Global Crisis sponsored by your local McDonald's

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

 

 

As many of you know, I am very dedicated to the issue of compassionate

dining and its impact on the world. Recent events have compelled me to

put together a synopsis of the basic facts regarding our use of

agricultural resources. I have tried to compose a rational and logical

discussion of the numbers and statistics to analyze how basic American

shopping patterns can affect global issues. I know some may see it as

" propaganda " but I hope that I have been able to stick to the

bare and basic facts in making a clear and logical argument.

 

 

 

Please forward this article to as many as you see fit. I believe that

its widespread distribution may be able to have an impact in alleviating

some of the suffering in the world around us. You should know that I am

not one to rant and rave and pester with didactic emails. This issue is

important to me and I believe that together we can make a difference.

 

 

 

Even if you know that you disagree with my politics, I hope that you

take five minutes to read my article and judge it on its own merits.

 

 

 

-Thanks. Tom

 

 

 

The Mathematics of Starvation

 

By Tom Spontelli

 

 

 

Throughout human history, grain has been the fundamental basis of human

nutrition and civilization. Countless civilizations have fallen simply

because the production of grain did not meet the basic nutritional needs

of their people.

 

 

 

We live in a global economy where grain is traded and shipped

internationally across the globe. We live in a one-world grain economy.

This world grain economy is basically a giant auction house where

consumers bid with their dollars how world grain production will be

used. Some bid for grain to feed livestock, others bid for grain to feed

themselves.

 

 

 

From a simple market view of the economy: If the global demand is larger

then global supply than some bidders will not get grain. If the global

supply is greater then the global demand than (by definition) there will

be enough for everyone's needs. The large scale use or waste of

grain in one part of the world can directly cause shortages in another

part of the world.

 

 

 

You may have noticed in the news lately that we have begun to hit those

boundaries. Before this crisis, inadequate distribution kept global

grain from certain markets. Now, global demand for grain has increased

the cost to the point where it is simply no longer available to some of

the poorer people and places who have access to the world grain market,

but are simply being outbid for the limited resources. We are now seeing

an actual global shortage of grain. If you do a simple search on-line

for " grain shortage " you will see countless articles and studies

about the fact that there is simply not enough grain to meet the current

global demand.

 

 

 

According to the World Health Organization, there are 780 million

malnourished people (those who can not get the minimum 2150 calories of

food needed daily) and every 2 ½ seconds another child dies of

starvation: 4,000 children per day DEAD from starvation. 1.4 million per

year. To maximize relief efforts, International humanitarian

organizations allocate 1 cup of grain per child per day to be just the

bare minimum enough to prevent death from starvation, but there simply

is not enough grain produced on the globe to meet market demands for

livestock production and to also feed these children. It would take 205

million pounds of grain to save the lives of the 1.4 million who would

otherwise starve to death this year. While there may be many factors

that contribute to this, the global grain shortage is a very major

factor and will only make this problem significantly worse as the crisis

continues.

 

 

 

An incredibly high amount of the world's grain is used to feed

cattle to raise beef. 66-70% of the vegetable protein (grains and

legumes) grown in the US and the world, respectively, is fed to

livestock. Keep in mind, it takes 16 pounds of grain to raise one pound

of edible beef. Yet, one pound of whole grain (brown rice or whole corn

or wheat) has roughly the same number of calories per pound (about 1500)

as ground beef. We have to put 24,000 calories of grain into a cow to

get 1,500 calories worth of beef in return: a 93.8% net loss of

calories.

 

 

 

If 16 pounds of grain are used to grow 1 pound of beef, then every

" quarter-pound " burger that a person eats from a fast food

restaurant takes four pounds of grain off of the world market. In other

words, we take 6,000 calories of grain off of the world market to get

375 calories of beef in our quarter pounder.

 

 

 

At 2.5 cups (servings) per pound, those four pounds of grain that have

been removed from the market by a ONE single quarter pound fast food

burger could have fed a starving child for 10 days, or prevented 10

children from starving to death TODAY.

