I may be a little behind, but to me this is new info! Maybe it is for you, too!
I always knew that breakfast was when we broke the fast of a night without food. What I didn't know was that during our night's fast, our body is working hard to clean us out. It's like a mini-detox every night! The longer our bodies have to detox, the better. When we eat late at night or too early in the morning, we are interrupting the cleaning crew and that process will shut down in order to work on the food that we just piled on top of whatever other food was there. Oops! I suggest trying not to eat anything after dinner (which should be at a normal hour) and then waiting until you are hungry to eat breakfast. This gives our bodies the max amoung of time for the nighly fast. Longer fasts are also very good for us for this same reason, like a full day fast!
For breakfast, it's best to have fresh fruit. Your body has cleaned out some old and/or toxic/diseased cells and is ready to replenish them. Fruit is great for healthy cells. The nutrients will also be best absorbed after your night's fast. If you want something upon waking, try a glass of water, or herbal tea (no sweeteners or cream).
I learned all of this last night from "the book" so I decided to try it out today!
At around 9:30, I thought I would like a fruit smoothie to break my fast. Here's what I did:
Chop one mango
About 3/4 cup fresh cut pineapple (actually left over from dinner last night)
About 6 sliced strawberries
One banana
One large carrot, peeled and chopped
I threw it all in the blender and zoomed it to a smooth consistency. I had no idea what it would taste like, but o h m y g o o d n e s s....it was sooo good! And, it was a LOT of food! I actually didn't finish it until 11, but that's because I was facebooking while I was drinking it. It filled a tall glass.
There were a few tiny carrot chunks, but they didn't taste bad. You could try using a food chopper with the carrots, or shredding them. I probably wouldn't cook them because they lose nutrients that way and it's better to have a few tiny chunks than to lose the healthy goodness.
I also learned that the best lunch food is a fresh salad. My favorite salad right now is a what I will call Strawberry Fields.
Fresh lettuce/spinach/whatever you like. I like spring mix.
Carrots...chopped, shredded, whatever
unsalted sunflower seeds
unsalted, raw almond slices
Lots of sliced strawberries
pomegranate dressing (this may not be the healthiest choice, but it is dairy free) Use sparingly or try a healthier option with less sugar.
toss, enjoy. I can eat lots and lots and lots of servings of this. It is sooo good.
In a pinch? Forgot to pack your lunch? Helpful hint from Chris: go to subway. No, don't get a sub, you're not that desperate! They sell any "sub" as a salad! Get the veggie delight salad and you can get iceberg or spinach, or both and load it up with as many other veggies as you want! Top off with oil and vinegar. No cheese!! No meat...that chicken is not very chicken-like, same with the seafood/tuna and other meats...I used to work there. Just don't do it. Stay away from the soup. Too much sodium and it is not fresh. (at least from what i observe) Steer clear of the pop/juice/tea and save money and your waistline by getting water.
I am a former pop addict. Also a recovering sugar addict. Seriously! :) My mother in law is teaching me about how awful sugar is for people. I'm eager to learn more. Don't go for sugar substitutes. They are worse. What we need to do is re-start our taste buds by doing a cleanse or fading sugar out of our diets. This will make natural foods taste sweeter to us and we can enjoy them more.
Yesterday afternoon I had a snack of sliced strawberries with sugar on top. I am so dissapointed with myself! Why add sugar? Sheesh!!
None of us are perfect, especially me, so don't be hard on yourself. Just keep educating yourself and taking steps to a happier, healthier you! :o)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Down-Sizing and Dairy-Free
A while back, Chris bought this blue shirt. It was tight when he bought it, but he bought it anyways. He also couldn't button the top button. This morning, he decided to try it on to see if it might fit. Looky looky, it DOES! Not only does it fit, but it is pretty loose and he can button the top button!!! I am so proud of him!! :o)
We've decided to be a dairy-free house. We have just become too disgusted with the dairy industry. I plan to start taking soy milk to the kids' school soon. David told me today that if they don't drink their milk at school, they don't get dessert. :(
I recently found out that 75% of people are lactose intolerant. I wondered how that could be...but then I realized that people just become accustomed to it over time. I have always had trouble with ice cream, but if I eat it often enough, it doesn't bother me. When I became a vegan 1 1/2 years ago and then tried adding dairy back in, it made me very sick until I, once again, became used to it. I think it's crazy that people who are severly lactose intolerant would add additional chemicals into their body, through medicine, to be able to consume dairy. Let's listen to our bodies.
