GY124 Assignment 4

We identified that the changing patterns of commodity production and consumption of meat contribute to the global food crisis in out tutorial. Global meat consumption and production has tripled over the last four decade and increased by 20% in just the last 10 years. This increase has caused harmful effects on the environment and public health as well as the economy. Industrial countries are consuming double the amount of meat in comparison with developing countries. People in developing countries eat 32 kilograms of meat per year compared to 80 kilograms per person in industrial countries. For example in 1996 people in Kenya spent 6% of their food budgets on meat products in comparison to the U.S. where 27% was allocated to meat products. The commodity production of meat fluctuates because of the fluctuating levels of consumption and demand in countries caused by increases in population, economic and cultural changes.

The process of producing and eating meat is a very wasteful process and it is a big factor that contributes to the global food crisis. Many tonnes of grain are grown specifically for feed fo animals. For every 13 pounds of grain you get back only 1 pound of beef. More calories can be aquired per acre by eating the vegetables grown instead of using the vegetables or grain to feed an animal and then eating part of the same animal. China has had increased demand for meat in the last decade and it now uses over 757 million tonnes of grain to feed livestock. With this increase in meat consumption it results with the demand and the price of grain being driven up.

A simple solution to help reduce the affects of meat in the global food crisis is that “reduced meat consumption in developed countries would release cereals from livestock feed to food for poorer populations, thus improving food security in developing countries.”