Environmental Effects of Our Diet "We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." —Pennsylvania Dutch proverb God gave our first parents the privileged responsibility to care for the land and the animals; in essence, their environment. This is still our God-given privilege today, but rarely do we stop to realize how our diet is effecting our planet. Let's take a few minutes now to see how a simple change in our diets will make an incredible difference for the good of all creation.   Because of the mass production of animals raised for their meat, eggs or milk, the land is being overtaxed, either by intense crop farming or overgrazing. Erosion is becoming a big problem. 200 years ago we had twenty-one inches of topsoil. Now we have only six inches. Based on the world average, the U.S. loses nearly seven billion tons of topsoil a year! 1   Forests are essential for protection against floods and erosion. They are vitally important in providing good oxygen, and they provide homes for innumerable animals and plants. 2, 3 In spite of this, the forests and jungles are being unreservedly chopped or burned down. A 1995 estimate says that 38 million acres of tropical forests alone are lost per year. 4 The majority of this cleared land is used for raising crops to feed animals being raised for food, or for grazing.   Still another concern is the amount of gas used to put meat on America's table. It takes approximately 3.9 billion gallons of gas each year just to raise beef . If we were to add other red meats and poultry to the figure it would come out to approximately 13 billion gallons of gas being consumed annually. 5   Animals also require large amounts of water, both directly and in growing their food. Each year, beef production alone requires 3.49 trillion gallons of water to raise feed for them. Another 2.97 trillion gallons is used for irrigating pasture land, and still another 202 billion gallons is used for drinking. This equals 7 trillion gallons of water per year, used solely for raising beef. 6 One pig factory in Colorado, which produces 350,000 pigs each year, consumes nearly 2 million gallons of water daily, mostly to flush out the manure.7   It takes 385 gallons of water to get one pound of boneless pork, 360 gallons of water per pound of beef, and 337 gallons for a pound of poultry. Contrast that to only 58 gallons of water needed for every pound of wheat, and 33 gallons for a pound of corn. 8   When we cycle the grain though the livestock, 85-90 percent of the protein is lost. As much as 100 percent of the carbohydrates is lost. And a complete 100 percent of the fiber is lost! 9 Not only do we lose tremendous amounts of useable food in our meat, we also discover that 62 percent of it is water! It really isn't worth the effort! Wouldn't we be so much farther ahead if we chose to eat the corn ourselves? One hundred pounds of plant protein produces just 6 pounds of beef. One hundred pounds of plant protein fed [to] chickens returns 17 pounds of meat, and with pigs the figure drops to 12 pounds. Vegetarian Cats and Dogs, James A. Peden, 3rd edition, pg. 25. Flesh foods contain [only] 25% nourishment, and 75% waste matter. The grain contains 75% nourishment, and [only] 25% waste. Eat For Strength, Dr. A. W. Truman, pg. 9.   Livestock eat 630 million tons of grain in the world. If we would reduce meat consumption by as little as ten percent, 63 million tons of grain would be freed up for human consumption. This would be enough to feed the growth in population for more then two years. 10 The cattle by themselves eat enough food to meet the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people.11 U.S. livestock devour enough food to satisfy over five times the entire human population in the country!12 It takes over three acres to feed meat to one person for a year. Compare that to a total vegetarian who needs less than one third of an acre of land to feed himself for a year.13   The Department of Agriculture has presented statistics saying that one acre of land can produce 20,000 pounds of potatoes, whereas if that same land were used to feed cattle it would produce less than 165 pounds of beef.14 Starvation would cease to be a problem if we would eat the plant-based diet God intended for us.   The following words of Chief Seattle in his plea to the white man to treat the earth with respect and consideration are profound, and we would do well to heed them. One thing we know: our God is the same. This earth is precious to Him...This we know: the earth does not belong to man: man belongs to the earth. This we know: all things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. Revelation 11:18 gives a solemn warning of a time of reckoning that is coming soon. Our choice of lifestyle has consequences now and in the imminent future, having a lasting influence not only on ourselves but on multiplied hundreds whom we will never meet in this earth. It is up to us to choose today what those consequences will be, whether for the betterment or detriment of all creation. "When the moment of our definitive ‘passage' comes, grant that we may face it with serenity, without regret for what we shall leave behind...." —Pope John Paul II All rights reserved Copyright © 2006 By J. Lee