How much protein do I need?	How animal protein relates to Osteoporosis	Food Contamination
Antibiotics, Hormones and Drugs in food	Heart Disease and cholesterol	Diet information & Products

Protein Requirements Contrary to popular belief, the protein needs of the human body are quite modest and easily met. If you eat a varied diet with adequate calories for your weight and activity level, then you are eating enough protein. Energy for the body is supplied by the three major components of food: carbohydrate, fat and protein. When nutritionists determine an individual's protein needs, they first establish how much food energy (calories) that person should consume each day based on age, sex and body weight. Daily protein requirements are calculated as a percentage of total calories consumed each day. Recommendations of the amount of daily calories to be provided by protein according to: World Health Organization of the United Nations: 4.5% Food and Nutrition Board of the USDA: 6% National Research Council: 8% Period of most rapid human growth: Infancy Natural food for human infants: Mother's breast milk Amount of total calories provided by protein in human milk: 5%

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Animal Protein and Calcium Loss The animal products industries have drawn a great deal of attention to the highly concentrated nature of protein found in animal foods. This has led many of us to believe that animal protein is superior to plant protein and has encouraged the over- consumption of animal foods. Unfortunately, animal protein places a great burden on the body. Unlike plant proteins, animal proteins are high in sulphur-containing amino acids and are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream (due to the low fiber content of animal foods). Excreting this excessive sulpher-induced acid load results in the loss of calcium from the body, which in turn contributes to the remarkably high rates of osteoporosis and kidney disease found among cultures consuming large quantities of animal protein. Diseases linked to excess animal protein consumption:                                       Osteoporosis and kidney disease Number of cases of osteoporosis and kidney disease in the United States: Tens of millions The average measurable bone loss of female meat-eaters at age 65: 35% The average measurable bone loss of female vegetarians at age 65: 18%

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Heart Disease The most profound benefit to be gained from  reduced consumption of animal products is the resulting reduction in the risk of heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among nations with high consumption of animal products. In the US, $100 billion is spent annually to treat heart disease. Atherosclerosis can be reversed. Plaques develop on the arterv walls of people consuming high levels of saturated fats and cholesterol. However, with a sufficient reduction in the dietary intake of saturated fats and cholesterol, these plaque formations can begin to dissolve, thus opening up the arteries. Source: John McDougall, M.D., McDouaall's Medicine, page 100. Most common cause of death in US:      Heart disease Risk of death from heart attack for the average American man:    50% Risk of death from heart attack for the average American man who consumes no meat: 15% Risk of death from heart attack for the average American man who consumes no meat, dairy-products or eggs: 4% Average cholesterol level of people eating a meat-centered diet: 210 mg/dl         Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol is 210 mg/dl: Greater than 50% Dietary cholesterol intake needed to support human health:  None — the body makes its own. Leading sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in American diets: Meat, dairy products and eggs Amount of cholesterol in chicken: The same as beef, 25 mg per ounce Main location of cholesterol in animal flesh: The lean portion                  Cholesterol found in all grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds: None Chance of dying from heart disease if you do not consume cholesterol: 4%

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Food Contamination Competition and the constant drive to expand markets has led to production methods that increase output while compromising food quality, Pesticides Tremendous amounts of pesticides are used today in growing livestock feed. Certain of these pesticides are stored in the body tissues of the animals that ingest them. Humans ingest significant quantities of these concentrated poisons when consuming animal products. Major source of pesticide residues in the western diet:   Meat, poultry and dairy products Food most likely to cause cancer from herbicide residue:   Beef Number of slaughtered animals tested for toxic chemical residues:   One in every quarter million Amount of US non-vegetarian mothers' milk with significant levels of DDT:   99% Amount of US vegetarian mothers' milk with significant levels of DDT:   8% Average chemical pollution of breast milk in US women compared to complete vegetarians:   35 times higher

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Antibiotics, Hormones and Other Drugs At the turn of the century, the major causes of human illness and death were infectious diseases such as diphtheria and scarlet fever. During this century, the use of antibiotics has helped to rid us of these terrible scourges. Yet bacteria are becoming resistant to the effects of antibiotics just as insects are becoming resistant to the effects of pesticides. This trend is greatly aggravated by the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock in factory farms. Livestock producers use synthetic hormones to increase growth, reproductive rates, and milk production. The FDA has approved the use of these drugs even though it can take generations to discover the long-term effects of these products on humans. The US is today the only fully industrialized nation in the world that still implants beef cattle with hormones. Amount of total antibiotics used in US that are fed to livestock:   55% Staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960:   13% Staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1988:   91%                           Major contributing cause: The breeding of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in factory farms due to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock. Response by the entire European Economic Community to the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock:   Ban Response by the American meat and pharmaceutical industries to the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock:  Full and complete support Amount of US livestock and poultry receiving drugs during their lifetimes:   80%   Potential cancer-causing substances the FDA has detected in recent years in the meat supply include: chloramphenicol, cabadox, nitrofurazone, dimetridazole, and ipronidazole. Substances found in 63% to 86% of milk samples in 1991:   Sulfa drugs, tetracyclines and other antibiotics Amount of all inspected chickens with salmonella bacteria:   One-third Amount of federal poultry inspectors who said they would not eat chicken:   75% Testimony from a former FDA official to a Senate investigating committee:   The risk of food poisoning from chicken is so great that package labels with consumer advice on handling should be mandatory.

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