Vegan Facts from Cowspiracy.comSubtitle

GREENHOUSE GASES

Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. [i]

Fao.org. Spotlight: Livestock impacts on the environment.

Transportation exhaust is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions. [.i]

Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation.

Fao.org. Spotlight: Livestock impacts on the environment.

Environmental Protection Agency. “Global Emissions.”

GREENHOUSE GASES

Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Goodland, R Anhang, J. “Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change were pigs, chickens and cows?”

WorldWatch, November/December 2009. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC, USA. Pp. 10–19.

Animal Feed Science and Technology “comment to editor” Goodland, Anhang.

The Independent, article Nov. 2009.

GREENHOUSE GASES

Methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame.

“Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions.” Science Magazine.

Methane has a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 on a 20 year time frame.

(Please note the following PDF is very large and may take a while to load)

“Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions.” Science Magazine.

Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.

“Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.

GREENHOUSE GASES

Emissions for agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v515/n7528/full/nature13959.html

Energy related emissions expected to increase 20% by 2040.

Energy Global Hydrocarbon Engineering

IEA, World Energy Outlook 2014

US Methane emissions from livestock and natural gas are nearly equal.

EPA. "Overview of Greenhouse Gases."

GREENHOUSE GASES Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day. [xi]

Ross, Philip. “Cow farts have ‘larger greenhouse gas impact’ than previously thought; methane pushes climate change.” International Business Times. 2013.

250-500 liters per cow per day, x 1.5 billion cows globally is 99 - 198.1 billion gallons. Rough average of 150 billion gallons CH4 globally per day.

Converting to wind and solar power will take 20+ years and roughly 43 trillion dollars.

The Cost Of Going Green Globally

Even without fossil fuels, we will exceed our 565 gigatonnes CO2e limit by 2030, all from raising animals.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. . Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Source: calculation is based on http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6294 analyses that 51% of GHG are attributed to animal ag.

GREENHOUSE GASES Reducing methane emissions would create tangible benefits almost immediately.

U.N. Press Release, Climate Summit 2014.

WATER Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70-140 billion gallons annually.

“Draft Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources.” EPA Office of Research and Development. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2011.

Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually. [ii] [xv]

Pimentel, David, et al. “Water Resources: Agricultural And Environmental Issues.” BioScience 54, no. 10 (2004): 909-18.

Barber, N.L., “Summary of estimated water use in the United States in 2005: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2009–3098.”

Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption. [xv]

“USDA ERS – Irrigation & Water Use.” United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. 2013.

WATER Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US. [xv]

Jacobson, Michael F. “More and Cleaner Water.” In Six Arguments for a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-based Diet Could save Your Health and the Environment. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006.

Californians use 1500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to Half is associated with meat and dairy products.

Pacific Institute, "California's Water Footprint"

WATER 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.

(NOTE. The amount of water used to produce 1lb. of beef vary greatly from 442 - 8000 gallons. We choose to use in the film the widely cited conservative number of 2500 gallons per pound of US beef from Dr. George Borgstrom, Chairman of Food Science and Human Nutrition Dept of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University, "Impacts on Demand for and Quality of land and Water." )

Oxford Journals. "Water Resources: Agricultural and Environmental Issues"

The World's Water. "Water Content of Things"

Journal of Animal Science. "Estimation of the water requirement for beef production in the United States."

Robbins, John. “2,500 Gallons, All Wet?” EarthSave

Meateater’s Guide to Climate Change & Health.” Environmental Working Group.

“Water Footprint Assessment.” University of Twente, the Netherlands.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print

WATER 477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs; almost 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.

“Meateater’s Guide to Climate Change & Health.” Environmental Working Group.

1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.

Water Footprint Network, "Product Water Footprints".

A Global Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal Products, WFN.

WATER 5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture. [xv]

Jacobson, Michael F. “More and Cleaner Water.” In Six Arguments for a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-based Diet Could save Your Health and the Environment. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006.

Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.

1/5 of global water consumption:

27%-30%+ of global water consummation is for animal agriculture.

1/3 of global fresh water consumed is for animal ag.

“Freshwater Abuse and Loss: Where Is It All Going?” Forks Over Knives.

LAND Livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land.

