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

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Vegans rightly point out that meat-containing diets require more land (and thus more [[deforestation]]) since [[feed conversion ratios|feeding animals is a net loss of protein and calories]]. But...
<!-- TODO: add tl;dr: When it comes to feeding 8 billion people sustainably, animal protein{{x|from farming, hunting, and fishing combined}} could be ''at most'' only't be more than _% of the average person's diet. -->


Pro-meat folks rightly point out that [[pasture|some land is only suited for grazing animals]].
==Farming==
* Vegans rightly point out that meat-containing diets require more land (and thus more [[deforestation]]). Feeding animals crops [[feed efficiency|is a net loss of protein and calories]]. But...
* Pro-meat folks rightly point out that [[pasture|some land]] is only suited for grazing animals. And unlike humans, cows can live on eating grass{{x|and so can buffalo, sheep and goats. But chickens & pigs '''can't'''.}}.


This raises a more important question:
This raises a more important question:
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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?
{{aip}}
{{aip}}
==Hunting==
Hunter-gatherer lifestyles were sustainable in prehistoric times when the world population was less than 0.1 billion - today we are at 8.0 billion. Hunting might be a great survival tactic if you're lost in the woods. But it's not going to feed the world. There would be mass extinctions of wild animals [[overhunting|if we tried]].
==Fishing==
Wild-caught fish could provide 5 or 6 grams/day of protein per capita globally, if none of it was wasted.
{{dp
|<nowiki>seafood.production.wild</nowiki>
|<nowiki>93 million tonnes/year</nowiki>
|<nowiki>Global production of wild-caught fish and other seafood (not farmed)</nowiki>
|<nowiki>Using most recent data available.</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
Fishing grew a lot from 1960 to 1990 but (unlike fish farming) has not increased since 1995. This suggests that we've reached the ecological limit.</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
https://ourworldindata.org/fish-and-overfishing</nowiki>
}}
{{dp
|<nowiki>fish.protein</nowiki>
|<nowiki>18%</nowiki>
|<nowiki>Protein content of fish (divided by total mass including bones)</nowiki>
|<nowiki></nowiki>
}}
{{dp
|<nowiki>world.population</nowiki>
|<nowiki>8 billion</nowiki>
|<nowiki>Number of people alive today, globally</nowiki>
|<nowiki>https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard</nowiki><br /><nowiki>
Last updated in 2023</nowiki>
}}
Grams of fish:
{{calc
|<nowiki>seafood.production.wild</nowiki>
|<nowiki>(g/day per capita)(world.population)</nowiki>
}}
Grams of protein:
{{calc
|<nowiki>seafood.production.wild * fish.protein</nowiki>
|<nowiki>(g/day per capita)(world.population)</nowiki>
}}
The sustainable level of consumption might be a bit less than this, because [[overfishing]] is still an issue.
The rest of fish is farmed, which, as mentioned earlier, is a net loss of protein. Farmed fish are fed food crops that humans could otherwise eat.

Revision as of 02:02, 14 March 2023


Farming

  • Vegans rightly point out that meat-containing diets require more land (and thus more deforestation). Feeding animals crops is a net loss of protein and calories. But...
  • Pro-meat folks rightly point out that some land is only suited for grazing animals. And unlike humans, cows can live on eating grass.

This raises a more important question:


If farm animals only ever ate...
  • grasses and other plants from pasture & range , and
  • the parts of food crops that humans can't eat ,
and never...
  • human-edible food crops , nor
  • crops grown specifically for animal feed ,
how much animal protein could be produced?


Clearly it's less than the status quo, as there are fewer sources of feed. But how much less?

Analysis in progress - someone is working on this research.
Results will be posted here soon ♥


Hunting

Hunter-gatherer lifestyles were sustainable in prehistoric times when the world population was less than 0.1 billion - today we are at 8.0 billion. Hunting might be a great survival tactic if you're lost in the woods. But it's not going to feed the world. There would be mass extinctions of wild animals if we tried.


Fishing

Wild-caught fish could provide 5 or 6 grams/day of protein per capita globally, if none of it was wasted.

seafood.production.wild
93 million tonnes/year
Global production of wild-caught fish and other seafood (not farmed)
Using most recent data available.
Fishing grew a lot from 1960 to 1990 but (unlike fish farming) has not increased since 1995. This suggests that we've reached the ecological limit.

https://ourworldindata.org/fish-and-overfishing
fish.protein
18%
Protein content of fish (divided by total mass including bones)
world.population
8 billion
Number of people alive today, globally
https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard
Last updated in 2023

Grams of fish: seafood.production.wild (g/day per capita)(world.population) (calculation loading) Grams of protein: seafood.production.wild * fish.protein (g/day per capita)(world.population) (calculation loading)

The sustainable level of consumption might be a bit less than this, because overfishing is still an issue.

The rest of fish is farmed, which, as mentioned earlier, is a net loss of protein. Farmed fish are fed food crops that humans could otherwise eat.

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