Devour the Earth - English with subtitles

DISCLAIMER: Dear YouTube team, please don't remove this video, because we have a written permission from the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (VSUK) to publish it on the web in cooperation with the European Vegetarian Union (EVU). We have also a written permission for the soundtrack of Reza Ganjavi which is used in the intro. Thanks! Facts 1 38% of the grain in the world is fed to livestock. On average, for every 10 kg of grain fed to animals only 1 kg of meat is produced -- the rest becomes manure. It takes more than twice as much land to feed a meat eater than it does a vegetarian, and half of that again is required to feed a vegan. Britain alone could feed 250 million people on a pure vegetarian (vegan) diet. If the whole world followed the USA-style diet, only half of the current population would be fed. acts 2 Tropical forests are home to up to 90% of all the Earth′s species. Tropical rainforest is being destroyed at a rate of over 164 000 square kilometres per annum. In Costa Rica 71% of all deforested land is pasture. Nepal has lost around half of its forest land in the last 20 years mainly to sustain livestock. Even newly cleared pasture can only sustain one head of cattle per hectare. Latin America exported almost 8 million tonnes of soya beans in 1991, mainly to feed our cattle. GLOBAL WARMING In 1989 the crew of a space craft watched a smoke cloud from thousands of fires spread across a million square miles of Amazonia. It was rainforest being cleared for cattle ranching. With the burning of vegetation, huge reservoirs of stored carbon dioxide are unlocked, released to float upwards and provide yet more insulation to prevent heat escaping from the Earth. When the cattle arrive, each one belches out 60 litres of methane every day, adding another twist to the spiral. Together, burning and belching provide the second largest contribution to the greenhouse effect. Facts 3 Since 1970 the destruction of rainforests in Latin America has contributed over 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Methane gas is increasing in the atmosphere by 1% per year and is responsible for 18% of global warming. 18% of world methane emissions are from livestock. There are more than 1.3 billion cattle in the world. 26% of UK methane gas emissions are from livestock. UK livestock emissions contribute 1.15 million tonnes of methane to global warming every year. Facts 4 A single cow can produce 23 tonnes of manure a year. 10 pigs can produce 21 tonnes of manures a year. Spread over the land this contributes to acid rain, soil and water pollution. Ammonia from animal farming is recognised as a major cause of acid rain, causing over 70% of acidity in some areas. In Holland, where livestock outnumbers humans by over 7 to 1, farmers have been told to reduce herds by a quarter to help save dying forests. Facts 5 Nine of the world′s 17 major fisheries are in serious decline. All of the others have reached their limits. Worldwide 124 billion dollars are spent every year catching just 70 billion dollars worth of fish. Recent surveys suggest that over 40% of fish caught in the North sea are diseased -- often with cancerous tumours. An estimated 240,000 tonnes of PCB′s (effectively banned in the UK since 1980) are thought to have entered the world′s oceans. Strongly migratory salmon are factory farmed at stocking densities of 15 kg per squaremetre. Facts 6 Heart disease is the major cause of death in the United Kingdom and the developed world. Studies have shown vegetarians to suffer 30% less heart disease than meat eaters. Cancer accounts for a quarter of all premature deaths in the United Kingdom. At least one third of all cancers are directly related to diet. Many risk factors are significantly reduced on a vegetarian diet. Research shows the incidence of colon, breast, prostate and other cancers is lower among vegetarians. It′s estimated that about 2 million people suffer from food poisoning every year (in the UK). Almost all food poisoning is from meat, eggs and dairy products. JOIN THE FIGHT FOR LIFE!

YouTube | March 18, 2007