How to win an argument with a meat eater

The Hunger Argument

Number of people who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain & soybeans now eaten by US livestock: 1.3 billion
Amount of corn grown in the US eaten by people: 20%
Amount of corn grown in the US eaten by livestock: 80%
Amount of oats grown in the US eaten by livestock: 95%
Percentage of protein waste by cycling grain through livestock: 99
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165
Percentage of US farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of beef: 16

The Natural Resources Argument

Use of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the US: livestock portion
Amount of water used in production of an average steer: enough to float a destroyer
Gallons to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons to produce a pound of meat: 2500
Cost of common hamburger if water used by the meat industry was not subsidized by US taxpayers: $35 a pound
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Barrels of oil imported into US daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil fuel returned as food energy by most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5
Percentage returned from least efficient plant food: 32.8
Percentage of raw materials consumed by US to produce present meat-centered diet: 33

The Cancer Argument

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat 4 times a week vs. less than once a week: 4 times
For women who eat eggs daily vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who eat meat daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times

The Environmental Argument

Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 times more
Percentage of US topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of US topsoil loss directly related to raising of livestock: 85
Number of acres of US forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
Amount of meat US imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama: 200 million pounds
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama: less than eaten by average US housecat
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound hamburger: 55 sq. feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1000 per year
From the New York Times, June 20, 1989