Why eat Lower on the Food Chain?

The damage caused by raising animals is well known and it is clear that eating plants has a much smaller effect on the environment. In most of the world, however, the trend is the opposite - as people have more money, they eat more meat. In developing countries, farmers are switching to feed crops to raise animals to export meat because they can earn more money. This means that the 10% rule is invoked and less food can be produced from the land. This practice is not sustainable.

The question regarding food production is twofold: Will the rate of growth in food production keep up with population growth, and will environmental problems such as erosion and soil degradation further decrease productivity? Some experts have estimated that at current rates of food production, the world can feed 7 billion vegetarians, 4 billion people on a 15% animal product diet, and 2 billion people on a 25% animal product diet (the typical North American). At the same time that the human population is increasing, the available land for increased production is being lost either to erosion or development. It is currently a mystery how we will feed the inevitable billions more humans who are waiting to be born.

In this activity you will investigate the cost of eating meat and compare it to the cost of eating plants.

Procedure

1. Find the cost per gram for rice, flour, beans, and oats.

2. Find the cost per gram for ground beef, chicken, and bacon.

3. Determine the number of calories per gram in each one.

4. Find the cost per calorie by dividing the cost per gram by the calories per gram.

5. Record your data in a table.

Questions

1. Why was it important to calculate the cost per calories rather than just use the cost per gram?

2. How did the cost per gram compare for foods from plant sources and animal sources?

3. What does this activity tell us about feeding the hungry?