1. Save Our Planet

2. “If there is no action before 2012, it is too late. What we do now in the next 2-3 years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.” - Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of IPCC “We are so close to the red line, we may wake up tomorrow and discover there is nothing left to save.” - Maneka Gandhi, former Indian Environment Minister “We have a full-scale planetary emergency.” - Al Gore, former US Vice President Source: - Dr. Pachauri, Rajendra. “U.N. Chief Seeks More Climate Change Leadership.” www.nytimes.com. Elisaberth Rosenthal. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/39jv43http://tinyurl.com/39jv43 -Ghandi, Maneka.” The world may have nothing left to save tomorrow.” www.indiaenews.com. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/6zkwwlhttp://tinyurl.com/6zkwwl -Gore, Al. “Planetary Emergency”. www.fogcityjournal.com. Luke Thomas. Retrieved on 17-01-2009 http://tinyurl.com/5drkt3

3. The Union of Concerned Scientists, some 1,700 of the world’s leading scientists, including the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences issued this warning as far back as 1992: WARNING We the undersigned, senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated. The scientists issuing this warning hope that our message will reach and affect people everywhere. We need the help of many. We call on all to join us in this task. Source: - “1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity”. www.ucsusa.org.Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved on 17-01-2009 http://tinyurl.com/5qndfthttp://tinyurl.com/5qndft

4. One of the biggest contributors: Livestock Production Source: -H.Steinfeld et al. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (PDF). Ch. 3, P. 112 and Ch.7, P.272. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/96csxhhttp://tinyurl.com/96csxh Livestock industry accounts for 80% of all GHG emissions from agriculture. Livestock accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions from all sources– more than the entire transport sector globally.

5. “Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency.” - U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization

6.  37% of global methane emission - 23x more potent than CO 2 over 100 years - 68x more potent than CO2 over 20 years - causes headaches, brain defects, suffocation  65% of global nitrous oxide emission - 297x more potent than CO 2 - causes short-term decreases in mental performance, audiovisual ability & manual dexterity, and adverse reproductive effects  64% of the world’s ammonia - contributing to acid rain - affecting biodiversity  9% of total CO 2 emissions Source: -H.Steinfeld et al. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (PDF). Ch. 3, P. 82, 112, 114. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/96csxhhttp://tinyurl.com/96csxh Emissions: The single largest producer of methane & nitrous oxide

7.  Livestock sector is by far the single largest anthropogenic user of land.  Livestock production accounts for 70% of all agricultural land and 30% of the world’s surface land area.  Livestock sector is a major cause of wide scale land degradation with 70% of all grazing land in dry areas considered to be degraded because of overgrazing, compaction and erosion caused by rearing of animals for their meat. -Source: H.Steinfeld et al. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (PDF). Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/96csxhhttp://tinyurl.com/96csxh

8.  Livestock industry is the largest sectoral source of water pollutants.  Animal wastes contribute to large oceanic “dead zones”, extended to nearly 7,903 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico during Summer 2007.  Once pollutants, including nitrogen, phosphorus, antibiotics and pesticides, reach the waterways they cause a great deal of damage to aquatic and human life. Source: – H.Steinfeld et al. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (PDF).Ch.Executive Summary. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/96csxhhttp://tinyurl.com/96csxh – “NOAA and Louisiana Scientists Predict Largest Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone” on Record This Summer”. www.noaanews.noaa.gov. Ben Sherman. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/5atfovhttp://tinyurl.com/5atfov Water Pollution