I also learned that people who drink 2+ glasses of milk per day were 50% more likely to develop cancer. Think about the changes that people make in their lives to avoid cancer by small percentages. FIFTY PERCENT!!! Come on!!
If you are a baby and are nursing, more power to you. If you are a calf needing to get to 1000 pounds, more power to you. Otherwise, you might want to stick to green leafy foods for your calcium.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Short Clip
I have tried to explain to people before what veganism can do to help the environment and to help hungry people all over the world. People have many different reasons for going vegan: Animal rights, Health, Environment, etc.
This short clip explains how much of an impact going vegan has on our world. Listen closely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZipCNZu8g&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
This short clip explains how much of an impact going vegan has on our world. Listen closely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZipCNZu8g&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Interesting Article
My friend Kristin Iden lives in Marion, Ohio and shared this interesting article with me.
In my previous post, I shared that children need healthy food and healthy role models. This article emphasizes that point.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20110314/NEWS01/103140304/1002/news01/Obesity-rates-hold-steady-Ohio-s-third-graders
What do you think?
In my previous post, I shared that children need healthy food and healthy role models. This article emphasizes that point.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20110314/NEWS01/103140304/1002/news01/Obesity-rates-hold-steady-Ohio-s-third-graders
What do you think?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Unbelievable
I have two blogs that I haven't been good about updating in the past year. The Burns Family (which became the church hunt blog) and Midwest Veg (my vegetarian journey). I am happy to announce that The Burns Family and Midwest Veg are becoming one in the same. Why is that? Well, guess whose hamburger loving hubby is turning (mostly) veg! MINE!!!!
I am beyond ecstatic that Chris and I are on the same page with the food we consume and the food we give our kids. Will David and Lilly be considered strange by their peers for eating hummus and drinking soy milk? I guess that's possible, but I see that as better than the alternative!
Even though we live in the midwest, we are so blessed to be in Lakewood, where vegetarianism/veganism is widly accepted. We have stores and restaurants with lots of flesh-free options. I hope that this trend spreads quickly through the U.S.
What happened with Chris? Anyone who knows Chris knows that this is a huge change. When new friends would ask me if my husband was also a vegetarian, I would just laugh. Even though he fully supported me in my veggie pursuits, there was absolutely no way that I could change his eating habits. He had to come to that point on his own.
Chris has been trying to lose weight for years. He has had many successes, but the struggle has persisted. Recently, he was introduced to Advocare products. This was life-changing and we are very grateful to Kristin and Chris Iden for their friendship. Chris committed to the 24 day challenge which required a very strict diet. No salt, no sugar, no dairy, only small amounts of chicken and fish. Chris thrived on this diet. After some time, the chicken felt too heavy for him and he was down to just fish for meat.
Chris has completed the 24 day challenge and he lost a total of 29 pounds. He is now addicted to this new lifestyle of healthy eating and uphill walking.
You all know that the book Skinny Bitch is what kick started my veggie lifestyle. Well, Chris has discovered Skinny's spouse, Skinny Bastard. (So sorry for these awful titles, and this is not recommended reading for young people or those easily offended)
He is having all of the same revelations that I had a year and a half ago and that I thought he would never grasp. I am so grateful!
This is especially good timing because I had just recently seriously started contemplating adding meat back into my diet. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm so glad that God had another plan!
I would like to tell you what my 5 year old and 3 year old had for dinner last night (and enjoyed).
Small portion of salmon cooked in olive oil with walnuts on top
Sweet potato
Fresh cut pineapple
Whole wheat vegetable pasta with crushed tomato on top
Water, to drink
Keep in mind, what is written above is all that was in the food. No seasonings, butter, sugar...nothing. Kids do not need to be fed chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese just because they are kids. They do not need to drink massive amounts of milk and they do not need to watch you consume those things, either.
