Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Sources
Why Meat is the Best Worst Thing in the World
– Humans keep a lot of animals for food
#Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Statistics on live animals, 2016
http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QA
– That’s 26% of earth's total land area
#Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Summary, 2018
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
– Livestock accounts for 27% of global freshwater consumption
#The water footprint of humanity, 2012
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22331890
#The World's Water, 2016
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html
– Only a fraction of the nutrients from fodder end up in the meat
#Energy and protein feed-to-food conversion efficiencies in the US and potential food security gains from dietary changes, 2016
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/10/105002
#Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes to people nourished per hectare, 2013
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034015
– One kilogram of steak needs up to 25 kilos of grain and 15,000 liters of water
#The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products, 2010
http://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report-48-WaterFootprint-AnimalProducts-Vol1_1.pdf
– Meat just makes up 18% of our calories humans eat
#Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Summary, 2018
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
– We could nourish an additional 3.5 billion people
#Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes to people nourished per hectare, 2013
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034015
Comment: In the source the number 4 billion appears, but this is the number of crops used for animals and biofuels combined.
The feed for animals alone accounts for the possible food for 3.5 billion people.
– 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are created by the meat industry
#Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Summary, 2018
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
#Summary for Policymakers, 2014
https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/ipcc_wg3_ar5_summary-for-policymakers.pdf
– Globally, we kill about 200 million animals every day
#Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Statistics on livestock primary, 2016
#How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?, 2018
https://www.prb.org/howmanypeoplehaveeverlivedonearth/
– Most pigs are raised in gigantic windowless sheds
#A Closer Look at Animals on Factory Farms, 2018
https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms
#Pork Production on Factory Farms, 2017
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/pigs-used-for-pork/
– Dairy cows are forced to breed continually to ensure their milk supply
#A Closer Look at Animals on Factory Farms, 2018
https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms
#Cattle Raised for Dairy and Meat Production, 2017
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/dairy/
– The majority of antibiotics we use are for livestock – up to 80% in the US
#The Antibiotic Resistance Crisis, 2015
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378521/
– But the ones that may have gotten the worst deal are chickens
#A Closer Look at Animals on Factory Farms, 2018
https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms
#Chickens Used for Eggs. Chickens Used for Meat, 2017
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/chickens/
– Organic is an elastic term
#Journal of the European Union: COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008., Annex III, 2008
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:250:0001:0084:EN:PDF
– Organic meat needs more resources than conventional meat production
#Is organic really better for the environment than conventional agriculture?, 2017
https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for-the-environment
– Chicken and pig convert their feed more efficiently into meat
#World Resources Institute: Creating a Sustainable Food Future, 2013
http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/wri13_report_4c_wrr_online.pdf
– An average American throws out nearly a pound of food per day
#Relationship between food waste, diet quality, and environmental sustainability, 2018
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0195405
– In the future science could get us clean meat
#Lab-Grown Meat May Save a Lot More than Farm Animals' Lives, 2017
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/lab-grown-meat-may-save-lot-more-farm-animals-lives-n743091
Further reading
– How much meat do we produce?
#OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026, 2017
http://www.fao.org/3/a-BT089e.pdf
– How much meat will we need, if we keep going like this?
#Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production.
Priority Products and Materials, 2010
http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/dtix1262xpa-priorityproductsandmaterials_report.pdf
#Meat and Seafood Production & Consumption, 2014
https://ourworldindata.org/meat-and-seafood-production-consumption
– Negative impacts of our meat consumption
#Five ways the meat on your plate is killing the planet, 2017
https://theconversation.com/five-ways-the-meat-on-your-plate-is-killing-the-planet-76128
#Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Summary, 2018
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
– Calculating Feed Conversion Ratios (FCR) explained
The food conversion ratio is a simple equation that will show a rough number with which it is easier to estimate how efficient an animal turns feed into meat.
Of course every animal is different and lives in different conditions, so this number is not exact, but helpful to get an idea of the conversion ratio.
The FCR is calculated by taking the amount of feed and divide it by the amount of meat received in the end.
The lower the number of the FCR, the more efficiently the feed was converted.
For example, if an animal was fed 5 kilograms of feed, and 2.5 kilograms of edible meat are received in the end, then the FCR is 2 (5 kilograms / 2.5 kilograms).