Can veganism mitigate world hunger and starvation? (hunger)

Question 1

About the “Can Veganism Mitigate World Hunger and Starvation?” deck.

Answer 1

This deck parallels the briefing at vbriefings.org/hunger, where full citations for the cards in this deck can be found.

It is helpful to read the briefing before studying these cards.

Question 2

If you had to summarize the reason that veganism can mitigate world hunger and starvation, what might you say?

Answer 2

Over 75% of the world’s soy and grain used for food, such as corn and oats, is fed to farmed animals.

However, research shows that if we feed these crops, or similar ones grown on the same land, directly to humans, we could feed 3.5 billion more people globally, and 400 million more just in the United States.

This is because of the extreme inefficiencies of having an animal convert feed into human food. It takes on average 24 calories of animal feed to produce 1 calorie of human food. And most of the calories feed to an animal are expended for daily living, not make flesh, dairy, or eggs.

Hence, transitioning towards a plant-based food economy could have significant advantages in terms of feeding the world and mitigating world hunger and starvation.

Full citations can be found at vbriefings.org/hunger

Question 3

What is the premise of the briefing at vbriefings.org/hunger?

Answer 3

Moving toward a plant-based food economy will promote a more efficient food system better capable of feeding the world’s starving, hungry, and impoverished.

Question 4

How many people die from starvation every year, and how many of those are children?

Answer 4

According to the UN, over 9 million people including 3 million children, die from starvation every year.

Question 5

How many people face hunger and malnutrition, and how many of those are children?

Answer 5

According to the UN, over 800 million, including 300 million children, grapple with hunger and malnutrition daily.

Question 6

What is the global human population count (2022) ?

Answer 6

8 billion. (UN)

Question 7

When will the population reach 10 billion?

Answer 7

2058 (UN)

Question 8

We will need how much more food production to feed everyone in 2058?

Answer 8

A rising human population should require at least a proportionate 25% increase in food production by 2058 (United Nations)

Question 9

Why are we not producing enough food to feed everyone?

Answer 9

Trick question. We are producing enough to feed everyone. (Bloomberg Analysis)

Question 10

What are 7 factors that contribute to world hunger and starvation?

Answer 10

Logistics, food waste, war, extreme weather, poverty, food production systems, and pandemics.

Question 11

What are the key points presented in the briefing that support the assertion that veganism can mitigate hunger and starvation?

Answer 11

1. Multiple studies show that we can feed far more people on a plant-based, vegan diet.
2. Over 75% of the world’s grains and soy used for food are fed to animals.
3. Most of the grains and soy used for animal feed could provide good nutrition to humans.
4. The reason we can feed far more on a vegan diet is because animal agriculture is extremely inefficient.
5. According to two authors, most of the world’s hungry children live in countries that give food to animals destined to be eaten by the more affluent.

Question 12

How many more people could we feed with the calories that are lost to feeding cereals (grains) to animals, according to an IAASTD report (2008)?

Answer 12

3.5 Billion

Question 13

Who authored and endorsed the IAASTD report referenced in the briefing?

Answer 13

The UN Environment Program, the World Bank, and others authored the report. 58 nations signed off on the report.

Question 14

The IAASTD report referenced in the briefing said we could “theoretically feed.” billions more. Why does the word “theoretically” not diminish the strength of the finding?

Answer 14

The word “theoretically” just means the estimates are based on modeling. That has to be the case because it would be impossible to conduct an experiment to test the conclusions.

Question 15

The World Resources Institute says that it takes on average how many calories of plant feed to produce one calorie of food from animals?

Answer 15

24

Full citations can be found at vbriefings.org/hunger

Question 16

According to a report in Environmental Research Letters, how much could we increase production in calories by growing crops for direct human consumption?

Answer 16

70%. The report also says we could feed an additional 4 billion people.

Question 17

If we fed people the grain now fed to livestock just in the United States, now many people could we feed?

Answer 17

Almost 800 million, according to a Cornell University Ecologist.

Question 18

What is the population of the United States?

Answer 18

335 million as of November 2023 (Census Bureau)

Question 19

How can we “produce up to 20 times more nutritionally similar food on the same of amount of land?”

Answer 19

by “replacing all animal-based items with plant-based replaced diets.” (a study by two environmental scientists, a physicist, and a molecular biologist)

Question 20

What percentage of the world’s course grains and soy used for food are fed to animals?

Answer 20

Over 75%

Question 21

Name 6 coarse grains.