We have decided to include organic fish in our family diet (including me). I love that this is our "family diet."
I am so proud of my family and so thankful for what God is doing in our lives.
More to come.
"God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take Charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was.
God looked over everything he had made; it was good, so very good!"
Genesis 1:26-31a (The Message)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
So Much Info...
A friend on my Moms Like Me Green Moms page posted this. I thought it was great!!!!!
Enjoy....
------------------------------------
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet"
- Albert Einstein
Here are 101 reasons to go vegetarian. Please at least skim through them...they are all facts, most of which are pretty shocking.
PEOPLE
1. Every year we feed our livestock enough food to feed 250,000,000 people while in the world 30,000,000 people die of starvation
2. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater
3. Every 3 seconds a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world
4. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people (the population of Great Britain)
5. If all Americans became vegetarian, it would free enough grain to feed 600,000,000 people (the population of India)
6. Intensification in animal farming has displaced 1,000,000's of people from their traditional lands - eg. indigenous people in south & central america, native americans in north america & crofters in Great Britain - this is continuing today
7. People displaced from their lands into cities succumb to dietary deficiency, diseases, parasites & opportunistic diseases
8. In third world countries 1 in 10 babies die before their first birthday
9. The UK imports �46,000,000 worth of grain from third world countries to feed our livestock
10. Due to overgrazing 850,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they are unable to sustain their existence & face imminent starvation
11. 1,000,000,000 people in the west gorging on meat & dairy leave 1,000,000,000 to waste away & 3,500,000,000 teeter on the brink
LAND
12. If they continue to clear American forests to raise cattle at the present rate, in 50 years there will be none left
13. 1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes
14. 8/10 of cultivated land in the UK is used to grow food for animals (14,732,000 hectares)
15. It takes 16lbs of high protein soya to produce 1 lb of beef
16. Since 1945 in the UK we have lost 95% of flower meadows, 50% of ancient woodlands, 40% of heathlands, 50% of wet lands & 224,000 km of hedgerows all due to animal farming
17. Pressure on land due to meat farming leads to soil erosion 6billion tons/year in the USA
18. If everyone went vegetarian upto 90% of land used for animal farming could be taken out of production & used to replant woodlands, leisure activities etc.
19. 25% of Central america's forests have been destroyed for cattle grazing since 1960
20. Between 1966-1983 38% of the Amazon rain forest was destroyed for cattle grazing
21. 90% of cattle ranches established on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years as the land becomes barren due to nutrient loss & overgrazing
22. Overgrazing by cattle is destroying the land & increasing desertification, nearly 430 million acres in the USA alone has suffered a 25-50% reduction in yield since first grazed
23. An inch of topsoil takes 200-1000 years to develop - yet in the USA they have lost around 1/3 of their prime topsoil in 200 years (around 7 inches) due to animal farming
24. Land will be lost due to rises in sea level due to global warming due to animal farming
AIR
25. The destruction of the rainforest by cattle farmers is destroying the lungs of the planet & reducing the worlds capacity to replenish our oxygen supply
26. The 1,300,000,000 cattle in the world emit 60,000,000 tons of methane per year (methane is a greenhouse gas & leads to global warming)
27. Burning of forests, grasslands & agricultural waste associated with animal farming releases 50-100,000,000 tons of methane per year
28. Combining these figures, 25% of methane emissions are due to animal farming (not including the billions of sheep, pigs & poultry so the real figure is much higher)
29. Fertilizer used to grow crops to feed to animals releases nitrous oxide - thought to account for 6% of the greenhouse effect
30. Fertilizer, weedkiller & pesticides sprayed on crops enter the atmosphere creating a noxious carcinogenic cocktail
31. CFCs are released into the air from refrigeration units used to store decomposing flesh (meat), milk & butter - CFCs are destroy the ozone layer
32. Ammonia from animal urine also pollutes the atmosphere
33. CO2 is released by burning oil & petrol in lorries, ships, abattoirs, dairies, factories etc. associated with meat & dairy production
