major food sources chapter 11 apes january 2008. food what do we eat? what do other cultures eat?...
TRANSCRIPT
Food
What do we eat? What do other cultures eat? Are we using our food resources effectively? What changes could we make to do better?
Do we have enough for all?
Can the world support the population that is skyrocketing? Can we feed these folks?
Our global grocery
Despite the fact that we have innumerable edibles on our planet, we exist on:
One dozen seeds/grains
20 fruits/vegetables
6 mammals
2 fowl
A few fish and marine life
Some staggering numbers:
1,600 metric tons grown each year Staples for 5 billion people 60 calories consumed by people directly
What about special climates?
Sometimes these crops cannot be grown in the areas due to climate limits.
As a result some folks have adapted to eating what they can grow.
The Stats:
North America, Japan and Europe (20% of the worlds population) consume 80% of the worlds meat.
The 80% raise 60% of the 3 billion ruminants and 6 billion poultry but only consume 20% of the animals products.
HMMMMM………something’s wrong here?
Here’s the most amazing fact:
90 percent of US grain goes to feeding dairy and beef cattle, hogs, poultry, and other animals.
Consider the numbers:
16kg of soybeans gets turned into 1kg edible beef (15kg wasted as heat….review?)
If you ate it directly you would get 21 times more calories and 8 times more protein as well as a healthier colon and heart.
Hogs: 2 times as efficient as beef
Poultry: 4 times as efficient
Vegetarianism
Could you make an argument that it’s better for: Your health Human rights The environment Global change An animal rights too?
Might be something to check into.
This is why I hunt.
Arguments against meat
Tax the meat!
Meat consumption in the US
Go veg
Scary facts from the union for concerned scientists
Ahhhhh…..and seafood.
94 million metric tons of seafood are consumed by humans
Important protein source for some countries
Some Scary stats:
Since 1989: 14 of 17 major marine fisheries have taken a plunge in population
UN: 70% of edible seafood is declining and in need of conservation efforts
1 in 4 animals caught is an “unwanted” catch.
(birds, mammals, reptiles, other fish)
WHY????
Pressures of a growing population Better fishing technology Global warming and habitat damage Exotics
After decades of growth, the reported global wild fish catch peaked in 2000 at 96 million tons and fell to 90 million tons in 2003, the last year for which worldwide data are available. The catch per person dropped from an average of 17 kilograms in the late 1980s to 14 kilograms in 2003—the lowest figure since 1965.
How to save our oceans
Is it that complex of an issue?
EAT fish that you know has been farmed in a sustainable way.
Convince others to save the fish while there is still time.