"About 2,000 pounds of grain must be supplied to livestock in order to produce enough meat and other livestock products to support a person for a year, whereas 400 pounds of grain eaten directly will support a person for a year."
M.E. Ensminger, Ph.D.
A few fast facts
20,000,000 people die per year as a result of malnutrition and starvation.
One half Earth's land mass is grazed by livestock.
One half of world grain harvest consumed by livestock throughout the 1980's.
20,000,000 people die per year as a result of malnutrition and starvation.
One half Earth's land mass is grazed by livestock.
One half of world grain harvest consumed by livestock throughout the 1980's.
meat production requires, on average, 10-20 times more energy per edible tonne than grain production. In other words, per unit of energy input,
many more people can be fed with grain than with meat
In order to meet our demand for meat, millions of tonnes of grain are diverted to feed livestock. More than 1/3 of the world's total grain harvest is fed to livestock. Much of this grain is imported from developing countries where farmers are encouraged to use land to grow export crops for the West. Even during the famine of the mid 1980's, Ethiopia was exporting grain that could have been used to feed its own people to the West - feed for livestock.
In order to meet our demand for meat, millions of tonnes of grain are diverted to feed livestock. More than 1/3 of the world's total grain harvest is fed to livestock. Much of this grain is imported from developing countries where farmers are encouraged to use land to grow export crops for the West. Even during the famine of the mid 1980's, Ethiopia was exporting grain that could have been used to feed its own people to the West - feed for livestock.
(International Development Research Centre (IDRC); WorldWatch Institute)
1 comment:
Hey, thanks for the reminder! I'm trying to eat more vegetarian, but sometimes its hard to remember that my little choices matter.
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