34. Emissions from large chemical plants which produce fertilizer, weedkiller & other agricultural chemicals are also poisoning our air
WATER
35. 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat & 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat
36. UK farm animals produce 200,000,000 tonnes of slurry (liquid excrement) every year, the majority of which ends up in our rivers
37. Bloody waste water from abattoirs ends up in our rivers
38. In the USA every second humans produce 12,000 lbs of effluent while farmed animals produce 250,000 lbs
39. Nitrates & pesticides used on crops grown to feed livestock end up in our rivers
40. Meat & dairy farming uses 70 litres of water per day per animal in the UK or 159,250,000,000 litres per year in total
41. The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year
42. Depletion of groundwater reserves to grow crops for animals & to supply abattoirs will lead to greater water shortages
43. Aquafers (stores of underground water) in the San Joaquin valley in the USA are being drained at the rate of 500,000,000,000 gallons/year to produce meat
44. 18% of all agricultural land in the world is irrigated & as global warming increases (partly due to animal farming) it will cost $200,000,000 to keep these systems going
45. The water used to produce a 1000 lb beef steer is enough to float a Destroyer battleship
46. The liquid waste from the various parts of the meat & dairy industry flow into the rivers & from there into the seas polluting them & encouraging huge algal blooms to grow
EFFICIENCY
47. To produce 1calorie of energy from meat takes 60 calories of petrol, whereas growing grains & legumes to directly feed people produces 20 calories for each calorie of fuel used ( thats 1200 times more efficient)
48. Meat & dairy farming uses billions of gallons of oil to run tractors, fuel ships & lorries (to move animal feed & animals), pump billions of gallons of water to irrigate fields & run slaughterhouses, power refrigeration units to prevent the corpses from decomposing & to power sewage plants to clean up some of the pollution produced
49. Cattle convert only 6% of their energy intake (mainly grains & soya) into flesh, the remaining 94% is wasted as heat, movement (which is why they keep many animals in very close confinement), hair, bones, faeces etc
50. 1lb of beef takes 1 gallon of petrol to produce
51. A family of four eating beef for a year uses enough petrol to run a car for 6 months (obviously depending on how far you drive!)
52. If the full ecological cost of meat was passed onto the consumer - the price would be quadrupled (at least)
53. The EC spends �100,000,000's to subsidise animal production resulting in lakes of unwanted milk & mountains of unwanted meat & butter. This money could be better spent encouraging organic fruit, vegetable & grain production
54. In the USA in 1979 145,000,000 tons of crops were fed to cattle resulting in only 21million tons of animal bodies - the cost of the wasted crops was $20,000,000,000
55. Between 1950 & 1985 grain production in Europe & the USA increased massively but 2/3 was fed to animals
56. 70% of all grain is fed to animals
57. Eating vast quantities of animal flesh, eggs, milk & butter is a luxury that most of the planet can not afford
ANIMALS
58. Fishing with drift (and other modern) nets weakens & destroys ecosystems by indiscriminately killing billions of sea creatures & disrupting the sea bed
59. Fishermen's nets kill 10 times as many other animals as the fish they are hoping to catch
60. Fish caught in nets die an agonising slow death of suffocation
61. Each year 15,000,000,000 land animals are slaughtered for food & an unknown but much larger number of sea creatures (including 1000's of dolphins caught accidentally)
62. Chickens are crammed into battery cages with upto 3 other birds, they are unable to even spread their wings & many can not even stand up
63. Unwanted male chicks (because they can't lay eggs) are gassed or pulped while their sisters go to the battery sheds
64. Chicks are debeaked without anaesthetic to prevent them injuring each other in the unnaturally confined conditions they are kept in - this is equivalent to having your fingernails pulled out without anaesthetic
65. Modern farming methods using growth hormones & artificial lighting mean that many chickens out grow their bones, resulting in fractured & broken legs
66. Sows are kept tethered in stalls 1.3 x 1 metre on concrete or slatted floors - they can not even turn around
67. Poultry raised for meat are kept in windowless broiler sheds, with around 20-30,000 in each shed, they live in an area of 10-20 cm square - fighting due to overcrowding is common & like battery hens they commonly suffer from supperating bed sores
68. Broilersheds are artificially lit 23 hours a day to produce rapid growth
