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The global consequences of our nutritional habits -

The global consequences of our nutritional habits -. The consequences of the worldwide production of 65 billion farm animals per year on the environment and climate, global nutrition, animal welfare and human health – and possible alternatives!. Livestock / Consumption of animal products.

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The global consequences of our nutritional habits -

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  1. The global consequences of our nutritional habits- The consequences of the worldwide production of 65 billion farm animals per year on the environment and climate, global nutrition, animal welfare and human health – and possible alternatives!

  2. Livestock / Consumption of animal products Global consequences – the major 4: Environment (incl. climate) Human health Animal rights and animal welfare World nutrition / world hunger

  3. Environment / Climate • Film: Mechanisms of the greenhouse effect – described in simple form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxheREfgUGY • Film: Veggie-Day as a first political measure: • Already existing in Gent (BE), Bremen (DE), Sao Paolo (BR), San Francisco (US), Washington DC (US), Kapstadt (ZA), Zagreb (HR) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj80Lfoh2_c

  4. World hunger / environment Meat = lengthened food chain => requires 5-15 times more areas, plants, water etc. to feed humans (Exception: Pure pasture management of ruminants, which on the other hand requires huge areas, causes much of the methane-issues, furthermore only small share of global production).

  5. World hunger / environment Input / Output: 1 out of 7 calories converted to meat, what happens with the rest? Metabolic losses inevitable (compare humans), Bread example, livestock first of all an efficient production of excrements, meat as „side product“, by far biggest waste of food globally, 1/3 of world harvest (cereals+soya) converted to excrements!

  6. Environment: Climate, water, erosion, land consumption, ... « The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution and loss of biodiversity. Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major redutions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost » Livestock’s Long Shadow, FAO 2006 • Land consumption, water consumption, water pollution, rainforest destruction • Climate, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, air pollution

  7. According to the FAO, the livestock-sector is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than total worldwide traffic (aeroplanes, cars, trucks, trains, ...): Methane (CH4): digestion of ruminants, … Nitrous Oxide (N2O): fertilizer, manure, … Carbon dioxide (CO2): fire clearing of rainforests etc. Environment: Climate change (1) <

  8. Interdisciplinary Study NL: Worldwide Reduction (definition see paper) of consumption of animal products saves 20 000 000 000 000 US$ (=50%) of climate stabilisation costs (Aim: GHG concentration levels 2050 same as today) - enough to build 130 million one-family houses at the cost of US$ 150 000 each - new houses for whole Europe! Environment: Climate change (2) Reasons: 1. Saving of the CO2, N2O and CH4-emissions from livestock, 2. Vastly reduced land consumption, partly regrowing forests, bushes => huge CO2-sink due to regrowing forests => climate protection “almost for free”! Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16573-eating-less-meat-could-cut-climate-costs.html <

  9. Interdisciplinary Study NL: Worldwide Reduction (definition see paper) of consumption of animal products saves 32 000 000 000 000 US$ (=80%) of climate stabilisation costs (Aim: GHG concentration levels 2050 same as today) - enough to build > 200 million one-family houses at the cost of US$ 150 000 each - new houses for whole Europe, Russia, Australia, Canada! Environment: Climate change (2) Reasons: 1. Saving of the CO2, N2O and CH4-emissions from livestock, 2. Vastly reduced land consumption, partly regrowing forests, bushes => huge CO2-sink due to regrowing forests => climate protection “almost for free”! Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16573-eating-less-meat-could-cut-climate-costs.html <

  10. Environment: Rainforest destruction • Fire clearance of rainforests • Pastures for cattle • Feed monocultures (85% of global soy harvest as animal feed) •  CO2-emissions due to fire clearances •  or later: agricultural areas prevent that woods can function as CO2-sink (CO2-“sponge”)

  11. Environment: Excrements • Manure – water pollution worldwide Enormous amounts, more than humans produce - no wonder as farm animal population > 25 billion (> 3 times number of humans) and “production” of 65 billion farm animals per year.