Answer 21

Corn, oats, barley, sorghum, millet, and rye.

Question 22

Are coarse grains edible by humans?

Answer 22

Yes, and not only that, they are important for maintaining human health according to a study published in PubMed.

Question 23

Is field corn used only for animal feed, as is widely believed?

Answer 23

No, field corn (as opposed to sweet corn) can be eaten by humans and is in several cultures.

Field corn is sometimes called maize in other cultures.

Question 24

What is the difference between maize and field corn?

Answer 24

They are essentially the same botanically. In usage, “maize” usually refers to corn to be eaten by humans, while “field corn” usually refers to corn to be used as feed for animals.

Question 25

What is the difference between soybeans fed to animals and those used for human consumption?

Answer 25

Nothing, but they are processed differently.

Question 26

Why could we feed vastly more people on a plant-based food economy?

Answer 26

Because animal agriculture is extremely inefficient in converting feed into meat, dairy, and eggs.

Question 27

Why is animal agriculture inefficient?

Answer 27

Because most of the feed calories consumed by an animal go toward energy for daily living. Also, some energy is spent to produce body parts that are not consumed.

Question 28

Why did The Guardian call the Joseph Poore Oxford Study of 2018 “the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet?”

Answer 28

Because it examined 38,700 farms in 119 countries representing 90% of the world’s protein and calorie consumption.

Question 29

What percentage of global farmland does animal agriculture use?

Answer 29

83% (Joseph Poore Oxford Study 2018)

Question 30

In using 83% of the global farmland, animal agriculture produces what percents of total calories?

Answer 30

18% (Joseph Poore Oxford Study 2018)

Question 31

In using 83% of the global farmland, animal agriculture produces what percent of protein calories?

Answer 31

37% (Joseph Poore Oxford Study 2018)

Question 32

Animal agriculture uses ____ of global farmland while producing only ___ of total calories and ___ of calories from protein.

Answer 32

Animal agriculture uses 83% of global farmland while producing only 18% of total calories and 37% of calories from protein. (Joseph Poore Oxford Study 2018)

Question 33

Only ___ of farmland is used to grow food for human consumption, yet produces ___ of total calories and ___ of calories from protein

Answer 33

Only 17% of farmland is used to grow food for human consumption, yet produces 82% of total calories and 63% of calories from protein (Joseph Poore Oxford Study 2018) [logical converse]

Question 34

Calorie Conversion: On average, how many calories of plant feed does it take to produce one calorie of food from animals?

Answer 34

24. (World Resources Institute)

Question 35

Feed Conversion by weight: How many pounds of feed does it take to produce one pound of food made from animal flesh and secretions?

Answer 35

7. (World Resources Institute)

Question 36

Why do feed conversion ratios based on pounds understate the inefficiency of animal agriculture?

Answer 36

Because it “improperly compares the weight of a relatively wet output [meat, dairy, and eggs] to the weight of a relatively dry input [feed grains]” (World Resources Institue). Calorie conversion ratios are a more accurate measure.

Question 37

According to a University of Minnesota study, what percentage of crops fed to animals contribute to the human diet as meat and other animal products?

Answer 37

12%

Question 38

If everyone in the world were to adopt a Western-style diet high in meat and dairy, how many earths would be required to provide enough pastureland and cropland to feed the livestock?

Answer 38

4. (Nature journal)

Question 39

Name two authors who have claimed that 80% or more of the world’s hungry and starving children live in countries where feed is feed to animals that will be eaten by people in more affluent countries?

Answer 39

Jeremy Rifkin and Dr. Richard Oppenlander.

Question 40

What counterclaims are addressed in the briefing?

Answer 40

1. We already produce enough to feed everyone.
2. 86% of the global livestock feed intake is made of materials that are inedible by humans.
3. Increased grazing, particularly holistic, regenerative grazing, can help with the problem because grazed animals do not require feed.
4. As there are starving people, we should put them first over non-human animals (tangential).
5. It would be impossible or difficult for people in some cultures to give up animal products because of a lack of alternatives.(tangential).

Question 41

Why does that fact that we already produce enough to feed everyone not negate the claim that veganism can mitigate the problem?

Answer 41

1. It seems naive to think that the ability to feed billions more with a plant-based food economy would not help because some of that additional food would likely reach the hungry and starving.
2. A rising human population from 8 billion in 2022 to a projected 10 billion in 2058 should require at least a proportionate 25% increase in food production, suggesting we might not be able to feed everyone forever.