9.  70% of the Amazon deforestation is due to clearing land for pasture and livestock feed crops.  The trees of the Amazon release 20 billion tonnes of water to the atmosphere each day – the energy equivalent of the largest hydro dam in the world (in Brazil) operating at maximum power for 145 years.  By year 2010 cattle are projected to be grazing on some 24 million hectares of neotropical land that was forest in 2000.  70% of the Amazon deforestation is due to clearing land for pasture and livestock feed crops.  The trees of the Amazon release 20 billion tonnes of water to the atmosphere each day – the energy equivalent of the largest hydro dam in the world (in Brazil) operating at maximum power for 145 years.  By year 2010 cattle are projected to be grazing on some 24 million hectares of neotropical land that was forest in 2000. Source: – H.Steinfeld et al. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (PDF). Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/96csxhhttp://tinyurl.com/96csxh – “Climate Regulation”. www.globalcanopy.org. Retrieved on 17-01-2009 http://tinyurl.com/55verlhttp://tinyurl.com/55verl – H.Steinfeld et al. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (PDF).Ch. 5.3.1 P 188. Retrieved on 17-01-2009. http://tinyurl.com/96csxhhttp://tinyurl.com/96csxh A Major Cause of Deforestation

10.  Deforestation causes 18-25% of global carbon emissions.  Deforestation affects rainfall and freshwater, soil productivity, clean air, forestry, and biodiversity resources.  Habitat destruction through deforestation is a major cause of loss and biodiversity.  Heavily deforested areas can see a 300 fold increase in the risk of malaria infection compared to areas of intact forest.  Tropical forests are critical to the survival of over a billion of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.  Deforestation and overgrazing are two causes of desertification. By 2020 about 135 Million people risk being driven from their lands because of continuing desertification.  Desertification reduces food security and can lead to social unrest and conflict.  Deforestation causes 18-25% of global carbon emissions.  Deforestation affects rainfall and freshwater, soil productivity, clean air, forestry, and biodiversity resources.  Habitat destruction through deforestation is a major cause of loss and biodiversity.  Heavily deforested areas can see a 300 fold increase in the risk of malaria infection compared to areas of intact forest.  Tropical forests are critical to the survival of over a billion of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.  Deforestation and overgrazing are two causes of desertification. By 2020 about 135 Million people risk being driven from their lands because of continuing desertification.  Desertification reduces food security and can lead to social unrest and conflict. Source: - Global Canopy Programme: Forests Now Declaration http://tinyurl.com/6fgnymhttp://tinyurl.com/6fgnym, http://tinyurl.com/6hbqbx, http://tinyurl.com/6n73djhttp://tinyurl.com/6hbqbxhttp://tinyurl.com/6n73dj - State of the World's Forests 2007, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 2007, Part 2, Selected Issues in the Forest sector -UNDP – Human Development Report 2007/2008 Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity In A Divided World -IUCN http://tinyurl.com/6vefb3http://tinyurl.com/6vefb3

11.  Livestock take up 30% of the earth’s land surface which was once habitat for wildlife.  Tropical forests hold half of the world’s species which are becoming extinct at an alarming rate due to deforestation for meat production. Source: - Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2007 http://tinyurl.com/6bowo7 (p32 / p185-p188)http://tinyurl.com/6bowo7 “We are in an era of unprecedented threats to biodiversity. Fifteen out of 24 important ecosystem services are assessed to be in decline.” “The sheer quantity of animals being raised for human consumption is a threat to the Earth’s biodiversity.” Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2007 Loss of Biodiversity

12. Water Scarcity - The Facts  Over 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water  More than 2 billion people do not have proper sanitation  By 2025 there will be 1.8 billion people living with absolute water scarcity and 2/3 of the world’s population could be living under water stressed conditions  On a global basis, the amount of fresh water available per person is falling rapidly. Source: -Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2007 -United Nations Environment Programme (2002): Global Environmental Outlook

13.  Homes use 10% of all water  Industry uses 20% of all water  Agriculture uses 70% of all water Source: - Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2007 http://tinyurl.com/6bowo7http://tinyurl.com/6bowo7 -Saving Water: from Field to Fork, SIWI, IWMI, Chalmers & SEI, May 2008 http://tinyurl.com/58padphttp://tinyurl.com/58padp “Meat production, particularly the production of feed, consumes large amounts of critically important water resources.” - U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization Water Scarcity - Usage