  12. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? Warum kommen Studien zur Auswirkung von Tierhaltung / Fleischkonsum aufs Weltklima auf so dramatisch unterschiedliche Ergebnisse? Worldwatch 51%, FAO 18%, einige behaupten < 5%, z.B. für die USA die U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2008) (U.S. EPA. 2008. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006. U.S. EPA, Washington, DC. )

  13. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? 1. Die Methoden (LCA, ökolog. Fußabdruck, ...) LCA “blind” für Flächenverbrauch, misst nur THG-Emissionen Footprint misst alles in Flächen (gha): Flächen die wir direkt brauchen, und auch Flächen (Wald), die nötig wären/sind, um z.B. unsere THG-Emissionen wieder zu binden und aus der Atmosphäre zu bringen. Tierhaltung hier also durch zwei Faktoren: THG-Emissionen und direkte Flächen (Tierhaltung 80% der landwirtsch. Flächen weltweit) “missed carbon sink” durch Flächenverbrauch im Footprint de facto drinnen, in LCAs (noch?) gar nicht

  14. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? Interdisziplinäre Studie NL: Weltweiter Verzicht auf Tierhaltung spart 32.000.000.000.000 US$ (=80%) an Klimastabilisierungskosten (Ziel: Treibhausgaskonzentration 2050 in etwa so wie heute). Das entspricht > 200 Millionen Einfamilienhäusern zu je 150.000 US$!! Neue Häuser für ganz Europa, Russland, Australien, Kanada! Gründe: 1. Wegfall der CO2, N2O und CH4-Emissionen aus Tierhaltung, 2. weitaus geringerer Flächenbedarf, z.T. Wiederbewaldung => riesige CO2-Senke durch nachwachsende Wälder => Klimaschutz fast zum Nulltarif! Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16573-eating-less-meat-could-cut-climate-costs.html <

  15. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? 2. Überzählige oder fehlende Faktoren in der Bilanz Z.B. Worldwatch rechnet Atmung der Tiere mit (CO2 entsteht), aber nicht CO2-Aufnahme durch die Futtermittel-Pflanzen: Beides bildet aber einen kurzlebigen Kreislauf, ein Nullsummenspiel, entweder ich zähl beides, oder lass es (als Nullsumme) gleich weg aus der Bilanz. Nur eines in die Bilanz aufzunehmen ist falsch. Österreichs Landwirtschaft lässt gern die importierten Futtermittel aus der Bilanz raus.

  16. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? 3. Landänderungen (v.a. Regenwaldbrandrodung/-abholzung) – tendenziöse Zuordnung zu Ursachen Ziel: Fleisch kein Klimakiller: „Ursache Landspekulationen o.ä., spätere Nutzung für Futtermittel oder Rinderweiden hat mit Emissionen aus Zerstörung nichts mehr zu tun“ Ziel: Fleisch ist Klimakiller: „Ursache natürlich Futtermittel und Weideland, auch Landspekulation wäre ohne spätere Nutzung für diese Zwecke nicht möglich“. Spielen kann man auch mit weiteren Schräubchen wie dem Zeitraum, über den man diese Emissionen den Produkten anlastet.

  17. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? 4. GWP-Zeithorizonte Global Warming Potential 20 Jahre 100 Jahre Methan = 72 CO2-Eq. Methan = 25 CO2-Eq. <

  18. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? 5. “Tierhaltungssysteme der Zukunft effizienter!“ ?? Oft wird argumentiert, je produktiver/hochgezüchteter ein Tier, umso weniger THG-Emissionen pro Kilogramm Fleisch/Milch/Eier. Achtung, viele andere Faktoren: Welternährung („effiziente Nutztiere“ sind Nahrungskonkurrenten, keine Weidetiere), Verknappung der Ackerflächen, Biodiversität, Bodenerosion, Wasserverschmutzung, Tierschutz ...  kein gangbarer Weg

  19. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? Hauptschraube (deckt 1.-5. ab): Politische Absicht! Wie groß ist der Klimaeffekt der Tierhaltung weltweit wirklich? Diskussion anhand der FAO- und Worldwatch-Zahlen und der 5 Punkte und grobe Einschätzung. 1. FAO lässt methodisch „missed carbon sink“ aus: sehr relevant. 2. Bilanzfaktoren bei FAO weitgehend korrekt, Worldwatch-Fehler 3. Zuordnung Landänderung: FAO bemüht um Objektivität 4. Evtl. GWP 50 Jahre, FAO dann moderat zu niedrig (Methan) 5. Theoret. FAO zu hoch, aber industrielle Tierhaltung Sackgasse

  20. # Tierhaltung: 51%, 18%, <5% - was stimmt ?? In vielen Bereichen Spielräume, kein richtig und falsch Aber ich schätze es auf:  20 – 30 % des globalen Klimaeffekts

  21. Planet Earth2013

  22. World hunger • Of 7 billion humans • 800 000 000 suffer from hunger, among these are 200 000 000 children. • 25 000 people die from malnutrition each day. • FAO-Report “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” 2008: • 754 million tons of cereals are fed to farm animals each year (with a yield of 1:7 for calorie-conversion this is a loss of calculated 650 million tons of cereals for human nutrition) – soy, etc. not yet included • Compare: Due to biofuel production (2nd biggest problem for loss of calories at croplands) we lose “only” 100 million tons of cereals for human nutrition

  23. World hunger FAO-Report “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” 2008: 754 million tons of cereals are fed to farm animals each year (with a yield of 1:7 for calorie-conversion this is a loss of calculated 650 million tons of cereals for human nutrition). Soy, etc. not yet included. Compare: Due to biofuel production (2nd biggest problem for loss of calories at croplands) we lose “only” 100 million tons of cereals for human nutrition.

