An estimated 20 million
animals are killed in the name of science each year in the
US. About 90% of those animals are not protected by any
federal laws.
A meat-based diet significantly increases one's chances of heart
disease, hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Approximately 40,000 people die each day worldwide due to hunger and
hunger-related causes. If Americans reduced their intake of
meat by merely 10%, 100 million people could be fed using the land,
water, and energy that would be freed from growing livestock
feed. In fact, 70% of US grain production is fed to
livestock, and more than 50% of US water is used in their production.
Animal agriculture is a chief contributor to water pollution.
America’s farm animals produce 10 times the waste produced by the
entire human population.
Twenty thousand pounds of potatoes can be grown on one acre of land,
but only 165 pounds of beef can be produced in the same space.
Because of over-harvesting, all 17 of the world’s major fishing areas
have reached or exceeded their natural reproduction limits.
Rainforests are being destroyed at a rate of 125,000 square miles per
year for space to raise animals for food.
Chickens in factory farms are kept six to a cage – the size of a half a
piece of newspaper, where they're unable to spread their wings or
roost. Their toes are amputated while fully conscious prior
to slaughter.
Leg-hold traps, still legal in Oregon but banned in many other states,
cause excruciating pain to wild (and sometimes domestic)
animals. According to the federal government, one-quarter of
all trapped animals chew off their legs in order to escape the trap.
Between 5 and 6 million dogs and cats are killed every year in the US
because there are not enough homes for them.
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Cody was rescued in North Texas, but now happily
calls Southern Oregon home. |
