The Environmental Impact of Eating Meat
Consider these facts:
Cattle, pigs, and chicken are fed thirty-eight percent of total grain production worldwide. Livestock are fed seventy percent of grain production in the United States. (Gussow, 1994)
Approximately 4 million acres of cropland is being lost in the United States each year due to soil erosion, of which it is estimated that 85% is directly related to raising livestock. (The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook, 1995)
It is estimated that up to five tons of animal manure are generated for every person in the United States by livestock farming. In one day, a single hog farm produces an amount of raw waste equal to a town with a population of 12,000 people. In one year, a large-scale commercial egg farm yields enough manure to load 1,400 dump trucks. Since 1970, over 20 million hectares of tropical forest have been converted to cattle pasture in Latin America. This deforestation has had a devastating impact on plant and animal diversity in Latin America. (Gussow, 1994)
E. coli and Mad Cow disease have been linked by many medical authorities with factory farming methods.
In theory, the average American could save more water by cutting their beef consumption by a third than if they quit taking showers for a year. According to the National Cattleman’s Beef Association it takes 435 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of boneless beef. According to the USDA, on average Americans consume 64 pounds of beef per year (US per capita food consumption: record-high meat and sugars in 1994 – 1995 Food Review, May-August, 1996 by Judith Jones Putnam, Lawrence A. Duewer
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3765/is_n2_v18/ai_18509713) That’s 27,840 gallons of water that’s required to supply the average American’s annual consumption of beef. Based on 7 five-minute showers per week with a 4 gallon per minute flow rate that’s 7280 gallons per year used in water for showers. The water it takes to produce less than 17 pounds of boneless beef is equal to the amount of water used in one years’ worth of daily showers. Want to save water? Don’t eat beef.
According to the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, a realistic figure for oil consumption for the average steer’s lifetime is 13.83 gallons of oil. That’s 1.5 billion gallons of oil that will be required by the 103 million head of cattle being raised in the United States.
Not All Meats Are Bad
Not all meat consumption is bad for you. Fish, specifically Salmon, Tuna, Cod, Halibut, and Snapper are excellent sources of important nutrients that magnetize the body towards health. Free range organically grown chicken and turkey are also good lean sources of protein.