Why Meatless?
Emily J. Bielecki
Did You Know?
 The meat industry is responsible for nearly 1/5 of
the man-made greenhouse gasses (“Urged…”
2010)
Lets Talk About Energy
 40 calories of fossil fuel
energy = 1 calorie of beef
 2.2 calories of fossil fuel
energy = 1 calorie of
plant-based protein
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sustainabletable/1404187812/in/set-72157608114379266/
Energy Wasted
 Ratio of energy input to protein output:

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
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
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Lamb 57:1
Beef cattle 40:1
Eggs 39:1
Swine 14:1
Dairy (milk) 14:1
Turkeys 10:1
Broilers 4:1
(Pimentel 2003)
Lets Talk About Water
 643 gallons of fresh water = 5.2 oz hamburger
 143 gallons of fresh water = 5.2 oz tofu
 Irrigation is sucking up our H2O resources
 Animal waste contaminates fresh water
 (“Meatless” 2010) & (“Issues” 2009)
Lets Talk About The Planet
 Deforestation
 Topsoil erosion
 ENDLESS CYCLE!
 Endangered or near
endangered long-lived fish
Lets Talk Health
 2/3 of America is overweight anyway!
 Diets full of red meat  cancer, heart disease,
stroke, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension
 Diets that are filled with fruits, vegetables, and
whole grains lead to a lower risk of heart disease,
ADHD, asthma, and diabetes
 Antibiotics used in food animals
 Other health concerns
And Where Is The Logic?
 We are producing food to
produce less food.
 Legumes are nitrogen fixing
– animal feed crops are
not
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pveCINwxtj0/SHgXFLrnwxI/AAAAAAAAAcY/YqqVvjKO5Ek/s320/feedlot1.jpg
Societal Implications
 Meat consumption affects 3rd world countries in a
distinctive way
 Animals are part of the environment too
 UN reported: 1992 food supply could have fed
6.3 billion people on 100% vegetarian diet
(Soares 2009)
What About Vegan?
 No animal products at all
 Traditional vs. Environmental
http://newideas.net/images/no_milk_adhd.gif
So How Can We Help?
 THE SOLUTION IS CLEAR
http://jeremiahgraves.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/no_meat.jpg
Sources

“Why Meatless” http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/ The Monday Campaigns. 2010.

“About Vegan” http://www.vegan.org/about_veganism/environment.html Vegan Action. 2009.

“The Reasons To Adopt A Meatless Diet” http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_benefits_of_veganvegetarian_living
Suite 101. 2010.

“Obama Urged…” http://www.jhsph.edu/clf/Features/2009/meatless_monday.html Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
2010.

“Five Steps To Sustainable Eating” http://www.lime.com/food/story/14868/5_steps_to_sustainable_eating Lime. 2009.

Christine Soares. “The Low Carbon Diet” http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sustainable-eating-the-lowcarbon-diet 2009.

“The Issues” http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/ Sustainable Table. 2010.

Kreith, M., Water Inputs in California Food Production. 1991, Water Education Foundation: Sacramento, CA.

“A Healthy Way To Live” http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/health.html Vegan Outreach. July 2009.

Pimentel, D. and M. Pimentel, Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment.
American Joural of Clinical Nutrition, 2003. 78: p. 66S-3S.