Peter Tom Jones

Boeiend syntheserapport over de impact van vleesconsumptie en de talrijke redenen waarom minder vlees kan leiden tot een meer duurzame en rechtvaardige wereld.

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In the second half of the 20th Century, worldwide meat production increased roughly fivefold; per capita consumption more than doubled. Even though the industrialisation of farming has allowed vast numbers of animals to be reared in relatively small areas, those kept in factory farms cannot forage for their own food or live on scraps or waste products - as was traditionally largely the case. Consequently, massive areas of land are given over to growing crops to feed them. Livestock production has become the world’s largest user of agricultural land.

The farm animal population has expanded dramatically to meet demand. Today, the growing human population -already in excess of 6 billion - shares the planet and its resources at any one time with nearly 1 billion pigs, 1.3 billion cows, 1.8 billion sheep and goats and 15.4 billion chickens. As the intensive poultry industry (in particular) spreads to and within many areas of the world, there are already twice as many chickens as there are humans on earth to eat them. Consumption of dairy produce, eggs and seafood have also increased rapidly. Before the 1990s, the vast majority of animal products were consumed in rich countries, yet in the last decade many in developing nations have also adopted what was once known as the Western diet. Even though per capita consumption of beef, pork and chicken remains at only a third of the quantities eaten in the industrial world, it has doubled in poorer countries in little more than a decade. All indications are that this trend will continue apace for the foreseeable future, encouraged by governments and large-scale international agricultural interests.