Question 42

What can be said of the claim that 80% or more of the world’s hungry and starving children live in countries where feed is fed to animals that will be eaten by people in more affluent countries?

Answer 42

It seems almost criminal that starving and hungry people, be they children or adults, do not have access to food grown locally—food that is instead used to profit the animal agriculture industry.

Question 43

How does the benefits of eliminating supply chain food waste compare to the benefits of replacing animal-based food with plant-based food?

Answer 43

“The benefits of replacing animal-based food with plant-based food are well above the expected benefits of eliminating all supply chain food waste [which includes logistics], according to an analysis of opportunity costs.”(a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by two environmental scientists, a physicist, and a molecular biologist)

Question 44

What is one reason there may be less waste with plant-based foods?

Answer 44

In general, because they can be stored longer and refrigeration is less important (particularly nuts, grains, and seeds).

Question 45

What study stated that “86% of the global livestock feed intake is made of materials that are inedible by humans.”

Answer 45

No study. That was a misquote by Sacred Cow and possibly others.

The Science Direct analysis instead says “86% is made of materials that are currently not eaten by humans,” not materials that humans cannot eat.

Question 46

Why is the distinction between materials that are “not eaten by humans” and those that are inherently “inedible” important ?

Answer 46

If the calculation of the percentage of feed that was inedible by humans was based on the inherent edibility of feed materials, the percentage of non-edible feed could differ significantly from the 86% figure.

Question 47

In stating that “86% of the global livestock feed intake is made of materials that are inedible by humans,” why is that fact that the “86% figure is based on feed weight, not calories, important?

Answer 47

If the analysis was by calories the 86% figure would be considerably lower as the non-edible portion of animal feed is typically composed of materials such as crop residues, food waste, and by-products from food processing, which are generally lower in caloric content compared to edible feed sources such as grains and legumes.

Question 48

Other than claim that “86% of the global livestock feed intake is made of materials that are inedible by humans.” being a misquote, and the fact that the actual quote is based on the weight of the feed and not the calories, what other facts are pertinent?

Answer 48

The 86% claim, even if true, would not change the findings that:

1. Over 75% of the world’s grains and soy used for food are fed to animals.
2. With plant-based foods we could feed an additional 3.5 billion globally and another 400 million in the US.
3. Livestock are highly inefficient at converting feed into meat.
4. Much of the land used to grow silage and fodder crops (such as corn, barley, and alfalfa) for feed could also be used to grow crops for human consumption
5. It takes on average 24 calories of plant feed to produce one calorie of food from animals.

Question 49

What are some problems with the idea that grazing can help with hunger and starvation because grazed animals do not require feed.

Answer 49

1. We simply don’t have enough land—the US has enough pasture to support only 27% of the current beef production.” (Environmental Research Letters)
2. Grazed animals are often fed grains even while grazing and then moved to a feedlot to be fed grains for 4 to 6 months of their 18-month existence before being slaughtered.

Question 50

What could be said of the tangentially related claim that as there are starving people, we should put them first over non-human animals?

Answer 50

1. You can feed far more with a plant-based food economy, so this point is moot.
2. Even if you could not feed more people with plants, it’s possible to care about and act on more than one problem.

Full citations can be found at vbriefings.org/hunger

Question 51

What could be said of the tangentially related claim that it would be impossible or difficult for people in some cultures to give up animal products because of a lack of alternatives.

Answer 51

1. This is true, but irrelevant to most of the people reading this.
2. It would be disingenuous for someone to proclaim, for example, that because goat herders in Afghanistan can’t do it, they are not even going to consider it.

Question 52

What area currently has the greatest number of undernourished, and how is this expected to change.

Answer 52

While Asia currently has the greatest number of undernourished (381 million), by 2030 it is expected that Africa will have the most. (United Nations)

Full citations can be found at vbriefings.org/hunger

Question 53

Name 3 ways the topic of hunger and starvation is relevant to animal rights and veganism?

Answer 53

1. It is not unusual for someone to dismiss veganism by stating that as long as there are starving people, we should put them first over non-human animals.
2. The ability of veganism to have a positive impact on world hunger is often overlooked as one of the merits of veganism, yet perhaps should be included alongside animal ethics, the environment, and other public and personal human health issues.
3. Some industry sources have at least implied that animal agriculture is necessary for producing enough food for everyone.

Full citations can be found at vbriefings.org/hunger