A
acid rain, 17
advertising, 103–104
Africa
dairy consumption, 62
degradation of land, 29
desertification, 30
air quality, 15–19
algae, 55
Amazonian tribes, 24
American Cancer Society, 11, 59, 60–61
American Dietetic Association, 11, 59, 60, 98, 101–102
American Heart Association, 59, 99
American Institute for Cancer Research, 98–99
American Pediatric Association, 102
amino acids, 62
ammonia, 17–18
animal management
generally, 135–138
chickens, 141–142
cows, 143–145
pigs, 140–141
turkeys, 142–143
animals. See also livestock; names of specific animals
defined, 10
fate after ending meat production, 117
number raised for food, 11
thoughts and emotions of, 136
Antarctic Dome Ice Core, 16
antibiotics
in fish farms, 57
in livestock, 54, 76–77, 78–79
aquaculture, 55–58
arsenic, 77
Asia
dairy consumption, 62
degradation of land, 29
livestock consumption, 115
atmosphere, purposes of, 15–16
B
beef. See meat
Beyond Beef, 83
biodiversity, 23–24, 32, 33–36, 47
biomes, 32–33
bottom-fishing, 48
Brazil’s Atlantic coast, 22, 23
Broom, Donald, 140
bykill, 51–52
Campylobacter, 76–77
carbon, 17
carbon dioxide, 4, 5, 12, 16, 17–18
cardiologists, 101
Caribbean islands, 29, 118–120
cattle ranching, 22, 31. See also livestock
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) obesity study, 66
children and eating animals, 137–138
climate change. See global warming
Coleman, Mary Sue, 72
Colorado River, 42–44
Commodities Credit Corporation (CCC), 105
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), 123, 139
consumers, influencing farmers, 132–133
controversy, avoiding. See treading lightly
Convention on Biological Diversity, 33
Copenhagen Accord, 87
copper sulfate, 57
corporate influence, 89–90
cows, 143–145. See also livestock
D
Dairy Council, 104
dairy industry, 4, 61, 64, 85–91, 103, 105, 145
dairy products
consumption, 61–62
contaminants, 77
predicted production, 110
death, leading cause of, 127–128
diseases and health conditions related to meat-based diet
food-borne pathogens, 91–94
heart disease, 60
lactose intolerance, 63–64
obesity, 66
osteoporosis, 61–62
zoonotic, 76–77
drinking water. See fresh water
E
economic issues, 109–110
ecoregions, 32–33
ecosystems, destruction of, 18
ecotourism, 115
education about diet in other countries, 114–115
eggs, 93–94
Einstein, Albert, 111
endangered species, 50
endemism rate, 48
erosion, 54
Ethiopia, hunger and grain exports, 36
excrement produced by livestock, 54–55
F
farmers, 56, 106, 118. See also dairy industry; fishing industry; meat industry; pork industry
farming, local, 121–124
fast-food industry, 67–69
fertilizers, 55
Fields, David, 106
fish, 46–52
fish farms, 55–58
fish oil, 55–56
fishing industry, 48, 49, 53, 100–101, 105
flu pandemics, 77–79
Foer, Jonathan Safran, 121
food, defined, 9
food-borne illnesses, 91–94
food depletion, 36
Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, 88–89
food poisoning, 91–94
Food Politics, 89–90
food pyramid, 64, 103–104, 112
“footprint” (ecological), 30–31
forests
amount cleared in the U.S., 28
greenhouse gases, 4
losses from destruction of, 26
fossil fuel, 17–18
Franklin, Benjamin, 142
fresh water
food production use of, 12
livestock use of, 12, 42–46, 116, 126
pollution, 54–58
sources of, 41–42
Fuentes, Martin, 144
future predictions and solutions, 110–117
G
Georges Banks, 50
Glickman, Dan, 105
global depletion
facts and figures, 11–13
Global Footprint Network (GFN), 30
global warming
food choices, 2
overview, 3–4
Gore, Al, 4–5
government subsidies, 105–107, 112
grain, amount fed to livestock, 12, 44
Grand Banks, 50
“green” movement, 7–8
global warming cause, 3–4
livestock, 16–17
quantities and sources of gases, 4–7
ground water pollution, 54–55
Gulf of Mexico, 55
H
health conditions. See diseases and health conditions related to meat-based diet
health-risk tax, 114
heart disease, 60
heavy metals, 46
herbicides, 54
High Plains area of the U.S., 44
H1N1 (swine flu), 77–79
hogs, 78–80
hormones used in livestock, 54, 77
Horton, Tony, 131
hospitals, reluctance to change, 70–71
humans
ecological footprint of, 30–31, 33–34
helping the planet, 131–132
influencing others, 132–133
lack of concern for health, 74–75
overfishing, 49–50
why we eat animal products, 65, 98–100
I
An Inconvenient Truth, 4–5
India, meat consumption, 76
industrial farm waste, 55
influenza pandemics, 77–79
information suppression, 102–103. See also media control of information
