A remarkably inefficient system
Irish farmers feed enough food calories for 127 million people to their animals and import enough feed annually to provide enough food for 15 million people. Meanwhile, the human population of Ireland is currently only 4.83 million!
This is because in Ireland, the meat, dairy and egg industries convert 47 million tonnes of feed and fodder to only 2 million tonnes of meat, dairy and eggs. (Animal agriculture is remarkably inefficient worldwide.)
Ireland’s farm animals produce 50 times more waste than the human population. The Irish agricultural land area used for growing crops has dropped by 75% since 1851. Historically Ireland’s farmers succeeded in growing grains, legumes and vegetables on a large scale, as our land and climate is suitable for a highly-productive plant based agricultural system. We can grow plant-based food here which can produce 10-20 times more protein per hectare than beef!
Animal agriculture currently occupies over half of the world’s arable land resources, uses the majority of freshwater stores, and drives greenhouse gas emissions. It causes air and water pollution, land degradation, deforestation and is pushing countless species to the brink of extinction.
The answer is so simple. Why are we so blind that we cannot see?
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Tags: #environment, #Ireland, #AnimalAgriculture, #vegan