 

 

 

The average American eats about 65 pounds of beef per year, which takes

over 1,000 pounds of grain to raise. That means that Americans use 275

billion pounds of grain to raise the beef that they consume, yet less

than 1/10th of 1 percent of that grain (204 million pounds) could feed

the 1.4 million children who will otherwise starve to death in the next

year. (Strangely, many of the top life-threatening illnesses faced by

Americans are worsened by an over consumption of meat and animal

products; heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity)

 

 

 

By ONE person choosing to feed himself on vegetable protein instead of

beef, enough grain can be freed up on the world market to feed 2.8 (of

the 4,000 children slated to die each from starvation) each day EVERY

DAY and benefit his own health in the process.

 

 

 

The truth is that the world produces enough grain to meet the

nutritional requirements of every person on the planet, but it is the

diversion of the MAJORITY (66%) of our global grain supply to feed

livestock who strip 93.8%( 15/16th) calories out of the food compared to

what they give, THAT REMOVES 61.9% OF THE TOTAL FOOD CALORIES FROM OUR

GLOBAL FOOD SUPPLY and converts it to manure! All this so that Americans

can have their fill of hamburgers and hot dogs.

 

 

 

When we hear on the news about the global grain shortage or the toll of

lethal poverty, we can not turn away. We need to ask " What are my

actions that contribute to this? What can I do to be part of the

solution and not part of the problem? " The answer can be very

simple.

 

 

 

Free use copyright 2008 – Tom Spontelli (Article may be distributed,

reprinted or republished without charge as long as credit is given to

the author.)

 

 

 

************

 

 

 

Extra fun food facts: (From John Robbins Book " Diet for A New

America " )

 

* Human population of United States: 270,000,000 (and counting)

* Number of human beings who could be fed by the grain and soybeans

eaten by U.S. livestock: 1,300,000,000

* Sacred food of Native Americans: Corn

* Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by human beings: 20

* Percentage of corn grown in United States eaten by livestock: 80

* Percentage of soy grown in United States eaten by livestock: 90

* Percentage of oats grown in United States eaten by livestock: 95

* Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90

* Percentage of carbohydrate wasted by cycling grain through

livestock: 99

* Percentage of dietary fiber wasted by cycling grain through

livestock: 100

* How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2.3 seconds

* Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on 1 acre of land: 20,000

* Pounds of beef that can be produced on 1 acre of land: 165

* Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef: 56

* Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot

beef: 16

* Pounds of protein fed to chickens to produce 1 pound of protein as

chicken flesh: 5 pounds

* Pounds of protein fed to hogs to produce 1 pound of protein as hog

flesh: 7.5 pounds

* Number of children who starve to death every day: 38,000

* Amount of total U.S. grain production consumed by livestock: 70%

* Amount of U.S. grain exports consumed by livestock: 66%

* Amount of world grain harvest consumed by livestock throughout the

1980s: half

* Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land

needed to feed 1 person consuming meat-based diet: 20

* Number of people who will starve to death this year: 20,000,000

* Number of people who could be adequately fed if Americans reduced

their intake of meat by 10%: 100,000,000

* Amount of increase in global cattle population during the last 40

years: 100%

* Amount of increase in global fowl population during the last 40

years: 200%

* Ratio of livestock to people on Earth: three to one

* Amount of Earth's land mass grazed by livestock: half

* Amount of U.S. cropland producing livestock feed: 64%

* Amount of U.S. cropland producing fruits and vegetables: 2%

* Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75

* Amount of U.S. cropland lost each year to soil erosion: 4,000,000

acres, the size of Connecticut

* Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock

raising: 85

* Amount of original U.S. cropland permanently removed from

production due to excessive soil erosion: one-third

* Pounds of topsoil lost in the production of one pound of feedlot

steak: 35

* Current annual topsoil loss on agricultural land in the U.S.: over

5 billion tons

* Current annual topsoil loss on agricultural worldwide: 26 billion

tons

* Time required for nature to form one inch of topsoil: 200 to 1000

years

* Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations: Topsoil

depletion

* Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create

cropland to produce a meat- centered diet: 260,000,000

* How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: Every 8 seconds

* Amount of trees spared per year by each individual who switches to

a pure vegetarian diet: 1 acre

* Estimated area of rainforest destroyed annually: 125,000 square

miles

* The driving force behind the destruction of the tropical

rainforests: American meat habit

* Amount of meat imported annually by U.S. from Costa Rica, El

Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: 200,000,000 pounds

* Amount of meat eaten by average person in Costa Rica, El Salvador,

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: Less than the average

American housecat

* Current rate of species extinction, largely due to the destruction

of tropical rainforests and related habitats: one every 60 minutes

* Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human

beings ate meat centered diet: 13 years

* Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human

beings ate vegetarian diet: 260 years

* Principal reason for U.S. military intervention in Persian Gulf:

Dependence on foreign oil

* Barrels of oil imported daily by U.S.: 6,800,000

* Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy

expended) of most energy efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5%

* Percentage of energy return (as food energy per fossil energy

expended) of least energy efficient plant food: 328%

* Pounds of soybeans produced by the amount of fossil fuel needed to

produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 40

* Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes

presently consumed to produce current meat-centered diet: 33

* Percentage of raw materials consumed in U.S. for all purposes

needed to produce fully vegetarian diet: 2

* User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the

United States: Livestock production

* Quantity of water used in the production of the average cow

sufficient to: float a destroyer

* Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons

* Water needed to produce 1 pound of meat: 2,500 gallons

* Cost of common hamburger meat if water used by meat industry was

not subsidized by U.S. taxpayers: $35/pound

* Current cost for pound of protein from wheat: $1.50

* Current cost for pound of protein from beefsteak: $15.40

* Cost for pound of protein from beefsteak if U.S. taxpayers ceased

subsidizing meat industry's use of water: $89

* Production of excrement by total U.S. human population: 12,000

pounds/second

* Production of excrement by U.S. livestock: 250,000 pounds/second

* Sewage systems in U.S. cities: Common

* Sewage systems in U.S. feedlots: Nil

* Amount of waste produced annually by U.S. livestock in confinement

operations which is not recycled: 1 billion tons

* Relative concentration of feedlot wastes compared to raw domestic

sewage: Ten to several hundred times more highly concentrated

* Where feedlot waste often ends up: In our water

* Amount of wells and surface streams in the U.S. contaminated by

agricultural pollutants: half

* Number of U.S. medical schools: 125

* Number of U.S. medical schools with a required course in nutrition:

30

* Training in nutrition received during 4 years of medical school by

average U.S physician: 2.5 hours

* How frequently a heart-attack strikes in U.S.: Every 25 seconds

* How frequently a heart attack kills in U.S.: Every 45 seconds

* Most common cause of death in U.S.: Heart attack

* Risk of death from heart attack for the average American man: 50%

* Risk of death from heart attack for the average American man who

consumes no meat: 15%

* Risk of death from heart attack for the average American man who

consumes no meat, dairy products or eggs: 4%

* Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your

consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 10%: 9%

* Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your

consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 50%: 45%

* Amount you reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your

consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs 100%: 90%

* Rise in blood cholesterol from consuming 1 egg per day: 12%

* Rise in heart attack risk from 12% rise in blood cholesterol: 24%

* Meat, dairy and egg industries claim there is no reason to be

concerned about your blood cholesterol as long as it is: " normal " .

* Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your

blood cholesterol is " normal " : over 50%

* Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if you

do not consume saturated fat and cholesterol: 5%

* Leading sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in American diets:

Meat, dairy products and eggs

* Amount of cholesterol in an average egg: 275 mg

* Amount of cholesterol in chicken: The same as beef, 25 mg per ounce

* Main location of cholesterol in animal flesh: The lean portion

* Hollywood celebrity paid by Meat Board to tout beef as " Real food

for real people " : James Garner

* Medical event experienced by James Garner in April, 1988: Quintuple

coronary artery bypass surgery

* World populations with high meat intakes who do not have

correspondingly high rates of colon cancer: None

* World populations with low meat intakes who do not have

correspondingly low rates of colon cancer: None

* Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily

compared to women who eat meat less than once a week: 4 times higher

* Egg Board's advertising slogan: The incredible edible egg

* Photographs often accompanying the egg board's slogan: Young women

in bathing suits, emphasizing the shape of their breasts

* Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily

compared to women who eat eggs less than once a week: 3 times higher

* Milk Producer's original ad campaign slogan: " Everybody needs

milk. "

* What the Federal Trade Commission called the " Everybody needs milk "

slogan: " False, misleading and deceptive "

* Milk Producer's revised campaign slogan: " Milk has something for

everybody. "

* Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat butter and cheese

3 or more times a week compared to women who eat these foods less than

once a week: 3 times higher

* Part of female chicken's body that produces eggs: Ovaries

* Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or

more times a week compared to women who eat eggs less than once a week:

3 times higher

* Foods males in U.S. are conditioned to think of as " manly " : Animal

products

* Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meats,

cheese, eggs and milk daily compared to men who eat these foods

sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times higher

* Recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein

according to World Health Organization: 4.5%

* Recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein

according to Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S.D.A.: 6%

* Recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein

according to National Research Council: 8%

* Percentage of calories as protein in wheat: 17%

* Percentage of calories as protein in broccoli: 45%

* Percentage of calories as protein in rice: 8%

* Disease linked to inadequate protein consumption: kwashiorkor

* Number of cases of kwashiorkor in United States: virtually none

* Diseases linked to excess protein consumption: Osteoporosis and

kidney failure

* Number of cases of osteoporosis and kidney failure in the United

States: tens of millions

* The average measurable bone loss of female meat-eaters at age 65:

35%

* The average measurable bone loss of female vegetarians at age 65:

18%

* Person who popularized the concept of protein combining: Frances

Moore Lappe

* Frances Moore Lappe's updated research on a healthy, varied

vegetarian diet: Protein combining is completely unnecessary.

* Health status of pure vegetarians from many populations of the

world according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy

of Sciences: Excellent

* The Meat Board tells us: Today's meats are low in fat.

* The Meat Board shows us: A serving of beef they claim has " only 300

calories " .

* The Meat Board doesn't tell us: The serving of beef they show us is

only 3 ounces (half the size of an average serving of beef) and has been

surgically defatted with a scalpel.

* The dairy industry tells us: Whole milk is 3.5% fat.

* The dairy industry doesn't tell us: That 3.5% figure is based on

weight, and most of the weight in milk is water.

* The dairy industry doesn't want us to know: The amount of calories

as fat in whole milk is 50%.

* Oscar Mayer tells us: It is a " myth " that hot dogs are fatty.

* Oscar Mayer demonstrates their point by favorably comparing the

fattiness of hot dogs to such low fat bastions as: Margarine,

mayonnaise, salad dressing and cream cheese.

* Natural food for any baby mammal: The mother's breast milk

* The only mammal that consumes the milk of another species after

being weaned: Humans

* The Dairy Council tells us: Milk is nature's most perfect food.

* The Dairy Council doesn't tell us: Milk is nature's most perfect

food for a baby calf, who has four stomachs, will double its weight in

47 days, and is destined to weigh 300 pounds within a year.

* The Dairy Council tells children: To grow up big and strong, drink

lots of milk.

* The Dairy Council occasionally tells children: The enzyme necessary

for digestion of milk is lactase.

* The Dairy Council never tells children: 20% of Caucasians and up to

90% of people of African and Asian descent have no lactase in their

intestines.

* The meat, dairy and egg industries tell us: Animal products

constitute 2 of the " Basic 4 " food groups popular until very recently.

* The meat, dairy and egg industries don't tell us: There were

originally 12 official basic food groups, before these industries

applied enormous political pressure on behalf of their products.

* The meat, dairy and egg industries tell us: We are well-fed only

with animal products.

* The meat, dairy and egg industries don't tell us: The diseases

which are commonly prevented, consistently improved, and sometimes cured

by a low-fat vegetarian diet include: Strokes, Kidney stones, Prostate

cancer, Cervical cancer, Diabetes, Peptic ulcers, Hiatal hernias,

Gallstones, Irritable colon syndrome, Heart disease, Breast cancer,

Pancreatic cancer, Stomach cancer, Hypoglycemia, Constipation,

Diverticulosis, Hypertension, Salmonellosis, Osteoporosis, Colon cancer,

Ovarian cancer, Endometrial cancer, Kidney disease, Hemorrhoids,

Obesity, Asthma, Trichinosis.

