Quotes from 'Diet for a New America'

From http://marcussharpe.com/diet.shtml

World Hunger

Human population of United States: 243,000,000


Number of human beings who could be fed by the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock: 1,300,000,000


Sacred food of Native Americans: Corn


Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by human beings: 20
Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by livestock: 80


Percentage of oats grown in United States eaten by livestock: 95


Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90


Percentage of carbohydrate wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 99


Percentage of dietary fibre wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 100


How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds


Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on 1 acre of land: 20,000


Pounds of beef that can be produced on 1 acre of land: 165


Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef: 56


Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16


Pounds of protein fed to chickens to produce 1 pound of protein as chicken flesh: 5 pounds


Pounds of protein fed to hogs to produce 1 pound of protein as hog flesh: 7.5 pounds


Number of children who starve to death every day: 40,000


Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed
1 person consuming meat-based diet: 20


Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60,000,000


Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced
their intake of meat by 10%: 60,000,000




Topsoil Depletion


Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil depletion


Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75


Amount of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4,000,000 acres, the size of Connecticut


Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: 85


Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create cropland to produce a
meat-centred diet: 260,000,000


How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: Every 8 seconds


Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to pure vegetarian diet: 1 acre


Rainforest Destruction


A driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rainforests: American meat habit


Amount of meat imported annually by U.S. from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: 200,000,000 pounds


Amount of meat eaten by average person in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua,
Honduras, and Panama: Less than average American housecat


Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests and r
elated habitats: 1,000/year



Energy, True Cost


Length of time the world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate
meat-centred diets: 13 years


Length of time the world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate a
vegetarian diet: 260 years


Principal reason for U.S. military intervention in Persian Gulf: Dependence on foreign oil


Barrels of oil imported daily by U.S.: 6,800,000


Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of most energy
efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5%


Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of least energy
efficient plant food: 32.8%


Pounds of soybeans produced by the amount of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 pound of
feedlot beef: 40


Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes presently consumed to
produce current meat-centred diet: 33


Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes needed to produce fully
vegetarian diet: 2


User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the United States: Livestock production


Quantity of water used in the production of the average cow sufficient to: Float a destroyer


Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons


Water needed to reduce 1 pound of meat: 2,500 gallons


Cost of common hamburger meat if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by
U.S. taxpayers: $35/pound


Current cost for pound of protein from wheat: $1.50


Current cost for pound of protein from beefsteak: $15.40


Cost for pound of protein from beefsteak if U.S. taxpayers ceased subsidizing meat industry's
use of water: $89


Feedlot Sewage


Production of excrement by total U.S. human population: 12,000 pounds/second


Production of excrement by U.S. livestock: 250,000 pounds/second


Sewage systems in U.S. cities: Common


Sewage systems in U.S. feedlots: Nil


Amount of waste produced annually by U.S. livestock in confinement operations which
is not recycled: 1 billion tons


Relative concentration of feedlot wastes compared to raw domestic sewage: Ten to
several hundred times more highly concentrated Where feedlot waste often ends up: In our water



Nutrition


Number of U.S. medical schools: 125


Number of U.S. medical schools with required course in nutrition: 30


Training in nutrition received during 4 years of medical school by average
U.S. physician: 2.5 hours


How frequently a heart attack strikes in the U.S.: Every 25 seconds


How frequently heart attack kills in U.S.: Every 45 seconds


Most common cause of death in U.S.: Heart attack


Risk of death from heart attack by average American man: 50%


Risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian man: 15%


Risk of death from heart attack by average American pure vegetarian man: 4%


Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products,
and eggs 10%: 9%


Amount you reduce the risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products,
and eggs by 50%: 45%


Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products,
and eggs by 100%: 90%


Rise in blood cholesterol level from consuming 1 egg per day: 12%


Rise in heart attack risk from 12% rise in blood cholesterol: 24%


Meat, dairy, and egg industries claim there is no reason to be concerned about your
blood cholesterol as long as it is: "normal"


Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal":
over 50%


Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if you do not consume saturated fat and cholesterol: 5%