69. Animals travel between farms & to slaughter in overcrowded transporters with no food or water - resulting in stress, injuries & deaths - legal requirements are widely ignored
70. 95% of poultry suffer injuries before being killed & 30% suffer broken bones
71. Problems with stunning practices mean that many animals have their throats slit while still conscious (around 6% of cattle or 200,000 per year) & are then dipped in tanks of scalding water (to loosen feathers, bristles etc.) again while fully conscious
72. 4000 animals die spurting their blood out every minute in a British slaughterhouse
73. Calf leather comes from animals killed at just 2 weeks old
74. Cows were fed on the ground up remains of other cows & sheep - the result is thought to be BSE (mad cow disease) in the USA cattle are fed partly on recycled plastic pellets
75. Cows only give milk for 10 months after they have a calf - so they are routinely artificially inseminated (ie. mechanically raped) to keep them pregnant & milking - their calves are taken away (usually at 12 hours old) for meat or export to veal crates
76. Cows would naturally live upto 20 years but are slaughtered after 5-7 years when their milk production begins to fall
77. In the UK animals are killed by first being stunned with electricity or a captive bolt gun (ie. a bolt is fired into their heads) before having their throats slit & being plunged into boiling water - all this happens on a production line with the animals being hung upside down from a moving conveyor belt - this is factory farming
78. "Animals are those unfortunate slaves & victims of the most brutal part of mankind" - John Stewart Mill (philosopher)
79. Veal calves are confined in stalls in the dark, unable to move & are fed on pigs blood , chocolate & dried milk (we are drinking the rich fresh milk of their mothers)
80. Cows naturally produce 5 litres of milk per day for their calves - under the intensified systems of modern farming they produce 25-40 litres per day - resulting in swollen & inflamed udders - at this rate they are soon worn out
81. Large areas of land are under monoculture to grow crops to feed to animals - these areas are wildlife deserts supporting fewer & fewer species.
HEALTH
82. Vegetarians have a 20% lower rate of mortality from all causes (ie. they live longer & don't get sick as often)
83. Meat is full of traces of antibiotics, hormones, toxins produced by stress & pesticide residues that become concentrated from all the crops they have eaten
84. Fish contain heavy metals & other pollutants -many of which originated on farms
85. The world health organisation recommends a diet low in saturated fat, sugar, salt & with plenty of fibre - exactly what you get on a vegan/vegetarian diet
86. Farmed animals contain upto 50% saturated fat in their bodies
87. Vegetarians have 24% reduced risk of getting heart disease & Vegans a 57% reduction (heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK accounting for 50% of deaths)
88. Obesity is rare in vegetarians, obesity is related to many diseases
89. Vegans & vegetarians have lower blood pressure & cholesterol levels - high levels are associated with heart disease, strokes & kidney failure
90. Vegetarians have a 50% reduced risk of dying of diabetes
91. Vegetarians have a 40% reduced level of cancer than the general population thought to be because they have a higher intake of vitamins A,C & E
92. Vegetarians have a reduced risk of developing gall & kidney stones
93. 80% of food poisoning is due to infected meat (faeces, bacteria etc.) after all meat is decomposing flesh - most of the rest is due to salmonella in eggs
94. Osteoporosis due to calcium loss from bones is mainly due to the sulphur content in meat & casein protein in milk that cause calcium to be lost in the urine - the countries with the highest meat & dairy consumption are those with the highest levels of brittle bones
95. 50% of people do not have the enzyme to digest milk properly & milk allergy is related to asthma & eczema
96. Meat eaters have double the rate of Alzheimers disease as Vegans & Vegetarians - some people also think that Parkinsons disease is also linked to meat eating
97. Egg yolk is a dense concentration of saturated fat & the white is high in albumin protein associated with leaching calcium into your urine. Butter is 80% saturated fat, cream is 40% saturated fat & cheese is 25-40% saturated fat
98. Meat eaters are two and a half times more likely to get bowel cancer than Vegetarians
99. The cling film used to wrap meat in supermarkets & butchers contains chemicals linked to falling sperm counts in men
100. Chinese people (living mainly on a vegetarian diet) consume 20% more calories than Americans but Americans are 20% fatter
101. Of 2,100,000 deaths in the USA in 1987, 1,500,000 were related to diet (ie. meat & dairy)
Enjoy....
