OverviewIsn't there more than enough to feed everyone?Scarcity? - Finally AcceptedMeat as over counsumption & RedistributionExporting food as redistributionBasic Supply and Demand
Overview
Meat is a form of overconsumption and redistribution that increases scarcity. It’s common to hear that there’s plenty of food, the problem is distribution not scarcity. But it’s not a simple either/or situation. Both scarcity and distribution are complex and interconnected issues. Increasing population and dwindling resources make food scarcity a current problem and a crisis in the making. Distribution in terms of governments and other institutions not providing enough food to those in need is a heart-breaking reality that is connected with issues of scarcity.
Isn’t there more than enough to feed everyone?
Theoretically we can feed nine billion people, but not when vast amounts of food are fed to animals to produce meat and other animal-based foods. Animals are extremely inefficient converters of food… that is, they eat much more food than they produce. Animal-based foods (such as meat, dairy, and eggs) are highly resource-intensive and require much more food, land, water and energy than eating plant-based foods directly. A majority of the “extra” food is redistributed away from those who need it most and used as animal feed to produce meat for those who can afford it most. As such, animal-based foods are a form of overconsumption and redistribution that reduces. In short, those with financial resources outbid the poor and increase hunger.
Scarcity – Finally Accepted?
Global hunger results from a web of immensely complex factors, including BOTH food scarcity and distribution. Thinking that hunger is mostly a problem of distribution is dangerous in that it leads people to dismiss the issue of scarcity and results in practices that are inappropriate and harmful. Food scarcity at the global level is an issue now with past surpluses being drawn down and it is fast becoming a critical issue as our seven billion population expands towards nine billion by 2050. As our population increases, available land, water, energy and other finite resources decrease. So we have more people to feed and fewer resources to feed them. Scarcity is further exacerbated by our appetite for resource-intensive animal-based foods. Animals-based foods, include but are not limited to all types of animal flesh (cows, pigs, goats, sheep, birds, and aquatic animals).
Meat as Overconsumption & Redistribution
Animals used for food (livestock) are highly inefficient converters of food, energy, and natural resources. In short, livestock consume much more than they produce. Eating 1,000 calories of meat can easily use more than 7,000 calories in plant-based foods, plus the associated use of natural resources. By using more than their “fair share,” animal-based foods are a form of redistribution that exacerbate food scarcity, especially in low-income countries. (See supply-and-demand below) There are obvious differences in the amount of food consumed in low-, middle- and high-income countries, but the quantity in terms of calories consumed is less important than the type of food. When the “true caloric’ values are calculated that include the use of animal feed, the disparities are shockingly large.
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While food supplies can be tightened and relaxed by agribusiness and policymakers, in the long run food is a limited resource. Reducing consumption of animal-based foods would take pressure off our limited food and environmental resources.