DAVEC00465.0980.0980.098000.092008-05-20T20:35:43+00:00true<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Switching to a plant based diet is the one change that will immediately have a positive impact on yourself and the enviornment around you.</strong></span></p>
<p>Raising meat for food (livestock) is an environmental disaster, contributing more to global warming than transportation, using up 30% of the Earth's land (<span style="text-decoration: underline;">yes, that's right, 30% of the entire land mass of the Earth is used directly or indirectly in livestock production)</span>, contributing to significant water pollution, using up tons of energy and water for raising and transporting livestock, etc. </p>
<p>For example, it takes 2500 gallons of water to produce 1 lb of meat. <strong>The avg American eats 185 lbs of meat per year, meaning 462,500 gallons of water can be saved by moving to a vegetarian diet!</strong> And just from eating burgers, we contribute 428-465 kg of greenhouse gas per year for an average American's burger consumption.</p>
<p>The typical American diet adds significantly to pollution, water scarcity, land degradation, and climate change, according to the United Nations (FAO) Food and Agriculture Organization's study of Dec. 7th, 2006. </p>
<p>Animal farming presents a "Major Threat to the Environment" with such deep and wide-ranging impacts that it should rank as a leading focus for environmental policy.</p>argam00true11497false497habithttp://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/2635false0Eat Less Meat5002010-01-12T13:55:46+00:0028951830500