Food disruption: Our time of eating meat could be drawing to a close

[Binary_Bark]

By 2050 the Earth will be supporting 10 billion people and its resources will be stretched to breaking point. If humans carry on with business as usual – which is to believe that the planet’s resources are infinite – demand for beef, just beef alone, will increase 95% by 2050 according to research from the World Resources Institute.

Livestock farming accounts for 14.5% of the 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by agriculture, forestry and land use at present. This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if farming animals was an efficient process for creating protein, but it’s not.

Beef, in particular, is one of the least efficient processors from a “feed input to food output” perspective.

“Cows consume 100 calories for every one calorie of protein returned,” Schroders global equity analyst Isabella Hervey-Bathurst told media at an investment conference in London. “It’s a protein sink.”


Even chicken – the most efficient source of meat – only converts about 20% of gross feed energy into animal protein, she says.

BUSINESS MAVERICK: Food disruption: Our time of eating meat could be drawing to a close

A monumental shift in the way that we produce and consume food, in particular protein, is essential if the Earth is to avoid a climate catastrophe. Scientists, it seems, are well on their way to a solution, but it could spell the end of the beef industry.

www.dailymaverick.co.za

 

[The_Librarian]

What a clucking shame, no more moo for patties.

 

[Kosmik]

Dunno my chickens are super efficient, feed them garbage and they turn it into eggs and compost. Heck, if I wanted to go into meat production, the average hen lays 1 egg every 28 hours, stick those in a incubator and you have chicks in three weeks, ready for slaughter in 6 weeks. What they should do is encourage more home subsidence where possible.

 

[Spliffcat]

Lights fire.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

We must just figure out how to produce cattle feed more efficiently....problem solved.

Rushes off to butchers to purchase a hind quarter for the box freezer...just in case.

The two AB2's are already squared away...

 

[ToxicBunny]

Dunno my chickens are super efficient, feed them garbage and they turn it into eggs and compost. Heck, if I wanted to go into meat production, the average hen lays 1 egg every 28 hours, stick those in a incubator and you have chicks in three weeks, ready for slaughter in 6 weeks. What they should do is encourage more home subsidence where possible.

You are on the money with this....

I am not the worlds biggest egg/chicken consumer so for me keeping chickens would largely be a waste, but for many people it would be an easy way to provide for the family if they could get over the slaughtering hurdle.

 

[Neuk_]

I won't mind seeing the back of current industrialised livestock farming but I will still be eating meat in 2050. I am still fascinated that the discussion is not how to curb the ever expanding human population on earth but how to somehow support it. We truly are parasites...

 

[Kosmik]

You are on the money with this....

I am not the worlds biggest egg/chicken consumer so for me keeping chickens would largely be a waste, but for many people it would be an easy way to provide for the family if they could get over the slaughtering hurdle.

Actually, there is a farm/butcher/thing in Assegai somewhere where you can take your chickens to them and they slaughter and package them for you. Charge a small fee per bird but no mess, no fuss. Bit inefficient than doing it at home but an option for the squeamish.

 

[C4Cat]

Dunno my chickens are super efficient, feed them garbage and they turn it into eggs and compost. Heck, if I wanted to go into meat production, the average hen lays 1 egg every 28 hours, stick those in a incubator and you have chicks in three weeks, ready for slaughter in 6 weeks. What they should do is encourage more home subsidence where possible.

How would home subsidence make any difference to how efficient they are at creating protein. Do you really feed them garbage?

 

[The_Librarian]

Actually, there is a farm/butcher/thing in Assegai somewhere where you can take your chickens to them and they slaughter and package them for you. Charge a small fee per bird but no mess, no fuss. Bit inefficient than doing it at home but an option for the squeamish.

Mother in law does just that. She buys a couple of chickens, raise them until they're old enough, send them off to the abbatoir for processing and packaging, get them back and sell them off. Enough profit for her to make a decent living off that.

 

[The_Librarian]

How would home subsidence make any difference to how efficient they are at creating protein. Do you really feed them garbage?

We feed ours mielies, sunflower seeds (unshelled) and parsley, cabbage (shredded) and lettuce. The parsley make them produce most efficiently, no need for chemical supplements and the such.

At odd times when we peel/prepare vegetables, they do get offcuts.

 

[Kosmik]

I won't mind seeing the back of current industrialised livestock farming but I will still be eating meat in 2050. I am still fascinated that the discussion is not how to curb the ever expanding human population on earth but how to somehow support it. We truly are parasites...

You will probably find that most folks on this forum are pretty much against population growth, single to two child families. Also the fertility rates are dropping amongst your middle class ( either medically or enforced because people are cutting back ). Its actually your destitute that are the greatest population increasers.

And wasnt there a concern raised a while back how China is looking at a serious problem due to their one child policy? Can't recall the details.

 

[The_Librarian]

And wasnt there a concern raised a while back how China is looking at a serious problem due to their one child policy? Can't recall the details.

Yep. Most families want to have a boy, since a boy will be able to provide much more for his family.

Problem now is that there's too much boys than girls...

 

[Kosmik]

How would home subsidence make any difference to how efficient they are at creating protein. Do you really feed them garbage?

Yep, all the peels etc of normal home use. I even give them water melon rind. Dunno what they do but if you think a goat is bad at eating everything, you aint ever seen a flock give it a go.

I'm a low carber so we eat a lot of fresh veg, all the stuff one would normally throw away, goes into the coop. Hell, I cut my lawn this weekend and rather than put it in blue bags we spread it on the floor of our enclosed yard for them. They love it and its destroyed into compost in a matter of days. Scoop what remains out and its the best fertiliser for your own veg/fruit garden.

Heck, its pure potassuim nitrate, you could have "other" uses for that too you know.

 

[HunterNW]

More hunting trips. Yay...

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

superfood of the future,

grasshoppers and maggots, just like in Blade runner...

 

[Lupus]

Most of the worlds population doesn't consume that much beef, mostly the Westernised countries. Large portions of India at Vegetarian, Brazil, Europe and the US produce the most beef, followed by China. But they have more cattle just produce less beef.

 

[HBee]

With a population like that, meat would be the least of your worries.

 

[Lupus]

superfood of the future,

grasshoppers and maggots, just like in Blade runner...

Grasshoppers, meal worms and other bugs don't have to taste to bad. Also they weren't eating maggots, it was worms

 

[rietrot]

What nonsense. The opening sentence is already wrong.