FAO. "Livestock a major threat to environment"

Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.

Thornton, Phillip, Mario Herrero, and Polly Ericksen. “Livestock and Climate Change.” Livestock Exchange, no. 3 (2011).

IPCC AR5 WG# Chapter 11, Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Us (AFOLU)

LAND Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat

destruction. [xix] [iv]

Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in many ways. In addition to the monumental habitat destruction caused by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops and for animal grazing, predators and "competition" species are frequently targeted and hunted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits. The widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers used in the production of feed crops often interferes with the reproductive systems of animals and poison waterways. The overexploitation of wild species through commercial fishing, bushmeat trade as well as animal agriculture’s impact on climate change, all contribute to global depletion of species and resources. [XIX]

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. . Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Comfortably Unaware. Oppenlander.

NOAA, "what is a dead zone".

Scientific America, "What Causes Ocean "Dead Zones"?".

“What’s the Problem?” United States Environmental Protection Agency.

“

LAND Livestock operations on land have created more than 500 nitrogen flooded deadzones around the world in our oceans.

PRESS RELEASE, LOUISIANA UNIVERSITIES MARINE CONSORTIUM August 4, 2014

NOAA News, 2014.

Largest mass extinction in 65 million years.

Niles Eldredge, "The Sixth Extinction".

Mass extinction of species has begun.

Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction

LAND 2-5 acres of land are used per cow.

The Diverse Structure and Organization of U.S. Beef Cow-Calf Farms / EIB-73: study by USDA - Economic Research Service ( for acres/cow- pages 12 and 13)

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work.

Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Nearly half of the contiguous US is devoted to animal agriculture.

The US lower 48 states represents 1.9 billion acres. Of that 1.9 billion acres: 778 million acres of private land are used for livestock grazing (forest grazing, pasture grazing, and crop grazing), 345 million acres for feed crops, 230 million acres of public land are used for grazing livestock.

U.S. extrapolated data from EPA, Land Uses.

Versterby, Marlow; Krupa, Kenneth. “Major uses of land in the United States.” Updated 2012. USDA Economic Research Service.

LAND 1/3 of the planet is desertified, with livestock as the leading driver. [xviii]

“UN launches international year of deserts and desertification.” UN news centre, 2006.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

UWC, “Desertification".

The Encyclopedia of Earth, "Overgrazing".

UN, "Desertification, Drought Affect One Third of Planet, World’s Poorest People, Second Committee Told as It Continues Debate on Sustainable Development".

An article that explains desertification and livestock’s role:

WASTE Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.

This doesn’t include the animals raised outside of USDA jurisdiction or in backyards, or the billions of fish raised in aquaculture settings in the US. [v]

“What’s the Problem?” United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook, USDA

335 million tons of “dry matter” is produced annually by livestock in the US.“FY-2005 Annual Report Manure and Byproduct Utilization National Program 206.” USDA Agricultural Research Service. 2008.

A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people. [vi]

“Risk Assessment Evaluation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Research and Development. 2004.

WASTE 130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually. 5 tons of animal waste is produced per person in the US. [xii]

Animal agriculture: waste management practices. United States General Accounting Office.

In the U.S. livestock produce 116,000 lbs of waste per second:

-Dairy Cows, 120lbs of waste per day x 9 million cows.

-Cattle, 63lbs of waste per day, x 90 million cattle.

-Pigs, 14lbs. of waste per day, x 67 million pigs.

-Sheep/Goats. 5lbs of waste per day, x 9 million sheep/goats.

-Poultry, .25-1lbs of waste per day, x 9 billion birds.

WASTE Animals produce Enough waste to cover SF, NYC, Tokyo, etc,

based off 1lb of waste per 1sqft at 1.4 billion tons.

US Livestock produce 335 million tons of “dry matter” per year.

OCEANS 3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.

“Overfishing: A Threat to Marine Biodiversity.” UN News Center.

“General Situation of World Fish Stocks.” United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

We could see fishless oceans by 2048.

Science, "Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services".

National Geographic, article Nov. 2006

90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year. [vii]

“World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture.” UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO). 2012. (pg 6, 20)

Montaigne, fen. “Still waters: The global fish crisis.” National Geographic.

OCEANS As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.