14.  Livestock sector is among the most damaging sectors to the Earth’s scarce water resources.  Producing 1 kilo of beef requires 13,000-100,000 litres of water.  Producing 1 kilo of wheat requires 1000-2000 litres of water.  Water-intensive food items like meat and dairy products is placing increased stress on food production systems.  A diet containing less meat and dairy products is not only healthier than our current eating habits, but is better for the environment. Source: -Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2007 -Food and Agriculture Organisation. 22nd March 2007. FAO urges action to cope with increasing water scarcity. Rome http://tinyurl.com/4nhboq; Pimental D. Et al, 1997. Water Resources: Agriculture, the Environment, and Society. Bioscience. 47 (2), 97-106http://tinyurl.com/4nhboq -Stockholm International Water Institute and the International Water Management Institute, 2004: Water – More nutrition per drop -Food Matters, Cabinet Office, July 2008, p.15

15.  Producing 1 kg of beef leads to the emission of greenhouse gases with a global warming potential of 36.4 kg of CO 2.  1 kg of beef produces the same amount of CO 2 emitted by the average European car every 250 km, and burns enough energy to light an 100 watt bulb for 20 days.  Over 2 / 3 of the energy for producing meat goes towards producing and transporting the animal’s feed. Source: -Animal Science Journal, Evaluating environmental impacts of the Japanese beef cow-calf system by the life cycle assessment method, 2007.

16. Source: -Oil Crops Year in Review: U.S. Soybean Demand Powered by Record 2006/07 Supply, -US Department of Agriculture, http://tinyurl.com/4h9wwjhttp://tinyurl.com/4h9wwj Global Soya Crop Production: 220 million tons (2007/08)  74% fed to animals  17% for soy oil, incl. biofuel  9% for human & other Our Choice: For Human or For Animal?

17. Source: -Crop Prospects and Food Situation, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, http://tinyurl.com/446b9fhttp://tinyurl.com/446b9f Global Grain Crop Production: 2109 million tons (2007/08)  36% to feed animals  47% to feed people  5% for grain-derived biofuels  12% for other Our Choice: Food or Feed

18.  Every 2.3 seconds, a child dies from malnutrition  Malnutrition costs US$ 20-30 billion per year globally  More than 800 million people in the world go hungry every day  760 million tons of grain are fed to animals every year  Hunger and poverty claim 25,000 lives every day Source: -UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2006 http://tinyurl.com/3y2gqlhttp://tinyurl.com/3y2gql -Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2007 -UN FAO & The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2006

19.  Grain fed to animals reared for human consumption loses 90% of the energy from the original grain  1 hectare of land produces: beef to support 1 person lamb to support 2 people rice to support 19 people potatoes to support 22 people  With 854 million people hungry in the world (more than the populations of USA, Canada, and the European Union), the grain fed to cattle (nearly half the world’s supply) could be used to feed the starving Source: - Dr David Archer, Professor of Geophysical Sciences at University of Chicago - Lester R. Brown, Outgrowing the Earth, Ch. 3, W.W. Norton & Co., 2005 - UN FAO & The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2006 - Photo: Finbarr O’Reilly, Canada, Reuters, Mother & child at emergency feeding center, Niger

20.  Raising animals for food is a primary cause of deforestation, land degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution, loss of biodiversity and global warming and yet the global livestock sector is growing faster than any other agricultural sub-sector.  Meat Consumption is expected to more than double by 2050.  EU’s subsidies to the livestock industry was 3,500,704,000 Euros in 2007, ensuring the industry’s continuing growth Source: -UN FAO, Livestock’s Long Shadow, Rome 2006 -The livestock industry and climate – EU makes bad worse, Jens Holm & Toivo Jokkala, Parliamentary Group (p. 17-18) Meat consumption is expected to double by 2050

21. Source: - Jay Zwally, NASA Scientist - Katey Walter, Nature 443; 71-75, 7 th Sept. 2006  Following the unprecedented ice melt in the Arctic in Summer 2007, the thickness of ice fell by nearly half a metre (19%) in large parts of the Arctic in comparison to the previous five winters.  The most devastating effect of rising temperatures is the release of 400 billion tonnes of methane gas from the melting permafrost and the ocean seabed.  The melting of the permafrost and subsequent release of methane is a "ticking time bomb.”  The Arctic ocean is predicted to be ice free by the end of summer of 2012, causing catastrophic climate change with increased severity and frequency.  Methane gas being released from the Arctic Ocean is a ‘ticking time bomb’.

