Eye Opener: CSPI

http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/tour.html

The above link was shocking to read. The statistics--if they are true--are extremely high. I have heard of the treatment of animals, pesticides, etc. throughout the years growing up, but one new thing that really stood out to me  because I had never heard of it was that employees who work in the slaughterhouses have a three times higher injury rate than the ordinary factory worker. Another factor I learned was that most of the time, these employees are unskilled and not unionized.

http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/calculator.html

For the food intake calculator results, my environmental burden of the animal products I eat in a year are below:


-1.4 acres of grain and grass needed for animal feed.
-0.4 pounds of pesticides used to grow animal feed.
-46.8 pounds of fertilizer used to grow animal feed.
-8,444 pounds of manure created by the animals I eat.

My calorie intake was calculated to be 811; zero grams in fiber; 23 grams in saturated fat--slightly above the recommended intake which is 20 grams; and 443 milligrams in cholesterol which is above the the 300 milligrams recommended intake. When I clicked to improve my diet, some difficulties came up. I already put in the amount 0 for pork intake since I don't ever eat pork; however, when I kept putting in a 0 for pork when it came to improving the intake the program wouldn't allow me to put in a zero saying that the amount had to at least be one. I would say that needs to be fixed for people who have specific diets. I DID put in a one just to see what would happen, BUT the program seemed to have failed. It wouldn't even accept a one in the pork section. I redid the eating green calculator twice more and it still wouldn't take. Not sure if that was a technical problem. This is why I wasn't able to view the pledge much less take it.


http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/score.html

My grand total was negative 116. The only food section I actually scored highest was for dairy. The program asked if I ate fat-free dairy and I clicked yes. Pretty much the only area where I got it right. The foods I scored super low in were beef and cheese. I eat a lot of steak and A LOT of cheese.  I eat double the  amount recommended for cheese. I think that's bad?
The most improvement I need is to eat more organic products, lay off the cheese, and add more fruits and vegetables to my diet. It would be better for the environment as well as animal health.

In summary, this was a good exercise and I actually liked seeing where I stood with the statistics. It makes me want to eat less non-organic food and more greens. It has given me more of an awareness with what I'm putting into my body and I realize that if I keep going with my current diet I probably won't live very long. I thought I ate healthy but the above exercises showed me that I really didn't. Time to go grocery shopping for avocados, apples, and tomatoes! :)