Rethinking The Meat Guzzler
The global supply of meat from animals has increased from 71 million tons in 1961 to 284 million tons in 2007, with such growth having enormous impacts on the environment and the depletion of natural resources.
Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by the proliferation of confined animal feeding operations, which consume enormous amounts of energy and grains, pollute the environment, and lead to destruction of tropical rainforests.
In 1961, the total worldwide meat supply was 71 million tons; this number is estimated to be 284 million tons in 2007, with per capita consumption doubling over this period. Worldwide meat consumption is expected to double again by the year 2050.
American meat consumption is relatively stable at about eight ounces per day, roughly twice the global average. The United States population is about 5% of the global population, but the U.S. “processes” nearly 10 billion animals a year, which is more than 15% of the world total.
According to geophysicists at the University of Chicago, if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20%, it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.
About 2 to 5 times more grain is necessary to produce the same amount of calories from farmed animals than through direct grain consumption. Agriculture in the United States — much of which now serves the demand for meat — contributes to nearly three-quarters of all water-quality problems in the nation’s rivers and streams.
Americans consume nearly 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per capita per year (dairy and eggs are separate), an increase of 50 pounds per person from 50 years ago. Americans each consume about 110 grams of protein per day, about twice the federal government’s recommended allowance; of that, about 75 grams come from animal protein.