22. “...the balance of environmental analysis suggests that a healthy, low-impact diet would contain less meat and fewer dairy products than we typically eat today.” Source: - Cabinet Office, “Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21 st Century”, July 2008 http://tinyurl.com/6bhjhohttp://tinyurl.com/6bhjho Reduce or eliminate meat & dairy consumption

23.  Turnover rate of farm animals is 1-2 years, while turnover rate of cars & power plants, etc can be decades.  Methane can disappear from the atmosphere in 9-15 years, while CO 2 can stay in the atmosphere for more than a century.  Introduction of new techniques and further research takes many years.  Cut in CO 2 involves fighting powerful & wealthy business interests, while veggie foods are readily available. Source: - A New Global Warming Strategy, Noam Mohr, EarthSave International, August 2005 http://tinyurl.com/2usvxlhttp://tinyurl.com/2usvxl Why a quicker & easier solution

24. Source: - Interview with Supreme Master TV “…many of us are saying if you want to make an impact soon, slow down the melting of the glaciers, slow down the rise of the sea level, and so on, give us more time to deal with things, give us, society, more time, shouldn’t you work more on methane?” Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD Professor of Global Environmental Health University of California, Berkeley Buys us time in fight against global warming

25. Source: US Environmental Protection Agency, Global Mitigation of Non-CO 2 Greenhouse Gases, June 2006 “The mitigation of non-carbon dioxide (Non- CO2) greenhouse gas emissions can be a relatively inexpensive supplement to CO2-only mitigation strategies.” “Methane Mitigation has the largest potential across all the Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases.” Key to rapid emissions reductions

26. Source: - NASA GISS Report: Methane’s Impact on Climate Change May Be Twice Previous Estimates “Control of methane emissions turns out to be a more powerful lever to control global warming than would be anticipated.” Drew Shindell, PhD Atmospheric Physicist NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Buys us time in fight against global warming

27.  If everybody in the UK ate no meat for 2 days per week, it would save the equivalent of almost 73 million return flights from London to Ibiza.  If everybody in the UK ate no meat for 6 days per week, it would create greater carbon savings than removing all the cars off UK roads (29 million cars). Source: -Pieter van Beukering, Kim van der Leeuw, Desire Immerzeel and Harry Aiking (2008) -Meat the Truth. -Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands http://tinyurl.com/5q3vwxhttp://tinyurl.com/5q3vwx Environmental Advantages

28.  Prevents high blood pressure  Lowers cholesterol levels  Reduces Type 2 diabetes  Prevents stroke conditions  Reverses atherosclerosis  Reduces heart disease risk - 50%  Reduces heart surgery risk - 80%  Prevents many forms of cancer  Strengthens immune system  Increases life expectancy up to 15 years  Higher IQ Source: - American Dietetic Association position paper on vegetarian diets http://tinyurl.com/djoduhttp://tinyurl.com/djodu - Dr Dean Ornish, Preventive Medicine Research Institute http://tinyurl.com/5r42vshttp://tinyurl.com/5r42vs -High IQ link to being vegetarian, BBC News, 15 December 2006 http://tinyurl.com/yl4kwahttp://tinyurl.com/yl4kwa Advantages

29. Foodwatch of Germany compared:  Conventionally and organically raised meat, dairy and plant foods.  Omnivorous, vegetarian and vegan diets. (Translated to mileage driven by a BMW 118d) Results  Conventional Omnivore emissions = driving 4758 km  Organic Omnivore * emissions = driving 4377 km  Conventional Vegan emissions = driving 629 km  Organic Vegan emissions = driving 281 km Source: Spiegel Online International, 27 August 2008 http://tinyurl.com/557yxshttp://tinyurl.com/557yxs

30. Source: -Water Inputs in California Food Production, Water Education Foundation, September, 1991 (chart E3 p28) http://tinyurl.com/6kd6kx

31. Source of Food Emissions:  Transportation (Food Miles): 11%  Agricultural & industrial processes: 83% Source: Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008 http://tinyurl.com/3w377ghttp://tinyurl.com/3w377g Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that eating vegan food one day per week, saves more emissions than eating locally-grown food all year.

