How much meat should be a part of our diet? Let’s look at it just from the idea of ‘Sustained Prosperity’ as we grow towards a world population of 9 billion people.  Like it or not, meat is a symbol of prosperity, and the desire to cook with meat is not likely to change anytime soon.  This, probably much to the chagrin of some chefs, dieticians, vegetarians, and environmentalists who would argue on health, ethical or land conservation grounds.

According to the UN FAO, this year the world will grow 2.13 billion tonnes of food,  but we will only consume 1.01 billion tonnes.  100 billion will go to biofuels  and a whopping  760 billion tonnes will go to animal feed!  With one fifth of the worlds land going to grazing, twice that of crop production, keeping up with demands for meat production will become unsustainable.

How can we achieve a scenario that will sustain the concept of prosperity while supporting sustainability? According to the International Development Research Center, habits will have to be changed by education of healthy alternatives and the social consequences of too much meat production and consumption, as well as through market pricing, such as  the elimination of meat subsidies. Will our future include more or less meat, and what should we be doing about it?

We want to hear your thoughts!

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