One hamburger can contain the meat of 100 different cows from four different countries. One infected animal can contaminate 16 tons of beef. The best way to show a link between disease and diet is to look at living populations that eat differently from one another. The difference is that in animal factories the product is a living creature. The American Dietetic Association acknowledges a relationship between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk of coronary-artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and certain types of cancer.
Meat packing is the most dangerous occupation in the nation.
Workers may be kicked or bitten by struggling animals who have not been properly stunned. They may be crushed by animals falling off the line. Poultry workers typically make a single movement up to 20,000 times a day and suffer repetitive stress disorders at 16 times the national average. Turnover at plants can be as high as 100 percent per year. Only one in 300 beef carcasses and one in 20,000 chickens will be sampled.