Archive:000/Limits to sustainable animal consumption: Difference between revisions

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Clearly it's less than the ''status quo'', as there are fewer sources of feed. But ''how much'' less?
Clearly it's less than the ''status quo'', as there are fewer sources of feed. But ''how much'' less?
===Estimate===
About '''12 grams''' of animal protein per day, per capita, globally.<br />
This includes both meat and dairy, from all animals (ruminants).
<tab name="See maths">
{{dp
|pasture
|2.8 billion tonnes/year
|Dry mass of all grass & leaves, grazed from all pasture land
|Source:
<br />Breewood, H. & Garnett, T. (2020). What is feed-food competition? (Foodsource: building blocks). Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford.
<br />Page 10
<br />References primary source:
<br />Mottet, A., de Haan, C., Falcucci, A., Tempio, G., Opio, C., & Gerber, P. (2017). Livestock: On our plates or eating at our table? A new analysis of the feed/food debate. Global Food Security.
}}
{{dp
|residues
|1.7 billion tonnes/year
|Dry mass of all crop residues, byproducts, and oilseed cakes except for soybean
|This should be, in principle, all the human-'''inedible''' parts of food crops (inedible due to being too fibrous; ruminants can digest the fiber and get calories from it).<br />Soybean meal is '''not''' counted here, because it '''can''' be turned into human food (soy flour).
Source:
<br />Breewood, H. & Garnett, T. (2020). What is feed-food competition? (Foodsource: building blocks). Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford.
<br />Page 10
<br />References primary source:
<br />Mottet, A., de Haan, C., Falcucci, A., Tempio, G., Opio, C., & Gerber, P. (2017). Livestock: On our plates or eating at our table? A new analysis of the feed/food debate. Global Food Security.
}}
{{dp
|conversion_ratio
|133
|Ruminants produce 1 gram of human-edible protein for every 133 grams of dry matter they eat.
|Dry matter includes all materials eaten by ruminants (both human-edible and human-inedible).
Source:
<br />Mottet, A., de Haan, C., Falcucci, A., Tempio, G., Opio, C., & Gerber, P. (2017). Livestock: On our plates or eating at our table? A new analysis of the feed/food debate. Global Food Security.
<br />The number is mentioned in the Abstract: https://www.tabledebates.org/research-library/livestock-our-plates-or-eating-our-table
}}
{{dp
|world.population
|8 billion
}}
{{calc
|(pasture + residues) / conversion_ratio
|(grams/day per capita)(world.population)
}}
^ Total amount of protein from both meat and dairy, combined. {{x|This is probably a slight overestimate, because <!--[some sources] say that-->feed efficiency ratios are lower when the cows are fed less human-edible grains.}}
</tab>
This is less than the status quo, because the animals wouldn't be fed corn grain or soybean meal{{x|nor anything else that could have been turned into food for humans. Corn grain can be ground into corn flour (for tortillas etc) and soybean meal can be ground into soy flour and used in baked goods to improve protein & texture. It can also be used for making soy protein isolate (supplements, imitation meats, etc).}}.


===Status quo===
===Status quo===


Ruminants (cows, buffalo, goats and sheep) produce a total of about 16 grams of protein per day per capita globally.
Ruminants (cows, buffalo, goats and sheep) produce a total of about 16 grams of protein per day per capita globally.
* 10 g protein/day per capita from milk{{x|from 297 mL/day of milk per capita}}
* 10 g protein/day from milk{{x|from 297 mL/day of milk}} per capita
* 6 g protein/day per capita from meat{{x|from 30 g/day of meat per capita}}
* 6 g protein/day from meat{{x|from 30 g/day of meat}} per capita
* This was calculated in [[Code:food2.sql]].
* This was calculated in [[Code:food2.sql]].
Some of this food goes to waste, but there might be ways to [[food waste#mitigation|mitigate that problem]].
Some of this food goes to waste unfortunately, but there might be ways to [[food waste#mitigation|mitigate that problem]].


Grass-fed animal production can't really increase without [[habitat loss|destroying forests and other wildlife]], because most of the world's [[land|farmland]] is ''already'' pasture, and that's not even counting rangelands.
Grass-fed animal production can't really increase without [[habitat loss|destroying forests and other wildlife]], because most of the world's [[land|farmland]] is ''already'' pasture, and that's not even counting rangelands.


==Hunting==
==Hunting==