Animal Agriculture vs. Veganism

[MontyM]

Hello,

I KNOW Animal Agriculture is extremely inefficient. Many pounds of grain are used to produce a pound of meat. Many gallons of water are used to produce a pound of meat. Meat production has a huge carbon footprint. The price of ethanol is inflated because of Meat production.
I KNOW a plant bases diet is much more efficient.

I am looking for facts and figures to support this. Does anyone know of a web page the list the about of grain, water etc used in meat production

Thanks
Monty

[hullabaloo]

Have a look at : http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/hot/downloads/environment_a4_report.pdf

[MontyM]

More than I had hoped for!
Thanks

[squigaletta]

a new argument I have been encountering lately is 'in order to grow tofu rainforests are being cut down, therefore by being a vegan you are promoting deforestation and so you shouldn't be vegan'. this is the most riduculously illogical argument I have heard yet and makes me pretty pissed off.

[pat sommer]

all purpose response:
"really? where did you here that?"
If they can then point to some source then it's fun debunking. How often, really, do folks give us such golden opportunities to enlighten them?:)

[squigaletta]

I generally just say that its because their inefficient meat is taking up all the room!

[Quantum Mechanic]

all purpose response:
"really? where did you here that?"
If they can then point to some source then it's fun debunking. How often, really, do folks give us such golden opportunities to enlighten them?:)

Exactly. The burden of proof is on the person making the claim.

[Encrypted]

And what about Soya plantations? I read once that soya cultivation is "killing" huge zones in the amazonas because it needs a lot of space.

I don't remember where I read it. Does anyone know about that?

[bradders]

there was actually a big thing about tree felling for farm land for growing soya beans in Brazil not too long since. Reason, all the good land has been taken for meat. So people should stop eating meat and there would be plenty of land for real food.

[Encrypted]

there was actually a big thing about tree felling for farm land for growing soya beans in Brazil not too long since. Reason, all the good land has been taken for meat. So people should stop eating meat and there would be plenty of land for real food.

Yes, good point. But people will say it's better to stop soya production than meat one. Not easy...

[Ruby Rose]

Much of the soya from rainforest clearance areas is being grown, I understand, not for us vegans to have something to put in our tea, but as a cheap food source for cattle.

[bradders]

I believe that that is true.

[aussievego]

RubyRose is spot on. I get lots of people saying "you bloody vegans are destroying the rain forests to eat all the soy". But when I tell them that up to 80% of the soy from these plantations is being used to feed animals, and point out that from the energy conversion of plants to meat that they are effectively eating ten times the amount of soy that a vego would eat even if a vego had tofu in every meal (whish we don't), they usually change the subject pretty quick.

Blaming vegos for deforestation is a bit like blaming whales and seals for dwindling fish stocks.

[bradders]

Although the Japanese gov does try to do that.

[gogs67]

Much of the soya from rainforest clearance areas is being grown, I understand, not for us vegans to have something to put in our tea, but as a cheap food source for cattle.
I think the majority of it goes into pig and chicken feed in Northern Europe.
Whatever, between 75 and 90% of South American Soy is exported to Europe and 90% of that is for various animal feed.
And that is direct from 'Soja Doorgelicht' (A brochure from the Dutch Soy Coalition)

[exec]

Livestock agriculture is more than just double work. First, you grow plantations in order to feed the livestocks, then you build factories to keep these creatures. In spite of the space needed for the plantations, additional rooms are also required for the buildings. And considering the sizes of some of the animals these people grow, there is no reason to believe that some of them eat more than we human do.

It's not hard to look at the fact that we doing extra work while not getting back rewards of the same weigh.