{"id":12458,"date":"2017-09-25t06:50:47","date_gmt":"2017-09-25t06:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/the-dirt-on-beef-global-hunger-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2017-09-25t06:50:47","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25t06:50:47","slug":"the-dirt-on-beef-global-hunger-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/the-dirt-on-beef-global-hunger-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"the dirt on beef, global hunger & climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"
not to be a downer, but there\u2019s a strong possibility that what you ate for lunch today has contributed to not only global warming, but global hunger as well \u2014 especially if what you ate contained meat.<\/p>\n
that\u2019s pretty heavy news to stomach with your burger, but the evidence is mounting. according to the food and agriculture organization of the un<\/a>, 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the production of livestock. <\/p>\n our current world population is hovering around 7.5 billion people, but more than 800 million<\/a> of which are dealing with hunger \u2013 or, one in nine. and even more \u2014 one in three<\/a> \u2014 are suffering from malnutrition.<\/p>\n this seemingly contradicts reports, like this study<\/a> from mcgill university and university of minnesota, that show we grow enough food to feed 10 billion people.<\/p>\n you may wonder how those going hungry can get their piece of the agriculture pie \u2014 and where all that extra food is going.<\/p>\n researchgate reports<\/a> that a majority of crops such as wheat and corn, are used in the creation of biofuels and the cultivation of livestock. from an outsider\u2019s point of view, it appears wealthy countries have prioritized the meat and automobile industries over feeding those in need. <\/p>\n perhaps surprisingly, it\u2019s not the availability of food that causes world hunger but, rather, poverty. the un-fao<\/a> also found that most of the world\u2019s poor population lives in rural areas in which they are subsistence farmers, meaning they only produce enough for their family to survive \u2014 and that\u2019s only if everything goes right during the growing season.<\/p>\n so how does eating meat contribute to global poverty and, hence, global hunger? it comes down to supply and demand. as developed countries and developing countries continue to demand more meat, farmers will need to utilize more land to fulfill these needs. <\/p>\n the un-fao reports<\/a> 33% of all cropland is used for livestock feed, as well as 26% of all the earth’s ice-free land is used for grazing purposes. to provide the heavily demanded animal products, the livestock industry also uses one third of the earth\u2019s freshwater supply, according to the proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n as more land and water is utilized to create animal products, that creates a scarcity in land and water for poor people in developing countries. this scarcity causes the prices of land and water to increase, making it harder for poor populations to gain access to these resources. <\/p>\ndemand and resource usage<\/h2>\n