International Whaling Commission (IWC), 118–119
Iowa Beef Processors, 45
J
Japan and whaling, 119
Jean, Ignatius, 119
Journal of Animal Science, 144
K
“K-Pax” theory, 110–111
kale, 129–130
Kentucky Fried Chicken, 23
lactose intolerance, 63–64
land
depletion levels, 31
destruction of, 28–29
livestock and food production use, 12–13, 123–124
pollution of, 29–30
land value, 115
Latin America, 29
legal coercion, 110
legislation to end meat consumption, 110, 116–117
livestock
air quality, 16
carbon balance of the land, 17
fishmeal, 52
fossil fuel used in production of, 18
fresh water and grain given to, 12, 39–46, 116, 126
grass-fed, 117, 120–128, 138–139
land depletion and degradation due to, 29–30, 31
land used by, 12–13, 28, 40–41, 123–124
pathogens and transmission of disease, 76–77
rainforest destruction, 22
Livestock, Environment, and Development (LEAD) report, 90–91
manure, 54
marine life, 47–51
meat
bacteria contamination, 77
defined, 10
predicted production, 110
as unhealthy, 59
meat industry, 4, 64, 85–91, 103, 105, 145
meatless Mondays, 132–133
media control of information
generally, 81–84
books, 86–90
contaminated food reports, 91–94
opening pathways of communication, 111
scientific reports, 90–91
talk shows, 82–86
medicines derived from plants, 24
methane, 4, 6, 12, 16, 17–18, 125
Moreno, Ramon, 144
myths. See media control of information
N
Nagoya (Convention on Biological Diversity), 33
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), 84
National Institute of Child Health and Development, 104
National Institutes of Health, 99
National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, 104, 105
Nestle, Marion, 89–90
nitrous oxide, 4, 6, 12, 17–18
nonrenewable resources, defining, 2–3
nutrients, 10, 126–127, 129–130
O
obesity, 66
omega-3 fatty acids, 47
oncologists, 101
Ope’s, 68–69
O’Reilly, Bill, 85–86
organic wastes, 54–57
overfishing, 47–52
ozone, 4
P
PCBs. See polychlorinated biphenyls
Peanut Corporation of America, 92–93
pediatricians, 102
pharmaceuticals derived from plants, 24
phosphorus-to-calcium ratios, 62
physicians, 75, 100–102, 111–112
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 75, 104
Physicians for Responsible Medicine, 59
plant-based diet, 59–60, 98–99
plants
amount of water and land used for production, 12–13
defined, 9–10
medicinal uses, 24
use of fossil fuel in production, 18
political issues, 109–110
politics of food systems, 89–90
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 46, 77
population, 31–32
pork industry, 79
predictions, 110
Pritikin, Nathan, 83
producers, 108–109, 118. See also dairy industry; fishing industry; meat industry; pork industry
protein, defined, 10
protein from animals, 62
public opinion. See media control of information
quinoa, 130
R
rainforests
benefit to environment, 23
biodiversity of, 23–24
greenhouse gases, 4
losses from destruction of, 26
medicines derived from, 24–25
native people of, 24
as producers of oxygen, 12
recovery of marine life, 46, 49
renewable resources, defined, 2–3
Rifkin, Jeremy, 83
S
St. Lucia, 118–120
Salatin, Joel, 121
salmon, 56
salmonella, 92–94
Schaffner, William, 93–94
sea lice, 57
seamounts, 48–49
Seventh-Day Adventists, 114
sheep, 124
slaughtering process, 40, 45, 88, 110, 119, 139–145
socializing, 109–110
solutions, 110–117
South China Sea, 55
soy, 23
Staphylococcus, 77
Steiner, Achim, 52
subsidies, 105–107
surgeons, 101
Surviving Cancer, 75
sustainability, 118–131
swine, 78–80
swine flu, 77–79
T
talk shows, 82–86
Tarahumara Indians, 114
toxic waste, 55
transportation, 16
treading lightly
Bittman, Mark, 88–89
Gore, Al, 86–87
LEAD report, 90–91
Oprah, 84–85
Pollan, Michael, 94–95
true cost, 108–109
Tyson chicken, 76–77
U
United Nations, on overfishing and bykill, 51
United Nations Accord on Biodiversity, 34
United Nations Committee on Livestock, Environment, and Agricultural Development, 113–114
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 5
United States
dairy consumption, 61–62
meat consumption, 76
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 64, 105, 112
universities, reluctance to change, 70, 71–74
University of Michigan, 71–74
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), 103–105
V
vincristine, 25
water. See fresh water; oceans
water vapor, 4
Wertheimer, Linda, 93–94
whale killing, 118–120
World Cancer Research Fund, 61, 98–99
World Trade Organization, 106
Z
zoonotic diseases, 76–77