Some Vital Statistics from Diet for a New America

Photo: sadhu (hindu holy man) with cow - orchha (india) by Tristan Savatier
(please see or buy his beautiful prints)

Some Facts From Diet for a New America
t by John Robbins, © 1989.

# of humans who could be fed by the grain and soybeans eaten by US livestock: 1.3 billion

% of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90

Lbs of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 lb of feedlot beef: 16

# of children who starve to death every day: 40,000

# of vegetarians who can be fed on land needed to feed 1 meat-eating person: 20

# of people who will starve to death this year: 60 million

# of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their grain intake by 10 %: 60 million

User of more than 1/2 of all water used in the US: Livestock production

Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons

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

Cost of hamburger if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by US taxpayers: $35 per pound

# of US medical schools: 125

# of US medical schools with a required course in nutrition: 30

Training in nutrition received by average US physician during 4 years of medical school: 2.5 hours

How frequently a heart attack strikes in US: every 25 seconds

How frequently a heart attack kills in US: every 45 seconds

Most common cause of death in US: heart attack

Risk of death from heart attack by average American man: 50 %

Risk of death from heart attack by average American pure vegetarian man: 4 %

Amount you reduce heart attack risk by reducing consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs by 50%: 45 %

Amount you reduce heart attack risk by eliminating consumption of meat, dairy products, and eggs: 90 %

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

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

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

Pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by meat: 55 %

Pesticide residues in US diet supplied by vegetables, fruits, and grains: 11 %

% of US mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99 %

% of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in American diet contributable to meats, dairy products, fish, and eggs: 94 %

Original actor to play Ronald McDonald: Jeff Juliano

Diet now followed by Jeff Juliano: Vegetarian

% of total antibiotics used in US fed routinely to livestock: 55 %

% of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13 %

% of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91 %

Response by European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: BAN

Response to American meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support