A Mood and P Brooke, July 2010, "Estimating the Number of Fish Caught in Global Fishing Each Year".

Montaigne, fen. “Still waters: The global fish crisis.” National Geographic.

For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill. [viii]

“Discards and Bycatch in Shrimp Trawl Fisheries.” UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO).

As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.

Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries

Goldenberg, Suzanne. “America’s Nine Most Wasteful Fisheries Named.” The Guardian.

OCEANS Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by

fishing vessels.

Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries

Goldenberg, Suzanne. “America’s Nine Most Wasteful Fisheries Named.” The Guardian.

Fish catch peaks at 85 million tons.

“World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture.” UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO). 2012.

40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.

Shark Savers, "Shark Fin Trade Myths and Truths: BYCATCH”. Bonfil, R. 2000. The problem of incidental catches of sharks and rays, its likely consequences and some possible solutions. Sharks 2000 Conference, Hawaii, 21-24 February

Animal Welfare Institute

RAINFOREST Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.

World Bank. "Causes of Deforestation of theBrazilian Amazon”

Margulis, Sergio. Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Rainforest. Washington: World Bank Publications, 2003.

WORLD BANK WORKING PAPER NO. 22

Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. . Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

1-2 acres of rainforest are cleared every second.

“Avoiding Unsustainable Rainforest Wood.” Rainforest Relief.

Facts about the rainforest.

Rainforest facts.

World Resources Institute, "Keeping Options Alive".

RAINFOREST The leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feedcrops.

“Livestock impacts on the environment.” Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations (fao). 2006.

Up to137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction.

“Rainforest statistics and facts.” Save the amazon.

RAN, Fact Page.

Tropical Rain Forest Information Center, NASA Earth Science Information Partner

Monga Bay, "What is Deforestation?".

150-200 species per day are lost per day, The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

26 million rainforest acres (10.8m hectares) have been cleared for palm oil production. [ix]

“Indonesia: palm oil expansion unaffected by forest moratorium.” USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. 2013.

RAINFOREST 136 million rainforest acres cleared for animal agriculture.

“AMAZON DESTRUCTION.” MONGA BAY.

214,000 square miles occupied by cattle (136 million acres):

1,100 Land activists have been killed in Brazil in the past 20 years. [x]

Batty, David. “Brazilian faces retrial over murder of environmental activist nun in Amazon.” The Guardian. 2009.

20 years ago the Amazon lost its strongest advocate.

Further reading on Sister Dorothy Stang.

http://www.sndohio.org/sister-dorothy/

Wildlife USDA predator killing of wild animals to protect livestock.

http://www.predatordefense.org/USDA.htm

Washington state killed the wedge pack of wolves.

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2012/09/22/wedge-wolf-pack-will-be-killed-because-of-increasing-beef-consumption/

More wild horses and burros in government holding facilities than are free on the range.

BLM holding population: 49,021

BLM on the range population: 33,780

Wildlife Ten thousand years ago, 99% of biomass (i.e. zoomass) was wild animals. Today, humans and the animals that we raise as food make up 98% of the zoomass.

Vaclav Smil, Harvesting the Biosphere: The Human Impact, Population and Development Review 37(4): 613-36, December 2011. The proportions are of mass measures in dry weight.

Harvesting the Biosphere: The Human Impact,Vaclav Smil

New York Times Jul 2013

HUMANITY 414 billion dollars in externalized cost from animal ag. [xvi]

Simon, David Robinson. "Meatonomics" Conari Press (September 1, 2013)

Huffington Post, Sept 2013.

Why A Big Mac Should Cost $200

Global Environmental costs of Animal Agriculture estimated at $170 billion

80% of antibiotic sold in the US are for livestock.

Center For A Livable Future, "New FDA Numbers Reveal Food Animals Consume Lion’s Share of Antibiotics”.

FDA 2009, "Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals".

World population in 1812: 1 billion; 1912: 1.5 billion; 2012: 7 billion.

“Human numbers through time.” Nova science programming.

Harvesting the Biosphere: The Human Impact,Vaclav Smil

HUMANITY 70 billion farmed animals are reared annually worldwide. More than 6 million animals are killed for food every

hour.

A well-fed world. factory farms.

