I am not going to comment on them other than to say, think about these numbers the next time you bit into that big juicy steak.
Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced 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 feedlot beef: 16
Posts
OK, you have convinced me. We should all become vegetarians for the greater good.
ReplyDeleteI will start this off. Hold on a second ...
OK. Done. You are next, sir.
The book "Diet for a Small Planet" told all about this (it came out in the early '70s). I don't remember the numbers they gave but it's the same idea -- the same amount of land that can produce a tiny amount of meat can produce huge amounts of grain and other produce.
ReplyDeleteJerry Critter,
ReplyDeleteAre you seriously blaming World hunger on American consumption of meat ? What makes you think that US grain Production would go to feeding the world's hungry if meat was not produced?
I challenge your knowledge of the economics of grain production . Most of the time world grain production is adequate. Hunger frequently is the result of local wars and droughts. In Africa starvation has been used as a weapon. One faction deliberately blocking food into areas controlled by their rivals. The available food cannot get to where it is needed.
In the last year or so World hunger has been worsened by a drought in Russia's farm belt and record floods in Australia's farm land .
A more accurate charge of misuse of American grain can be leveled at the Ethanol industry. I'm not sure of current figures, but at one time 30% of American corn was used to make 3% of our gasoline.
I could also argue that our consumption of meat is a big contributor to our health care crisis. Don't believe me? Read The China Study.
ReplyDeleteI challenge your knowledge of the economics of grain production.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha. I would swear that was a joke if I had not read it. What an odd line.
Critter,
ReplyDeleteAre you really a vegetarian? I have not eaten meat in 25 years.
My count is closer to 25 days than 25 years, but...yes, no dairy either.
ReplyDeleteWell, then I am upstaged. I eat dairy.
ReplyDeleteI was a child (older than I thought, but still a child) when I became a vegetarian. My nuclear family became vegetarians.
Everyone but me later became vegans and now I am the black sheep.
I would rather die eating mushroom and swiss angus burgers than be a 100 year old vegan .
ReplyDeleteSo raising cattle is killing the planet. What are you doing to save it? I'm eating the cows.
Stole that from the great Ron White.
Vegans who do it for health reasons sometimes just want a healthy comfortable life, not a long one.
ReplyDeleteI don't tell vegans to eat meat. I don't want liberals to tell me not to eat meat .
ReplyDeleteI don't want conservatives telling me I have to each cheddar cheese, either. That would be so annoying.
ReplyDelete