The Wolves & The Deer..

As hunting season draws near, I am subjected to enduring the regular discussions of all the rednecks I share my high school with, as they all eagerly anticipate the return of their favorite activity....being all manly, sitting in a tree, shooting deer with big antlers to hang on their wall.

One of these such individuals favorite reasons to give for why they hunt, is because they need to control the deer population, otherwise the deer would starve in the winter. And this is true. But I wonder whether any of them ever actually bothered to stop and wonder why we have to control the deer population? Doesn't it seem odd that every other species has a perfect natural system of checks and balances, but the deer don't?

Well, if you think about it, it's not hard to know why. It's because we've hunted the natural predator of the deer - wolves - to near extinction. And it's still legal to hunt wolves, with a permit. Why?!

It can't be because wolves logically pose a threat to human lives - significantly more people are attacked by dogs than by wolves each year. So the only possible excuse for killing wolves, must be that they kill and/or eat farmers' livestock.

So, I realized that I had just come upon yet another problem that a global switch to veganism would solve! We would finally be able to stop killing wolves, and in turn, we would no longer have to kill deer either! The ecosystem would finally be able to return to its own natural balance!

There are just so many reasons to give up meat. So. Many. Reasons. Come on already, jump on the wagon, join the vegan party and save lives, the environment, the ecosystem, the rainforest, and your health!

Peace!

Cold, Hard Facts For Veganism

I did not assemble these statistics. This post is taken from the "Veganism" Facebook page.

The Hunger Argument
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

Why Are People Still Eating Meat?!

(the video and text say the same thing, so you can watch or read, based on your preference)

Do you eat meat? If so, could you tell me why, if i asked? Honestly, it blows my mind that so many people still eat animal products, and i want to tell you why. A lot of meat eaters aren't going to want to hear about this, but I really hope you'll read this through youth the end. I can't make you agree with me - but I really want to help you at least understand why many people are switching to a vegan diet themselves.

First of all, the meat industry obviously causes suffering to the animal that is destined to be eaten. Most live out their lives in tiny, uncomfortable, unclean, crowded spaces where they are nearly unable to even move. On top of this, even free-range animals must go to slaughter, where they are still alive and frightened as they are hoisted into the air, and are still conscious and kicking as their throats are slit and the blood drains from their necks, taking their only life with it. A lot of people know this to some extent, though many pretend they don't, or they deny that it is true.

This is only the beginning, though. It's not just domestic animals that are being killed for the purpose of our animal consumption. Elsewhere in the world, rain forests are being cut down for space to raise animals or forage for these animals. As rainforest is cut down, exotic plant species are disappearing and animals are going extinct at a breathtaking rate as their habitat is destroyed.

Huge amounts of fossil fuels are used to grow crops for all of the animals that we eat, and even more are used to transport these grains, as well as water and other supplies...and finally, the livestock itself must me transported to and from the slaughterhouse. Add all of this up and - did you know that animal farming is the number one producer of greenhouse gasses emitted to the atmosphere?

Did you know that with all the grain we produce just for livestock in the US, we could feed 800 million people? That means that if we were to feed this grain directly to people, rather than animals, we could virtually eradicate world hunger. Knowing this, I believe that by extension, one could say that by eating meat, we are contributing to the starvation of men, women, and children in 3rd world countries.

Finally, it's about time we all just accepted that meat is not necessary for optimum health. In fact, many studies have been conducted which show that eating animal products is actually detrimental to human health (for more info see Forks Over Knives), and that a diet of whole plant foods is the best and most straightforward way to stay healthy.
Despite this, there are many people who still argue that without meat, you will not get the protein you need. To those people, I say - did you know that there has never in history been a case of protein deficiency, without a caloric deficiency? This means that if a person is eating enough calories even from nothing but rice (not that i am suggesting it) they will NOT be deficient in protein. Supplement with some beans, greens, or nuts and seeds? Your getting more than enough.

When I asked you why you eat meat, you probably thought "because it tastes good", right? Well, I implore you right now - is all of this...starving children, species going extinct, poor health and degenerative diseases, as well as suffering animals...worth a few moments of sensual pleasure?
If you know the answer to this and you don't like it, I hope you will try to take a step out of your comfort zone and try out some soy products and/or experiment with some vegan recipes.

What can a little bit of experimenting hurt? I think we've all got a lot more to gain than to lose from your brave, mature, and selfless decision to go vegan.