------------------------------------
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet"
- Albert Einstein
Here are 101 reasons to go vegetarian. Please at least skim through them...they are all facts, most of which are pretty shocking.
PEOPLE
1. Every year we feed our livestock enough food to feed 250,000,000 people while in the world 30,000,000 people die of starvation
2. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater
3. Every 3 seconds a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world
4. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people (the population of Great Britain)
5. If all Americans became vegetarian, it would free enough grain to feed 600,000,000 people (the population of India)
6. Intensification in animal farming has displaced 1,000,000's of people from their traditional lands - eg. indigenous people in south & central america, native americans in north america & crofters in Great Britain - this is continuing today
7. People displaced from their lands into cities succumb to dietary deficiency, diseases, parasites & opportunistic diseases
8. In third world countries 1 in 10 babies die before their first birthday
9. The UK imports �46,000,000 worth of grain from third world countries to feed our livestock
10. Due to overgrazing 850,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they are unable to sustain their existence & face imminent starvation
11. 1,000,000,000 people in the west gorging on meat & dairy leave 1,000,000,000 to waste away & 3,500,000,000 teeter on the brink
LAND
12. If they continue to clear American forests to raise cattle at the present rate, in 50 years there will be none left
13. 1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes
14. 8/10 of cultivated land in the UK is used to grow food for animals (14,732,000 hectares)
15. It takes 16lbs of high protein soya to produce 1 lb of beef
16. Since 1945 in the UK we have lost 95% of flower meadows, 50% of ancient woodlands, 40% of heathlands, 50% of wet lands & 224,000 km of hedgerows all due to animal farming
17. Pressure on land due to meat farming leads to soil erosion 6billion tons/year in the USA
18. If everyone went vegetarian upto 90% of land used for animal farming could be taken out of production & used to replant woodlands, leisure activities etc.
19. 25% of Central america's forests have been destroyed for cattle grazing since 1960
20. Between 1966-1983 38% of the Amazon rain forest was destroyed for cattle grazing
21. 90% of cattle ranches established on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years as the land becomes barren due to nutrient loss & overgrazing
22. Overgrazing by cattle is destroying the land & increasing desertification, nearly 430 million acres in the USA alone has suffered a 25-50% reduction in yield since first grazed
23. An inch of topsoil takes 200-1000 years to develop - yet in the USA they have lost around 1/3 of their prime topsoil in 200 years (around 7 inches) due to animal farming
24. Land will be lost due to rises in sea level due to global warming due to animal farming
AIR
25. The destruction of the rainforest by cattle farmers is destroying the lungs of the planet & reducing the worlds capacity to replenish our oxygen supply
26. The 1,300,000,000 cattle in the world emit 60,000,000 tons of methane per year (methane is a greenhouse gas & leads to global warming)
27. Burning of forests, grasslands & agricultural waste associated with animal farming releases 50-100,000,000 tons of methane per year
28. Combining these figures, 25% of methane emissions are due to animal farming (not including the billions of sheep, pigs & poultry so the real figure is much higher)
29. Fertilizer used to grow crops to feed to animals releases nitrous oxide - thought to account for 6% of the greenhouse effect
30. Fertilizer, weedkiller & pesticides sprayed on crops enter the atmosphere creating a noxious carcinogenic cocktail
31. CFCs are released into the air from refrigeration units used to store decomposing flesh (meat), milk & butter - CFCs are destroy the ozone layer
32. Ammonia from animal urine also pollutes the atmosphere
33. CO2 is released by burning oil & petrol in lorries, ships, abattoirs, dairies, factories etc. associated with meat & dairy production
34. Emissions from large chemical plants which produce fertilizer, weedkiller & other agricultural chemicals are also poisoning our air
WATER
35. 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat & 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat
36. UK farm animals produce 200,000,000 tonnes of slurry (liquid excrement) every year, the majority of which ends up in our rivers
