How many animals does a vegetarian save?

Interesting! I'm glad to see you've considered semi-vegetarians, and those who eat a lot of vegan or vegetarian food because they know so many veg*ns. As a vegan, I know this applies to some people in my life.

One thing I have wondered is if lacto-ovo vegetarians eat more eggs and dairy products than the average meat-eater, because they replace the meat with other animal products. I'm sure this varies from individual to individual, and is, thus, hard to calculate. I encourage anyone adopting a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet to make sure that meat is replaced by beans, seitan, tofu, and other plant foods, keeping the amount of eggs and dairy the same as before - or, even better, lower - if they want to meet or exceed the numbers mentioned.

Thanks for the comment, Tracye!

I do not know if vegetarians tend to eat more eggs and dairy than meat-eaters. If there is credible data available on it from any recent scientific polls, it will be easy to incorporate it in the formula I use. But, we will need data not on exactly not how much eggs/dairy a vegetarian eats, but on how much eggs/dairy a vegetarian eats in place of how much meat.

Interesting blog!
I'd like to mention that these numbers are VERY conservative. These numbers do not include:
1. wild animals killed by habitat destruction for grazing land and feed-growing land
2. wild animals killed by pollution and diseases from animal farms
3. animals culled on farms (runts, male chicks, etc.)
4. animals that die incidentally on farms
5. animals that die during transport
6. downed animals disposed of at stockyards or "low-quality" animals disposed of at slaughterhouse intake
7. animals killed by pesticides used on feed crops and by the harvesting of feed crops
8. human animals killed by slaughter accidents, animal-derived pathogens, or animal farm pollution, or who could have been saved by eating grain we instead fed to animals

I would love to see attempts at adding some of these to the calculation!

I'm surprised you didn't use the more thorough calculation at http://AnimalDeathCount.blogspot.com, especially since you quote J.S. Foer's "Eating Animals" but not the this source of his numbers therein. This source doesn't account for semi-vegetarians, but it does include far more considerations than you have, including imports/exports, US fish numbers, bycatch, animals that die from causes other than slaughter, and so on.

Fabulous article, thank you.

One question - you're talking just about vegetarians in the U.S., correct? Just want to make sure of that.

Sincerely,
Kenny

Yes, Kenny, I am only considering the US in my analysis. I am sure the worldwide numbers would be different.

Wonderful! It's true that a vegetarian will get other friends and family to give up some meat :) I don't cook meat at my house very often (I think I have purchased meat about 5 times since August 2011) so my husband usually gets burgers/etc from restaurants. My daughter is almost two and she doesn't like meat at all! and we don't consume cow's milk and very few eggs. The only things we do still consume every now and then is cheese and butter (I alternate between that and margarine/veg spreads). I am not 100% Vegan but this article makes me want to try a little harder! Thank you so much I love it!

What about vegans? No chickens or cows suffering - that's saving animals too. I'd like to see those numbers, just saying.

I think the numbers are way off, if my calculations are right. in order for a human to consume what you are saying you need to be eating over 150 animals a day. Even if you were eating small animals like doves or shrimp, that is still to much of a number. I love meat, but I eat steaks once or twice a week, I eat a burger every other day or so, and snacks throughout the day. I don't think any human being consumes as much meat as this posts likes to say.

Thank you for this, I really enjoyed reading! Sometimes I feel disheartened and feel like I'm not even making an impact by refraining from eating animal products, this really helped to quantify things. :)

Thank you for writing this. I wanted to tell you that I posted some of the information you provided in a debate on the following page: http://www.care2.com/causes/the-invisible-and-the-innocent-10153000000-victims-of-the-u-s-food-industry.html#new_comment. However, I didn't cite your page as my source because of the title - the people with whom I'm debating would have immediately dismissed the information as propaganda. In retrospect, I should have asked for your permission first. I did forward the link for your page to another vegan.

Isn't the number of animals saved offset to some degree by the number of animals killed to support the increased intake of plant-based foods?

This is the oft-raised retort that vegans still kill animals incidentally through harvesting plants. So meat-eater kills X animals (directly and indirectly in raising feed) and Y animals indirectly. Vegan kills X - X animals (for a total of zero animals relating to meat) and Y +(some number that reflects the increased calories from plants). It would seem your estimate (while conservative for other reasons) is inflated by ignoring incidental kills.

I just wanted to make the argument before a meat-eater did so as to nip it in the butt.

. . . an afterthought: If the incidental kills to grow feed grossly outweigh the incidental kills to grow plants consumed by the vegan, then your number might be even more conservative still. So I shouldn't say your number is inflated; it just doesn't account for incidental kills (when it probably should at least talk about it).

Thank you for this article. I had been thinking recently about the number of animals saved by going vegetarian or vegan.

