feed,andmorethanhalfofallwaterconsumedintheUnited
Statesgoestolivestock.^7 Inalltheserespectsplantfoodsare
far less demanding of our resources and our environment.
Let us consider energy usage first. One might think that
agricultureisawayofusingthefertilityofthesoilandthe
energyprovidedbysunlighttoincreasetheamountofenergy
available to us.Traditional agriculture does precisely that.
CorngrowninMexico,forinstance,produces 83 caloriesof
foodforeachcalorieoffossilfuelenergyinput.Agriculture
in developedcountries, however,relieson alarge inputof
fossilfuel.Themostenergy-efficientformoffoodproduction
in theUnitedStates(oats, again)produces barely2.5 food
caloriespercalorieoffossilfuelenergy,whilepotatoesyield
justover2,andwheatandsoybeansaround1.5.Eventhese
meagerresults,however,areabonanzacomparedtoUnited
Statesanimal production,every form ofwhich costs more
energy than it yields. The least inefficient—range-land
beef—usesmorethan 3 caloriesoffossilfuelforeveryfood
calorie it yields; while the most inefficient—feedlot
beef—takes 33 fuelcaloriesforeveryfoodcalorie.Inenergy
efficiency,eggs,lamb,milk,and poultrycomebetweenthe
two forms of beef production. In other words, limiting
ourselves to United States agriculture, growing crops is
generally at least five times more energy-efficient than
grazingcattle,abouttwentytimesmoreenergy-efficientthan
producing chickens, and more thanfifty times as energy-
efficientasfeedlot cattleproduction.^8 UnitedStatesanimal
productionisworkableonlybecauseitdrawsonmillionsof
yearsofaccumulatedsolarenergy,storedinthegroundasoil
and coal. This makes economic sense to agribusiness
corporationsbecausemeatisworthmorethanoil;butfora