Mostly Vegetarian Fifty Years From Now

Some consequences of unchecked human population growth are becoming ever more apparent. World population exceeds seven billion, with the total increasing about 70 million annually.   That's, in effect, the addition of six more cities the size of Los Angeles every year.  At least two billion more people will be on Earth by 2050. 

An article in the Guardian (U.K.) reports that the current portion of human food consumption from animal protein is about twenty percent.  Given the planet's increasing water and food scarcity, the only way to feed a human population expanded to nine billion would be to reduce consumption of animal protein to about five percent of total food intake.

It takes about ten pounds of grain and a huge amount of water to produce one pound of meat for human consumption. The Guardian article quotes Malik Falkenmark at the Stockholm International Water Institute ,  "There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade."

Eating lower on the food chain allows water and grain resources to be used much more efficiently.  It's the only way to avoid mass starvation in the poorest parts of the world.  Beyond that, a transition to a mostly vegetarian lifestyle would have substantial health benefits. It would also mean that the slaughter of literally billions of animals raised now as industrial commodities would be dramatically curtailed. The latter consequence, in itself, is reason enough for me to embrace this inevitable change in human lifestyle.


Here is the link to the article in the Guardian newspaper...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/aug/26/food-shortages-world-vegetarianism