How to Win an Argument
With a Meat Eater:
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The Hunger Argument
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
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 diet: 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 undernourished: 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 for 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 than 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 and 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 medical 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 level 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 destroyer
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-centered 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 livestock: 33
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to
produce a complete 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 livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine
feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete
support
The Pesticide Argument
Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects
our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered
animals is tested for toxic 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 animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs.
non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American
infant: 9 times the permissible level
The Ethical Argument
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse
worker
Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse
worker
The Survival Argument
Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave
Scott (6 time winner)
Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex
(Where is he today?)
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