of cleared forests in Panama and Costa Rica are now in pasture.[15]
Pollution
Manure produced by all farm animals in the US annually is roughly
10 times the waste produced by the human population.[16]
Factory farms are the biggest contributors to polluted rivers and streams in the US.[17]
1,785 water bodies were impaired by feedlot pollution in 39 states in 1993.[18]
About 60,000 miles of streams in the US have fisheries impaired by feedlot pollution.[19]
More soot is emitted from the grills in Los Angeles fast food restaurants than all the city buses.[20]
Pesticides & Food Contamination
Since 1945 when pesticides made from petrochemicals became popular, the following changes have occurred: [21,22,23]
Percentage Increase
3,300% overall pesticide use
20% overall crop losses due to insects
100,000% pesticides applied per acre of corn
The drinking water in nearly every midwestern city south of Chicago is contaminated with agricultural weed killers.[24]
Meat, poultry and dairy products contain the major source of pesticide residues in the western diet.[25]
95% of human exposure to the potent carcinogen dioxin comes from consuming meat, poultry and dairy.[26]
The EPA issued more than 1,000 warnings against eating fish from chemically-contaminated waters in 1994.[27]
Nearly half of all fish sampled by Consumers Union was contaminated with bacterial from human or animal feces.[28]
99% of US non-vegetarian mothers' milk has significant levels of DDT. Only 8% of US vegetarian mothers' milk has significant levels of DDT.[29]
Resource Distribution
Resources used in the production of livestock:
33% of world's fish catch [30]
38% of the world's grain harvest [31]
50% of all the water used in the US [32]
60% of Brazil's grain harvest [33]
70% of US grain harvest [34]
80% of US corn harvest [35]
Almost half of all energy expended in US agriculture [36]
14% of all cattle are fed back to cattle as part of protein-fortified feed.[37]
Approximately 8 million pounds of poultry manure are fed annually to California's beef cattle.[38]
50% of all the antibiotics used in the US are fed to animals, and
80% of them are used to promote growth, not to treat disease.[39]
12-16 pounds of grain and soy are needed to produce one pound of grain-fed beef.[40]
All 17 of the worlds major fishing areas have reached or exceeded their natural limits due to overfishing.[41]
$3.7 billion subsidized animal feed grains in 1995. They are the USÃs most heavily subsidized crop.[42]
World Hunger
5 million children in the US go hungry every month.[43]
Approximately 40,000 people die each day worldwide due to hunger or hunger-related causes.[44]
If Americans reduced their intake of meat by merely 10%, 100,000,000 people could be fed using the land, water and energy that would be freed up from growing livestock feed.[45]
10 billion people could be sustained from present croplands if all ate a vegetarian diet.[46]
If everyone in the world cut their meat consumption to reduce their fat intake to the 30% level, there would be enough grain to feed the worldÃs population increases through the year 2000.[47]
