Hungry world 'must eat less meat'

jimnms · 08-18-2004, 06:52 AM

World water supplies will not be enough for our descendants to enjoy the sort of diet the West eats now, experts say.

The World Water Week in Stockholm will be told the growth in demand for meat and dairy products is unsustainable.

Animals need much more water than grain to produce the same amount of food, and ending malnutrition and feeding even more mouths will take still more water.

Scientists say the world will have to change its consumption patterns to have any realistic hope of feeding itself.

Full Story

_____
Learn from the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

antiquity · 08-19-2004, 12:58 AM

Thanks jimns, interesting article. Here are a few more sobering facts:

One-half of the Earth's land mass is grazed by livestock.

Between 19 and 22% of all threatened and endangered species are harmed by livestock grazing.

Manure produced by all farm animals in the US annually is app. 130 times the waste produced by the human population.

Factory farms are the biggest contributors to polluted rivers and streams in the US.

33% of the world's fish catch, 38% of the world's, 60% of Brazil's, 70% of the US grain harvest,80% of the US corn harvest and almost half of all energy expended in US agriculture are used in the production of livestock.

It takes 10-30 pounds of grain to make 1 pound beef.

Only 35-40% of a steer&rsquos body weight becomes beef for people.

Worldwatch Institute July 1998 Briefing (http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/pr980704.html)

In a world where an estimated one in every six people goes hungry each day, the politics of meat consumption are increasingly heated, since
meat production is an inefficient use of grain - the grain is used more efficiently when consumed directly by humans. Continued growth in
meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat eaters and the world's poor.
Global meat consumption is highly concentrated, dominated by only a few nations. The United States and China, which contain 25 percent of
the world's population, combine to consume 35 percent of the world's beef, over half of the world's poultry, and 65 percent of the world's
pork. If Brazil and the European Union are included, this group consumes over 60 percent of the world's beef, over 70 percent of the world's
poultry, and over 80 percent of the world's pork. ... Only the United States ranks high for all three major meats: beef, pork and chicken.

The West consumes 80% of the world&rsquos global resources, while three-quarters of the world&rsquos population are forced to share what is left.

If the millions of tons of grain that are used to feed livestock yearly was instead used to feed humans, world hunger would be significantly reduced.

[This message was edited by seneca on 08-19-04 at 04:14 AM.]

garvey · 08-20-2004, 08:50 PM

If you really want to pursue some
of these ideas about limitations
and where we're headed as a species,
I suggest you look into the works
of Daniel Quinn!

08-18-2004, 06:52 AM	#1
jimnms Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Mississippi Posts: 2,673	Hungry world 'must eat less meat' World water supplies will not be enough for our descendants to enjoy the sort of diet the West eats now, experts say. The World Water Week in Stockholm will be told the growth in demand for meat and dairy products is unsustainable. Animals need much more water than grain to produce the same amount of food, and ending malnutrition and feeding even more mouths will take still more water. Scientists say the world will have to change its consumption patterns to have any realistic hope of feeding itself. Full Story _____ Learn from the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

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08-19-2004, 12:58 AM	#2
antiquity Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 14,540	Thanks jimns, interesting article. Here are a few more sobering facts: One-half of the Earth's land mass is grazed by livestock. Between 19 and 22% of all threatened and endangered species are harmed by livestock grazing. Manure produced by all farm animals in the US annually is app. 130 times the waste produced by the human population. Factory farms are the biggest contributors to polluted rivers and streams in the US. 33% of the world's fish catch, 38% of the world's, 60% of Brazil's, 70% of the US grain harvest,80% of the US corn harvest and almost half of all energy expended in US agriculture are used in the production of livestock. It takes 10-30 pounds of grain to make 1 pound beef. Only 35-40% of a steer&rsquos body weight becomes beef for people. Worldwatch Institute July 1998 Briefing (http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/pr980704.html) In a world where an estimated one in every six people goes hungry each day, the politics of meat consumption are increasingly heated, since meat production is an inefficient use of grain - the grain is used more efficiently when consumed directly by humans. Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat eaters and the world's poor. Global meat consumption is highly concentrated, dominated by only a few nations. The United States and China, which contain 25 percent of the world's population, combine to consume 35 percent of the world's beef, over half of the world's poultry, and 65 percent of the world's pork. If Brazil and the European Union are included, this group consumes over 60 percent of the world's beef, over 70 percent of the world's poultry, and over 80 percent of the world's pork. ... Only the United States ranks high for all three major meats: beef, pork and chicken. The West consumes 80% of the world&rsquos global resources, while three-quarters of the world&rsquos population are forced to share what is left. If the millions of tons of grain that are used to feed livestock yearly was instead used to feed humans, world hunger would be significantly reduced. [This message was edited by seneca on 08-19-04 at 04:14 AM.]

08-20-2004, 08:50 PM	#3
garvey Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,201	If you really want to pursue some of these ideas about limitations and where we're headed as a species, I suggest you look into the works of Daniel Quinn!