Leading sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in American diets: Meat, dairy products, and eggs


Hollywood celebrity paid by meat board to tout beef as "Real food for real people": James Garner


Medical event experienced by James Garner in April, 1988: Quintuple coronary artery
bypass surgery


World populations with high meat intakes who do not have correspondingly high rates of
colon cancer: None


World populations with low meat intakes who do not have correspondingly low rates of
colon cancer: None


Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to women who eat meat
less than once a week: 4 times higher


Egg Board's advertising slogan: The incredible edible egg


Photographs often accompanying the egg board's slogan: Young women in bathing suits,
emphasizing the shape of their breasts


Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily compared to women who eat
eggs less than once a week: 3 times higher


Milk Producers original ad campaign slogan: "Everybody needs milk"


What the Federal Trade Commission called the "Everybody needs milk" slogan: "False,
misleading and deceptive"


Milk Producer's revised campaign slogan: "Milk has something for everybody"


Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat butter and cheese 3 or more times a week
compared to women who eat these foods less than once a week: 3 times higher


Part of female chicken's body that produces eggs: Ovaries


Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week
compared to women who eat eggs less than once a week: 3 times higher


Foods males in U.S. are conditioned to think of as "manly": Animal products


Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meats, cheese, eggs, and milk daily compared to men who eat these foods sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times higher


Food Groups


Recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein according to
World Health Organization: 4.5%


Recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein according to
Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S.D.A: 6%


Recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein according to
National Research Council: 8%


Percentage of calories as protein in wheat: 17%


Percentage of calories as protein in broccoli: 45%


Percentage of calories as protein in rice: 8%


Disease linked to inadequate protein consumption: Kwashiorkor


Number of cases of kwashiorkor in United States: Virtually none


Diseases linked to excess protein consumption: Osteoporosis and Kidney failure


Number of cases of osteoporosis and kidney failure in the United States: Tens of millions


The average measurable bone loss of female meat-eaters at age 65: 35%


The average measurable bone loss of female vegetarians at age 65: 18%


Person who popularized the concept of protein combining: Frances Moore Lappe


Frances Moore lappe's updated research on a healthy, varied vegetarian diet: Protein
combining is completely unnecessary.


Health status of pure vegetarians from many populations of the world according to the Food and
Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences: Excellent


The Meat Board tells us: Today's meats are low in fat.


The Meat Board shows us: A serving of beef they claim has "only 300 calories". The Meat Board
doesn't tell us: The serving of beef they show us is only 3 ounces (half the size of an average
serving of beef) and has been surgically defatted with a scalpel.


The dairy industry tells us: Whole milk is 3.5% fat The dairy industry doesn't tell us: That 3.5%
figure is based on weight, and most of the weight in milk is water


The dairy industry doesn't want us to know: The amount of calories as fat in whole milk is 50%


Oscar Mayer tells us: It is "myth" that hot dogs are fatty
Oscar Mayer demonstrates their point by favourably comparing the fattiness of hot dogs to such l
ow fat bastions as: Margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and cream cheese


The Dairy Council tells us: Milk is nature's most perfect food
The Dairy Council doesn't tell us: Milk is nature's food for a baby calf, who has four stomachs, will
double its weight in 47 days and is destined to weigh 300 pounds within a year


The Dairy Council tells children: To grow up big and strong, drink lots of milk
The Dairy Council occasionally tells children: The enzyme necessary for digestion of milk is lactase
The Dairy Council never tells children: 20% of caucasian children and 80% of Black children
have no lactase in their intestines.