We always hear the number 95 and I was thinking how that number would be even greater if the person was a big eater. I, myself, began my vegan journey pushing 270 lbs. with the majority of my meals being meat-based. Given how much I and my husband would eat in one sitting, I imagine we might be saving almost twice the number of the average person (which one day we hope will balance that high number we ate if only karmically).

Thanks for the honest effort, Harish. I don't like including shellfish, because that, I think, just distracts from the issue of suffering. Although not "vegan," eating a clam is very much like eating a plant. (And eating "vegan" foods like wet-grown rice kills plenty of vertebrates.) Personally, I'm wary of mentioning fish, especially such large numbers -- do people really believe they eat ~4 vertebrate fish every week?
Finally, I would like to caution against the idea of focusing on how "great" vegetarians / vegans are. Many vegans I know don't need ego help; they cut themselves off from the public (and thus hurt animals) with their sanctimony and moralizing. None of us are perfect, and we can all improve -- we can all do more for the animals.

your caluculations are overly simplistic in other ways too.

in addition to the hundreds of animals killed by the plow to make your bread say, vs a cow eating in a pasture on hay like in canada which kills few.

you forgot all the spraying of pesticides that go on your healthy vegetables (most vegetarians are not organic) since they demand "pretty" food.

But there are many other environmental tragedies that vegetarians are commiting due to lifestyle choices. Theoretically I could walk to the farm where my steak was raised so very little transport pollution, whilst your bananas and other tropical fruits on which you depend, currently organic or not involve vast fossil fuel use, and their organicness if any is a result of MASS poison kill-offs of entire islands of most small creatures. For instance St. Lucia is almost entirely devoid of life smaller than a cat due to historic poisoning. No birds, butterflies, etc.

On top of that meat is almost all mechanically harvested (corn grain etc) whilst your pretty fruit and vegetables involve flying exploited minorities thousands of miles from their countries to hand pick ever thing you put in your mouth...so the alberta tarsands, middle east wars, etc are chalked up to YOUR death column too...so they can have oil to transport all your fancy fruits and vegetables.
If you eat plants to be healthy, so be it, but if you are in any way saving animals...you might as well enjoy your burgers, you are causing more deaths than you could imagine.

Hi Noam, I did not know of your analysis (let's call it the ADC analysis for AnimalDeathCount) until I saw your comment on this post. This weekend I was able to look through your data and it was very interesting for me to see how someone else was approaching the same problem.

It is obvious that much hard work has gone into the ADC analysis. A difference between my post and the ADC analysis is that my post comes up with 219 finfish and the ADC analysis comes up with a much smaller 43. I think 219 is a closer estimate of the actual number because the ADC analysis does not consider two significant facts: (1) 84% of our seafood is imported, and (2) half of that is a product of aquaculture.

Since 84% of our seafood is imported, the international catch of fish reported by UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (used in this post) is a better representation than the U.S. catch (used in the ADC analysis) of who is killed for our seafood.

The second fact that 42% of what we eat is an imported product of aquaculture is not considered in the ADC analysis. Each pound of, say, farmed salmon we eat is grown using at least 8 smaller fish (1.5 pounds) killed and ground up to make fishmeal fed to the salmon. This multiplicative factor significantly expands the number of fish we kill for our food and should be applied to all of the aquaculture products we eat. While fishmeal fed to fish is considered in the ADC analysis, it is applied to a much smaller quantity of seafood we eat (and not 42% of it as in this post).

If these two facts are accommodated into the ADC analysis, the numbers of finfish estimated by the ADC analysis and this post would get much closer.

Anna, thank you for sharing the data from this post. It is perfectly fine if you did not link to it. I completely understand your concern re: propaganda.

CAW, thank you for your comment. I updated the post today with import/export data for land animals and took the opportunity to add a mention about how vegetarian agriculture kills far fewer wild animals than animal agriculture. I had received the same feedback privately from others as well.

Michael, the number of fish we kill for our food is not the same as the number of fish that pass through our lips. So, yes, we do not eat ~ 4 vertebrate fish every week, but we kill ~ 4 vertebrate fish every week for what we eat.

This doesn't answer the question of whether lacto-ovo vegetarians eat MORE eggs and dairy than non-vegetarians, but it is interesting further reading for anyone who hasn't seen it:

http://measureofdoubt.com/2011/06/22/why-a-vegetarian-might-kill-more-animals-than-an-omnivore/

It lays out the animal foods that kill the most animals per calorie, and the least. It does not include all animal products, such as fish, goat, lamb, etc., but it includes most of the American favorites.

In summary, eating chickens and eggs kills the most animals per calorie, of those foods being considered; dairy kills the least.