Compassion In World Farming. Strategic Plan 2013-2017

ADAPTT. "The Animal Kill Counter"

Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Throughout the world, humans drink 5.2 billion gallons of water and eat 21 billion pounds of food each day.

Based on rough averages of 0.75 gallons of water and 3 lbs of food per day. water - 1/2 - 1 gallon

food - 3lbs globally per capita per day

US Americans consume 5.3lbs of food per day

HUMANITY Worldwide, cows drink 45 billion gallons of water and eat 135 billion pounds of food each day.

Based on rough average of 30 gallons of water and 90 lbs of feed per day for 1.5 billion cows.

We are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people.

Common Dreams, "We Already Grow Enough Food for 10 Billion People… and Still Can’t End Hunger".

Cornell Chronicle, "U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat, Cornell ecologist advises animal scientists".

IOP Science, Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes to people nourished per hectare

HUMANITY Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock.

FAO, "Livestock - a driving force for food security and sustainable development".

Global Issues, "BEEF".

Wisconsin Soybean Association, "U.S. and Wisconsin Soybean Facts".

82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.

http://comfortablyunaware.com/blog/the-world-hunger-food-choice-connection-a-summary/

80% of the worlds starving children live in 14 countries. (figure 5)

Livestock production country list

Livestock global mapping

HUMANITY 15x more protein on any given area of land with plants, rather than animals.

“Soy Benefits”. National Soybean Research Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-04-18.

The average American consumes 209 pounds of meat per year.

Note: created from averages of 4 different studies. Center For a Livable Future, "How much meat do we eat, anyway?"

Haney, Shaun. “How much do we eat?” Real agriculture. 2012. (276 lbs)

“US meat, poultry production & consumption” American Meat Institute. 2009. (233.9 lbs)

Bernard, Neal. “Do we eat too much?” Huffington Post. (200 lbs)

HUMANITY Dairy consumption may lead to breast lumps.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/healthyeating/10868428/Give-up-dairy-products-to-beat-cancer.html

Dairy may “give guys man-boobs”

http://chestsculpting.com/milk-and-dairy-for-guys-with-man-boobs/

World Population grows 228,000+ people everyday.

https://www.populationinstitute.org/programs/gpso/gpso/

World Population Data Sheet

HUMANITY Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year:

Vegan: 1/6th acre

Vegetarian: 3x as much as a vegan

Meat Eater: 18x as much as a vegan [xvii]

Robbins, John. Diet for a New America, StillPoint Publishing, 1987, p. 352

“Our food our future.” Earthsave.

PNAS. Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, and reactive nitrogen burdens of meat, eggs, and dairy production in the United States

“Soy Benefits”. National Soybean Research Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-04-18.

Direct Seeded Vegetable Crops, Johnny Seeds.

HUMANITY 1.5 acres can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food.

1.5 acres can produce 375 pounds of meat.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Direct Seeded Vegetable Crops, Johnny Seeds.

USDA NASS, "One Acre of Washington's farmers land"

Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 2012.

HUMANITY A person who follows a vegan diet produces the equivalent of 50% less carbon dioxide, uses 1/11th oil, 1/13th water, and 1/18th land compared to a meat-lover for their food. [xx]

CO2: "The Carbon Footprint of 5 Diets Compared." Shrink The Footprint.

“Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK.” Climactic change, 2014.

Oil, water: “Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003.

One Green Planet, "Meat The Truth".

Robbins, John. "Food Revolution". Conari Press, 2001

Land [xvii]: “Our food our future.” Earthsave.

HUMANITY Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forested land, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life. [xiv]

“Water Footprint Assessment.” University of Twente, the Netherlands.

“Measuring the daily destruction of the world’s rainforests.” Scientific American, 2009.

“Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK.” Climactic change, 2014.

“Meat eater’s guide to climate change and health.” The Environmental Working Group.

Oppenlander, Richard A. Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.

Further reading on US food disparagement law

https://www.cspinet.org/foodspeak/laws/existlaw.htm

THE CURRENT DISEASE EPIDEMIC – REACHING CRISIS POINT Despite major advances in science and technology, the human race has never been so diseased.