The meat, dairy, and egg industries tell us: Animal products constitute 2 of the "Basic 4" food groups


The meat, dairy, and egg industries don't tell us: There were originally 12 official basic food groups,
before these industries applied enormous political pressure on behalf of their products


The meat, dairy, and egg industries tell us: We are well-fed only with animal products


The meat, dairy, and egg industries don't tell us: The diseases which are commonly prevented,
consistently improved, and sometimes cured by low-fat vegetarian diet include:



Strokes,
Heart disease
Kidney stones
Breast cancer
Prostate cancer

Pancreatic cancer
Cervical cancer
Stomach cancer
Diabetes
Hypoglycemia

Peptic ulcers
Constipation
Hiatal hernias
Diverticulosis
Gallstones

Hypertension
Salmonellosis
Trichinosis
Osteoporosis
Colon cancer

Ovarian cancer
Endometrial cancer
Kidney disease
Hemorrhoids
Obesity

Asthma
Irritable colon syndrome

Pesticides, Sterility


Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by meat: 55%


Pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by Dairy products: 23%


Pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by vegetables: 6%


Pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4%


Pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1%


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%


Relative pesticide contamination in breast milk of meat-eating mothers compared to
pesticide contamination in breast milk of vegetarian mothers: 35 times as high


Percentage of male college students sterile in 1950: 0.5


Percentage of male college students sterile in 1978: 25


Sperm count of average American male compared to 30 years ago: Down 30%


Principle reason for sterility and sperm count reduction in U.S. males: Chlorinated hydrocarbon
pesticides, including dioxin, DDT, etc


Percentage of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in American diet attributable to meats,
dairy products, fish and eggs: 94%


The meat Board tells us not to be concerned about the dioxin and other pesticides in today's beef because: the quantities are too small


The meat board doesn't want us to know: How potent dioxin and the other pesticides are.
The meat board particularly doesn't want us to know: A mere ounce of dioxin could kill
10 million people


The USDA tells us: Our meat is inspected The USDA doesn't tell us: Less than 1 out of every
quarter million slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues


The dye used for many years by the USDA for many years to stamp meats "Choice", "Prime", or
"U.S. No.1 USDA": Violet Dye No.1. Current status of Violet Dye No.1: Banned as
proven carcinogen


Animal Factories


Wingspan of average leghorn chicken: 26 inches


Space average leghorn chicken given in egg factories: 6 inches


Number of 700 plus pounds pigs confined to space the size of a twin bed in typical factory farm: 3


Reason today's veal is so tender: Calves never allowed to take single step


Reason today's veal is whitish-pink: Calves force fed an anemia-producing diet


McDonald's brags: 60 million sold McDonald's doesn't brag about: 50 million butchered


McDonald's clown, Ronald McDonald, tells children: Hamburgers grow in hamburger patches and
love to be eaten.
McDonald's clown, Ronald McDonald,doesn't tell children: Hamburgers are ground up cows
who've had their throats slit by machetes or their brains bashed in by sledgehammers
Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff Juliano Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian


Number of animals killed for meat per hour in U.S.: 500,000


Occupation with highest employee turnover rate in U.S.: Slaughterhouse worker


Occupation with highest employee rate of injury in U.S.: Slaughterhouse worker


Cost to render an animal unconscious prior to slaughter with captive bolt pistol so that process
is done humanely: 1 penny


Reason given by meat industry for not utilizing captive bolt pistol: Too expensive


Antibiotics


Percentage of total antibiotics used in U.S. fed routinely to livestock: 55


Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13


Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91


Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of
antibiotics to livestock


Effectiveness of all "wonder-drug" antibiotics: Declining rapidly Reason: Feeding of antibiotics
resistant bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock


Response by entire European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock:


Ban Response by American meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support

Athletic Performance


Only man to win ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott, 6 time winner


Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian World record holder for 24 hour triathlon (swim 4.8 miles,
cycle 185 miles, run 52.5 miles):


Sixto Linares Food choices of Sixto Linares: Strict vegetarian


Athlete who most totally dominated Olympic sport in track and field history: Edwin Moses,
undefeated in 8 years, 400 meter hurdles


