Tofu pt 2

Alright, now I'm not gonna preach or draw upon my large collection of vegetarian quotes, cuz I'm sure that only the converted among you would read on. Instead, may I present to you some statistics....

Land Utilization and Soil Erosion

• One-half of the Earth's land mass is grazed by livestock
• More than 60% of the world's rangelands were damaged by overgrazing during the past half century.
• As much as 85% of rangeland in the western US is being degraded by overgrazing.
• Overgrazing is by far the most pervasive cause of desertification.
• 35 pounds of topsoil are lost in the production of one pound of grain-fed beef.
• 64% of US cropland produces livestock feed.
• Only 2% of US cropland produces fruits and vegetables.
• 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:
  
• 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.
• Between 19 and 22% of all threatened and endangered species are harmed by livestock grazing.

Rainforest Destruction

• 5 million acres of rainforest are felled every year in South and Central America to create cattle pasture.
• Cattle ranching has destroyed more Central American rainforest than any other activity.
• 70% of cleared forests in Panama and Costa Rica are now in pasture.

Pollution

• Manure produced by all farm animals in the US annually is roughly 10 times the waste produced by the human population.
• Factory farms are the biggest contributors to polluted rivers and streams in the US.
• 1,785 water bodies were impaired by feedlot pollution in 39 states in 1993.
• About 60,000 miles of streams in the US have fisheries impaired by feedlot pollution.
• More soot is emitted from the grills in Los Angeles fast food restaurants than all the city buses.

Pesticides & Food Contamination

• Since 1945 when pesticides made from petrochemicals became popular, the following changes have occurred:
  
• 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.
• Meat, poultry and dairy products contain the major source of pesticide residues in the western diet.
• 95% of human exposure to the potent carcinogen dioxin comes from consuming meat, poultry and dairy.
• The EPA issued more than 1,000 warnings against eating fish from chemically-contaminated waters in 1994.
• Nearly half of all fish sampled by Consumers Union was contaminated with bacterial from human or animal feces.
• 99% of US non-vegetarian mothers' milk has significant levels of DDT. Only 8% of US vegetarian mothers' milk has significant levels of DDT.

Resource Distribution

• Resources used in the production of livestock:
• 33% of world's fish catch
  
• 38% of the world's grain harvest
  
• 50% of all the water used in the US
  
• 60% of Brazil's grain harvest
  
• 70% of US grain harvest
  
• 80% of US corn harvest
  
• Almost half of all energy expended in US agriculture
  
• 14% of all cattle are fed back to cattle as part of protein-fortified feed.
• Approximately 8 million pounds of poultry manure are fed annually to California's beef cattle.
• 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.
• 12-16 pounds of grain and soy are needed to produce one pound of grain-fed beef.
• All 17 of the worlds major fishing areas have reached or exceeded their natural limits due to overfishing.
• $3.7 billion subsidized animal feed grains in 1995. They are the USÕs most heavily subsidized crop.

World Hunger

• 5 million children in the US go hungry every month.
• Approximately 40,000 people die each day worldwide due to hunger or hunger-related causes.
• 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.
• 10 billion people could be sustained from present croplands if all ate a vegetarian diet.