I continue to tell friends that a subscription to Wired magazine is perhaps the smartest way to spend $10 that I know of.
In the current issue (May '08) there is a big article on the problem of potable water in our world. If you don't have time to read the entire article, consider this table:
How Much Water Does It Take to Make a . . .
•Cotton ball: 1 gallon
•Sheet of paper: 3 gallons
•Slice of bread: 11 gallons (WK note: that would be around 250-300 gallons for a loaf. Who buys a slice?)
•Orange: 13 gallons
•Glass of beer: 20 gallons
•Egg: 36 gallons
•Burger: 634 gallons
•Leather shoes: 2,113 gallons
•Pair of jeans: 2,866 gallons
One of the strongest arguments for a plant-based lifestyle (Genesis 1:29) is how much more efficiently the world's resources are used to produce the ingredients for that diet versus a meat-based diet. Compare (above in red) the amount of water it takes to produce an orange verses a hamburger.
John Robbins, who walked away from the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream "heirship" as a young man after seeing his father's and uncle's health deteriorate from the consumption of their own product, was one of the first to research and publish the numbers on water, land, and natural resource use necessary to support a meat-and-dairy-based society. His book, Diet for a New America, demonstrates that the vast majority of water, land, and grain consumed in agricultural endeavors in America goes to raise meat for human consumption. And that's not to mention the negative health benefits of meat compared to plant-produced food.
Consumable water is going to be a defining issue for future generations -- not just in America but in the underdeveloped world. It's not hard to imagine wars being fought over water at some point down the road.
In the current issue (May '08) there is a big article on the problem of potable water in our world. If you don't have time to read the entire article, consider this table:
How Much Water Does It Take to Make a . . .
•Cotton ball: 1 gallon
•Sheet of paper: 3 gallons
•Slice of bread: 11 gallons (WK note: that would be around 250-300 gallons for a loaf. Who buys a slice?)
•Orange: 13 gallons
•Glass of beer: 20 gallons
•Egg: 36 gallons
•Burger: 634 gallons
•Leather shoes: 2,113 gallons
•Pair of jeans: 2,866 gallons
One of the strongest arguments for a plant-based lifestyle (Genesis 1:29) is how much more efficiently the world's resources are used to produce the ingredients for that diet versus a meat-based diet. Compare (above in red) the amount of water it takes to produce an orange verses a hamburger.
John Robbins, who walked away from the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream "heirship" as a young man after seeing his father's and uncle's health deteriorate from the consumption of their own product, was one of the first to research and publish the numbers on water, land, and natural resource use necessary to support a meat-and-dairy-based society. His book, Diet for a New America, demonstrates that the vast majority of water, land, and grain consumed in agricultural endeavors in America goes to raise meat for human consumption. And that's not to mention the negative health benefits of meat compared to plant-produced food.
Consumable water is going to be a defining issue for future generations -- not just in America but in the underdeveloped world. It's not hard to imagine wars being fought over water at some point down the road.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment