- Meat consumption is one of the leading causes of climate change.
Animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to climate change and deforestation.
According to the World Bank, animal agriculture is culpable for nearly 91 percent of Amazon destruction. What’s more, the meat industry generates more greenhouse gases than all modes of transportation in the world combined. In fact, even without fossil fuels, we will exceed our 565-gigaton CO2e limit by 2030—all from raising animals for food. - Animal agriculture consumes a lot of resources.
It reportedly takes 576 gallons of water to produce one pound of pork, 880 gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk, and a whopping 1,799 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. But it’s not just water that the meat industry wastes. A pound of beef requires 13 percent more fossil fuel to produce than a pound of soy. - The meat industry exploits workers.
Workplace hazards for factory farm and slaughterhouse employees include injuries, respiratory illness, PTSD, and infection by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Recent reports indicate that on average one Tyson employee a month is injured by equipment and loses a finger or limb. - Meat production contributes to world hunger.
With close to a billion people in the world without enough food, it’s impossible to ignore the link between meat consumption and world hunger. A 2012 study from McGill University and the University of Minnesota found that humans produce enough grain to feed the world, yet we choose to feed most of it to animals just so we can eat meat. As of 2012, 95 percent of oats produced in the U.S. and 80 percent of our corn has been fed to farmed animals—yet in 2015, more than 6 million U.S. households reported extremely low food security. The U.S. could feed 800 million people with the grain we feed to farmed animals. - No federal law protects animals at factory farms.
Unfortunately, not a single federal law protects animals during their lives at factory farms. The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act pertains only to the slaughterhouse. What’s more, this law doesn’t include birds, who make up over 98 percent of the animals killed for meat. Want to change this? Click here to sign our petition urging the USDA to extend basic slaughter protections to birds. - The meat, dairy, and egg industries torture animals.
In the pork industry, piglets are slammed headfirst onto concrete floors if they are too sick or aren’t growing fast enough. In the egg industry, male chicks are ground up alive.
That’s right—since they will never lay eggs and don’t grow quickly enough to be raised profitably for meat, they’re killed within hours of hatching. These practices are truly sickening, but they are considered standard and acceptable, and they are just two of the many horrible things done to animals at factory farms. - Carbonated drinks are bad for you
Sodium-free seltzer with a wedge of lemon or lime quenches thirst without hurting your health. Soda, on the other hand, will contribute to weight gain, cavities, high blood pressure, and many other unhealthy problems. Don’t miss these other 10 reasons to avoid soda, including diet versions. - Those with diabetes have to give up sweets
In moderation, an occasional sweet treat is fine. The key to maintaining healthy blood glucose levels is balancing meals and snacks to provide a mixture of carbs, fats, and proteins. - Cranberry juice can cure a urinary tract infection
There’s no proof that cranberry juice or supplements can treat an infection, which should be medicated with antibiotics. But drinking the juice or taking supplements regularly can prevent such infections in the first place because compounds in the juice stop infection- causing bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall. - Fat-free and low-fat foods are always better than full-fat versions
When it comes to meat and some dairy products, it’s generally true that the less fat, the better. But not so with packaged, processed foods. Call it the “Snackwells” lesson: When manufacturers remove a certain ingredient (fat) from a certain food (cookies), they need to compensate for the taste by adding other not-so-healthy ingredients (sugar). Companies are constantly tinkering with the ratios of sugar, fat, salt and other ingredients in such foods.
Now, most nutrition experts believe you’re better off avoiding artificially fat-free foods and opting instead for whole foods with healthy fats, like nuts. - Eating carrots will improve your eyesight
This widespread carrot myth has been around since World War II, when rumors circulated that pilots ate lots of the vegetable to keep their vision in top shape. In reality, the fighter’s bionic eyesight was the result of improved technology.
Myths and Facts about Food
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