According to Marion Nestle the author of What to Eat,
"[As Americans] we share this country with nearly 100 million cattle. We slaughter 35 million of them each year to produce 26 billion pounds of steaks, hamburgers, and ground taco filling. But beef is nothing compared to chicken. Each year about 8 billion chickens get turned into 43 billion pounds of breasts, buffalo wings, and chicken nuggets. And then there are the 96 million pigs slaughtered for fresh pork, ham, or bacon, and a few million calves (veal) and lamb."
The conclusion? As Americans, we love meat. Marion Nestle goes on to talk about the environmental implications that come along with our meat infatuation stating,
"Raising cattle is a good way to turn grasses that we humans cannot use as food into high-quality meat protein, but feedlots instead use enormous quantities of perfectly edible corn and soybeans to feed animals, not people. Raising cattle also consumes vast amounts of nonrenewable energy. According to figures in the June 2004 National Geographic, it takes more than 200 gallons of fuel oil to raise a 1,200 pound steer on a feedlot. The cost of feed, fertilizers, and machinery, and the fuel to produce or run them, get factored into the price of the meat, but the 'externalities'-the cost of cleaning up the animal wastes and pollutants in air, land, and water -do not. You pay the costs of loss of environmental quality in taxes, not at the grocery store."
Wow, so even if you don't eat meat, you are still paying for it with your taxes...Ouch!
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