Americans Consume Too Much Meat – Online Tool Shows Impact

Problematic animal husbandry, resource consumption and excessive use of antibiotics – there are many reasons to change one’s diet in 2020. And yet the average American still consumes more than 260 lbs carcass weight of meat per year. The topic just seems too abstract for consumers to connect the effects of their diet with the environment. A new online tool wants to change that.

Download InfographicMeat-eaters can visualize how many animals were slaughtered for their diet, and the amount of antibiotics and resources used to raise the livestock. Vegetarians and Flexitarians can calculate how many animals lives they have saved and how the environment has benefited.

Within 10 years, the average American consumes 2653 lbs of meat, which equals to 2.1 pigs, 0.7 cows and 288 chickens.

At https://www.blitzresults.com/en/meat/ consumers can calculate, how much CO2, water, antibiotics, and animals are needed for their own meat consumption. Standard values such as the average American meat consumption are already pre-filled, but can easily be adapted to one’s own eating habits. In this way, every consumer receives his or her own personal result. In addition, it is possible to simulate how many resources could be saved if part of the meat meals were replaced by a vegetarian alternative.

Download Infographic“Discussions between vegetarians and dyed-in-the-wool meat eaters are often very emotional. The arguments are usually strongly influenced by one’s own values. Hardly anyone argues by the numbers. And if numbers are used, they are often general and vague. Sure, everyone knows that animals are bred and slaughtered for meat production. But a steak on the grill doesn’t tell you its story. You just don’t see the negative environmental impact and side-effects. The Meat-Calculator makes the use of resources and the negative consequences for the environment tangible”, says Tim Lilling, Researcher at BlitzResults.com.

Literature, studies and information often only contain general averages. The big advantage of the BlitzResults Meat-Calculator, is that it provides everyone with a very personalized result. The calculator is based on data and studies from the United States Federal Department of Agriculture, OECD and many other organizations.
The goal of the calculator, however, is not to convert consumers to one or the other form of nutrition, but to make their own actions transparent. Consumers can play through different scenarios: What happens if I continue to eat in the same manner? How many animals could be alive if every second meal was replaced by a vegetarian alternative?