37. Bloody waste water from abattoirs ends up in our rivers
38. In the USA every second humans produce 12,000 lbs of effluent while farmed animals produce 250,000 lbs
39. Nitrates & pesticides used on crops grown to feed livestock end up in our rivers
40. Meat & dairy farming uses 70 litres of water per day per animal in the UK or 159,250,000,000 litres per year in total
41. The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year
42. Depletion of groundwater reserves to grow crops for animals & to supply abattoirs will lead to greater water shortages
43. Aquafers (stores of underground water) in the San Joaquin valley in the USA are being drained at the rate of 500,000,000,000 gallons/year to produce meat
44. 18% of all agricultural land in the world is irrigated & as global warming increases (partly due to animal farming) it will cost $200,000,000 to keep these systems going
45. The water used to produce a 1000 lb beef steer is enough to float a Destroyer battleship
46. The liquid waste from the various parts of the meat & dairy industry flow into the rivers & from there into the seas polluting them & encouraging huge algal blooms to grow
EFFICIENCY
47. To produce 1calorie of energy from meat takes 60 calories of petrol, whereas growing grains & legumes to directly feed people produces 20 calories for each calorie of fuel used ( thats 1200 times more efficient)
48. Meat & dairy farming uses billions of gallons of oil to run tractors, fuel ships & lorries (to move animal feed & animals), pump billions of gallons of water to irrigate fields & run slaughterhouses, power refrigeration units to prevent the corpses from decomposing & to power sewage plants to clean up some of the pollution produced
49. Cattle convert only 6% of their energy intake (mainly grains & soya) into flesh, the remaining 94% is wasted as heat, movement (which is why they keep many animals in very close confinement), hair, bones, faeces etc
50. 1lb of beef takes 1 gallon of petrol to produce
51. A family of four eating beef for a year uses enough petrol to run a car for 6 months (obviously depending on how far you drive!)
52. If the full ecological cost of meat was passed onto the consumer - the price would be quadrupled (at least)
53. The EC spends �100,000,000's to subsidise animal production resulting in lakes of unwanted milk & mountains of unwanted meat & butter. This money could be better spent encouraging organic fruit, vegetable & grain production
54. In the USA in 1979 145,000,000 tons of crops were fed to cattle resulting in only 21million tons of animal bodies - the cost of the wasted crops was $20,000,000,000
55. Between 1950 & 1985 grain production in Europe & the USA increased massively but 2/3 was fed to animals
56. 70% of all grain is fed to animals
57. Eating vast quantities of animal flesh, eggs, milk & butter is a luxury that most of the planet can not afford
ANIMALS
58. Fishing with drift (and other modern) nets weakens & destroys ecosystems by indiscriminately killing billions of sea creatures & disrupting the sea bed
59. Fishermen's nets kill 10 times as many other animals as the fish they are hoping to catch
60. Fish caught in nets die an agonising slow death of suffocation
61. Each year 15,000,000,000 land animals are slaughtered for food & an unknown but much larger number of sea creatures (including 1000's of dolphins caught accidentally)
62. Chickens are crammed into battery cages with upto 3 other birds, they are unable to even spread their wings & many can not even stand up
63. Unwanted male chicks (because they can't lay eggs) are gassed or pulped while their sisters go to the battery sheds
64. Chicks are debeaked without anaesthetic to prevent them injuring each other in the unnaturally confined conditions they are kept in - this is equivalent to having your fingernails pulled out without anaesthetic
65. Modern farming methods using growth hormones & artificial lighting mean that many chickens out grow their bones, resulting in fractured & broken legs
66. Sows are kept tethered in stalls 1.3 x 1 metre on concrete or slatted floors - they can not even turn around
67. Poultry raised for meat are kept in windowless broiler sheds, with around 20-30,000 in each shed, they live in an area of 10-20 cm square - fighting due to overcrowding is common & like battery hens they commonly suffer from supperating bed sores
68. Broilersheds are artificially lit 23 hours a day to produce rapid growth
69. Animals travel between farms & to slaughter in overcrowded transporters with no food or water - resulting in stress, injuries & deaths - legal requirements are widely ignored
70. 95% of poultry suffer injuries before being killed & 30% suffer broken bones
