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Want to Stop World Hunger? Stop Eating Animals
Published October 17, 2008 @ 07:33AM PST
Contrary to what some critics say, animal rights advocates do not despise humans or care about nonhuman animals more than humans, or seek to raise the status of animals at the expense of humans. Most animal rights advocates are also deeply concerned about human rights, environmental matters, and other issues, many of which are connected to one another and to animal rights issues.
World hunger is one of many areas where the rights and well-being of nonhuman animals and the rights and well-being of humans could be helped by the same solution. Read on.
"Give It Up, Guys," by Guardian writer Andrew Tyler
The truth can no longer be dodged. Livestock farming gobbles up agricultural land, water and energy that could far more efficiently be devoted to growing food for people to eat directly. Meat, therefore, is a rich person's food and those who consume it—whether in India, Denmark or England—cause malnourishment and death among the world's poorest people.
"Eliminating Hunger," from Creature Talk
Maybe you’re not an “animal person”. Not everyone is (unfortunately) . . . but I have yet to meet someone who would turn their back on a hungry child. Do your part: reduce your meat and animal product intake and help feed all the hungry people in the world. You can make a difference. Do it for your health, for the animals, the environment, and for all the people out there who will go to bed hungry tonight while some poor cow or pig suffers needlessly in a feedlot.
"Feast or Famine: Meat Production and World Hunger," by Mark Hawthorne
Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, DC, states it succinctly: “People go hungry because much of arable land is used to grow feed grain for animals rather than people.” He offers as one example the Ethiopian famine of 1984, which was fueled by the meat industry. “While people starved, Ethiopia was growing linseed cake, cottonseed cake and rapeseed meal for European livestock,” he says. “Millions of acres of land in the developing world are used for this purpose. Tragically, 80 percent of the world’s hungry children live in countries with food surpluses which are fed to animals for consumption by the affluent.”
Other Posts and Articles on the World Hunger–Animal Agriculture Connection:
Comments
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Author
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Stephanie Ernst
- St. Louis, MO
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Stephanie is a vegan, a tree hugger, a freelance editor and writer, and an animal rights advocate. She lives in St. Louis with a motley pack of three dogs and two cats as well as the world's most adorable foster pit bull.
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No doubt, if people comes forward to stop eating animals then society can solve their grain / water problems as well.
Posted by Naresh Kadyan PFA Haryana on 10/17/2008 @ 07:53PM PST
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There is nothing wrong with eating meat. That is not the cause of any problem. The real issue is that men don't work hard enough to earn their lunch.
Men need to do more farming, fishing, hunting, and raising livestock. If any man will not work, neither should he eat.
Posted by David Lafleche on 10/18/2008 @ 03:45PM PST
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What? Because I eat a burger some children in other parts of the world are malnourished?
Where ... who ... how does this get started? There is no sense in this, throughout the centuries humans have subsisted on meat, and vegetables. I do not eat a lot of meat, but I cannot agree to stop entirely eating meat. And I am not affluent in any way.
Additionally, there is an issue in many parts of the developing countries called CORRUPTION that is a much bigger problem. Aim there first.
Posted by Kenneth Wallin on 10/18/2008 @ 09:58PM PST
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You'd think that, after decades of charitable works, other countries would learn how to farm. But they haven't! If any man will not work, neither should he eat.
Posted by David Lafleche on 10/19/2008 @ 02:48AM PST
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I see this post has hit a nerve or two. And now so have some comments.
First, Naresh, thank you for your comment and for pointing out how much more water is required by animal ag as well!
David and Kenneth, your animosity or indifference toward starving populations is quite astonishing. The notion that people are starving simply because they don't work hard enough or haven't learned how to farm is an absolutely preposterous argument devoid of evidence. Can you seriously believe, David, that people are choosing to suffer from chronic hunger or even starve to death--are choosing to watch their children die from malnutrition and starvation--because they're just too lazy to work or farm?
Please read the following articles:
"On World Food Day, 17 Million People Face Starvation in the Horn of Africa": http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2008/10/20081015_wfd.asp
/>"World Hunger": http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/hunger/hungerindex.htm
/>"Hunger Information": http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/info/index.php
/>
Also, the very fact that you were able to read and comment on this blog post and others makes you one of the wealthy in comparison with the children, women, and men who struggle every day just to stay alive. You have food and clothes and a computer and income. You may not be affluent in comparison with the wealthiest of Americans--I most certainly am not either--but you and I are absolutely affluent in comparison with the people who are malnourished and starving because of circumstances over which they have no control.
