This is from another thread, but it applies to the moral issues of destroying the planet just so we can eat flesh:
Environmental Statistics
 Estimated rate of worldwide tropical deforestation per minute: 150 acres. Per day: 216,000 acres (roughly the size of the Rocky Mountain National Park)
 Percentage of tropical rainforest deforestation directly link with livestock raising: more than 50%.
 Amount of forest lost every hamburger produced from livestock raised on what was Central American Forest: 55 sq feet (size of a small kitchen)
 Estimated weight of trees, saplings, seedlings, insects, birds, reptiles, mammals, fungi and microorganisms killed or displaced for every hamburger produced from Central American forest: 1/2 ton.
 Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests and related habitats: 1,000 per year.
 Estimated number of species that will become extinct in Central and South America by the year 2000 if present rate of deforestation continues: 150,000 to 500,000.
 Year in which Central and South America will be stripped of tropical rainforests if present rate of deforestation continues: 2010.
 How often an acre of U.S. trees disappears: every 8 seconds.
 Number of U.S. forest converted into land for grazing livestock and/or growing livestock feed for every acre cleared for urban development: 7 acres.
 Amount of trees spared per day by each individual who switches to a vegan diet: 1 acre.
 Percentage of U.S. water used for some phase of livestock production: more than 50%.
 Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons. Water needed to produce 1 pound of meat: 2,500 gallons.
 Main source of water for High Plains region of the United States: Ogallala Aquifer. Percentage of water drawn from Ogallala that is used to produce beef: 75%.
 Estimated cost of subsidizing the meat industry in California with water per year: $24 billion. 1991 budget for the child welfare services in California: $425 million.
 Average amount of water required daily to feed a person following the standard U.S. meat-based diet: 4,200 gallons.
 Average amount of water required daily to feed a person following an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet: 1,200 gallons.
 Average amount of water required daily to feed a person following a vegan diet: 300 gallons.
 Amount of water a person would conserve per year by switching from a meat based diet to an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet: 1,095,000 gallons.
 Amount conserved by switching to a vegan diet: 1,423,500 gallons.
 Amount of U.S. topsoil lost to date: about 2/3.
 Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly associated with livestock raising: at least 85%.
 Percentage of total U.S. land area used for any type of agriculture: 52%.
 Percentage of U.S. land used for livestock production (including pasture, rangeland and cropland): 87%.
 Percentage of U.S. land used for livestock: 45%.
 Amount of irrigated land used in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon and Idaho) to grow feed and fodder for livestock: 4.6 million acres.
 Amount of land used to supply America with Idaho potatoes, Washington apples and Oregon pears: 0.8 million acres.
 Average amount of meat eaten by each American annually: 190 pounds.
 Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans quit eating meat: 600 million people.
 Amount of waste produced every second by animals raised for human consumption: 125 tons (the weight of 15 African elephants).
 Percentage of water pollution that can be linked to wastes from the livestock industry: more than 50%.
 Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by the United States that are devoted to the production of livestock: 33%.
 Calories of fossil fuels expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78 calories. From milk: 36 calories. From chickens: 22 calories. From soybeans: 2 calories.
 Percentage our imported oil requirements would be cut if the United States switched to a vegan diet: 60%.
 Energy equivalent that a family of four would conserve in one year by cutting back meat consumption by 2 pounds each week: 104 gallons of gasoline.
 Percentage of Americans who call themselves environmentalists: 76%.
 Percentage of Americans who are vegetarian: 2.8%.
Ah, well, so many facets of life...
