The New York Times

* Number of people worldwide who will die of starvation this year:
60 million

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

* Human beings in America: 243 million

* Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now
eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.3 billion

* 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 waste by cycling grain through livestock:
99

* How frequently a child starves to death: every two seconds

* Pounds of potatoes that can be grow on an acre: 20,000

* Percentage of beef produced on an acre: 165

* Percentage of U. S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56

* Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of 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 a meat-centered diet vs. a
meat-free diet: 50 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 U. S. imports annually from Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama: 200 million pounds

* Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and Panama: less than eaten by average U. S. housecat

* Area of tropical rainforest consumed in evey quarter-pound
hamburger: 55 sq. ft.

* 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 4 times a
week vs. less than once a week: 4 times.

* For women who eat eggs daily vs. less than once a week: 3 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 eat meat
daily
vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times

The Natural Resources Argument

* Use of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the
U.S.: livestock portion

* Amount of water used in production of the average steer:
sufficient to float a destroyer

* Gallons to produce a pound of wheat: 25

* Gallons to produce a pound of meat: 2,500

* Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry was not
subsidized by the U. S. taxpayer: $35 a pound.

* Current cost of pound of protein from beefsteak, if water was no
longer subsidized: $89

* 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

* Barrels of oil imported into U.S. daily: 6.8 million

* Percentage of fossil fuel returned as food energy by most
efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5

* Percentage returned from least efficient plant food: 32.8

* Percentage of raw materials consumed by U. S. to produce present
meat-centered diet: 33

The Cholesterol Argument

* Number of U.S. medical schools

* Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30

* Nutrition training received by average U.S. Physician during four
years of medical school: 25 hours.

* Most common cause of death in U.S.: heart attack

* How frequently a heart attach kills in the US: every 45 seconds.

* Average US man's risk of death from heart attack: 50%.

* Risk for average U.S. man who avoids the meat-centered diet: 15%

* Meat industry claims you should not be concerned about your blood
cholesterol of it is: normal.

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

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 1997: 99

* 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

* Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by
grains: 1

* Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by
fruits: 4

* Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by
dairy products: 23

* Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by
meat: 55

* Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat-eating mothers
vs. non-meat eating: 35 times higher.

* What U.S.D.A. tells us: meat is inspected.

* Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxic
chemicals including dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004

The Ethical Argument

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

* Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse
worker.

* Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job injury in U.S.:
slaughterhouse worker.

* Cost to render animal unconscious with 'captive bolt pistol"
before slaughter: $0.01

* Reason given by meat industry for not using 'captive bolt
pistol':
too expensive.

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

* Last sighting of Tyrannosaurus Rex: 100,000,000 B. C.
http://www.rense.com/health/meateaters.htm