* Increase in overall pesticide use since 1945: 3,300%

* Increase in overall crop losses due to insects since 1945: 20%

* Increase in the amount of pesticides applied per acre to corn since

1945: 100,000%

* Increase in corn crop losses since 1945: 400%

* Amount of total herbicides that are applied to crops used to feed

livestock: 61%

* Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in the U.S. diet

supplied by meat: 55%

* Pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by Dairy products: 23%

* Pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by vegetables: 6%

* Pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by fruits: 4%

* Pesticide residues in U.S. diet supplied by grains: 1%

* 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%

* Relative pesticide contamination in breast milk of meat-eating

mothers compared to pesticide contamination in breast milk of vegetarian

mothers: 35 times as high

* Percentage of male college students sterile in 1950: 0.5

* Percentage of male college students sterile in 1978: 25

* Sperm count of average American male compared to 30 years ago: Down

30%

* Principle reason for sterility and sperm count reduction in U.S.

males: Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, including dioxin, DDT, etc.

* Percentage of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in

American diet attributable to meats, dairy products, fish and eggs: 94%

* The Meat Board tells us Not to be concerned about the dioxins and

other pesticides in today's beef because: the quantities are so small.

* The Meat Board doesn't want us to know: How potent dioxin and the

other pesticides are.

* The Meat Board particularly doesn't want us to know: A mere ounce

of dioxin could kill 10 million people

* The USDA tells us: Our meat is inspected.

* The USDA doesn't tell us: Less than 1 out of every quarter million

slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues.

* The dye used for many years by the USDA for many years to stamp

meats " Choice, " " Prime, " or " U.S. No. 1 USDA " : Violet Dye No. 1.

* Current status of Violet Dye No. 1: Banned as proven carcinogen

* Wingspan of average Leghorn chicken: 26 inches

* Space average leghorn chicken given in egg factories: 6 inches

* Number of 700 plus pound pigs confined to space the size of a twin

bed in typical factory farm: 3

* Reason today's veal is so tender: Calves never allowed to take a

single step

* Reason today's veal is whitish-pink: Calves force fed an anemia

producing diet

* McDonald's brags: 60 billion sold

* McDonald's doesn't brag about: 50 million butchered

* McDonald's clown, Ronald McDonald, tells children: Hamburgers grow

in hamburger patches and love to be eaten.

* McDonald's clown, Ronald Mcdonald, doesn't tell children:

Hamburgers are ground up cows who've had their throats slit by machetes

or their brains bashed in by sledgehammers.

* Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff Juliano

* Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian

* Number of animals killed for meat per hour in U.S.: 500,000

* Occupation with highest employee turnover rate in U.S.:

Slaughterhouse worker

* Occupation with highest employee rate of injury in U.S.:

Slaughterhouse worker

* Cost to render an animal unconscious prior to slaughter with

captive bolt pistol so that process is done humanely: 1 penny

* Reason given by meat industry for not utilizing captive bolt

pistol: Too expensive

* Percentage of total antibiotics used in U.S. fed routinely to

livestock: 55

* Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in

1960: 13

* Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in

1988: 91

* Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant bacteria in factory farms

due to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock

* Effectiveness of all " wonder-drug " antibiotics: Declining rapidly

* Reason: Breeding of antibiotic resistant bacteria in factory farms

due to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock

* Response by entire European Economic Community to routine feeding

of antibiotics to livestock: Ban

* Response by American meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine

feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support

* Only man to win Ironman Triathalon more than twice: Dave Scott, 6

time winner

* Food choices of Dave Scott: Vegetarian

* World record holder for 24 hour triathalon, swim 4.8 miles, cycle

185 miles, run 52.5 miles: Sixto Linares

* Food choices of Sixto Linares: Strict vegetarian

* Athlete who most totally dominated Olympic sport in track and field

history: Edwin Moses, undefeated in 8 years, 400 meter hurdles

* Food choices of Edwin Moses: Vegetarian

* Other notable vegetarian athletes:

* Stan Price: World record-bench press

* Robert Sweetgall: World's premier ultra-distance walker

* Paavo Nurmi: 20 World's records in distance running, 9 Olympic

medals

* Bill Pickering: World record - swimming English Channel

* Murray Rose: World records - 400 and 1500 meter freestyles

* Andreas Cahling: Winner - Mr. International body-building

championships

* Roy Hilligan: Winner - Mr. America body-building championships

* Pierreo Verot: World's record for downhill endurance skiing

* Estelle Gray and Cheryl Marek: World's record for cross-country

tandem cycling

* James and Jonathan deDonato: World's record for distance butterfly

stroke swimming

* Ridgely Abele: Winner of 8 national championships in Karate,

including U.S. Karate Association World Championships