71. Problems with stunning practices mean that many animals have their throats slit while still conscious (around 6% of cattle or 200,000 per year) & are then dipped in tanks of scalding water (to loosen feathers, bristles etc.) again while fully conscious
72. 4000 animals die spurting their blood out every minute in a British slaughterhouse
73. Calf leather comes from animals killed at just 2 weeks old
74. Cows were fed on the ground up remains of other cows & sheep - the result is thought to be BSE (mad cow disease) in the USA cattle are fed partly on recycled plastic pellets
75. Cows only give milk for 10 months after they have a calf - so they are routinely artificially inseminated (ie. mechanically raped) to keep them pregnant & milking - their calves are taken away (usually at 12 hours old) for meat or export to veal crates
76. Cows would naturally live upto 20 years but are slaughtered after 5-7 years when their milk production begins to fall
77. In the UK animals are killed by first being stunned with electricity or a captive bolt gun (ie. a bolt is fired into their heads) before having their throats slit & being plunged into boiling water - all this happens on a production line with the animals being hung upside down from a moving conveyor belt - this is factory farming
78. "Animals are those unfortunate slaves & victims of the most brutal part of mankind" - John Stewart Mill (philosopher)
79. Veal calves are confined in stalls in the dark, unable to move & are fed on pigs blood , chocolate & dried milk (we are drinking the rich fresh milk of their mothers)
80. Cows naturally produce 5 litres of milk per day for their calves - under the intensified systems of modern farming they produce 25-40 litres per day - resulting in swollen & inflamed udders - at this rate they are soon worn out
81. Large areas of land are under monoculture to grow crops to feed to animals - these areas are wildlife deserts supporting fewer & fewer species.
HEALTH
82. Vegetarians have a 20% lower rate of mortality from all causes (ie. they live longer & don't get sick as often)
83. Meat is full of traces of antibiotics, hormones, toxins produced by stress & pesticide residues that become concentrated from all the crops they have eaten
84. Fish contain heavy metals & other pollutants -many of which originated on farms
85. The world health organisation recommends a diet low in saturated fat, sugar, salt & with plenty of fibre - exactly what you get on a vegan/vegetarian diet
86. Farmed animals contain upto 50% saturated fat in their bodies
87. Vegetarians have 24% reduced risk of getting heart disease & Vegans a 57% reduction (heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK accounting for 50% of deaths)
88. Obesity is rare in vegetarians, obesity is related to many diseases
89. Vegans & vegetarians have lower blood pressure & cholesterol levels - high levels are associated with heart disease, strokes & kidney failure
90. Vegetarians have a 50% reduced risk of dying of diabetes
91. Vegetarians have a 40% reduced level of cancer than the general population thought to be because they have a higher intake of vitamins A,C & E
92. Vegetarians have a reduced risk of developing gall & kidney stones
93. 80% of food poisoning is due to infected meat (faeces, bacteria etc.) after all meat is decomposing flesh - most of the rest is due to salmonella in eggs
94. Osteoporosis due to calcium loss from bones is mainly due to the sulphur content in meat & casein protein in milk that cause calcium to be lost in the urine - the countries with the highest meat & dairy consumption are those with the highest levels of brittle bones
95. 50% of people do not have the enzyme to digest milk properly & milk allergy is related to asthma & eczema
96. Meat eaters have double the rate of Alzheimers disease as Vegans & Vegetarians - some people also think that Parkinsons disease is also linked to meat eating
97. Egg yolk is a dense concentration of saturated fat & the white is high in albumin protein associated with leaching calcium into your urine. Butter is 80% saturated fat, cream is 40% saturated fat & cheese is 25-40% saturated fat
98. Meat eaters are two and a half times more likely to get bowel cancer than Vegetarians
99. The cling film used to wrap meat in supermarkets & butchers contains chemicals linked to falling sperm counts in men
100. Chinese people (living mainly on a vegetarian diet) consume 20% more calories than Americans but Americans are 20% fatter
101. Of 2,100,000 deaths in the USA in 1987, 1,500,000 were related to diet (ie. meat & dairy)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)