DEATH AND DESTRUCTION ON A PLATE

We think that war is the most destructive force on earth, more than geologic forces or terrorism. Wrong. We think that diseases such as malaria, AIDS, influenza wreak more death on humans than anything else. Not true. It is our current lifestyle that is responsible for the most death and destruction.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year by the meat, dairy, fast-food and restaurant industries telling us that we need to buy animal products for health and enjoyment. Their advertising is pervasive: on television, in newspapers and magazines and even on billboards. But they don’t tell you that millions of acres of grassland and forests, especially in tropical rainforests, have been and continue to be destroyed to make space for growing the corn and soybeans to feed cows, pigs and chickens that we eat. Likewise for cattle ranching. They don’t tell you that most of our water resources are used for farmed animals, nor do they tell you that 70% of our arable land is used for animal food production. They don’t tell you that, according to a widely accepted study from the Univ. of Chicago, more greenhouse gases result from animal agriculture than from all forms of transportation combined. That means that eating meat and dairy contributes more to global warming than all the exhaust from our cars, buses, trucks and planes. They also don’t tell you about the waste from animal-production facilities going into water systems and killing the life of the ecosystem. These environmental impacts are true not just for the U.S. but for all countries using meat and dairy as major foods. The impact on the environment is world-wide, and it is devastating.
Far and away, the most dangerous substances threatening human health are meat and dairy products. Those countries where people consume large quantities of animal food suffer the highest levels of death from heart disease, several nasty cancers and diabetes, not to mention the suffering from auto-immune diseases triggered by these foods. Fifty or so years ago these diseases were hardly on the map. People died from contagious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. Only since we’ve become addicted to meat and dairy have we developed the major chronic diseases that are now at the top of the list for death-production. Heart disease and cancer seem to be competing to be considered our #1 killer. More people world-wide die from preventable chronic disease caused by the foods they eat than from all the wars, geologic actions, car accidents, terrorism or contagious diseases. Our only hope in avoiding these unnecessary tragedies is for a plant-based eating lifestyle to become the standard rather than the exception. It will make for a healthy society and will restore our land, air and water to normal functioning. Adopting plant-based eating will turn us away from the most deadly and destructive human activity on our planet. Food for thought.