Food choices of Edwin Moses: Vegetarian


Other notable vegetarian athletes: Stan Price: World record-bench press


Robert Sweetgall: World's premier ultra-distance walker


Paavo Nurmi: 20 World's records in distance running, 9 olympic medals


Bill Pickering: World record swimming English Channel


Murray Rose: World records 400 and 1500 meter freestyles


Andreas Cahling: Winner Mr International body building championships


Roy Hilligan: Winner Mr America body building championships


Pierreo Verot: World's record for downhill endurance skiing


Estelle Gray and Cherly Marek: World's record for cross-country tandem cycling


James and Johnathon deDonato: World's record for distance butterfly stroke swimming


Ridgely Abele: Winner of 8 national championships in Karate, including U.S. Karate
Association World Championships



Information about the Book


For the complete documentation of all the facts contained in "Realities 1989", read Diet for a
New America. Order from EarthSave for $15.70 (including shipping); write for multiple copy
discounts. All orders shipped bookrate.
Contact EarthSave at: 706 Frederick Street Santa Cruz, CA 95062-2205 (408)423-4069 (?)


Information about Softcopy


Feel free to copy and distribute "Realities 1989". Please copy it in its entirety and, if hardcopy,
please be sure that the reproduction is of good quality.


The ASCII version of "Realities" had been copied in its entirety by Carol Hall of Harold Hill,
Essex, England and distributed electronically by Ben Leamy (A68ls@pel.ac.uk) for the sole
purpose of promoting a vegetarian lifestyle by education. Typing errors not found in the original
may exist. All standard disclaimers apply. Further distribution in its entirety is encouraged.
(Ben 24th July 1991)


Thanks to Dilip Barman, president of the Triangle Vegetarian Society, who found the ASCII
version on November 15th, 1995 and converted it to HTML for the web.

These facts would be amazing to some people - are we getting blase or disheartened at the lack of interest by many?

Thank you very much, Korn, for posting this.
I have seen this info in "Diet for a New America". Also PETA and Farm Sanctuary have reproduced this info, also.
However, it is staggering and never ceases to really depress me to the point of tears. :(

Not ONE of the "meat-eaters" to whom I have presented this info has ever been really upset or changed by it. I ask you all: Are most people just plain crazy or are they living with blinders on?

Is this a good cause for depression or what? :(
spo

The sad news is those numbers are over 15 years old. It's only gotten worse. I think I'm more angry than depressed right now.

Thanks, Korn. :)

I showed it to my (omni) mother, and she found it interesting. Also, she tells me from time to time how she's been eating less meat. I don't expect her to ever become veg*n, but an omni eating little meat is better than an omni eating a lot of meat, right? :o

Thanks for this thread. I'll spread the info locally. I'll probably be attacked or called a "treehugger" again. Oh well.

For what it is worth, Eric Marcus in his book "Meat Market" has an appendix debunking bogus environmental claims made by vegetarians. One of them is Robbins' claim about the amount the amount of water needed to produce beef.

Marcus followed Robbins' citations and they all led back to a single article, published in a journal in the 70s that is no longer printed.

Marcus eventually found a library that had a copy of the journal and read the article.

He concluded that the article had very little substantiation by the standards used to evaluate studies and unfortunately the beef industries claims that Robbins "debunked" had very good standards.

Marcus wasn't dissing Robbins. Marcus was just trying to make the point that environmental and health arguments can hurt animal rights activists by damaging their credibility if they do not do high quality research. The livestock industry will certainly know if we are wrong in the things we say and they will not hesitate to point it out.

You might want to take the stats from DFNA with a grain of salt.

You know, statistics are always a funny thing. Anyone can twist them to their advantage as we see every night on the evening news.

According to Vital Signs 2005 from The Worldwatch Institute (not a vegetarian publication), from page 24 "producing 8 ounces of beef requires 25,000 liters of water. And they site a 2003 source in the sources.

So Marcus was correct in saying that Robbins' statistics were wrong. According to 2003 data in takes 12,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef instead of Robbins' misleading 2,500 gallons.

I agree with Dianecrna, numbers can easily be twisted. Often, when comparing 'facts' from various sources, they don't match.

