How the meat industry fuels starvation - By Ravi Grover

A common misperception is that the there’s not enough food to feed the world’s 1+ billion who go hungry every day. Another lie is that the population growth is too high to feed so many people. The truth is there’s more than enough food to feedeveryone. In fact, the majority of the world’s food supply doesn’t even go to people but to fatten farm animals raised for meat.  This is also why food prices have risen – food that could be sold to people is in shortage because it’s instead eaten by cows, pigs, chickens, fish, and other livestock.

In America around 10 billion animal are killed to be eaten every year. These same animals eat hundreds of millions to billions of lbs of grains, oats, soy, and corn. Just a small fraction of those same crops could easily feed the planet many times over. Worldwatch Institute warned that this trend would lead to increasing poverty around the globe: ”Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat-eaters and the world's poor." In 2010 the United Nations reported that in order to end world hunger people would need to avoid western diets rich in meat and dairy.

Poor nations are also suffering from water shortages. Again, the planet’s water supply is not being depleted by people but by the meat industry. American chicken farms alone use more than 100,000 gallons of water/day. 2,500 gallons of water are used to make one lb. of meat that goes from a farm to a store. One lb. of wheat only uses 25 gallons!

The easiest step a person can take to help out those in need is to either reduce their meat intake or better yet completely go vegetarian.  The money saved on one’s groceries bills from not buying meat could be used to buy or donate food to the less fortunate.