Food for Thought

POPULATION Food for Thought There will soon be seven billion humans on Earth, but how does that number compare to other species on the planet? We are certainly outnumbered by ants. Harvard biologist and ant expert Edward O. Wilson Number of animals killed for food Worldwide, 2009 has estimated that there are a thousand trillion to ten thousand 1.7 million camels SEVEN BILLION trillion ants at any one time.* That would be about a million ants for 24 million water buffalo every one of us. And doesn't that when they invade our kitchens? seem like 293 million cows Estimating animal populations, especially wild ones, is hard, but here's a look at one category of animals we can count: the ones we eat. -Nigel Holmes 398 million goats 518 million sheep 633 million turkeys 1.1 billion rabbits 1.3 billion pigs 2.6 billion ducks *And they're edible. Ants are a good source of protein and are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. 52 billion chickens ART: NIGEL HOLMES. SOURCE: FAO