pick an argument

Some fundamental arguments against the eating of meat

The hunger argument:

Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 2 0 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduc ed their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feed lot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument:

Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered die t: 260 million
Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000 ,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernouri shed: 75
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests fo r meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year

The Cancer Argument:

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less th an once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs a nd milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

The Cholesterol Argument:

Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medic al school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl

Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol le vel is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

The Natural Resources Argument:

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a des troyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-center ed diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of li vestock: 33

Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complet e vegetarian diet: 2


The Antibiotic Argument:

Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to liv estock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibi otics to livestock: full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument:

Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat i nspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for tox ic chemical residues
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
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in anima l products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times h igher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times t he permissible level


Still think that burger sounds like a good idea?