1 in 3 Americans will die of Cancer. [National Center for Health Statistics]

1 in 2 Americans will die of Heart Disease. [National Center for Health Statistics]

26 million Americans are diagnosed with Diabetes (35% of the population has Diabetes, but has not been diagnosed yet). [Center for Disease Control (CDC)]

43 million Americans suffer from Arthritis. ). [Center for Disease Control (CDC)]

Autoimmune Diseases affect 1 out of 5 people in U.S.A. [American Autoimmune Related Disease Association]

Osteoporosis affects 28 million Americans. [American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons]

64% of the American population is overweight. [Center for Disease Control (CDC)]

Cost of Treatment In the US—a 10 trillion-dollar economy—the cost of treating patients has reached an astronomical $2.7 trillion as of 2011(CNN), and is the fastest growing sector of the economy.

Despite billions of dollars being spent on discovering drugs for Cancer, Cancer has gone from being the #8 cause of death in 1970 in the US to the #2 cause currently.

A child under the age of three has a 1 in 2 chance of developing Cancer in its lifetime. And at the same time the cost of health care is getting bigger and we as a society continue to get sicker.

This situation is quite simply horrific, and utterly unsustainable. One hundred years ago heart disease, cancer, and diabetes were virtually non-existent, except in rare cases. Now they’re rampant.

WHAT’S GOING ON? WE HAVE AN EPIDEMIC ON OUR HANDS! WHY ISN'T ANYONE SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS??! WHY DON'T WE HEAR ABOUT THIS EVERY DAY ON THE NEWS???

THE FACTS: There are about 700,000 doctors in the US. In the US alone, $2.7 trillion were spent on health care in 2011!!(CNN) – that is MORE than the total Gross National Product in 124 out of the world's 130 industrial countries.

What’s the result for all this spending?

The US leads the developed world in deaths from heart disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and diabetes.

The countries that use the most medicine are the most unhealthy.

In 1968, America declared war on cancer.

By February 1994, the Journal of the American Medical Association declared the war on cancer a failure.

THE BIGGER PICTURE As I mentioned previously, your body is the result of billions of years of evolutionary perfection.

It is a beautifully created, perfectly and delicately balanced self-healing organism.

OUR BODY : THE “2-BILLION YEAR-OLD CAR” METAPHOR Imagine if you will, that you are driving a 2-billion year old car.

An all-natural, organic, living, breathing car… For 2 billion years, this car has been using fuel such as: water / seeds / nuts / grasses / herbs / roots / fruits / vegetables / cereals (uncooked, by the way – not processed until all their natural goodness is totally and utterly destroyed…)

THAT'S the fuel it is used to. MOREOVER, THAT'S the fuel its entire system is based upon. It was MADE from that stuff.

THAT'S RIGHT – IT WOULD BREAK DOWN. Then, suddenly, after 2,000,000,000 years…

that car switches over to – for the last 100 years –

a new, modern mixture of:

sugar / sweets / biscuits / crisps / chocolate / coffee, tea, coca-cola / fats & oils / cigarettes / alcohol / vinegar / pharmaceutical drugs / caffeine / chemicals, pesticides, and preservatives (loads of them) / meat (loads of it) / milk, cheese, ice-cream / refined carbohydrates

with ZERO nutritional value (white rice, white flour, white sugar, pasta, bread…) etc. What do you think would happen to this 'vehicle’? THAT'S RIGHT – IT WOULD BREAK DOWN.

THE "MOSQUITO & STALE POND" For every health challenge out there, all you ever hear in the media or from doctors (the 'mechanic') is: take this drug or that drug.

Simply go to Dr. FeelGood & pop a pill to make yourself feel all better again… Sure… take drugs to make the symptom go away...

But what about the SOURCE of the problem? THE "MOSQUITO & STALE POND" METAPHOR

If you kill all the mosquitoes around a stale pond with DDT chemicals, you won't have mosquitoes for a little while.

But since the SOURCE of the problem is still there – the stale, disgusting pond where mosquitoes can find food and a propitious ground for laying their eggs –mosquitoes will come back!

It's the same with your body! You need to eradicate THE SOURCE, THE ROOT of your health problems. You see, ultimately, any ailment you experience comes from a breakdown within your body.

