The intense thing is, each number is an individual with thoughts, feelings, fears and pain. Remember, if you don't want to be a part of those numbers, you can pick a different sandwich filling.
It’s pretty horrifying. I never thought about the raw number, but millions of animals tortured and killed every day is astounding. Hundreds of millions. Future generations are going to look back in horror.
I hope that one day in the future our children will look back to this the same way we look at our ancestors having slaves and burning witches: “how ethically primitive yet technologically advanced they were”.
Also let's not forget about the mice, rats, birds, rabbits, frogs, lizards, moles, possums, snakes, insects etc... killed by plant agriculture.
This study estimates 7.3 billion animals die each year from harvested cropland in the US alone (not including insects).
This is transformed data most likely aggregated and unit converted from:
https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/
which facilitates bulk data downloads in XML | JSON and additional hosts a BETA data explorer interactive web front end:
I have no opinion on the accuracy of the article linked, had I the time ATM I'd work through this myself (as I often do for all manner of things).
Threads on veganism are 100% flamebait here. I'm thankful for the thoughtful discussions some users engage in, but I don't believe it's worth keeping this much fuel open for discussion.
I’m wondering how many fish, birds, and mammals get eaten by non-humans every day. I wouldn’t be surprised if that number is less than the number of animals humans slaughter. Like, I’ve heard that there are more chickens alive right now than all other birds combined. I think it’s a similar thing for pets and livestock when it comes to mammals.
I'm not a vegetarian or vegan. I'm weak-willed in this area and the best I've managed is to choose a non-meat option where the choice is easily available and comparably appetising. I want to do better, but am not in a position to moralise.
Nevertheless I'd recommend reading "The Extended Circle: An Anthology of Humane Thought" (Jon Wynne Tyson). It's one of only a handful of books I've kept a copy of for a very many years and peruse regularly, taking the form of quotes from famous people, not so famous people, historical personages, and founding texts, all concerning the human relationship to animals. A very moving and wounding book.
Dunno, but I read Americans eat 6B chickens a year; only 2B are alive at any one time. So, lots.
Those numbers are wild. I didn’t expect them to be that large.
For a variety of reasons, I'm interested in incorporating more plant-based food into my diet, including plant-based main dishes. Anyone have any favorite dishes, cookbooks, websites that are good introductions to vegetarian/vegan cooking?
As a midwest Bible belt farm boy, the entire premise of this article is lost on me. Yes, many animals are slaughtered for food. We try to do it as humanely as possible, and we can and should improve on this.
That's... just how food works?
Check "cowspiracy" and "game changers" on netflix
Another side effect of the federal government shutdown: mass euthanization of lab animals (including those who aren't in any research that would lead to it normally). Hooray \o/
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It’s amazing how crude our agriculture system is. We’re so focused on serving ads, automating cars, creating virtual worlds, building bombs… but we can’t create a meal without hurting animals or the earth. Even a planet full of vegetarians requires the most fertile land and fresh water to be used for crops. Take a drive through Iowa or the San Joaquin valley, it’s amazing how unnatural it looks.