Historic cause of of demise of great civilizations: Topsoil depletion
Percentage of original U.S. topsoil loss to date: 75
Amount of U.S. crop lost each year to soil erosion: 4 million acres (size of Connecticut)
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest that have been cleared to create cropland to produce a
meat-centred diet: 260 million
How often an acre of trees disappears in the U.S.: Every 8 seconds
Acres of trees spared pre year by each individual who switches to a vegan diet:1
A driving force behind the destruction of the tropical rain forests: American meat habit
Amount of meat imported annually by the U.S. from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala
Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: 200 million pounds
Amount of meat eaten by average person in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala
Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama: Less then the average American house cat
Current rate of extinction due to destruction of tropical rain forests and related habitats: 1,000 per year
User of more than half the water used for all purposes in the United States: Live stock production
Quantity of water used in the production of the average cow sufficient to: Float a destroyer
Water used to produce one pound of wheat: 25 gallons
Water needed to produce one pound of meat: 2,500 gallons
Cost of common hamburger if water was not subsided by the U.S. taxpayers: US $35 per pound
Current cost of one pound of protein from wheat: US $1.50
Cost of one pound of protein from beefsteak if U.S. taxpayers ceased subsiding meat industry's
use of water: US $89
Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate a meat centred diet:13 years
Length of time world's petroleum reserves would last if all human beings ate a vegetarian diet: 260 years