"The violation of simple laws of nature that make our body function." Deepak Chopra refers to this as "The violation of simple laws of nature that make our body function."

The richest – read: most industrialized, modern, far-from-natural – societies have the highest incidence of Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia… despite the billions spent on so-called 'cures' by the pharmaceutical industry.

So… the most 'modern' societies are the sickliest on the planet.

Food for Life

Healthy Eating to Tackle Diabetes

Neal Barnard, MDPresident, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Adjunct Associate Professor of MedicineGeorge Washington University School of Medicine

U.S. Per Capita Meat Intake (lb)

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

Source:US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service,http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodConsumption/FoodAvailSpreadsheets.htm#mtpcc,accessed August 15, 2009.

1909

2007

123.9 pounds

200.6 pounds

(Includes red meat, poultry, and fish)

U.S. Per Capita Chicken Intake (lb)

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 20000

10

20

30

40

50

60

Source:US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service,http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodConsumption/FoodAvailSpreadsheets.htm#mtpcc,accessed August 15, 2009.

1909

2007

10.4 pounds

59.9 pounds

Diabetes Prevalence 1994

Diabetes Prevalence 2008

Adventist Health Study – 260,903 participants, aged ≥30, enrolled 2002-2006

Tonstad S, et al. Type of vegetarian diet, body weight and prevalence of type 2

diabetes. Diabetes Care 2009;32:791-6.

Weight-Control Study

64 women

Moderately to severely overweight

Post-menopausal

Weight-Control Study

Low-fat vegan diet

No exercise

14-week study

Typical Day’s Meals

Breakfast

Blueberry pancakes

or Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins

Half cantaloupe

Rye toast with jam

Lunch

Chunky vegetable chili

Garden salad with sesame dressing

Snack

Banana

Dinner

Lentil soup with crackers

Linguine with artichoke hearts and seared oyster mushrooms

Steamed broccoli

Weight-Control Study

Low-fat vegan diet

No exercise

14-week study

Weight-Control Study

Low-fat vegan diet

No exercise

14-week study

→

13 lb average weight loss in 14 weeks

Sustained weight loss for 2 years

2-inch drop in waist measurement

Nancy

Lost 40 pounds

Stopped all diabetes

medications.

Arthritis improved

dramatically.

Vance

Lost 60 pounds

Stopped diabetes

medications.

Diabetes no longer

detectable.

P = 0.01

8.1

7.9

6.8

7.5

Individuals with no medication changes, n = 24 vegan, 33 ADA

7.4

7.2

Plant-Based Diet at GEICO

Healthful choices in the cafeteria

Weekly cooking class and discussion

There were a few missteps along the way…

Body Weight

P-value < 0.0001

Am J Health Promotion, In press

Waist Circumference

Am J Health Promotion, In pressP-value < 0.001

Hillary and Bruce

PCRM 2009 USDA 2011

Complete Nutrition

Protein

Calcium

Vitamin B12

Beginning a Healthful Diet

Step 1. Check out the possibilities

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snack

Foods to Try

Healthy Breakfasts

• Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

• Blueberry Pancakes

• Hot Whole Wheat with Dates

• Breakfast Scrambler

• Fantastic Fruit Smoothie

• Whole-Grain Bagel with Jam

• Swiss Style Muesli

• Slow Cooker Whole-Grain Porridge

• Orange-Pineapple Crush

Lunches and Dinners• Chunky Vegetable Chili

•Chuckwagon Stew

• Seitan & Mushroom Stroganoff

• Portobello Mushroom Steaks

• Oven-Barbecued Tofu Steaks

• Roadhouse Hash

• Sweet & Sour Tempeh

• Southern Beans & Greens

• Seitan Cassoulet

• Mandarin Stir-Fry

• Stuffed Vegetable Rolls

• Zucchini & Herb Calzones

• Chili Bean Macaroni

Italian Cuisine

Mexican Cuisine

Chinese Cuisine

Japanese Cuisine

Fast-Food Options

Veggie delight

Bean burrito, hold the cheese

Beginning a Healthful Diet

Step 1. Check out the possibilities

Step 2. Do a 3-week test drive

Optional: Use transition foods

Resources

www.pcrm.org

PCRM.org

PCRM.org

March 2012:

Thanks