[whoracle]

You guys are going to wind up nicknaming me something foul i'm sure, but what the hell...

in response to your Time magazine statistics....

Animal waste emits ammonia, hydrogen sulfite, methane, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter from fecal dust. These irritants enter the lungs of anyone who is nearby and can cause serious respiratory illnesses. A February 2002 study conducted by Iowa State University and the University of Iowa Study Group found that as many as 70 percent of U.S. factory farm workers suffer from acute bronchitis, and 25 percent battle chronic bronchitis.24 Even more disturbing, a recent University of Iowa study found that an astonishing 46 percent of children who live on pig factory farms with more than 500 pigs suffer from asthma. On factory farms where antibiotics are used as a growth stimulant, the asthma rate in children climbs to over 55 percent.

Furthermore, a Texas study found that cattle feedlots in the state produced 14 million pounds of particulate dust every year and that the dust “contains biologically active organisms such as bacteria, mold, and fungi from the feces and feed.” This dirty dust creates an increased risk of respiratory problems for people who work at and live near these farms.

The air just outside Los Angeles is particularly dirty because the ammonia from nearby manure pits combines with nitrogen oxide to form “particulate smog”—a substance that contributes to the development of lung and heart disease. In fact, the area has some of the worst air pollution in the country.

Amazingly, the South Coast Air Quality Management District says that reducing the ammonia pollution produced on dairy farms is more important than reducing the pollution generated by the automobile industry.

Ammonia is not the only problem, however. According to a report issued by the California Senate, a significant portion of methane and other greenhouse gas emissions are also produced by animals on factory farms.

In fact, a report by EarthSave International, based on the work of leading climate scientists, shows that vegetarianism is a far more effective strategy for addressing global warming in our lifetime than is reducing emissions from cars or power plants. Environmentalists have focused on cars and power plants because they emit carbon dioxide, which makes up the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. However, other gases, produced in smaller amounts but far more powerful at trapping heat, actually cause the majority of the Earth’s warming. Moreover, because carbon dioxide sources also emit climate-cooling aerosols, they are responsible for little to no net warming today—a fact that is well known to climate scientists but rarely discussed by environmental groups.

Go have yourself a steak...