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how many animals are we really saving?

4K views 41 replies 19 participants last post by  naturalsusta 
#1 ·
I've read that for every vegetarian some large number of animals are saved per year(I can't remember the number),

when I ate meat before I became a vegetarian I didn't eat much meat simply cuz I didn't like it, mostly I ate chicken or turkey maybe a little cow, once I told my counsin about the number I had read about how many animals one vegetarian saves per year, he said that I wouldn't count for it becuz I never ate steak or much fish I was never a person who ate a lot of meat(like him) so he said there is no way I can save that many animals becuz I never ate a large amount of meat. he also said that the few animals I may save just get killed anyway so he may as well eat them.

so how many animals does one vegetarian realy save?
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scratch View Post

If I could kill you but decide not to, did I just save you?

Hate to tell you this, but not killing (or having killed) animals is not the same as saving them.
Good point. Its not very gratifying to think of it in that way, though. Most people feel better about "depriving" themselves of comforts such as bacon and cheese when thinking about the animals they have saved.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kagome_elric View Post

I've read that for every vegetarian some large number of animals are saved per year(I can't remember the number),

when I ate meat before I became a vegetarian I didn't eat much meat simply cuz I didn't like it, mostly I ate chicken or turkey maybe a little cow, once I told my counsin about the number I had read about how many animals one vegetarian saves per year, he said that I wouldn't count for it becuz I never ate steak or much fish I was never a person who ate a lot of meat(like him) so he said there is no way I can save that many animals becuz I never ate a large amount of meat. he also said that the few animals I may save just get killed anyway so he may as well eat them.

so how many animals does one vegetarian realy save?
The numbers that are quoted do have some basis in truth, as they are simply representatives of the average number of animals consumed by one person in a year. The reason that the number is so high is that the number includes fish and smaller sea animals. For those of us who did not eat a lot of meat or fish before going vegetarian, we personally would not have consumed that many animals in a year. I know I never ate fish or poultry so the only meat I was eating was pork and beef so quantitatively the number of animals I was responsible for eating was relatively low. Perhaps 3. Ultimately the number doesn't make any difference, as all that matters is the bottom line of adding demand for products.
 
#17 ·
I think the number is probably pretty accurate. For example, there isn't that much flesh on a chicken - and I see people buying those whole roasted chickens all the time at the store - a person or 2 can finish one off easily. Lots of people eat meat (and/or eggs and dairy) at every meal (although I'll bet the discarded male chicks aren't factored into any equation).

Actually, don't you think the number comes from the number of food animals killed per year (of course the "discards" - ones too sick to make it to slaughter, or used for pet food and such - wouldn't be counted) - it may just be sourced from a government statistic, or it would be easy enough to do so.
 
#19 ·
I somehow really doubt that popcorn shrimp are in the equation, building up the numbers like that. But like I said someone could probably find the government numbers and do the math themselves...
 
#20 ·
Another "just to mention" thing, I recall it being said in Supersize Me that the meat in one McD's hamburger can contain beef from as many as 100 different cows. So if you think about that, and the number of burgers that your average McD's sells annually, multiplied by the number of McD's franchises around the world.....

That's a lot of animals. Just a thought.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ~Brandon View Post

Another "just to mention" thing, I recall it being said in Supersize Me that the meat in one McD's hamburger can contain beef from as many as 100 different cows. So if you think about that, and the number of burgers that your average McD's sells annually, multiplied by the number of McD's franchises around the world.....

That's a lot of animals. Just a thought.
Yeah but those 100 cows make more than one burger. I don't think that's what you were trying to say but I'm not positive.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ~Brandon View Post

the meat in one McD's hamburger can contain beef from as many as 100 different cows.
I've always found that really sick and somehow especially disrespectful (as opposed to, say, the supposed native american idea of blessing each animal they kill) - they're not even individuals in death.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scratch View Post

If I could kill you but decide not to, did I just save you?
It has nothing to do with animals that are already living. You are thinking of "If I don't eat it, somebody else will".

It's like what CountessKerouac was saying about boycotting. Because I don't eat 95 animals a year, that means there are 95 lives that never have to be born.

Back when I was an omni I...

literally ate a hen every other week, so that's about 20 lives

I could go to KFC and get a bucket of 20 wings, that's 10 lives...do that a month later that's 30. So we're already at 50.

I could go to Joe's Crab shack in eat 20 shrimp...that's 70. Do that a month later that's 90.

Eating other stuff would definitively push it to be over 100 lives a year.

Since I'm not eating all that now, that's 100 less lives that have to be born.

So, it's not a matter of "deciding not to kill you" it's a matter of demand. Vegetarians save over 30 million lives a year because those lives never have to be born.
 
#24 ·
Without doing the research, common sense says that shrimp don't count in that 91 or whatever lives per year statistic (and if they were, the number would be vastly over the 90s). From whatever body the total number of food animals killed per year comes from, I'm willing to bet that shrimp aren't in it as individuals. But if someone thinks or can prove otherwise, o.k.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irizary View Post

Without doing the research, common sense says that shrimp don't count in that 91 or whatever lives per year statistic (and if they were, the number would be vastly over the 90s). From whatever body the total number of food animals killed per year comes from, I'm willing to bet that shrimp aren't in it as individuals. But if someone thinks or can prove otherwise, o.k.
Umm, okay? 1 shrimp = 1 life. Anyway, it they are not in it, it would still be 95 on average because if the number would be "vastly over the 90s" with them, then without them it would be right around the 90s.
 
#26 ·
Yeah, it's the tragedy of the commons - if I conserve something that belongs to everyone, like gasoline, water, meat, any big commodity, you may think your actions don't add up to much because someone else will consume what you discard anyway -

BUT, all I can say is that vegetarianism has definitely opened up NEW markets, proved by the explosion of companies like Boca, Morningstar, Tofutti, etc. The most constructive action we can hope to accomplish towards SAVING animals is by supporting legislation that makes it illegal to crowd animals, treat them cruelly, and regulate anitbiotics/hormones, etc. in meat more strictly! Anything that drives the price of meat UP, will ultimately save animals (or prevent their births.)

Since the oceans are dying and many commercial fisheries are collapsing, I wonder how the market price of fish is affected? Since, I don't buy it, I haven't noticed a hike in $$$. Also, I wonder how widespread knowledge of mercury contamination is affecting tuna sales?

Also overlapping alternative energy needs: lack of cows grazing means more arable farmland for biodiesel projects! I wonder if every American gave up meat, how much biomass would be able to be allocated for other uses? Is it enough to sustain our car-based travel? I doubt it, but it's nice to dream....
 
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