Meat eating environmentalist campaign

[Guest guest]

We are AnimalProgress, a group dedicated to fighting animal abuse and

environmental destruction around the world through education and public

outreach.

 

I’m writing to let everyone know of the “Think you can be a meat-eating

environmentalist?” (Originally by PETA) campaign. This is now being expanded

by AnimalProgress.

 

I’m writing to ask you for your help.

 

I think a lot of us know too many people who care about the environment but

eat meat. I know for myself I have struggled a million times not to yell

out, “If you cared enough about the environment you would stop eating meat!”

Ever didn’t know quite what to say when asked how eating meat effects the

environment? Ever got stuck, when questioned by a person who cares about the

environment, when they ask you why should they not eat meat? Ever thought

you needed to have something to just pull from your purse or briefcase and

give to them? The purpose of this campaign is to educate as many people

about vegetarianism as possible.

We need everyone’s help. The following fact sheet is to be kept in

briefcases, purses, in your car, or wherever else it seems handy. It is to

be distributed as far and wide as you can (put this up on message boards, in

plane seat pockets, in waiting rooms, leave it for people to find, etc).

Also, this can be accomplished by giving it to friends, neighbors, and

relatives who care about the environment but eat meat.

 

Note- See below for another fact sheet to send to your meat-eating friends

via snail mail or email!

 

Every one of us can make a difference!

 

Questions? Comments? Write afuture4all

 

Thank you for speaking out for those who have no voice!

 

Sincerely,

President

AnimalProgress

http://www.AnimalProgress

 

AnimalProgress is a very unique group. Though small in numbers, we are

working to get a group of individuals who are willing to respond to alerts,

petitions, and work together to make a difference. We’d be delighted if you

would join (it’s free)! To join send a blank email to

AnimalProgress-

 

 

You may have to select the whole document, copy it, and paste it on to a

place where you can print it from.

 

Below is the document to be put on message boards, in plane seat pockets, in

waiting rooms, to be given to your friends, people who ask about

vegetarianism, and to leave for people to find. Just copy and paste to a

location where you can print it.

 

 

Think you can be a meat-eating environmentalist? Think again!

 

Information from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (www.goveg.com

, www.peta-online.org)

 

 

Source- AnimalProgress

 

Pollution- The meat industry causes more water pollution than any other

industry in the United States because animals raised for food produce 130

times more excrement than the entire human population-86,600 pounds per

second. A typical pig factory farm generates raw waste equivalent to that of

a city of 12,000 people.

 

Land- Of all agricultural land in the United States, 87 percent is used to

raise animals for food. Twenty thousand pounds of potatoes can be grown on

one acre of land, but only 165 pounds of beef can be produced in the same

space.

 

Water- Raising animals for food, such as pigs, turkeys, cows, and chickens,

consumes more than half or all the water used in the United States. It takes

2,500-6,000 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons

of water to produce a pound of wheat. The amount of water used in the

production of the average steer could float a destroyer!

 

Deforestation- Rain forests are being destroyed at a rate of 125,000 square

miles per year to create space to raise animals for food. Fifty-five square

feet of land are consumed for every quarter-pound fast-food burger made of

rain-forest beef! More than 50 percent of current tropical rain forest

destruction is directly linked to livestock raising; and if we continue to

destroy the Central American forests at the present rate, the forests will

be stripped by the year 2010, causing massive damage to the ozone layer and

the extinction of up to 500,000 species. Vegetarians save an acre of land a

year!

 

Energy- Raising animals for food requires more than one-third of all raw

materials and fossil fuels in the United States. Producing a single

hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20 miles and enough

water for 17 showers.

 

Global Warming- Methane from cattle contributes to global warming.

 

 

The Best Thing You Can Do for the Environment Is to Go Vegetarian!

 

While you wait, acres of rainforest land are cut and animal waste finds its

way into rivers and streams! Don’t wait any longer!

 

For a free vegetarian starter kit, call 1-888-VEG-FOOD

Mother Earth will thank you.

 

 

 

______________________

 

 

 

 

Do you have any friends, relatives or neighbors who care about the

environment but eat meat? Send the below fact sheet to them via snail mail

or email! Take a minute and do it.

 

 

 

Think you can be a meat-eating environmentalist? Think again!

If you give a damn about the planet- go vegetarian

 

Please take a moment to read this pamphlet. This could change your life…by

reading this you could realize and do something about the horrible waste of

resources of today’s factory farms

 

Information and written mostly by PETA on vegetarian site

(http://www.goveg.com)

 

Source- AnimalProgress

 

Today's factory farms leave behind an environmental toll that generations to

come will be forced to pay. Whether it's excessive water use or

contamination, excessive soil use or erosion, excessive resource use or air

pollution, America's meat addiction is steadily poisoning and depleting our

water, land, and air.

 

Consider this:

 

 

WATER-

 

In an effort to conserve water, you might install a water-saver on your

kitchen faucet, saving up to 6,000 gallons of water per year. Most of those

savings would be lost if you consumed just one pound of beef (which requires

5,200 gallons of water per pound to produce—compared to only 25 gallons for

a pound of wheat). Raising animals for food consumes more than half of all

water used in the U.S. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of

water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,200 gallons of

water per day.

 

FOSSIL FUEL-

 

Producing just one hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20

miles. Of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S., more than

one-third is used to raise animals for food.

 

 

DESTROYING FORESTS-

 

Of all agricultural land in the U.S., 87 percent is used to raise animals

for food. That’s 45 percent of the total land mass in the U.S. More than 260

million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland in order

to produce our meat-centered diet.

 

SOIL EROSION AND WORLD HUNGER

 

The meat industry is directly responsible for 85 percent of all soil erosion

in the U.S., because so much grain is needed to feed animals being raised

for food. In the U.S., animals are fed more than 80 percent of the corn we

grow and more than 95 percent of the oats. Raising animals for food is

grossly inefficient, because you have to put 20 calories of food into an

animal to get just one measly calorie back in the form of flesh. The world's

cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7

billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth. Today,

hundreds of millions of cattle are being fed precious grain so that American

and European consumers can enjoy the taste of meat. Meanwhile, nearly one

billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition, and between 40 and 60

million people-mostly children- die each year from starvation and related

diseases.

 

According to environmental think-tank Worldwatch Institute, " [T]he easiest

way to reduce grain consumption is to lower the intake of meat and milk,

grain-intensive foods. Roughly 2 of every 5 tons of grain produced in the

world are fed to livestock, poultry, or fish; decreasing consumption of

these products, especially of beef, could free up massive quantities of

grain and reduce pressure on land. "

 

RAINFOREST

 

Each vegetarian saves one acre of trees every year! More than 260 million

acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to grow crops to feed animals raised

for meat, and another acre of trees disappears every eight seconds. The

tropical rain forests are also being destroyed to create grazing land for

cattle. Fifty-five square feet of rain forest are destroyed to produce

enough meat (a quarter pound) for one hamburger. Think about it next the

time you are about to order beef.

 

WASTE-

 

In 1996, U.S. factory farms produced 1.4 billion tons of animal waste-130

times more than humans did. The waste, from pigs, turkeys, chickens, cows,

etc., produced in a single year would fill 6.7 million train boxcars-enough

to circle the Earth 12 ½ times. Unfortunately, much of this waste ends up in

our rivers and streams. According to the Environmental Protection Agency,

factory farming pollutes U.S. waterways more than all industrial sources

combined. The effects are often deadly. For example, runoff from animal

waste is linked to a 7,000-square mile “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico

that can no longer support aquatic life. The average pig farm produces more

waste then a city of 12,000 people. *

 

WORKERS-

 

Slaughterhouse workers used to get a paid a good some of money. Now, it is

just the opposite. Slaughterhouse workers are often immigrants who don’t

know their legal rights and are working for little pay under horrible

conditions. They work at an extremely fast pace and they often obtain

injuries from working so fast.

 

 

FISHING-

 

Commercial fishers use vast “factory trawlers” the size of football fields

to catch fish. Mile long nets stretch across the ocean capturing everything

in their path. Huge amounts of fish as well as sea turtles, dolphins, and

seals, are caught “by mistake”.

 

These trawlers are vacuuming the oceans clean at an alarming rate. 13 of the

17 major global fisheries are depleted or are in serious decline. The other

four are “overexploited” or “fully exploited”. To “protect” their

diminishing catch the fishing industry routinely maims and kills birds,

seals, and other animals that eat fish.

 

ANIMAL PAIN AND SUFFERING

 

Caring for the environment means protecting all of our planet’s inhabitants,

not just the human ones. Animals suffer extreme pain and deprivation on

today’s factory farms. Chickens have their beaks sliced off with a hot

blade, pigs have their tails chopped off and their teeth removed with

pliers, and male cows and pigs are castrated all without anesthesia. The

animals are crowded together and dosed with hormones and antibiotics to make

them grow so quickly that their hearts and limbs often cannot keep up,

causing crippling and heart attacks. Finally, at the slaughterhouse, they

are hung upside down and bled to death, often while fully conscious. What

kind of environmentalist can support any of that?

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

 

Go vegetarian! There are not only environmental benefits but the average

vegetarian lives 6 years longer than meat eaters! The best thing to do for

you, the environment, and the animals, is to go vegetarian.

 

While you wait, acres of forest are cut and animal waste finds its way into

rivers and streams! Don’t wait any longer!

 

For a FREE vegetarian starter kit call 1-888-VEG-FOOD.

 

Questions? Please write us at animalprogress

 

Information about health- http://www.pcrm.org/health/VSK/starterkit.html

 

* Save the Animals by Ingrid Newkirk

 

“To be a vegetarian is to disagree- to disagree with the course of things

today. Starvation, world hunger, cruelty, waste, wars; we must make a

statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my statement, and I think

it is a strong one.”

 

-Isaac Bashevis Singer

 

 

_______________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com