Beef -It's What's Using Oil

In learning about sustainability and ways to achieve the energy independence described by Al Gore, I've come to understand that my food cannot be left out of the equation.  I've been reading Michael Pollan's, The Ominvore's Dilemma and have learned some very interesting facts.   A young steer who follows the conventional range to feedlot life path will, upon reaching a weight of 1200 pounds, have consumed in its lifetime the equivalent of 35 gallons of oil - a barrel of oil holds 42 gallons.

This page, http://www.gravmag.com/oil3.html, has an interesting graph 3/4's of the way down, called, What's In a Barrel of Oil, that shows where each part of the barrel goes.

I already had made a decision to leave beef and pork out of my diet (unless I was at a social gathering and it was the only choice available).  Then I read the latest issue of E, The Environmental Magazine.  I also visited farmsanctuary.org, whose ads are in this issue and the latest issue of OnEarth, the NRDC publication.  

Needless to say, my decision just became more weighty and difficult.  Am I really ready to convert my entire eating style to one that matches my sustainability desires?  As Pollan writes, "Eating industrial meat takes an almost heroic act of not knowing or, now, forgetting."

Stay tuned.