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

CA Dirty Air Kills More Than Crashes

Study: Calif. dirty air kills more than crashes
Author says state is 'paying now' for not doing enough on pollution
The Associated Press
updated 10:50 a.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 13, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - Lowering air pollution in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley would save more lives annually than ending all motor vehicle fatalities in the two regions, according to a new study.

The study, which examined the costs of air pollution in two areas with the worst levels in the country, also said meeting federal ozone and fine particulate standards could save $28 billion annually in health care costs, school absences, missed work and lost income potential from premature deaths.

The price tag amounts to $1,600 annually per person in the San Joaquin Valley and $1,250 in the South Coast Air Basin.

Researchers at California State University-Fullerton sought to assess the potential economic benefits that could be achieved by reducing air pollution to levels within federal standards.

'We are paying now'
"For decades there has been a tug of war over what to do about air pollution," said Jane Hall, lead author of the study at Cal State Fullerton. "We are paying now for not having done enough."

To illustrate its point, the study noted that the California Highway Patrol recorded 2,521 vehicular deaths in the San Joaquin Valley and South Coast Air Basin in 2006, compared to 3,812 deaths attributed to respiratory illness caused by particulate pollution.

Studies have indicated a relationship between ozone and particulate pollution and asthma and other respiratory problems, including chronic bronchitis. They also have connected particulate pollution with an increase in cardiovascular problems.

Hall and colleague Victor Brajer analyzed ozone and fine particulate concentrations across the two basins in 5-by-5 kilometer grids from 2005 through 2007. The researchers applied those numbers to the health affects they are known to cause, then assigned peer-reviewed economic values to each illness or death that could result.

"It may be tempting to think California can't afford to clean up, but in fact dirty air is like a $28 billion lead balloon on our economy," Hall said.

The findings were released Wednesday as the California Air Resources Board considers controversial new regulations to reduce diesel truck emissions, a move that could cost 170,000 business owners $5.5 billion. According to a board staff report, the savings in health care costs would be $68 billion by 2020 if the regulations were adopted next month.

'Very difficult to achieve'
The Cal State Fullerton study says that particulate pollution levels must fall by 50 percent in both regions for health and economic benefits to occur, something they acknowledged would be "very difficult to achieve."

If pollution levels were to improve to federal standards, the study says residents of the two air basins would suffer 3,860 fewer premature deaths, 3,780 fewer nonfatal heart attacks and would miss 470,000 fewer days of work annually. School children would miss more than 1.2 million fewer days of school, a savings of $112 million in caregiver costs. There also would be more than 2 million fewer cases of upper respiratory problems.

"As a society we make decisions to spend money on things such as railroad crossings or air traffic control — things that improve safety," Brajer said. "There are a lot of ways society spends money to make things safer, and that's what we're trying to get at."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27697708/

Western Diet Causes 1/3 of Heart Attacks

Swapping fried and salty foods for fruit and veg could cut the global incidence of heart attacks by a third, a study of eating habits suggests.

Researchers analysed the diet of 16,000 people in 52 countries and identified three global eating patterns, Circulation journal reports.

The typical Western diet, high in fat, salt and meat, accounted for about 30% of heart attack risk in any population.

A "prudent" diet high in fruit and veg lowered heart risk by a third.

30% of the risk of heart disease in a population could be related to poor diet
Lead author Romania Iqbal

An Oriental diet, high in tofu, soy and other sauces, made no difference to heart attack risk. The researchers created a dietary risk score questionnaire based on 19 food groups and then asked 5,561 heart attack patients and 10,646 people with known heart disease to fill out their survey.

People who ate a Western diet had a 35% greater risk of having a heart attack than those who ate little or no fried foods and meat.

The typical Western diet has been widely linked to heart disease. High salt in the diet can raise blood pressure and the wrong type of fat can clog blood vessels.

Investigating overall eating patterns is more true to life than looking at intake of individual foods or nutrients.

Global trend

The researchers said their work suggested that the same relationships between food and heart disease that are observed in Western countries exist in other regions of the world.

Lead author Romania Iqbal, of McMaster University in Canada, said: "30% of the risk of heart disease in a population could be related to poor diet."

The researchers said that while components of the Oriental diet might be bad for the heart - such as the salt in soy sauce - these elements were likely cancelled out by protective components.

Ellen Mason, a cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study shows that it doesn’t matter whether you live in Bolton or Bombay, or whether you like to eat British, African Caribbean or Asian foods.

"The vital thing is to reduce your intake of salty, fried, fatty food to a minimum but increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7680283.stm

Published: 2008/10/21 00:16:34 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Most heart attacks caused by unhealthy lifestyle

Most heart attacks caused by an unhealthy lifestyle
By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-08-19-heart-riskfactors_x.htm

Two sweeping studies out today appear to explode the long-held myth
that half of heart attacks result from bad genes or bad luck.
The studies, focusing on different populations totaling about half a
million people, indicate that roughly 90% of people with severe heart
disease have one or more of four classic risk factors: smoking,
diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

That means the vast majority of the 650,000 new heart attacks each
year could be prevented or delayed for decades by quitting smoking,
reducing cholesterol and controlling hypertension and diabetes.

"If we could eliminate smoking and get people to be fit and trim we
could turn this thing around without unraveling the genes that cause
heart disease," says researcher Eric Topol of the Cleveland Clinic
Foundation, co-author of a study involving more than 120,000 heart
patients.

The research has major policy implications. It suggests that doctors
and patients should place even greater emphasis on prevention. The
American Heart Association and National Cholesterol Education Program
both have emphasized aggressively treating people who have not yet
had a heart attack if their "global risk" is high.

"I think these studies will wake people up and renew the emphasis on
traditional risk factors," says Philip Greenland of Northwestern
University, lead author of the study involving almost 400,000 people
enrolled in lifestyle studies and followed for up to 30 years.

The researchers analyzed data from previous major studies. The
reports appear in today's Journal of the American Medical
Association.

"These papers are just amazing. They're basically blowing away the
myth that only half of the people who have heart disease have
traditional risk factors," says John Canto of the University of
Alabama-Birmingham who co-wrote an accompanying editorial in the
journal.

None of the researchers could identify the source of the erroneous
assertion, cited by experts for years. "It's folklore," Greenland
says.

A separate analysis in the journal concludes that there isn't enough
evidence to conclude that so-called new risk factors for heart
disease, including inflammatory proteins called Lipoprotein-A,
C-reactive protein and homocysteine, add much to the predictive value
of the four classic risks.