  24. World hunger / environment 25 billion alive at a moment 65 billion slaughtered per year • The biomass of all farm animals exceeds the mass of all wild vertebrates on land by a factor of 20!! Source: V. Smil The Earth‘s Biosphere

  25. World hunger / environment Food waste during the production of animal based food • Animal derived foods: Food chain with 3 (plant  animal  human) instead of 2 elements (plant  human) => inefficient • > 10 plant calories for 1 calorie of beef • > 5 plant calories für 1 calorie of pork • > 3 plant calories für 1 calorie of poultry ! ! 1/3 of world harvest (soy + cereals) converted to excrements (with an upward tendency)

  26. World hunger / environment Meat = lengthened food chain => requires 5-15 times more areas, plants, water etc. to feed humans (Exception: Pure pasture management of ruminants, which on the other hand requires huge areas, causes much of the methane-issues, furthermore only small share of global production).

  27. World hunger / environment Short food chain plant  human could release enormous areas globally: Possibilities to use these: • Regrowing vegetation could absorb huge amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere (see slides earlier, interdisciplinary study NL): Massive contribution to climate stabilisation • Growing of maize for renewable plastic alternatives without causing a global food crisis • Photovoltaics for energy production, maybe even biofuels would make sense again • ...

  28. World hunger / environment Livestock and the cultivation of feed require: = almost 80% of total global agricultural land (cropland plus pastures) = 30% of total land surface of the earth = 2/3 OF ALL areas used by humans globally Source: FAO, 2006; Goodland R. et al,1999

  29. # Fazit… 7 Milliarden Menschen essen 65 Milliarden Tiere pro Jahr über 65 Milliarden Nutztiere verbrauchen 40% der Getreide- und 85% der Sojaernte weltweit, konvertieren 1/3 der Welternte in Exkremente dafür werden 80% der landwirtschaftlichen Flächen verwendet diese Ernten und das Land könnten weit effizienter für direkte menschliche Ernährung verwendet werden Menschen in den Industrieländern sind übergewichtig und sterben an Zivilisationskrankheiten als Folge dieser Überernährung

  30. The future?

  31. Environment • Average water consumption / kg .… • potatoes 500 litres • wheat 900 litres • soybeans 2 000 litres • beef 15 000 litres Please interpret these numbers with caution, more details (green, blue, grey water-footprint) beyond the scope of this presentation

  32. Health: What means ... • vegetarian: No meat, no fish, but milk and dairy products and eggs. • vegan: no animal products at all, i.e. no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, ... • further forms like raw food, macrobiotics, frutarism, ...

  33. Maybe at least meat is healthy ... ? Vegan instead of ears!

  34. Maybe at least meat is healthy ... ?

  35. Health – take care of Of what should we especially take care of? Especially for vegan/vegetarian diets: • Mix Proteins: Cereals (short of lysine or threonine but good source for methionine), nuts/oat flakes/cacao (much tryptophan) and legumes (rich in all but methionine) • Minerals: Calcium, iron, zinc • Vitamins: Take care of Vit. B12, possibly also D (especially in winter) • Omega-3-fatty acids: Linseed oil (do not heat!) as a good source. Alternative: EPA- und DHA-containing algae supplement (food supplement) => Interesting values for blood-tests especially for vegans/vegetarians: Vit. B12 + D + folic acid, calcium, iron+ferritin, zinc, homocysteine, HDL:LDL-quotient

  36. Health – veggies celebrate! And these are especially important advantages again especially for vegan diets: • De facto all worldwide pandemics of the last decades (bird flu, swine flu, EHEC, BSE, ...) and of the future (...,...,...) from intensive livestock farms:Billions of animals packed together, bad housing, bad immune system, ... => without livestock avoidable! • Antibiotic resistance from intensive livestock farms (“factory farming”) would be avoidable • Bacterial food poisoning (salmonellosis, E Coli, etc.) mostly a problem with animal products => avoidable • You get far less of these “evils”: Cholesterol, arachidonic acid, purines, saturated fatty acids, also free radicals/ox.stress, ... • You get more of these “good things”: Vitamin C+E, fibres (whole meal) and phytochemiclas (fruits!, vegetables!, antioxidative effects etc.)

