Warning, this could piss you off... Just the facts.

I became a vegetarian primarily because I have a soft spot in my heart for animals. I believe that most mass produced beef, pork, chicken and even fish is a direct result of animal cruelty. From what they are fed, to the hormones they are injected with to their terrible living conditions.. It makes me sad and sick to my stomach. I can live my life free from the guilt that most non-vegetarians never even notice - because they have never stopped to look at the facts. I just want people to be informed, I'm not trying to switch anyone over. However, I do tend to have more respect for a person who can respect all living, breathing things.

I did some research the other day and found that being a vegetarian comes with many more perks than I ever imagined. I'm not even gonna go into animal cruelty here, that's a given, and researching that on your own should suffice. Health is number one. But it also comes down to the destruction of our environment, the money we could save, and the humans we could save from starvation. If every American cut back on even 2 meals a week containing meat, many of the world's problems could be solved. We were brought up this way, it's not our fault, we say... but we can also make better choices as adults. Arm yourself with the facts. You'll feel better about yourself.

Some statistics

Over a billion cattle populate the earth, with a combined weight greater than the entire human population. They are sustained unnaturally in these numbers to satisfy demand for their flesh. They are a primary cause for the destruction of the environment. Beef cattle return only 1 pound of meat for every 16 pounds of grain and soybeans they are fed, causing huge inefficiencies in food utilization, while millions of people go hungry.

Animal-based diets are high in saturated fat, excessive protein and cholesterol, leading to heart disease and stroke, nearly 50% of all deaths in the U.S.

It takes about 2,500 gallons of water to produce a single pound of meat. According to Newsweek, "The water that goes into a 1,000 pound steer could float a destroyer." In contrast, it takes only 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat.

The world's cattle alone (not including other livestock) consume food enough for 8.7 billion people. Over a hundred million of tons of grain go to animals while only 5 million tons of grain could adequately feed the 15 million children throughout the world who starve to death every year. By feeding grain to livestock, we lose 90% of the protein, 96% of the calories, 99% of its carbohydrates, and 100% of the fiber.

A meat-eating American needs 3-1/4 acres of cultivated farm land per year; vegetarians only require 1/6 acre per year.

Meat contains no essential nutrients that cannot be obtained in higher quality directly from plant sources.

Meat would cost over $35/lb. if the water used by the meat industry were not subsidized by the U.S. government. Livestock production accounts for twice the pollution of industrial sources in the U.S.

Trees are being cut at an alarming rate to clear land for meat production. If tomorrow people in the U.S. switched to vegetarian,, 200 million acres could be returned to forest.

Meat-centered diets are linked to many kinds of cancer, such as cancer of the colon, breast, cervix, uterus, ovary, prostate, and lung.

U.S. livestock produces 20 times the excrement of the human population.Their waste no longer serves to fertilize pastures a little at a time, since they spend much or all of their lives in factory sheds or feedlots. Wastes are often simply flushed away dangerously raising ammonia and nitrate levels in our drinking water. Going vegetarian helps to clean up our nation's water more than any other single action.

On a calorie basis, spinach has 14 times the iron of sirloin steak. Animal products are deficient in vitamin C which is needed for iron absorption, .

Cattle are responsible for 12% of the methane emissions. Methane contributes to global warming by trapping 25 times more solar heat than carbon dioxide.

Cattle grazing destroyed most of the lush ecosystems in North America. Grazing is the primary cause for the loss or endangerment of plant species in the U.S.

Factory-farmed animals have as much as 30 TIMES more saturated fat than yesterday's free-range, pasture-raised animals.

Meat contains about 14 times more pesticides than plant foods; dairy products more than 5-1/2 times.

A vegetarian diet helps prevent diabetes, often relieves the symptoms, and can even eliminate the need insulin treatments.

Agricultural engineers discovered that the energy costs of producing poultry, pork and other meats was over 10 times that of any plant food.

Nearly all toxic chemical residues in the American diet (95% to 99%) come from animal sources.

Our dwindling water supply is directly tied to meat consumption. Over half of the water in the U.S. irrigates land for livestock feed and fodder.

An acre cultivated in spinach yields 26 times more protein than it does for beef.

Demand for ocean fish contributes to over 200,000 deaths of marine mammals and birds caught in fishing nets every year.

To help end the controversy over whether humans are carnivores, consider that it is not common for a person to stalk a wild animal, catch it by sinking claws into its body, bite its neck, and feel comfort in the taste of fresh warm blood and uncooked flesh. Human beings have no sharp needle-like teeth to puncture flesh as do carnivores; humans have flat back teeth to grind (plant) food unlike carnivores.