Hi Tracye, thanks for the link. The article on the Measure of Doubt site compares eggs to beef and then inexplicably jumps to the conclusion that a vegetarian kills more animals than a meat-eater. It lists but conveniently ignores the chicken eaten by meat-eaters and its very high death count per calorie. For a credible and thorough evaluation of the number of animals killed per calorie, there is no better analysis than at the Animal Visuals site below:
http://www.animalvisuals.org/projects/data/1mc

But yes, it is certainly possible for a vegetarian to kill more animals than a typical meat-eater by eating an insane number of eggs.

This is terrific stuff. Add statistics on the amount of resources used in feeding the animals and getting them to market (feed + fuel to get feed to the animals, other costs of meat production, etc etc) this is even more compelling. I once read something about it taking 100 lbs of grain to produce 1 lb of meat (or something along those lines; forgive my laziness here).

Thanks so much for this. I appreciate how comprehensive it is, and the fact that you include sea creatures. As a vegan since 1989 and a vegetarian since 1988 I hadn't really thought of it in terms of saving lives. I had hoped that my commitment reduced suffering and environmental damage, but I had never researched any statistics.

Also, I appreciate your inclusion of the effects of those who have reduced their consumption of animals flesh. None of my friends are vegan and only one is a vegetarian, but many now eat animals much less than they used to.

I completely disagree with the comment made by Michael. Shellfish are animals and as such have rudimentary nervous systems. Therefore they do experience pain. Being boiled alive must cause them pain.
And to make a sweeping claim all that vegans uniformly "cut themselves off from the public (and thus hurt animals) with their sanctimony and moralizing" is a ludicrous, untrue, and disrespectful thing to say.

Hi Harry, very nice article!
One more thing to add to the equation pops into my mind: grass fed animals. What percentage of cows in the US are grazing on pasture lands? How much milk/meat can be "produced" solely by grazing? What would grazing change in the numbers above (i suppose it would increase the number of (wild) animals saved by vegetarians, and decrease the number for vegans - but by how much)?

I thought about this some time ago, but never got myself to analyze that thoroughly. IMO, it's an interesting thing to consider.

Forgot a link: http://theconversation.edu.au/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659

...and sorry for mistyping your name!

Craig:

- Most meat-eaters also eat fruits and vegetables.

- Most grain in the US is fed to farm animals, so the average meat-eater is contributing to much more plowing and pesticides.

- One can choose conventional or organic vegetables; one can choose imported or local vegatables.

- Studies repeatedly show that farm-to-plate transportation makes up only a small percentage of energy use and environmental impact. In short, vegan beats local - but why not do both? Nearly all meat comes from factory farms which use tremendous amounts of water, fuel, and land (indirectly, for feedcrops). Grazing displaces native wildlife, and ranchers, with the aid of the US government, kill even mre wildlife. 70 percent of rainforest clearing is attributable to grazing and feedcrops.

- Nearly all animals raised for food are killed as babies or young adults, and are bred to overproduce flesh, milk, or meat. At least the animals killed by plows (a figure which is largely unknown) might be of any age and had a normal life up until then.

- Even places like Polyface Farm, exalted in Food, Inc., use animals bred to grow at hyper-fast rates (causing pain and suffering) and require inputs such as hay and supplemental feed that make them much less efficient than most people think.

- Yes, farm laborers may be exploited. Again, carnists also eat vegetables and indirectly eat most of the grains in the developed world. Slaughterhouse workers are similarly exploited, and it is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Recent studies also show that the mere presence of slaughterhouses drives up the crime rate in surronding areas.

So there are lots of potentially complicatng factors. Harish has done a very thorough job investigating the core numbers. I doubt he has "forgotten" anything but chose to focus on central factors since that in itself is quite complicated and lengthy. If we are going to look at additional factors, let's not cherry-pick only the ones that support our lifestyle. If we're concerned about harming animals, let's first stop intentionally harming them, and then let's work on ways to minimize our unintentional impacts, e.g. from plows. No doubt, if we put our minds to it, we can make progress in that area, too. But we can stop raising animals just to kill them immediately.

Thank you, Gary, for the very comprehensive comment. It is a great response to some of the questions posed and arguments made in defense of eating meat.

Love your site. I also love animals and I have a site that has current issues that need signatures, and a lot of education for people about animals. I love it if you would check it out and pass it on!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/146/198/194/we-want-the-certified-raised-and-handled-program-for-animal-welfare/

So a vegetarian saves 406 animals per year?
Where exactly are these saved animals kept?

Michael - there are scientific studies showing that not only do fish feel pain, but it's also likely that prawns, shrimp, and other decapod crustaceans also feel pain - or something similar, so I think many would agree they should remain in this type of calculation. I'm less familiar with similar work with bivalve molluscs.

Very many animals die from dairy and egg farms each year so you can't use the amount of animals that die for "food". Your numbers do apply to vegans though.

