The True Cost of Meat

True Cost.. Cost of The MEAT The livestock industry's impact on the environment is enormous. Compared with vegetables and grains, farming animals requires a lot more land, more water and more energy. With global meat consumption on the rise, how do all the costs add up? Globally, we consume 308.2 million tonnes of meat a year. 308.2m TONNES Who's producing it? 1.3 billion people are employed in the livestock sector worldwide. Small farmers own 85% of the world's 525 million farms, most of which are in 87% 8% 4% Asia Africa Europe Who's eating it? Industrialised countries are the biggest meat eaters: Meat consumed per capita, per year 76.2 33.5 kg kg Industrialised Developing countries countries .. and pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world: Percentage of the total world's meat supply Pig 36% Poultry Other 33% 2% Sheep 5% Beef 24% So what's all this costing the Earth? The Cost of Land Land is a limited commodity and the livestock sector uses more land than any other human industry. Not only do livestock require land to graze, the crops that feed them require land to grow: 30% of the planet's ice-free surface is devoted to livestock production 26%, 33% of land on the planet is used for animal grazing (3,433 million ha) of arable land is used for feed crop production 1471 million ha) Food for Thought Researchers have found that the total supply of crops being fed to animals could feed at least 4 billion people instead. The toll of industrialised livestock farming... Which leads to... Expansion into natural Desertification (in arid climates)- 70% ecosystems Rangeland degradation of grazing land in dry areas is considered degraded, mainly due to livestock farming. Increased woody plant cover in Contamination semi-arid, subtropical rangelands in peri-urban environments (areas that surround metropolitan cities) Productivity losses in feed-crop Deforestation lin humid climates)- Pollution 70% production areas of previously forested land in the Amazon is degradation used as pasture. Land degradation Though soil erosion is a natural process, industrial farming methods have dramatically sped up the rate at which soils are eroded. Soil is being lost from land areas 10 to 40 times faster than the rate of soil renewal. About: 20% of the world's pastures and rangelands and 73% of rangelands in dry areas .have been degraded to an extent, mostly due to overgrazing, compaction and erosion from livestock. This diminishing area of cropland available for food production puts the future of food security at risk. Population Arable land per capita (Hectare) 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 0.41h 0,35 0.3 3 billion 0.26 3.7 billion 0.23 0.21h 4.4 billion 5.1 billion 6.1 billion 6.9 billion The Cost of Water Meat production is extremely water intensive. Average annual water footprint of 1 animal (m³ per year per animal) 68 33 32 26 520 630 Broiler Layer Chicken Sheep Goat Chicken Pig Beef Cattle 2056 Compare this with the water footprint of: Dairy Cattle 1.75m 0.75m 250g Lentils 250g Soy Curd Water used for meat production in G20 countries cubic metres used per person per year 500 1,500 2,000 2,500 South Korea China India UK Japan Germany Indonesia South Africa Argentina Turkey France Russia Mexico Saudi Arabia Canada Brazil Italy Australia USA World Average The Impact of CO, According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the livestock industry is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Full lifecycle carbon emissions from common proteins and vegetables: 39.2 Post Farmgate Emissions (includes processing, transport, retail, cooking, waste disposal) 27 Production Emissions (includes all emissions before product leaves the farm) 13.5 11.9 12.1 10.9 2.3 6.9 4.8 2 1.9 6.1 2.7 2.2 2.9 2.5 1.1 0.9 Kilogram (kg) of Consumed Food A note for cheese-loving vegetarians: Cheese generates the third-highest carbon emissions because of Soft cheeses have methane generated from ruminant animals. a lower carbon Methane (CH,) is 25 times more footprint due to the lower milk content. potent than carbon dioxide (CO,). So what if we all turned vegetarian? According to researchers at the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, if the world turned vegetarian: LAND Pasture areas would be reduced by 80% (or 2,700 Mha). WATER The estimated 8% of the global water supply used for growing crops to feed livestock could be used to relieve pressure on the world's water resources. Greenhouse gasses v 24% ould see a: 21% 17% reduction reduction in CH4 (methane) in N,0 (nitrous oxide) reduction in CO2 The main culprit of all these costs is the industrialised nature of the livestock industry. Compared with vegetable and grain production, the environmental cost of producing meat is profound. The system isn't going to change overnight, but more efficient farming and better-informed consumer choices are vital to minimize the on-going impact of the meat industry on the earth's biosphere. Sources Environmental Working Group - http://bit.ly/liB40Nj University of Minnestota - http://bit.ly/1rmKP3j Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - http://bit.ly/1bZlpBA Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - http://bit.ly/ZKpplu Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - http://bit.ly/1msc4IH Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - http://bit.ly/1rul4ha Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - http://bit.ly/1prNpyN Global Agriculture - http://bit.ly/1p90D7z PNAS - http://bit.ly/1uG8SIC PNAS - http://bit.ly/1vfSGyk GRACE Communication Foundation - http://bit.ly/1sXLKbc Stanford Woods - http://stanford.io/1fKUKps IAASTD - http://bit.ly/1D×C67E World Health Organization - http://bit.ly/19EWFE. UNESCO-IHE - http://bit.ly/STOKrn Climate Change - http://bit.ly/1wMeQJy Environment, Development and Sustainability - http://bit.ly/1rvqd8D Rev. sci. tech. Off. Int. Epiz. - http://bit.ly/1ptsprp Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica - http://bit.ly/1vP6Qrq NeoMam Studios POUNDS to POCKET kg C0,e Lamb Beef Cheese Pork Farmed Salmon Turkey Chicken Canned Tuna Eggs Potatoes Peanut butter Nuts Yogurt Broccoli njo Dry Beans Milk (2%) Tomatoes Lentils