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In Reply to: Health!--becoming a vegetarian (part 1) posted by porceleindoll on March 20, 2003 at 07:30:01:
There seems to have been a predominant (American??) food culture amongst COGers to eat a lot of meat. I know some use their interpretation of scripture as a license for heavy meat consumption. There are quite a few verses for the consumption of meat, and a few against, and lots in the "according to your faith" category, 285 in total in the KJV bible.
Statistics show that humans consume way too much meat, and that the earth's resources cannot possibly sustain the kind of meat consumption we (in "developed" countries) are used to. I have been a Quasi-Vegetarian for years now, and experience benefits from health to conscience to spiritual:
*I feel a lot less tired after meals, my system feels less clogged up. I get a far more nutritous and tasty diet, and I feel great! Both my parents had/have cardio-vascular related diseases, so I watch my diet.
*I love furry animals. Ever looked in a cow's eyes? Could you kill one?
*My symbolic attempt at Consistency -- if I can't kill it why should I eat it?
*I care a great deal about ecology and the environment, and as much as possible I don't want to be part of the problem. Statistics show that humans consume way too much meat, and that the earth's resources cannot possibly sustain the kind of meat consumption we (in the developed countries) are used to.
Well, stats also show that there aren't enough resources to sustain every home in the world having a computer &/or refrigerator, and there simply aren't enough resources for everyone in the world to live in the same standards we have in developed countries. And I own a few puters and fridges, and I wear leather, and I use a host of other environmentally unfriendly products... *sigh*
So I know you can only push this issue so far... Since I don't have all the answers to the universe and don't believe my personal philosphy/preference covers it all, so as not to be too fanatic I do eat fish sometimes, and even lamb once a year. Now, there's fanatacism for you ;-)
"For one believeth that he may eat all things: another... eateth herbs... Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not, judge him that eateth... For meat destroy not... All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence... " Romans 14
Of course, Berg spoke against environmental activists saying that God would simply give us a new earth. He also said Jesus would return in the 90's, all contingent the timing of his death. In the mean time we are destroying the earth.
Before I bore you with stats below, the purpose of my post is NOT "hey don't eat that, hey don't drink that, it's bad for you" but to find out how many of us are greenies?
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So here it is, I find the conclusions at the end very convicting:
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The toll exacted on human health by a diet laden with saturated fat and cholesterol is devastating, and thoroughly documented. What is this same diet doing to our planet?
*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.
*Because of over-consumption of fish, all 17 of the world’s major fishing areas have reached or exceeded their natural limits. One-third of the world’s fish catch is fed directly to livestock.
*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.
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND OUR FOOD CHOICES:
*Many farmers are rediscovering the farming methods of their grandfathers and augmenting this with new knowledge of sustainable techniques. These are achieving the same or greater yields without the use of costly, harmful and soil-depleting petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides.
*Ultimately, it is consumer demand that has brought us to this juncture of depleted and polluted soils, seas and fresh water supplies through the desire to have a "cheap" food supply. Only a profound change in consumer demand can prevent a total collapse of the seas and the soils.
*By eating a varied plant-based diet, you can easily get all the nutrients you need to lead a healthy active life. Besides being easy, delicious, economical, fun and healthful, following a plant-based diet transforms your fork into a powerful tool for environmental protection and restoration.
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.
*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 AND 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 US’s 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.
*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 world’s population increases through the year 2050.