32. “Please eat less meat; meat is a very carbon intensive commodity.” Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman, IPCC “The single action that a person can take to reduce carbon emissions is vegetarianism.” Dr. James Hansen, Top World Climatologist, NASA “I would advocate getting off of the meat diet, that it really is not sustainable.” Dr. Jonathan Patz, Professor of Env. Studies & Populations Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin – Madison “We have to reduce the meat consumption and one way of doing it is of course that a larger amount of what we eat is vegetarian and everything else other than meat.” Erik Solheim, Env. & Dev. Minister, Norway

33. “Probably the biggest step a person could take is to reduce the consumption of meat and other animal products. And if you really want to become climate-friendly, well then you should become vegetarian and stop eating meat totally. But also, we should be active in politics and in organizations, and make sure that our governments and political parties do what they have to do, and that is not to subsidize the meat industry, promote vegetarian food, for instance.” Jens Holm, MEP, Sweden “Unless we change our food choices nothing else matters because it is meat that is destroying most of our forests, it is meat that pollutes the waters, it is meat that is creating disease which leads to all our money being diverted to hospitals, so it’s the first choice for anybody who wants to save the earth.” Maneka Gandhi, Parliamentarian & former Env. Minister, India

34. “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Albert Einstein “While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth?” George Bernard Shaw “Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all human evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.” Thomas Edison, Inventor

35. “There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties…the lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.” Charles Darwin “Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they’re only animals.” Theodor Adorno “A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.” Leo Tolstoy

36. It’s time for the truth about meat to be brought to light. Animal agriculture and the consumption of animal products are destroying our planet and are the root cause of the most pressing challenges of our time. We can no longer hide from the fact that meat is the single greatest contributor to the most prevalent and deadly global health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. We must recognize that meat is causing global food shortage as we feed over one third of all grain products to animals (over 7 times the amount used for biofuels), and as farmers in developing nations grow feed crop for animals rather than food crops for their fellow citizens. And we must address the reality that meat and dairy are the leading causes of global warming, pushing our Earth beyond the tipping point, heading to where it can no longer maintain life as we know it. The facts and figures presented here are compiled from the latest research by leading climate scientists, governmental bodies, the United Nations, many independent organizations, and health professionals. They show clearly how by stopping the devastation of meat production and consumption and embracing a plant-based diet, we will be able to live in optimal health, preserve our planet and have enough food and clean water for all.

37. UN Framework Committee on Climate Change, Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, has pointed out that a bigger part of higher food price increases comes from feeding grain to animals being raised for meat. Secretary de Boer stated, “The best solution would be for us to all become vegetarians.” Source: -http://tinyurl.com/4elf2chttp://tinyurl.com/4elf2c

38. VIDEOS The Bio-Da Versity Code by Earth Scope: A Community of Scientists Conducting Multidisciplinary research across the Earth Sciences http://tinyurl.com/3nlz2z Earthlings: Documentary video on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests http://tinyurl.com/3n5jgj http://tinyurl.com/3n5jgj ORGANIZATIONS Nutrition Ecology International Center: An interdisciplinary scientific committee established with the purpose of investigating the impact of all stages and methods of food production and consumption, with regard to health, environment, society and economy http://tinyurl.com/4x3dzf European Parliament: European United Left/Nordic Green Left: The Livestock Industry and Climate Change – EU Makes Bad Worse http://tinyurl.com/6kn3vw Global Canopy Program: An Alliance of 29 scientific institutions in 19 countries, which lead the world in forest canopy research, education, and conservation http://tinyurl.com/6fgnym Food vs. Feed http://tinyurl.com/5sn8ob

39. To share scientific data with the public, the media, the government and other organisations on the significant and devastating effects of eating animal products on the health of our planet, including climate change, drought and deforestation, and on global hunger. To raise awareness, to encourage the media to speak about these topics, and to encourage governments and other institutions to pass and adopt laws and policies which will result in people eating less animal products in order to reverse climate change, ensure there is enough clean water for all our needs, and feed the world’s hungry.