The funny and sad thing is that if an average meat-eater is presented with a long list of facts about what his diet does with himself (and the animals he eat), if he find one or two errors, he'll happily use this to ignore all the other listed facts as if they also were not correct. Humans can be pretty good in fooling each other, but are experts in fooling themselves...

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Korn

The funny and sad thing is that if an average meat-eater is presented with a long list of facts about what his diet does with himself (and the animals he eat), if he find one or two errors, he'll happily use this to ignore all the other listed facts as if they also were not correct. Humans can be pretty good in fooling each other, but are experts in fooling themselves...

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So right, Korn, and so really discouraging. The general facts are correct; but just the slightest discrepancy makes us out to be liars or fools. :cool:
spo

I didn't want to believe Marcus, but it is a lot more then "a slight discrepency".

I don't think you can dismiss what Marcus had to say until you read his book.

There is just too much information I did not illustrate.

Funny, I hadn't seen this thread cause my modem was broken from late april til mid may, and missed much on the VF! Buyt we just happened to be discussing such statistics in the past day or so. I haven'tread Diet for a New America, but have read Francione and he seems to get much of his data from the list above.

True or not, there is good reason to know that producing meat causes environmental damage and eating it can cause illness.

BTW Korn, the link is broken! Got a 404 error message.

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spo

Not ONE of the "meat-eaters" to whom I have presented this info has ever been really upset or changed by it. I ask you all: Are most people just plain crazy or are they living with blinders on?

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I am convinced we should focus our appeals to their selfishness. It really has to be about money. If we can give evidence that they'll pay less tax or get more take home wages by going vego we'd be swamped.

Maybe we should start a VF credit card that rewards vegan shoppers! We can even rip off the Virgin logo: Vegan... (gertvegans idea)

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veganator

I didn't want to believe Marcus, but it is a lot more then "a slight discrepency".

I don't think you can dismiss what Marcus had to say until you read his book.

There is just too much information I did not illustrate.

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Veganator, if you know about info on that list which is not correct, please let us know.....!
Adam, I fixed the link.

Hi Korn;

I can't repeat the book here. I suggest you pick up a copy. Whether or not you agree with Marcus' views his book is well written, well thought out and well researched.

Oh, my god. This is too interesting. TOO INTERESTING. I am so using this for my Vegan Campaign. There is going to be a very simple poster that reads

Why Go Vegan
Fun facts:

1. Which has more calcium - a cup of cottage cheese or a cup of cooked spinach? The answer is spinach which has 260mg of calcium versus 160mg for the cottage cheese.
2. In the early 1900's, vegetarian cyclists were almost banned from competing in events as the organisers believed they had an 'unfair' advantage!

Serious facts:

• How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds
• Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on 1 acre of land: 20,000
• Pounds of beef that can be produced on 1 acre of land: 165
• Reason today's veal is whitish-pink: Calves force fed an anemia-producing diet

Isn't that poetic?

Reading this thread brought back memories of a Sapphire and Steele story about a couple living in a modern apartment. They are not what they appear to be. They are from the future, the 35th Century or there abouts. The apartment is a time capsule which is situated on the roof of a 20th Century tower block. They do an experiment to live as 20th Century humans. But the trouble starts when the couple discover they can't contact their superiors in their own time, or two other similar time capsules in present day. In the 35th century, Mankind is the only animal not extinct; all other animals, flora, fauna and even germs have been ruthlessly eradicated in order to preserve the purity of the human race.

With the mountains of food waste each year due to EU regulations of the food not being a certain size and shape, or aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and the Governments crying out that there is a world food shortage. Wouldn't it be better that all food was used to feed people rather than waste it because it's small, large or oddly shaped?

The methane the animals produce which is depleting the ozone layer and trees being felled to make more agricultural land. It strikes me that fiction is turning into fact!

I'm not sure if this make sense . . . I'm probably not putting it across very well in written words.

How To Win An Argument With A Meat-Eater is also using material from Diet For A New America:

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B]The Hunger Argument[/B]
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?)

Source = "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins

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Thanks for posting this Korn! DFANA is one of my favorite books of all time.

This is some really good info, thanks!