March 7, 2012 - Christian Vegetarian Association Update Newsletters


	2012 Newsletters

CVA Weekly Newsletter
March 7, 2012

Activist Feedback

Guest Commentary: Are Plant Foods worse for Animals and the Environment?

This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Activist Feedback

Queenie, who leafleted with Sean and Bryce at the recent Rock and Worship Show inPhoenix, AZ, writes:

The event was HUGE! We there by 5:30pm and the line was unbelievably long with people everywhere. One of the reasons it was such a great concert to leaflet was that you have to buy tickets at the door for only $10. Tons of people had to wait in line, and they were very receptive to receive a booklet (something to do).

We saw people reading the booklets and passing them around to show their group. We also saw hardly anyone just wasting/throwing the booklets on the floor. Everyone was friendly!

The take rate was also very high. We ran out of the box of ~500 CVA leaflets in a half hour. We passed out another ~500 Vegan Outreach “Compassionate Choices” leaflets before the hour was over.

Upcoming Activist Opportunities

3/15-17   NC Winston-Salem        Joyce Meyers Ministries Conference
3/15      VA Norfolk              Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/16-17   SC Greenville      Extraordinary Women Conference
3/16-17   OK Tulsa           Acquire The Fire Youth Conference
3/16      TN Knoxville       Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/17      OH Cincinnati      Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/17      FL Miami           Women of Faith One Day
3/17      PA Pittsburgh      Women Of Faith Dream On For Teen Girls!
3/18      IL Peoria               Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/23      TX Houston              Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/23-24   NC Greensboro      Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
3/23-24   CA San Diego       Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
3/24      IN Indianapolis         Women Of Faith Dream On For Teen Girls
3/24      NV Las Vegas       Women Of Faith One Day Conference
3/24      TX San Antonio          Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/25      TX Dallas               Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/26      MO Springfield          Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/29      MI Ypsilanti       Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/30      IN Indianapolis         Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/30-31   MO Cape Girardeau Extraordinary Women Conference
3/31      IL Champaign       Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/31      TX Austin               Women Of Faith Dream on For Teen Girls
3/31      KS Wichita              Women Of Faith One Day
3/31      MD Baltimore       Women Of Faith One Day
3/31      TX Austin               TABLE Texas Veg Fest
4/22      CA San Diego       TABLE EarthWorks' EarthFair 2012
4/22      MO St. Louis       TABLE Earth Day Festival
4/28-29   CT Hartford             TABLE Connecticut Vegetarian & Healthy Living Festival
5/20      CA Van Nuys        TABLE WorldFest 2012
6/23      VA Richmond             TABLE Richmond Vegetarian Festival

2. Guest Commentary: Are Plant Foods worse for Animals and the Environment?

In my local area I've been encountering quite a bit of pushback from people who claim that dependence on plant-based foods such as grains and seeds results in exacerbated land use and the collateral killing of many more animals than if we relied on pasture-raised livestock.

I did some calculations on land use efficiency using figures obtained by doing a Google search of Extension Offices and organic farmers

Pasture-fed "beef" cows who can be raised on 1 acre per year:

Number of acres needed to raise 1 "beef" cow/heifer = 2 (a very liberal estimate)

Pounds of meat obtained from 1 "beef" cow/heifer = 600

Calories per pound of meat = 800

Calories from meat per acre = 240,000 (800 x 600 / 2)

Sample combination of food crops that can be grown on 1 acre (divided equally) per year:

5,000 lbs carrots AND 4,000 lbs potatoes AND 1,000 pounds wheat AND 4,000 lbs winter squash

Calorie value of those food crops:

carrots = 180 calories/lb = 900,000 calories per 0.25 acres

potatoes = 400 calories/lb = 1,600,000 calories per 0.25 acres

wheat = 1400 calories/lb = 1,400,000 calories per 0.25 acres

winter squash = 180 calories/lb = 720,000 calories per 0.25 acres

Total calories from food crops per acre = 4,620,000

Number of persons who could be fed in one year with one acre (assuming 2,100 calories per day):

With meat calories = 0.3 persons
With food crop calories = 6 persons

Land
use-efficiency of food crops over livestock = 19 times more efficient

I suppose the production of meat could be made more efficient by raising different animals instead of just "beef" cattle. Allowing for that, suppose we double the efficiency of producing meat. That still leaves plant-based food crops at about 10x the efficiency of meat production.

-Stephen Augustine

3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

Receiving Forgiveness

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