Every Year 18 Billion Farmed Animals Die But End Up As Waste, Study Finds
“The suffering and death that is inflicted on animals to produce food that is never eaten remains invisible.”
More than 18 billion animals die or are slaughtered but don’t get consumed every year, the first study of its kind has found. Research conducted by environmental scientists calculated the staggering scale of animal lives lost due to wastage in the meat industry in 2019.
The study published in the journal Sustainable Production and Consumption found that 52.4 million tons of bone-free, edible meat goes to waste yearly, amounting to 18 billion animals, including chickens, pigs, sheep, turkeys, goats, and cows. That's roughly one-sixth of all the meat produced globally.
Why Does Food Waste Occur?
The reasons for the huge amount of wastage vary across regions. In North America, Oceania, Europe, and industrialized Asia, a significant portion of the waste occurs on the consumption side, with supermarkets overstocking, restaurants serving oversized portions, and households throwing out leftovers.
Juliane Klaura, one of the study's researchers, highlighted, "The United States scores particularly badly, as do South Africa and Brazil. While in India, the average person only wastes a small amount of meat."
Meanwhile, in Latin America, North Africa, West and Central Asia, and especially Sub-Saharan Africa, significant wastage predominantly occurs during the production process, with losses commonly occurring at the initial stages, such as animals falling victim to diseases during rearing or meat spoiling during storage or transportation. In South and Southwest Asia, the majority of losses happen during the distribution, slaughter, and meat processing stages.
Photo: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
Reducing Waste to Save Animals and the Planet
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that approximately 14.5 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions result from animal farming, primarily attributing these emissions to carbon dioxide and methane, two of the largest contributors to global warming.
In light of animal agriculture’s devastating environmental impact, Klaura and her research colleagues, Laura Scherer and Gerard Breeman aim to highlight how mitigating food waste could positively impact greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to efforts to fight climate catastrophe.
The researchers also aim to extend awareness beyond the environmental implications of food loss and waste to also factor in the animal welfare impacts of this issue, something which remains largely unaddressed,
“The suffering and death that is inflicted on animals to produce food that is never eaten remains invisible,” reads the study, which “aims to bridge the gap between food loss and waste (FLW) accounting literature and animal welfare considerations.”
“Ultimately, the analysis aims to make animal lives lost more explicit and visible and to carve out how many animal lives could be saved by reducing global FLW and where in the world and supply chain change would be most effective,” it continues.
Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media
Creating Change
To tackle the huge loss each year, researchers say there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution.
"In developing countries, it will be more about improving the conditions for animals and the storage and transport of the meat,” said Klaura. “In Western countries, behavioral change is what will make a difference."
However, Klaura acknowledges that behavioral change will be a major challenge: "People can get upset when it comes to dietary transitions. They feel like something is taken from them. And because of the emotions it triggers, politicians struggle to come up with a rational response.
“Clarifying that billions of the animals killed each year don't even get eaten could be an important first push toward positive action."
To protect the lives of animals caught in the food system, the most critical thing you can do is adopt a vegan diet. To help you get started, Species Unite offers a 30-Day Vegan Challenge, featuring delicious plant-powered recipes, as well as tons of other advice to make the journey as easy as possible. Sign up here.
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