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EarthSave educates people about the powerful effects our food choices have on the environment, our health and all life on Earth, and encourages a shift toward a healthy, plant-based diet.

EarthSave Miami

The Environmentalist:One who advocates for the protection of the biosphere from misuse from human activity through such measures as ecosystem protection, waste reduction and pollution prevention.A person working to solve environmental problems, as air and water pollution, the exhaustion of natural resources, and uncontrolled population growth

SAD

Standard American Diet

What impact does this have on our planet?

How does that fit in with the biggest environmental problem that is facing our world?

“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind

is to survive.”

Albert Einstein

Historical Perspective

Compared to one hundred years ago SAD is

• 50% less grains and potatoes

• 50% more beef

• 33% more dairy products

• 280% more poultry

So where do the grains go?

Percentage of soy products fed to farm animals

90%

Percentage of corn consumed by livestock

80%

What about hunger?

• How many people will die this year from malnutrition / starvation?

20 million

• How often does a child die from malnutrition and starvation?

Every 2.3 seconds

Land Usage

• Amount of US cropland producing livestock feed:

64%

• Amount of US cropland producing fruits and vegetables

2%

Planet Earth¼ of the planet is land, but almost ½ of that is uninhabitable

That means that 1/8 of the planet has to accommodate 6 billion people, 14 billion pigs, chickens, sheep and cows, crop land plus a few parks for reminiscing about what the planet looked like before we invaded it…

Pounds of edible product that can be produced on an acre of prime land

• Cherries 5,000

• Green Beans 10,000

• Apples 20,000

• Carrots 30,000

• Potatoes 40,000

• Tomatoes 50,000

• Beef 250

Water Usage

• Average American uses about 100 gallons of water a day

(four times what Europeans use)

• Livestock production accounts for more than half of all water consumed in the US

Water Usage

• Tomatoes 23 gal.

• Lettuce 23• Potatoes 24• Wheat 25• Carrots 33• Oranges 65• Grapes 70

• Milk 130 gal.• Eggs 500• Chicken 800• Pork 1600• Beef 5200

The amount of water needed to produce 1 edible pound of:

So, how many showers could I take for one pound of beef?

5 showers per week

x 5 minutes per shower

x 4 gallons per minute flow

= 100 gallons per week

ONE YEAR’S WORTH!!

Water Pollution

• Production of excrement by US livestock230,000 pounds per secondThat’s five tons of waste for every

person• Amount of waste created by 10,000 head feedlot:

equal to 110,000 people• Amount of wells and surface streams

contaminated by agricultural pollutants: Half

• US agriculture causes more water pollution than all municipal and industrial sources combined

And it’s not just contaminating the water…

Pivot Spraying of Liquid Manure

Resources

• Amount of raw materials (base products of farming, forestry, mining, fossil fuels) consumed by the US devoted to the production of livestock

One-third

Fossil Fuels

It takes ten times the amount of fossil fuels to produce one calorie of animal protein compared to one calorie of plant protein

Why so much?

Fossil fuels are needed for :

Crop production

Livestock transportation

Fertilizer manufacture

Heated buildings

Meat refrigeration

Pounds of grain and soy used to produce one pound of food:

• Beef 16 lbs

• Pork 6 lbs

• Turkey 4 lbs

• Chicken/Egg 3 lbs

Soil Erosion• Annual topsoil loss on agricultural land in the

U.S.

over 5 billion tons• Amount of US cropland permanently removed

from production due to excessive soil erosion

One-third• Time required for nature to form one inch of

topsoil

200 to 1,000 years

Rainforests

• Estimated area of rainforest destroyed annually:

125,000 square miles• Leading cause of rainforest destruction in

Central America: cattle production

• Amount of Central American rainforests cleared to create pastureland for cattle:

25%

Carbon Dioxide

• Amount of global carbon dioxide emissions created by the burning of fossil fuels:

Two-thirds

• Estimated carbon dioxide released in the production of an average steak:

Equivalent to a 25-mile drive in a typical American car

Greenhouse Gases

A 2006 United Nations report found that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined

Methane

One ton of methane has the global warming potential of 23 tons of carbon dioxide.

• Amount of methane released by cattle for every 2 pounds of meat they yield:

One pound

• A single dairy cow produces the equivalent of over 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Factory Farming

Factory Farming

Pesticides• Increase in overall pesticide use since 1945:

3,300%• Change in overall crop yield due to insects since

1945: -20%

• Amount of total herbicides used that are applied to corn and soybeans:

61%

Health Care System

• Number of US medical schools: 125

• Number of US medical schools with a required course in nutrition:

30• Average training in nutrition received

during 4 years of medical school by US physicians:

2.5 hours

Health

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

• How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: every 45 seconds• Amount of cancer cases in the US that are diet

related: 40%

• Percentage of all illnesses that could be delayed or eliminated by dietary changes:

50%

The Heart Attack Grill

 The Heart Attack Grill is a burger restaurant in Arizona that has become internationally known for incredibly large unhealthy hamburgers and for putting its waitresses in naughty nurse uniforms.

Located at 6185 W Chandler Boulevard in Chandler, Arizona.

Sign says “Taste worth dying for”

How do you spell atherosclerosis?

This is what $11.10 will get you

So what should we do?

• Think Globally, Act Locally

• Try to consider the next seven generations

• Remember that every time you pick up your fork, you are making a choice about the future!

Thank You!