I never really thought about this topic, but when i came accross this article, i was amazed and i wish to share it here to know your opinion. I am not a vegetarian, but i rarely eat meet, now, at least i know i have a good reason not to abuse, either of meat or sugar.Beef, as sugar, is a vivid example of enormous waste, in resources, environmental degradation, in contributing to world hunger, poverty etc. For example, more than one third of the world’s grain harvest is used to feed livestock. Some 70 to 80% of grain produced in the United States is fed to livestock. A lot of rainforest in the Amazon and elsewhere are cleared for raising cattle — not so much for local consumption, but for fast food restaurants in America and elsewhere. There are enormous related costs of what is an inefficient means of production. A more realistic estimate of the real cost of a hamburger was put at $35! As with sugar, beef was a luxury turned into an everyday item. Like sugar, it is also an example of how people’s tastes are influenced and how demands can be created (or very much expanded), rather than meeting some natural demand.More than one third of the world’s grain harvest is used to feed livestock. Breaking that down a little bit1. Almost all rice is consumed by people2. While corn is a staple food in many Latin American and Sub-Saharan countries, “worldwide, it is used largely as feed.”3. Wheat is more evenly divided between food and feed and is a staple food in many regions such as the West, China and India.4. The total cattle population for the world is approximately 1.3 billion occupying some 24% of the land of the planet5. Some 70 to 80% of grain produced in the United States is fed to livestock6. Half the water consumed in the U.S. is used to grow grain for cattle feed.7. A gallon of gasoline is required to produce a pound of grain-fed beef.The impact of beef covers many issues today. Not only is land used up to grow grain to feed cattle, but additional land is of course required for pastures and grazing. Furthermore, overgrazing leads to land degradation while top soil loss and water wastage and depletion are also extremely urgent issues. With industrial agriculture, more petrochemicals are used. More energy is required to create fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, etc, to grow the grain that is used to feed cattle.If you wish to know more about this topic you can find it here.http://www.globalissues.org
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Yes, it's time to act and to awake each of us' responsability. Things are moving a little here and there but it's far to be enough.
How i wish i could believe that one day we'll all be together sharing things as brothers and sisters, but unfortunately, i am not that optimistic anymore. But i still hope, i still keep the rainbow in my heart.
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Yes, it's time to act and to awake each of us' responsability. Things are moving a little here and there but it's far to be enough.
How i wish i could believe that one day we'll all be together sharing things as brothers and sisters, but unfortunately, i am not that optimistic anymore. But i still hope, i still keep the rainbow in my heart.
Manuela