Why Meatless?

Why Meatless?Emily J. Bielecki

Did You Know?

The meat industry is responsible for nearly 1/5 of the man-made greenhouse gasses (“Urged…” 2010)

Lets Talk About Energy40 calories of fossil fuel

energy = 1 calorie of beef

2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy = 1 calorie of plant-based protein

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sustainabletable/1404187812/in/set-72157608114379266/

Energy WastedRatio of energy input to protein output:

Lamb 57:1 Beef cattle 40:1 Eggs 39:1 Swine 14:1 Dairy (milk) 14:1 Turkeys 10:1 Broilers 4:1 (Pimentel 2003)

Lets Talk About Water

643 gallons of fresh water = 5.2 oz hamburger143 gallons of fresh water = 5.2 oz tofu Irrigation is sucking up our H2O resourcesAnimal waste contaminates fresh water(“Meatless” 2010) & (“Issues” 2009)

Lets Talk About The Planet Deforestation Topsoil erosion ENDLESS CYCLE! Endangered or near

endangered long-lived fish

Lets Talk Health2/3 of America is overweight anyway!Diets full of red meat cancer, heart disease,

stroke, diabetes, arthritis, hypertensionDiets that are filled with fruits, vegetables, and

whole grains lead to a lower risk of heart disease, ADHD, asthma, and diabetes

Antibiotics used in food animalsOther health concerns

And Where Is The Logic?We are producing food to

produce less food.Legumes are nitrogen

fixing – animal feed crops are not

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pveCINwxtj0/SHgXFLrnwxI/AAAAAAAAAcY/YqqVvjKO5Ek/s320/feedlot1.jpg

Societal Implications

Meat consumption affects 3rd world countries in a distinctive way

Animals are part of the environment tooUN reported: 1992 food supply could have fed

6.3 billion people on 100% vegetarian diet (Soares 2009)

What About Vegan?

No animal products at allTraditional vs. Environmental

http://newideas.net/images/no_milk_adhd.gif

http://jeremiahgraves.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/no_meat.jpg

So How Can We Help?

THE SOLUTION IS CLEAR

Sources “Why Meatless” http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/ The Monday Campaigns. 2010. “About Vegan” http://www.vegan.org/about_veganism/environment.html Vegan Action. 2009. “The Reasons To Adopt A Meatless Diet”

http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_benefits_of_veganvegetarian_living Suite 101. 2010. “Obama Urged…” http://www.jhsph.edu/clf/Features/2009/meatless_monday.html Johns Hopkins School of

Public Health. 2010. “Five Steps To Sustainable Eating” http://www.lime.com/food/story/14868/5_steps_to_sustainable_eating

Lime. 2009. Christine Soares. “The Low Carbon Diet”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sustainable-eating-the-low-carbon-diet 2009. “The Issues” http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/ Sustainable Table. 2010. Kreith, M., Water Inputs in California Food Production. 1991, Water Education Foundation: Sacramento,CA. “A Healthy Way To Live” http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/health.html Vegan Outreach. July 2009. Pimentel, D. and M. Pimentel, Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment.

American Joural of Clinical Nutrition, 2003. 78: p. 66S-3S.