By John Robbins, Founder, EarthSave
1987 

From The Animal's Voice 

Use the Environmental Argument

• Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create cropland to produce a meat-centered diet: 260 million
• How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: Every 5 seconds
• At present rate of deforestation, number of years before not a single tree will remain standing in the United States: 50
• Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to a pure vegetarian diet: 1 acre
• 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 million pounds
• Amount of meat eaten by average person in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: Less than the average American housecat consumes
• Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests and related habitats: 1,000 species a year

Use the Waste Argument

• Production of excrement by total U.S. human population: 12,000 pounds per second
• Production of excrement of U.S. livestock: 250,000 pounds per second
• Sewage systems in U.S. cities: Common
• Sewage systems in U.S. feedlots: Nil

Use the Water Argument

• Of all water used for all purposes in the United States, more than half goes to: livestock production
• Enough water goes into the production of the average cow to: float a U.S. Naval destroyer
• Water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25 gallons
• Water needed to produce a 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 a pound
• Current cost for pound of protein from wheat: $1.50
• Current cost for pound of protein from beefsteak: $15.40

Use the Natural Resources Argument

• Principal historic cause of demise of great civilizations: Topsoil depletion
• Percentage of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4 million acres (size of Connecticut)
• Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: 85
• Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate meat-centered diet: 13 years
• Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate vegetarian diet: 260 years
• Principal reason for U.S. military intervention in Persian Gulf: Dependence on foreign oil
• Barrels of oil U.S. would have to import to meet present demand if 10% of population became fully vegetarian: None

Use the Human Health Argument

• Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
• Number of U.S. medical schools with a 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 U.S.: Every 25 seconds
• How frequently a heart attack kills in U.S.: Every 45 seconds
• Risk of death from heart attack by average American man: 50%
• Risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian man: 15%
• 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 from consuming 1 egg per day: 12%
• Rise in heart attack risk from 12% rise in blood cholesterol: 24%
• Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries even if your blood cholesterol is "normal": over 50%
• Your risk of dying of a disease if you do not consume saturated fat and cholesterol: 5%
• Leading source 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 1988: Quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery

Use the Pesticide Argument

• Leading source of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet: Meat—55%
• Second leading source of pesticide residues in the U.S. diet: Dairy products—23%
• Total pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by vegetables: 6%
• Total pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4%
• Total pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1%
• Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing dangerous levels of DDT: 99%
• Pesticide contamination in breast milk of meat-eating mothers compared to pesticide contamination in breast milk of vegetarian mothers: 35 times as high
• Main reason for sterility and sperm count reduction in U.S. males: Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (including PCBs, dioxin, DDT, etc.); one ounce of dioxin can kill 1 million people
• The USDA claims: Your meat is inspected
• The USDA doesn't say: Less than 1 out of every quarter million slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
• For years, the USDA reassured us by stamping meats "Choice" or "U.S. No. 1 USDA" with: Violet Dye No. 1
• Reason USDA no longer does this: Violet Dye No. 1 proven carcinogenic and banned

Use the Survival Argument

• Only man to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
• Food choices of Dave Scott: vegetarian
• Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Last sighting of Tyrannosaurus Rex: 100 million B.C.

Use the Hunger Argument

• Human population of United States: 270 million
• Human beings who could be fed the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock: 1.3 billion
• Percentage of food grown in United States eaten by human beings: 20
• Percentage of food grown in United States eaten by livestock: 80
• Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef alone: 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
• How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds
• Number of children who starve to death every day: 40,000
• Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60 million
• 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 could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by only 10%: 60 million

Use the Ethical Argument

• McDonalds tells us: 75 million sold
• McDonalds doesn't tell us: 65 million slaughtered and butchered
• McDonalds clown, Ronald McDonald, doesn't tell children: Hamburgers are ground up cows who've had their throats slit by machetes or their heads beaten in with sledgehammers
• Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff Juliano
• Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian
• Number of animals killed for meat per second in U.S.: 300
• Number of animals killed for meat in U.S. each year: 10 billion — or more than the entire human population on Earth