I am posting this here because a lot of people might wonder why going veg is important to me. I have a lot of reasons personally, but while I am trying not to preach, I think you should at least take a look at the evidence. I think since I have read the China Study.......which I highly recommend. I can let you borrow it, Cancer is probably one of my biggest reasons for me going veg. Probably the biggest excuse I hear is, I love meat. I could never do it, but good for you. But to me cancer is so scary that not eating meat is easy. I am sure we have all be touched by cancer, if this is the preventative cure, wouldn't it be worth it?
To me its a no brainer, and while I am not perfect, and make mistakes. This is the kind of life I want for myself, and someday my future children.
I Found these statistics on a website while "Stumbling", and some of them really made me shiver. A must-read if you need good points to win arguments, or, like me, just aren't as updated on these things as you though you were!
The Hunger ArgumentNumber 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 ArgumentCause 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 ArgumentIncreased 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 ArgumentNumber 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 ArgumentUser 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 ArgumentPercentage 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 ArgumentCommon 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 ArgumentNumber 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 ArgumentAthlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
I was super excited to find this book. I thought I would have to order it on line. I really enjoy reading and researching. I don't like to feel unprepared when people ask me why veg, or vegan. I have been reading so much lately I feel like maybe I could write a book of my own.
Ok this is not food either, but you put food in them. Its a blenderbottle. I think I might get some more of these puppies and give them as baby shower gifts. There is a little whisk ball in the bottle that helps mix up whatever is in the bottle. Like for chocolate milk, or formula, or smoothie, salad dressing....blah blah blah you get the picture. Cool. I read about these online and so I was excited to try them.
I think everybody has probably had couscous before, maybe not even knowing it. But I just picked up a couple of boxes to trade up my rice consumption.
The O.N.E. juice boxes are what I really went after. I had heard raves bout coconut water. And could never find it here in my town. But Here is the link to their website so you can read more about these boxes of liquid "gold" for the body.
I also picked up some organic treats, super yum. I already ate the mango's. That bag is empty. I hope the Chocolate bananas will last longer.
I got some organic sugar too. But the next item hopefully will replace this.
This Agave Nectar is something I am so excited to try. Its a sugar replacement. Its 25% sweeter than sugar, so you don't use as much in cooking or whatever you might use sugar for. Its also vegan and 100% natural. This was not that expensive, if I like it this is going to be a replacement for sugar permanently. Here is more info.
Just some fun pasta! I can't wait to eat this for dinner tomorrow night!
These are Gojo berries. I have been hearing about these for years. These are dried. Its a bummer I couldn't get some fresh ones, but I guess that is the price you pay for living in a dry climate. Its says on the back that I have to soak them in distilled or purified water for 30-60 minutes before eating them, but you can put them in smoothies, cereals, juices, or just snack on them. Yum!
These are flaxseed crackers. I had read about these little babies on vegan blogs too, so I thought I should try them out. Here is more info on the benefits of flaxseed if you are interested.
Here is what they look like opened. Kinda reminds me of my grandma's bird food right? Not going to lie, Kinda tastes like it too. Although they were good. I think next time I will try these again in a different flavor. They were kinda spicy.
I was craving some hummus. I keep forgetting to get crackers, so I put some olive oil in a pan and fried up a few wheat tortillas and just tore them apart.
I know I have already showed you these before, but they are yum! I forget to not fill them full so I end up eating them with a fork. Oh well.
