140 Billion!!?!
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With technology, we can now track how many animals are being slaughtered each year and also how many lives we can save if we go vegetarian. It is shocking to see the reality of the numbers. You might think it is not big deal if you eat meat but the numbers really add up.
Check out this website by ADAPTT (Animals Deserve Absolute Protection Today and Tomorrow) which actually shows you the number of slaughtered animals increasing before your very eyes. It states that over 50 billion land animals are slaughtered each year for food. The number goes up to 140 billion lives slaughtered when you include marine animals.
Last year alone, us 6.8 billion humans killed and ate about 60 billion land animals, which doesn’t count all the millions more marine animals. Think about it – that’s equivalent to killing about eight times the number of all humans on this earth!
“These numbers do NOT include the many millions of animals killed each year in vivisection laboratories. They do NOT include the millions of dogs and cats killed in animal shelters every year. They do NOT include the animals who died while held captive in the animal-slavery enterprises of circuses, rodeos, zoos, and marine parks. They do NOT include the animals killed while pressed into such blood sports as bullfighting, cockfighting, dogfighting, and bear-baiting, nor do they include horses and greyhounds who were exterminated after they were no longer deemed suitable for racing.”
(extracted from ADAPTT, http://www.adaptt.org/killcounter.html)
That’s just to name a few of the terrible examples of the abuse animals go through.. There’s also the cruel fashion industry, animal testing for cosmetics, individual abuse suffered by stray animals or even pets etc. etc. The list goes on and on…
You can also download an animal counter for your computer or download an i-phone app which tracks the rising numbers and shows you how many animals have been killed worldwide every second since you loaded the page.
On a more positive side, there is also a wonderful live saving counter that shows you how many lives you can individually save just by going vegetarian. This is beautiful too – please have a look at how you can make such an impact to others’ lives.
Dr Chan shares in her heart-felt, sincere write-up: “If every animal-lover were to conscientiously reduce the amount of meat they eat (or better still, go veggie), many of these innocent lives can be saved. We can make a difference and save some lives even if we were to just reduce the amount of meat we eat.”
If we stop eating meat, we can already save 100 innocent lives each year. Each of us CAN really make a difference to how many beings are destroyed or relieved of their suffering. We just have to make a simple switch to cut out meat from our diets. Isn’t it worth it for how many lives you can save???
Please please everyone, contemplate on these numbers…. think about how YOU are contributing to making the numbers rise or go down.
I thank people like Dr Chan Kah Yein who are making these issues known and for her hard work to relieve the suffering of animals. Each of us should and can definitely do our part to stop the terrible cruelty to these innocent beings.
Tsem Rinpoche
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140 billlion is a shocking number ! So many animals were killed to satisfy our taste bud, for our clothing and wearable items. Human is cruel. We do not kill animals to survive, so why bring pain and suffering to animals. Engage in vegetarian diet and respect all beings. Imagine if we can be vegetarian even for a week , many animals will be spared from being killed.
Mumu boy was Tsem Rinpoche’s little Schnauzer. Partly because of Mumu Kechara was started and you must find out why that is. Do read more and see very cute adorable pictures: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=122472
Tsem Rinpoche’s two adorable cute Schnauzer dogs Oser girl (white) and Dharma boy up to their various antics. Short videos that will warm up your day and give you a ‘cute attack!’ Enjoy!
“Tsem Rinpoche’s Schnausers Oser and Dharma trying their luck”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGD7CtNmnuI
“Tsem Rinpoche’s adorable Schnauzers Oser and Dharma have a challenge!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX1UdH7IjQ8
“Friendly Encounter”-Oser and Dharma meet Johnny & Casper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVFk77PAOYk
“Friendly Encounter”-Soer & Dharma meet Johnny & Casper (2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkuXAcveV0E
“Tsem Rinpoche’s Pet Schnauzer Oser’s Treat Time!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ANtRnEFREA
“Tsem Rinpoche’s doggie Oser girl and Dharma boy getting treats”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMUWYvWk3no
“Dharma fights Chip! Showdown between Tsem Rinpoche’s pet Schnauzer and a dog on wheels!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmGg6g8waNg
“Dharma & Oser Getting Treats in Playhouse”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2dp8Fm87CQ
Tsem Rinpoche at Kechara Forest Retreat, Bentong, Malaysia
Dear Rinpoche,
OMB!!! I just can’t bring myself to think that 140 billion animals are slaughtered every year…. that is like 20 times our human population!
Until now I still can’t believe it is true because I never knew that 140 billion animals were slaughtered every year, never did i realize that we humans actually consume so much meat every year.
It is totally bad news to me but yet I have to accept it whether good or bad news, I just hope that some day very soon everyone will be vegetarians and no animals will eventually have to suffer for our food.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the news.
Love
Jutika
The figures is astounding and shocking!!! After knowing this statistics, how could we go on contributing to the numbers? This really bothers me.
If its not for the religious or humanitarian reasons, try to look at it as benefiting our own health. Numerous and extensive researches has been done to prove that us humans CAN live without meat..
go green please, and be compassionate.. spare the lives of the poor, defendless animals but NOT consuming them..
Thank you for sharing, Rinpoche! Good to know!
I think that by not eating meat we are generating compassion as we are not the cause for the deaths of many animals. It is amazing what technology can do nowadays. So, know we know the statistics. Why don’t we stop the murder of these innocent beings.
140billion animals are killed every year?! That just really breaks my heart to know. How could we as human beings do this to all the poor little animals out there, so terrible of us. And i think now that the population of the world is getting larger there will be more and more animals killed.
But there is always hope. If we become vegetarian, there will not be killing of these animals, their lives would be saved. We must all come together and do this. Then maybe this number will decrease.
I agree that by not killing animals, we can generate compassion which will benefit ourselves but I don’t think we will be able to decrease the amount of suffering we cause, by being vegetarians. for instance, If we eat the meat of an animal, maybe we could save the lives of thousands of ants that the animal would stamp over its lifetime or thousands of insects and earthworms that would die while planting crops.
Yeah and how many insects usually die when we drive on the freeway?
Suffering will always be present until you attain enlightenment. Then reality will cease to cause suffering.
We have a counterproblem however, to ignore the realities of agriculture is equally irresponsible as slaughtering so many animals every year.
I completely agree with not killing animals. However, isn’t the weight of agriculture on the world’s resources just as damaging karmically? The sheer number of animals slaughtered for agriculture is also tremendous. Vegan diets are by no means “more compassionate” when you look at the machine of agriculture.
http://www.countercurrents.org/jensen250410.htm
A posted article:
http://theogrepages.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/on-ecology/