This document discusses the environmental, health, and ethical impacts of eating animal products versus a plant-based diet. It notes that animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, deforestation and species extinction. A plant-based diet requires fewer resources and could feed more people. However, government subsidies encourage overproduction of corn and soy which are fed to livestock. Factory farming practices are described as inhumane. Health guidelines recommend plant-based diets, which studies find reduce risks of chronic diseases. Resources for adopting a vegan diet emphasize fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.

1. VEGANISM AND VEGETARIANISM: WHAT THEY
MEAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
Eating Sustainably
http://www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov/news/news_Grass-
based_Dairy_Tour.html
http://www.sodahead.com/fun/most-foods-taste-better/question-
1326065/?link=ibaf&q=fresh+veggies+food&imgurl=http://lifemixx.com/wp
-content/uploads/2010/04/Fresh-Vegetables.jpg
1

2.  “We will find that the mass consumption of animals is a primary reason
why humans are hungry, fat, or sick and is a leading cause of the
depletion and pollution of waterways, the degradation and deforestation
of the land, the extinction of species, and the warming of the planet.”-
Brian G. Henning, author of Standing in Livestock’s ‘Long Shadow’: The
Ethics of Eating Meat on a Small Planet
2
"I have no doubt that it is part of the destiny of the human race, in its
gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals"
-Henry David Thoreau
Ethics, Health, and the Environment

3. CURRENT HEALTHY EATING GUIDELINES:
3
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/n
utritionsource/what-should-
you-eat/pyramid-full-
story/index.html#Dietary-
Guidelines-in-the-21st-Century

4. COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
4
USDA Guidelines Harvard School of Public Health Guidelines

5. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY:
5http://ncronline.org/news/justice/subsidizing-poor-eating-habits & The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

6. CORN: FRIEND OR FOE?
 According to the National
Catholic Reporter, “In addition to
encouraging unhealthy fast food
consumption, cheap corn also
contributes to overuse of
chemical fertilizer and antibiotics,
as well as food poisoning.
Environmentalists have branded
corn as an icon of unsustainable
agriculture. It requires large
amounts of fertilizer and
pesticides, both of which require
large amounts of fossil fuel to
manufacture.”
6

7. CORN: IT’S WHAT SHOULDN’T BE FOR DINNER
 Also according to NRC, “…corn is fed to livestock who didn’t evolve to
subsist entirely on such a diet. In cattle, eating corn increases flatulence
and emissions of methane -- a potent greenhouse gas -- and creates an
intestinal environment rich in E. coli, an intestinal bacterium that is a
common cause of food poisoning. That necessitates mixing cow feed
with antibiotics, in turn producing antibiotic-resistant disease strains.”
7

8. VITAL STATISTICS:
8
Human Pop. Of the U.S.: 243,000,000
Number of human beings who could be fed by the grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock:
1,300,000,000
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by human beings: 20%
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80%
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%
Percentage of U.S. agricultural land used to produce beef: 56%
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 lb. of feedlot beef: 16
Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed one person
eating a meat-based diet: 20 people
Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60,000,000
Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grains saved if Americans decreased
their intake of meat by 10%: 60,000,000.

9. WHY NOT EAT MEAT?
 "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged
by the way its animals are treated.“ -M. Gandhi
9
http://www.green-blog.org/2010/07/22/the-cruel-life-inside-a-factory-farm/

10. THIS IS WHY.
 Prior to being hung up by their back legs and bled to death, cattle are supposed
to be rendered unconscious, as stipulated by the federal Humane Slaughter Act.
This 'stunning' is usually done by a mechanical blow to the head. However, the
procedure is terribly imprecise, and inadequate stunning is inevitable.
This is detailed in an April 2001 Washington Post article, which describes typical
slaughter plant conditions:
“The cattle were supposed to be dead before they got to Moreno. But too often they
weren't.
They blink. They make noises, he said softly. The head moves, the eyes are wide
and looking around. Still Moreno would cut. On bad days, he says, dozens of
animals reached his station clearly alive and conscious. Some would survive as far
as the tail cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller. They die, said Moreno, piece by
piece...”
10
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/beef/

11. “HUMAN DISENGAGEMENT”
 Here is an excerpt from “The Humanity of What We Eat: Conceptions of
human uniqueness among vegetarians and omnivores.” By: Bilewicz, Michal;
et. al.…
 In the present research, it was hypothesized that the conception of human
uniqueness (denying animals certain psychological characteristics) might be
a strategy of meat-eaters' moral disengagement. Three studies compared
the extent to which vegetarians and omnivores attribute psychological
characteristics to humans versus animals. In Study 1, vegetarian participants
ascribed more secondary (uniquely human) emotions to animals than did the
omnivores; however, there were no differences in primary (animalistic)
emotions. Study 2 showed that omnivores distinguish human characteristics
from animalistic ones more sharply than vegetarians do, while both groups
do not differ in distinguishing human characteristics from mechanistic ones.
Study 3 confirmed the results by showing that omnivores ascribed less
secondary emotions to traditionally edible animals than to the non-edible
species, while vegetarians did not differentiate these animals. These results
support the claim that the lay conceptions of 'human uniqueness' are
strategies of moral disengagement.
11

12. WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?
 According to the Physicians
Committee for Responsible
Medicine, “These four food
groups provide the good
nutrition you need. There is
no need for animal-derived
products in the diet, and
you're better off without
them. Be sure to include a
reliable source of vitamin
B12, such as any common
multiple vitamin or fortified
foods.”
12
http://www.pcrm.org/health//d
iets/pplate/power-plate
http://www.pcrm.org/images/health/pplate/EveryMe
alPowerPlate.pdf

13. THE VEGAN DIET:
 Stock your pantry with
these basics:
 Fruits
Bananas
Apples
Berries (fresh or frozen)
Raisins
 Vegetables
Broccoli (fresh or frozen)
Spinach (fresh or frozen)
Lettuce
Carrots
Cucumbers
Canned tomatoes
Marinara sauce
13
Grains
Rolled oats
Loaf of bread (high-fiber or pumpernickel)
Brown rice
Quinoa
Whole wheat pasta
Legumes
Soy, rice, almond, or plant-milk of choice
Black beans (canned or dried)
Garbanzo beans (canned or dried)
Dried red lentils
Frozen edamame
Condiments
Apple butter
Balsamic vinegar
Cinnamon
Mustard
Soy sauce
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/pplate
/resources

14. SOME RESOURCES FOR MAKING THE SWITCH:
 http://www.nutritionmd.org/makeover/index.html
http://www.pcrm.org/images/health/pplate/EveryMealPowerPlate.pdf
14
http://action.petaasiapacific.com/ea-
campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=110&ea
.campaign.id=2604
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/pplate/power-
plate-meals-across-the-globe
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Occupy-
Your-Diet-A-Discussion-xfoftp-
2323402398.html
On Ethics:
On Nutrition
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/
Recipes