  37. Health – factory farming Industrial livestock farms can harm humans, think of antibiotic resistance, but also this: and swine flu ? and .... ?

  38. Health – “meat sicknesses” (1) The (high) consumption of animal products is linked to the following sicknesses: Cardiovascular diseases (Oxford Studies, 7th Day Adventists study, studies of the ADA, Uni Gießen, Bundesgesundheitsamt Berlin, u.v.m.) Colon Cancer (American Cancer Society, Univ. Oxford, Univ. San Diego, Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg), breast cancer (Harvard Medical School), prostate cancer (PCRM, Washington DC), gastric cancers (EPIC)

  39. Health – “meat sicknesses” (2) Osteoporosis (!) (UC San Francisco, USDA-ARS) Multiple sclerosis (CHRU Grenoble) Gallstones Type 2 diabetes Obesity Allergies Rheumatoid Arthritis (UUH Oslo) Links to the papers www.futurefood.org For the world  Health

  40. Ergebnisse der Nationalen Ernährungsumfrage: Zu wenig Gemüse Zu wenig Obst Zu wenig Ballaststoffe Zu wenig Flüssigkeit Zu viel Süßes / Alkohol Zu viel Fleisch # Gesundheit: in Belgien Aktueller EntwurfGesundheitsvorsorge-Plan Mehr Gemüse! Mehr Obst! Mehr Ballaststoffe! Mehr trinken! Weniger Süßes / Alkohol ??

  41. Health – Veggie also for Kids, ..?! Vegetarian diets with milk (and eggs) are widely accepted: They reduce many – but do not avoid all – problems caused by animal products. A deliberate vegan diet avoids all disadvantages of animal products and avoids the disadvantages of a non-deliberate vegan diet  optimum For infants: • ADA (the world biggest dietetic association) and others recommend a vegan diet for all stages of the life cycle, others are more sceptical. • Vegan mothers have to be well nourished and should breast feed the child For small and big children: Pay attention to slide => Health – take care of! ... and then make use of the benefits!

  42. Animal welfare Most mother sows in Europe, China or the US live like that … and almost all fattening pigs like this

  43. Animal welfare – “factory farming life” Before birth: Animals bred with extreme characteristics detrimental to the health for highest egg-, milk- or meat-production. Immediately after birth: Male laying-hen chicken gassed or killed otherwise Dairy calves separated from mothers shortly after birth Mutilations shortly after birth beak trimming, dehorning, clipping of teeth and tails castration  globally mainly performed without anaesthesia

  44. Animal welfare – “factory farming life” Life Tiny cages (laying hens, rabbits, quails, mother sows, …) Tethered: Many dairy cows Kept densely packed: Fattening pigs, broiler chickens, turkeys, rabbits, ducks, … Often strong stench (smell) Individual : Force feeding (e.g. goose- or duck fatty liver) with 1/5 of the live weight of the ducks and geese per day. Injured animals left to die from injuries or thirst in cages or outside boxes … Broiler chicken “runts” die of thirst Technical failures / fire lead to mass deaths, usually no evacuation possible

  45. Animal welfare – “factory farming life” And the end? Transport to slaughterhouses, sometimes half way around the world, (e.g. sheep or cattle from Australia to Egypt) Slaughterhouse: Often stunning does not work, and billions are also butchered kosher/halal without intended stunning Individuals (pigs, poultry) live until they reach the tanks where they are scalded Some species are boiled alive (such as lobsters) Undercover investigations also show abuse and sadism carried out on animals Compare with golden rule of ethics: „One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated“.

  46. Animal welfare – “factory farming life” Films / Documentaries Documentaries 10-25 minutes: Meet your Meat (USA, but in many aspects similar conditions in Europe, too): http://www.meat.org/ Intensive pig farming, focus on Austria (German): http://www.tierrechtsfilme.at/langfilme/schweinehaltung_lucie/lucie.htm Force feeding of ducks and geese (forbidden in many countries, but imported almost everywhere): http://www.vierpfoten.org/website/output.php?id=1177&idcontent=1909&language=2

  47. Animal welfare – “factory farming life” Films / Documentaries 95 minutes documentary: „Earthlings“: http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings Awarded comic (short) – The Meatrix: http://www.themeatrix.com/

  48. Animal welfare – “impressions”

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