How to Do Animal Rights - & Win the War on Animals


How to Do Animal Rights - & Win the War on Animals
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 Chapter Sections

 1. Summary

 2. Chickens

 3. Pigs

 4. Beef Cattle

 5. Fish

 6. Meat Consumption

 7. Fur-bearers

 8. Experimental Animals
 
How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals



Chapter 7


Animal Numbers Raised & Killed


6. Meat Consumption



Animals and meat in this section mean livestock and poultry and exclude sea food. For fish see Chapter 7: Fish.



Summary

  • People eat about 250,000,000 tonnes of meat annually worldwide (Table 1).
  • The Chinese eat more meat than any other country (Table 1) but not on average per person (Table 2).
  • People in China, United States and Brazil combined eat half the world's meat (Table 1).
  • On average each human worldwide eats 40 kilograms of meat annually (Table 2).
  • On average each person in the top ten meat-eating countries eats three times (123 kilograms per person) the world average (Table 2).
  • On average people in New Zealand eat more meat per person than any other country (Table 2).
  • The amount of meat people eat is growing by about five million tonnes per year (Table 1).




  • More & More Meat

    The figures of meat consumption in the tables below are based on statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), who started collecting records in 1961. Their statistics show that the average amount of meat consumed per person has doubled over the last 40 years, increasing steadily from 21 kilograms per person in 1961 to 40 kilograms per person in 2002. Most of this growth is in the developing countries as their populations and incomes increase. China, for example, eats over 20 times its 1961 tonnage. However, although China is the biggest meat consuming country (Table 1) the average consumption per Chinese is 52 kg, way below America at 125 kg of meat per human (Table 2) and western European counties, such as Britain, at 80 kg of meat per human. In addition to meat, people are consuming more eggs and milk and this increased consumption has been called the 'Livestock Revolution'.

    These FAO statistics exclude fish (see Chapter 7: Fish). To include fish in human meat consumption you might add about an extra third to the tables below (which are for livestock and poultry only). However, the results will still be minimum figures for human meat consumption. You would have to include meat sources, for example bushmeat; wildlife is a significant part of the human menu. For the foreseeable future, perhaps for as long as humanity persists, animals will continue their cataclysmic fall down the abyssal human throat.



    Meat Consumption per Country

    Table 1. Meat Consumption per Country.
    Top Ten Countries & Worldwide, 1998 - 2002.

    Millions of metric tonnes.
      1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
    China 59 60 64 65 68
    United States 33 35 35 35 36
    Brazil 12 13 14 14 15
    Germany 7 7 7 7 7
    Russian Federation 7 6 6 7 7
    France 6 6 6 6 6
    Japan 5 6 6 6 6
    Mexico 5 5 6 6 6
    India 5 5 5 5 6
    Italy 5 5 5 5 5
    World 224 228 234 238 247
    Based on statistics collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), FAOSTAT on-line statistical service (FAO: Rome, 2005). Earth Trends, World Resources Institute, displays FAO statistics online as the Agriculture and Food Searchable Database. Table 1 is from Meat Consumption: Total




    Average Annual Meat Consumption per Human

    Table 2. Average Annual Meat Consumption per Human.
    Top Ten Countries & Worldwide, 1998 - 2002.

    Kilograms of meat per human.
      1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
    New Zealand 140 138 122 147 142
    Luxembourg NA NA 147 134 142
    Bahamas 123 141 152 135 124
    Denmark 126 130 130 139 146
    Cyprus 126 132 134 132 131
    United States 120 124 122 120 125
    Spain 115 114 112 115 119
    French Polynesia 105 103 107 109 112
    Canada 103 107 107 108 108
    France 102 100 100 103 101
    World 38 38 39 39 40
    Based on statistics collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), FAOSTAT on-line statistical service (FAO: Rome, 2005). Earth Trends, World Resources Institute, displays FAO statistics online as the Agriculture and Food Searchable Database. Table 2 is from Meat Consumption per Capita.




    Notes for Tables 1 & 2

    FAO defines meat consumption as "...the total meat retained for use in country for each country per year. Total meat includes meat from animals slaughtered in countries, irrespective of their origin, and comprises horsemeat, poultry, and meat from all other domestic or wild animals such as camels, rabbits, reindeer, and game animals."

    It is not possible to collect totally accurate statistics about millions of animals from all over the world. As FAO admits, "Data is reported by individual countries, which may have varying capacities for data collection." Therefore the statistics in this entry are only a rough guide to consumed animal tonnage.



    How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals.

    © Roger (Ben) Panaman, April 2008. All rights reserved.