The surge in meat prices has gained media attention today, as have fears of food inflation:
“Meat price surge raises fear of food inflation” – The Independent
“Fears grow over global food supply” – The Financial Times
“Hunger drives rioters on to streets as food prices soar” – The Times
As meat prices surge, not only due to the wheat crisis but also to the soaring demand for meat from China, Brazil and other rapidly developing countries, the spotlight is thrown on why such a high proportion of global cereals are grown specifically for animal feed.
Much of our meat sadly comes from factory farms which causes unimaginable suffering to the animals and inevitably affects the quality of the final food product. What’s little known is that by feeding precious grain resources to factory farmed animals, we effectively put people and farm animals in competition for limited food stocks, thereby adding to price pressures.
For the sake of our own well-being as well as animal welfare, it is time for us to consider moving away from factory farming to better quality meat from animals reared in more humane and natural conditions.
“For the sake of our own well-being as well as animal welfare, it is time for us to consider moving away from factory farming to better quality meat from animals reared in more humane and natural conditions.”
…and eating far less animal protein! Our planet simply cannot sustainably support the tens of billions of farm animals that are raised and killed every year to feed our voracious appetite for meat, milk and eggs. There isn’t enough pasture land in the world to switch ALL the cattle we currently have from grain-eaters to grass-fed grazers. Meanwhile, people in developed nations are dying primarily of diseases caused by eating too much saturated fat and not enough plant foods. Even those who feel that “vegan” is too scary and radical a word must surely concede that the Western world needs to cut way back on its meat consumption.
Respectez les animaux….
Having watched a tv programme recently where I was informed that a typical poor family (of 8 children) in the Philipines lives entirely on rice for breakfast, a little more at lunch time and grown ups a cup of coffee in the evening and a bit more rice again for the kids – if there is any, I am wondering why we need to eat so much meat in the developed world?
It is obviously not necessary to sustain us, so shouldn’t meat be rationed? It strikes me that the meat eating habits of the more affluent in the world are being indulged at the expense of the the millions of hungry people in the less developed countries who cannot afford even the basics and possible not even those in the near future as more and more land is being swallowed up to provide cheap meat for the better off. Rationing would be a positive way forward in maintaining the sustainablility of our food stocks and eradicate hunger.