Daniel, I suppose you meant to write "vegetarians" instead of "vegans"? Yes, these are numbers calculated for vegetarians, not vegans because I do not take into consideration eggs and dairy in this post. But, vegans are vegetarians too, so these numbers do apply to vegans as well (just that a more accurate number for vegans will be slightly larger).

Hi Harish,

Thanks for crunching these numbers. Do you think you'd be calculating how many animals eating vegan (not living vegan) would save?

I'm about to launch a try vegan / vegan lunchbox month, so I'm curious.

Thanks!
Bettina

Bettina, it's great that you are trying out a vegan lunchbox month! A vegan reduces the suffering of animals by quite a bit more than a vegetarian (because egg-laying hens probably endure more prolonged and intense suffering than most farmed animals). But, the number of additional animals saved by a vegan is small (likely less than 2) on top of the 400 or so animals already saved by going vegetarian. These calculations, however, do not take into account less direct impact on the animals such as wild animals killed in producing grain for the animals.

Hi, it's a great analysis, i especially liked the fact that you tried to keep it conservative, it's better to know the minimum in this case rather than going the advertising route and saying that vegan saves "up to" some number. Great job.

Also i would like to thank you for keeping all the troll posts here, like the people who argue that vegans don't care about environmental issues or that eating some animals is like eating a plant. The stupidity our their arguments actually go to further our goals. Keep up the great work.

Hi Harish. Great article. Well done for all your hard work in reasearching the numbers. My only question is in relation to a comment you made...

"the number of additional animals saved by a vegan is small (likely less than 2) on top of the 400 or so animals already saved by going vegetarian."

Wouldn't the lives of all the male calves from the dairy industry make a bigger difference between vegetarian and vegan than you suggest?
Dairy breeds are mostly unsuitable for the beef market so these are just 'by-product deaths' which vegetarians cause (by supporting the dairy industry) but vegans don't.
The number of male dairy calves killed each year must surely be considerable?

Neal, Here is a rough calculation to answer your question. There are no more than 10 million dairy cows in the US. If each of them produced a veal calf each year, the total number of calves killed is 10 million. Assuming each cow is milked for an average of five years, the total number of cows killed per year is 2 million. So, dairy causes the death of up to 12 million animals per year. With over 300 million people in the US, that is less than 0.04 animals per person per year. Using the analysis method used in this post, a person not eating dairy saves at most about 0.04 additional animals per year.

Dion J asked...
So a vegetarian saves 406 animals per year?
Where exactly are these saved animals kept?

They are not 'kept' anywhere. They're saved from being forced into the world to start with, not made to live a miserable life and finally not made to die against the consciouse will to live that they have developed by that time.

The best way to think of it is 'miserable lives, and then unwanted deaths' for which vevetarians/vegans are not responsible in contrast to carnists who are.

...of course I should add that in the case of non-farmed animals (most fish, molluscs etc), they are 'kept' where they naturally exist; in the wild.

I think you have over simplified this, and perhaps even made a mistake in your choice of dialect. You are not 'saving' animals, you are simply not eating them. Until you are actively making a difference in the life of an individual, then stop tooting your horn and puffing your chest.
I'm a vegetarian and I would never say that refusing to eat meat is saving an animal. How about you volunteer at an animal shelter? Become a foster parent to a rescue dog. Donate to a horse rescue, a greyhound rescue, ANYTHING! Your 'activism' is lazy and pretentious.

"They're saved from being forced into the world to start with, not made to live a miserable life and finally not made to die against the consciouse will to live that they have developed by that time."

holycowforreal?!
Whoah man. The meat industry does not magically stop killing as many cows just because you're not eating it. Don't say it is supply and demand, because companies like McDonald's make sure that isn't a problem. Get real.
Acting like an overly emotional extremist isn't going to convince intelligent people to stop eating meat.

@Amy...Wow...you are really a nasty woman. This page, and the person that gathered this information, is not on a mission to harm anyone or anything. Do you think that you are so brilliant that you are the only one who realizes what goes on with the horrific animal farming that takes place in this world? Guess what? You are not. As far as activism...how do you know what anyone on this page does or does not do in regard to degrees of activism. We could be out all day, everyday taking steps to better the lives of the creatures that we inhabit this Earth with. As far as, "acting like an overly emotional extremist"...why don't you just stop flat out being a complete b*tch. Especially to the small percentage of people who actually do care. What a miserable being you must be to emit such hate and negativity. One can only imagine how nasty a person to be around you truly are if your unpleasantness is so apparent from just a comment on a post.

Besides the animals people are saved! If at least 5 people could eat from the feed necessary to produce one portion of meat, then every time I did not put meat on my plate I was able to invite 5 other people to eat who would otherwise have had their last meal. In 60 years of not eating meat I have thereby allowed over 300 people/years of life to be lived!