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EarthSave educates people about the powerful effects our food choices have on the environment, our health and all life on Earth, and encourages a shift toward a healthy, plant-based diet.
EarthSave Miami
The Environmentalist:One who advocates for the protection of the biosphere from misuse from human activity through such measures as ecosystem protection, waste reduction and pollution prevention.A person working to solve environmental problems, as air and water pollution, the exhaustion of natural resources, and uncontrolled population growth
SAD
Standard American Diet
What impact does this have on our planet?
How does that fit in with the biggest environmental problem that is facing our world?
“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind
is to survive.”
Albert Einstein
Historical Perspective
Compared to one hundred years ago SAD is
• 50% less grains and potatoes
• 50% more beef
• 33% more dairy products
• 280% more poultry
So where do the grains go?
Percentage of soy products fed to farm animals
90%
Percentage of corn consumed by livestock
80%
What about hunger?
• How many people will die this year from malnutrition / starvation?
20 million
• How often does a child die from malnutrition and starvation?
Every 2.3 seconds
Land Usage
• Amount of US cropland producing livestock feed:
64%
• Amount of US cropland producing fruits and vegetables
2%
Planet Earth¼ of the planet is land, but almost ½ of that is uninhabitable
That means that 1/8 of the planet has to accommodate 6 billion people, 14 billion pigs, chickens, sheep and cows, crop land plus a few parks for reminiscing about what the planet looked like before we invaded it…
Pounds of edible product that can be produced on an acre of prime land
• Cherries 5,000
• Green Beans 10,000
• Apples 20,000
• Carrots 30,000
• Potatoes 40,000
• Tomatoes 50,000
• Beef 250
Water Usage
• Average American uses about 100 gallons of water a day
(four times what Europeans use)
• Livestock production accounts for more than half of all water consumed in the US
Water Usage
• Tomatoes 23 gal.
• Lettuce 23• Potatoes 24• Wheat 25• Carrots 33• Oranges 65• Grapes 70
• Milk 130 gal.• Eggs 500• Chicken 800• Pork 1600• Beef 5200
The amount of water needed to produce 1 edible pound of:
So, how many showers could I take for one pound of beef?
5 showers per week
x 5 minutes per shower
x 4 gallons per minute flow
= 100 gallons per week
ONE YEAR’S WORTH!!
Water Pollution
• Production of excrement by US livestock230,000 pounds per secondThat’s five tons of waste for every
person• Amount of waste created by 10,000 head feedlot:
equal to 110,000 people• Amount of wells and surface streams
contaminated by agricultural pollutants: Half
• US agriculture causes more water pollution than all municipal and industrial sources combined
And it’s not just contaminating the water…
Pivot Spraying of Liquid Manure
Resources
• Amount of raw materials (base products of farming, forestry, mining, fossil fuels) consumed by the US devoted to the production of livestock
One-third
Fossil Fuels
It takes ten times the amount of fossil fuels to produce one calorie of animal protein compared to one calorie of plant protein
Why so much?
Fossil fuels are needed for :
Crop production
Livestock transportation
Fertilizer manufacture
Heated buildings
Meat refrigeration
Pounds of grain and soy used to produce one pound of food:
• Beef 16 lbs
• Pork 6 lbs
• Turkey 4 lbs
• Chicken/Egg 3 lbs
Soil Erosion• Annual topsoil loss on agricultural land in the
U.S.
over 5 billion tons• Amount of US cropland permanently removed
from production due to excessive soil erosion
One-third• Time required for nature to form one inch of
topsoil
200 to 1,000 years
Rainforests
• Estimated area of rainforest destroyed annually:
125,000 square miles• Leading cause of rainforest destruction in
Central America: cattle production
• Amount of Central American rainforests cleared to create pastureland for cattle:
25%
Carbon Dioxide
• Amount of global carbon dioxide emissions created by the burning of fossil fuels:
Two-thirds
• Estimated carbon dioxide released in the production of an average steak:
Equivalent to a 25-mile drive in a typical American car
Greenhouse Gases
A 2006 United Nations report found that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined
Methane
One ton of methane has the global warming potential of 23 tons of carbon dioxide.
• Amount of methane released by cattle for every 2 pounds of meat they yield:
One pound
• A single dairy cow produces the equivalent of over 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Factory Farming
Factory Farming
Pesticides• Increase in overall pesticide use since 1945:
3,300%• Change in overall crop yield due to insects since
1945: -20%
• Amount of total herbicides used that are applied to corn and soybeans:
61%
Health Care System
• Number of US medical schools: 125
• Number of US medical schools with a required course in nutrition:
30• Average training in nutrition received
during 4 years of medical school by US physicians:
2.5 hours
Health
• How frequently a heart attack strikes in the US: every 25 seconds
• How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: every 45 seconds• Amount of cancer cases in the US that are diet
related: 40%
• Percentage of all illnesses that could be delayed or eliminated by dietary changes:
50%
The Heart Attack Grill
The Heart Attack Grill is a burger restaurant in Arizona that has become internationally known for incredibly large unhealthy hamburgers and for putting its waitresses in naughty nurse uniforms.
Located at 6185 W Chandler Boulevard in Chandler, Arizona.
Sign says “Taste worth dying for”
How do you spell atherosclerosis?
This is what $11.10 will get you
So what should we do?
• Think Globally, Act Locally
• Try to consider the next seven generations
• Remember that every time you pick up your fork, you are making a choice about the future!
Thank You!