This is a reprint of REALITIES 1989, which are facts excerpted from the Pulitzer Prize nominated "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins. Mr. Robbins is the heir of the Baskin Robbins fortune; and instead of following in his dad's footsteps, he did some research on how the American flesh eating diet affects everyone's lives.
Human population of United States 243,000,000
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 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 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 40,000
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 60,000,000
Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10% 60,000,000
Historic cause of demise of many great civilizations Topsoil depletion
Percentage of original U.S. topsoil lost to date 75
Amount of U.S. crop-land lost each year to soil erosion 4,000,000 acres (size of Connecticut)
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest which have been cleared to create crop-land 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
A driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rain-forests American meat habit
Amount of meat imported annually by U.S. from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama Less than the average American housecat
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rain-forests and related habitats 1000/year
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
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 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
Production of excrement by total U.S. human population 12000 pounds/sec
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 wast 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
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 by average American man 50%
Risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian man 15%
Risk of death from heart attack by average American purely vegetarian man 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 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
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 "Everyone needs milk."
What the Federal Trade Commission called the "Everyone 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
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 onces (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 favorably comparing the fattiness of hot dogs to such low fat bastions as Margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing and cream cheese.
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 Caucasian children and 80% of Black children have no lactase in their intestines.
The meat, dairy and egg industries tell us Animal products constitute 2 of the "Basic 4" food groups.
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
  • Heart disease
  • Osteoporosis
  • Kidney Stones
  • Breast cancer
  • Colon cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Cervical cancer
  • Stomach cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Hypoglycemia
  • Kidney disease
  • Peptic ulcers
  • Constipation
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Hiatal hernias
  • Diverticulosis
  • Obesity
  • Gallstones
  • Hypertension
  • Asthma
  • Irritable colon syndrome
  • Salmonellosis
  • Trichinosis
Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide residues in the U.S. diet supplied by meat 55%
Supplied by Dairy products 23%
Supplied by vegetables 6%
Supplied by fruits 4%
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 .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 of U.S. males Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (including dioxin, DDT, etc.)
Percentage of 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 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 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 on 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 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 triathalon (Swim 4.8 miles, Cycle 185 miles, Run 52.5) 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)
  • Pierro Verot (World's record for downhill endurance skiing)
  • Estelle Gray and Cheryl Marek (World's record for cross-country tandem cycling)
  • James and Johnathon 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)
Feel free to copy and distribute REALITIES 1989. We ask only that you copy it in its entirety and that the reproduction be of good quality.

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