Certain interesting facts about vegetarianism
Vegetarianism and World Hunger
Raising animals for food is an extremely inefficient way to feed a growing human population. The U.S. livestock population consumes enough grain and soybeans to feed more than five times the entire U.S. population! One acre of pasture produces an average of 165 pounds of beef; the same acre can produce 20,000 pounds of potatoes. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by only 10 percent, it would free 12 million tons of grain annually for human consumption. That alone would be enough to adequately feed each of the 60 million people who starve to death each year.
I love the forests. Can I save them by being vegetarian?
Certainly! Did you know that throughout the world, forests are being destroyed to support the meat-eating habits of the "developed" nations? Between 1960 and 1985 alone, nearly 40 percent of all Central American rain forests were destroyed to create pasture for beef cattle. More than four million acres of cropland are lost to erosion in the United States every year. Of this staggering topsoil loss, 85 percent is directly associated with livestock raising i.e. over-grazing!
Vegan Leather!
Some vegetarians choose not to wear leather. So what can replace leather footwear and other accessories are expected in some workplaces? There are many specialist suppliers that sell belts, shoes, safety boots, jackets and briefcases that share the appearance of leather but are in fact made of synthetic materials generically known as Vegan leather. High-end fashion designer Stella McCartney is famed for her refusal to use leather, fur or other animal products in her range of clothes and accessories and is thus popular with wealthier vegetarians.
Famous Vegetarians
Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Socrates, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Drew Barrymore, Paul McCartney, Chelsea Clinton, Lisa Simpson, Hank Aaron, Bryan Adams, Alicia Silverstone, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein.
