What You Can Do!
Facts of Life (and Death)
- 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 freedfrom 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.
 | Cody was rescued in North Texas, but now happily calls Southern Oregon home. |
How to Tread Softly and Be Animal Friendly
- Educate yourself on the issues. Browse our website for book reviews, recipes, and links to other organizations that want to help alleviate animal suffering.
- Reduce, or better yet, eliminate meat, dairy, and eggs from your diet.
- Buy cruelty-free products.
- Don’t buy exotic or wild animals as pets.
- Don’t buy pets from pet stores or breeders. Instead, adopt from a shelter.
- Vote, write letters, and lobby your legislators for laws that help animals.