And Kenneth, yes, there is plenty of sense in the connections drawn between food shortages/global hunger and meat-eating (and please keep in mind that "throughout the centuries," the planet's resources did not need to sustain more than 6 billion people). Diversion of grains into livestock feed (and to a lesser degree--yes, lesser degree--into biofuels) is certainly and significantly contributing to the problem.
Of the posts and articles to which I linked in the post above, read "Give It Up, Guys" and "Feast or Famine," as well as "Why Animal Agriculture Doesn't Add Up": http://www.goveg.com/worldHunger-animalAgriculture.asp
Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 10/19/2008 @ 10:00AM PST
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Reposting the links because they did not go through correctly (if this still doesn't work, delete everything after "asp," "htm," and "php" in your address bar and try again or copy the text of the URL and paste it into your address bar):
"On World Food Day, 17 Million People Face Starvation in the Horn of Africa":
http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2008/10/20081015_wfd.asp
/>
"World Hunger": http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/hunger/hungerindex.htm
/>
"Hunger Information": http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/info/index.php
Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 10/19/2008 @ 10:05AM PST
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Thank you Naresh and Stephanie for your comments. I can't believe the ignorance AND arrogance of some people who dare judgding starving people. This is not an issue of lazyness. This is an issue of the western countries exploiting others and fattening themselves to ridiculous extremes. I used to eat meat myself. But that was because I wasn't connecting the dots yet. I am sad that I have not connected them faster and avoided supporting this insane industry. But I won't participate anymore, that's for sure.
Also, I would like to point out that more and more evidence is coming to light everyday to show that humans are in fact herbivores (our digestive system, our teeth, etc.). I know some will cry "wolf" about this comment. But eventually, the truth will surface one day. And I won't apologize for any of the above.
Posted by Nicole Perrot on 10/19/2008 @ 12:07PM PST
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"Tragically, 80 percent of the world’s hungry children live in countries with food surpluses which are fed to animals for consumption by the affluent.”
This is why the people starve - not because they're lazy. Not because they aren't receptive to the aid given them by other nations. Their land is being used to grow food for animals, not people.
"Why haven't they learned to sustain themselves?"
They do know how to do this, they are just being squeezed out by big businesses & governments more concerned with profit than the welfare of their own people. The real "help" we should be giving them is giving them their land back so they can farm food for themselves & their children.
Posted by Lisa Smolen-Jenk... on 10/19/2008 @ 05:05PM PST
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I agree, you can not stop people from eating meat. I also agree that the big problem of Africa is that they must stop making so many babies. They believe that if they have plenty children it makes them rich (how is that for their logic?) Girls of 15 have already about 2 children and they dont stop there. Another truth, they are very lazy to work. They were given land for free and what happened. It became one dry desert. I know what I am talking about, I live in Africa. On eating animals - what I find disturbing is the cruel method people use to kill the animals. By the way, Africans are meat eaters!
Posted by Julie van Niekerk on 10/20/2008 @ 12:45AM PST
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Julie, that might be. But I suspect the death rate is outweighing the birth rate in some of the countries due to AIDs, contaminated drinking water, etc. The orphan rate is also high in some of the countries.
On the topic of Africans being meat eaters (so are Americans), I was surprised to find out about this group in Nigeria: http://www.ivu.org/africa/nigeria2007.html(This isn't what I found the other night, but hey.)Here's another one I just found: http://veganworldradio.org/vegan_world_radio-17nov2008.php
Posted by Sue Grisham on 12/23/2008 @ 10:56PM PST
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The only way to stop world hunger is to stop the population explosion of people. If third world countries do not put in place some form of family planning for their people nothing anyone
does will make any difference in the end. Not eating meat will not help a thing. The wild animal population on earth is dropping all over the globe. Many species are going extinct. The fresh water situation will only grow worse as the years go by. The planet is not big enough for the amount of people trying to live on it.
Barb
Posted by Barbara Griffith on 12/24/2008 @ 06:24PM PST
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Okay, a comment from a, "realist!" This is an animal rights blog; correct? Humans Right blog, was a couple of causes back. NO, NO, and more No! To all of this. On the,"animals rights."..... If the meat eating population stopped today, (eating meat.) What would happen to all of the animals that have been bred for this purpose? Hmmmmm? Who will grow their food? To the people up there talking about fertile farm land sustaing these animals. Ha! You can grow as much food for human consumption as you want on this land. Guess what? 50% of it goes to countries like Russia and China who can afford to buy it. And to the others up there saying, farm land to support these animals is causing other animals to become extinct. Please think before you post...... What do you think will happen to their land if America goes,"no meat." The slaughter house inustry would buy it, grow food on it, and then charge you the price of beef to buy it! Does any one on this blog actually have something to say that isn't compelled by an emotion or personal opinion?
Posted by Libby Spalding on 12/24/2008 @ 08:49PM PST
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