A Few Health and Diet Facts
(Many Studies Compiled by Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating )

• U.S. cancer deaths attributable to diet: One-third (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Jan 95. "Position of the American Dietetic Association: Cost-Effectiveness of Medical Nutrition Therapy", Volume 95, Number 1, p. 88-91.)

• Groups recommending generous amounts of fruits & vegetables to reduce cancer risk: National Research Council, National Cancer Institute, & the American Cancer Society (Wattenberg, Lee W. Cancer Research, April 1, 1995, "Inhibition of Carcinogenesis by Minor Dietary Constituents", Volume 52, Number 7 (Supplement), p. 2090S.)

• Leading cause of death in US: Heart Disease (Williams, Roger R. 1994. "Diet, Genes, Early Heart Attacks, and High Blood Pressure," Nutrition in the '90s: Current Controversies and Analysis, Edited by Frank N. Kotsonis and maureen A. Mackey; Marcel Dekker, Inc.New York, p. 25-44.)

• U.S. residents who will die from heart disease: Nearly 50% (Hans Diehl, 1994. "Reversing Coronary Heart Disease," Western Diseases: Their Dietary Prevention and Reversibility, N.J. Temple and D.P. Burkitt, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, p. 237-316.)

• Experience of most heart disease patients following Dr. Dean Ornish's program (which is based on a very low-fat vegetarian diet): Coronary Blockages Reverse (Gould, K. Lance; Ornish, Dean, et. al., Sept. 20, 1995. JAMA, "Changes in Myocardial Perfusion Abnormalities by Positron Emission Tomography After Long-term, Intense Risk Factor Modification", Volume 274, Number 11, p. 894-901.)

• Veterinarian's assessment of raising parasite-free livestock: "...Virtually Impossible..." (Haynes, N. Bruce, DVM. 1994. Keeping Livestock Healthy: A Veterinary Guide to Horses, Cattle, Goats & Sheep, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT. p. 258.)

• Leading source of kidney failure among North American children: E. coli Infection (July 23, 94, "To Zap or Not to Zap," The Economist, p. 27-28.)

• U.S. supermarket ground beef infected with E. coli: 4% (Herbert, Bob. July 7, 1995, "Bad Meat and Politics," New York Times, p. A25.)

• Time needed for campylobacter to infect every chicken in a 20,000 bird house: A Few Days (Madden, Robert H. July, 1994. "Microbial Hazards in Animal Products," Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Volume 53, Number 2, p. 313.)

• Number of antibiotics allowed in U.S. milk: 80 ( Begley, Sharon. March 28, 1994 , "The End of Antibiotics," Newsweek, p. 47-51)

• Number of antibiotics for which U.S. milk is tested: 4 ( Ibid.)

• Human infections resistant to all antibiotics: "...Rapidly Increasing..." (September, 1995. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Impacts of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Washington, DC, p. 1.)

• Leading source of human exposure to dioxin: Meat, Dairy, Eggs & Fish (Fries, George F. June 1995, "A Review of the Significance of Animal Products as Potential Pathways of Human Exposures to Dioxins," Journal of Animal Science, Volume 73, Number 6, p. 1639-1650.)

• Ranchers' reaction to proposed reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park area: Filed Lawsuit (Egan, Timothy Dec 11, 1994. "Ranchers Balk at U.S. Plans to Return Wolf to the West," New York Times, Section A, p. 1, 44.)

• Chicken manure generated each day in U.S.: 120 million kilograms (Mountney, George J.; Parkhurst, Carmen R., 1995, Poultry Products Technology, Third Edition, Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY, p. 335.)

• U.S. corn eaten by people: 2% (1994. 1993/94 World Maize Facts and Trends, CIMMYT, Mexico City, p. 50, 52.)

• U.S. corn eaten by livestock: 77% (Ibid.)

• Percentage of world grain supply eaten by livestock: 38% (Durning, A.T.; Brough, H.B. "Reforming the Livestock Economy," Brown, L.R., editor, State of the World, 1992, W.W. Norton and Company, New York, p. 66-82.)

• U.S. land producing vegetables: 4 million acres (January, 1993.1992 Census of Agriculture, Table 0A, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.)

• U.S. fruit and nut orchards: 5 million acres (Ibid)

• U.S. land producing hay for livestock: 56 million acres (Ibid)

• Anesthetic typically used during pig castration: None (White, R.G., et al. February, 1995, "Vocalization and Physiological Response of Pigs During Castation With or Without a Local Anesthetic," Journal of Animal Science, Volume 73, Number 2, p. 381-386.)

• Solution to the unhealthy air quality in commercial hog farms: "...wear a suitable mask at all times in hog facilities." (Morrison, W.D., Hacker, R.R.; Smith, J.H.; Morrison, W.D. June 1991, "Dust in Hog Growing Facilities: A Research Update," Highlights of Agricultural and Food Research in Ontario, Volume 14, Number 2, p. 6-10.)

• Total human attention given over four months to a factory-farmed pig: 12 minutes (Kilman, Scott. May 4, 1995, "Iowans Can Handle Pig Smells, but This is Something Else,"Wall Street Journal, p. A1, A6.)

• Of 1,324 chickens dying in transport to slaughterhouse, the ratio dying of heart failure: Half (Gregory, N.G. Mar-94, "Pathology and Handling of Poultry at the Slaughterhouse, " World's Poultry Science Journal, Volume 50, Number 1, p. 66-67.)

• Age of these chickens (that died of heart failure): Eight Weeks (Ibid.)

• Most profitable number of laying hens to keep in one commercial 30.5 by 50.8 cm cage: Five (Fraser, David. 1993. "Assessing Animal Well Being: Common Sense, Uncommon Science," Food Animal Well Being 1993 Conference Proceedings and Deliberations, USDA and Perdue University Office of Agricultural Research Papers, West Lafayette, IN, p. 41.)

• Time a chicken spends under these conditions to lay a single egg: Over 24 hours (Gay, Carol V. 18-Jul-92, "Penn State Poultry Pointers: Building Better Bones," Lancaster Farming, p. C5)

• Number of meat, milk, and egg producing animals slaughtered each year in US: Over Six Billion (January, 1993. 1992 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. Tables 20-25.)

• December 1995 government conclusion on typical health of vegetarians: "...Excellent Health." (1995. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)

Some recent additions:

• In Finland, a study of 21,930 men showed that a high-fiber diet protected against heart attack. The men's risk of dying from a heart attack dropped 17 percent for each additional 10 grams of fiber eaten daily.

• A recent study by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute showed a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables proved to be the best treatment for high blood pressure.

• Early results of a long-term study of healthy women showed eating a diet rich in vitamin B6 and folic acid -- contained in such foods as dark green leafy vegetables, peas and dried beans -- may cut a woman's chances of getting heart disease by 50%. The findings were from the Nurse's Health Study, an ongoing research project.

• A new study of 88 elderly people aged 65 or older who took 200 milligrams of vitamin E each day for about four months showed they significantly boosted their immune system's ability to ward off disease. The results appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

• Researchers writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found a link between prostate cancer and the consumption of saturated fat.

• The Journal of the American College of Nutrition recently reported that adding fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates to a sensible diet reduces a person's risk of a second heart attack, which shows that it is never too late to adopt healthy lifestyles. In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, coronary lesions shrank in 28 percent of heart patients who followed an intensive exercise program, versus 6 percent who received standard care.

• In clinical studies at Harvard University's Mind/Body Institue, a number of interesting effects were seen resulting from the practice of a 20 minute daily meditation period: chronic pain patients reduced their physican visits by 36 percent; 80 percent of hypertensive patients lowered their blood pressure and decreased medications; open heart surgery patients suffered fewer post-operative complications; and 75 percent of insomnia patients became normal sleepers, with 90 percent able to reduce their use of sleeping medications. High school students, meanwhile, significantly increased their self-esteem.

• Says Leslie Teets, M.D., director of the Center for Behavioral Medicine at Columbia Hospital in Richmond, Virginia: "The research shows that we are captains of our own destiny. Even if we are genetically pre-disposed to certain diseases, we don't have to accept that as fate. Changes in lifestyle can change the course of our health history. The choices we make and the way we live push us in different directions."