By 2050, we all will depend on vegetarian diets. In other words, we’ll experience the future of vegetarian. Not by choice, but by necessity- there won’t be enough food to satisfy the hunger of the growing terrestrial population. We will have to depend on Fruit and vegetables, instead of steaks and ham. This will be the diet of our children and grandchildren if we want to nourish the entire planet.
The prophecy comes from illustrious scientists. However, they make an appeal, more than a prognosis. Will we,’ the’ human beings listen to them? Alternatively, in 2050 will the war of food break out, or somewhat of water, without which there would be practically nothing edible to bring to the table?
'Global food reserves are constantly decreasing, while the world's population continues to grow', says the study of Professor Malik Falkenmark and his colleagues, ( Stockholm International Water Institute).
If humanity continues to feed in the same way as today and especially following the current diet, by 2050 catastrophic food shortages are expected. Catastrophic is something much worse than the current reality- today. According to figures from the UN, 900 million people sleep hungry every night. Also, 2,000 million are suffering from severe malnutrition.
However, in the next four decades, the population of the Earth will go from 7,000 million to 9,000 million. It will be a net increase of 2,000 million. This will make the current situation even more dramatic. What to do then?
The response of academics in Stockholm is drastic. The world must change diet. We must become vegetarians. Currently, we obtain 20% of the proteins needed for our requirements of animal products, whether meat or dairy. However, by 2050, this percentage should fall to 5%, or perhaps less. If we want to avoid conflicts caused by food shortages, let’s prepare our vegan food list today.
In the Essay on the Principle of Population, published in 1798, Englishman Thomas Malthus made an alarming statement. The human population grew in geometric progression. On the other hand, food production developed in arithmetic progression. In the long run, the balance of this mismatch would be hunger and increased mortality. This is because of adjusting the size of the population to the food supply. In 1800, there were 1 billion humans.
Today we are 6.6 billion. Agricultural production overcame the population explosion.
At ‘The End of Food’, Houghton Mifflin, Roberts predicts that, by 2050, demand for food will outstrip supply. A first warning would be the current food price explosion.
In this case, changing the population's eating habits can be fundamental. Moreover, when it comes to protecting the environment and a healthy lifestyle, the vegan diet seems the most beneficial option, right? Wrong, says the study of six American universities.
The origin of the problem is water. It is already missing in many regions. It is a more precious commodity than oil for the survival of our species. However, in forty years, it will surely not be enough to produce the necessary food for 9,000 million people.
The food obtained from animals, in fact, consumes between five and ten times more water than necessary when compared to a vegetarian diet. Changing diets, therefore, would allow using less water for agriculture. Currently, a third of the arable land is there for livestock feed.
If we eat fewer animals, we would save water and have more land available for other agricultural uses.
The report of the Stockholm Institute was made public on the eve of the World Water Conference. The event took place in Stockholm. There was a presence of 2,500 politicians, representatives of the UN, NGOs, and researchers from 120 countries. Many proposals were there. However, perhaps the most revolutionary and simple at the same time was, giving up meat to have enough fruits and vegetables for everyone.
Researchers from six American universities, including Cornell University, analyzed vegetarian, vegan and omnivorous diets. They did it using a biophysical simulation model. The intention was to establish which diet is more sustainable. It should also have more prospects to supply the food demand of the American population using agricultural land.
According to the study, diets with small amounts of meat and dairy products can feed more people, making them more environmentally sustainable.
The reason is straightforward- the vegan diet may not take full advantage of the available resources.
Chill! You don’t have to throw your chickpea burger in the trash or think you should not rethink your diet. You need to reduce the amount, that’s it! The widespread and regular consumption of meat also leads to a shortage of food in the future. According to a study, vegetarian diets are more sustainable. You can also follow Lacto-vegetarianism, which includes milk derivatives.
For researchers, changing our eating habits will be decisive for future generations to have enough food and adequate nutrition.
The Brazilian Vegetarian Society (SVB) questions the study. It points out that the vegan diet, as research shows, is the one that makes the lowest use of soil (0.13 hectares per person per year). So, as meat consumption grows, the need for land also increases.
AAccording to the association, "the only analysis in which the vegan diet was not among those with the highest carrying capacity was a fictitious scenario that considered that vast tract of land used for pasture could not be grown with vegetable products. The vegan diet was also ahead in this indicator ".
SVB also says, "the conclusion that diets based on reduced consumption of animal products are generally more sustainable is, more than anything else, a logical conclusion of basic thermodynamic principles. It is enough to misunderstand them that besides, most of the energy ingested (on average, 90%) does not have the potential to cause an increase in energy consumption. is transformed into the meat (but used for the animal to survive, get around, maintain body temperature).
Creation of animals for consumption thus represents a great waste from the energetic point of view.”
Who has not heard of the ecological pyramids (those that show the number of organisms of each type that an ecosystem can maintain), usually taught in biology classes?
At the base of the pyramids, there are plants, followed by who eat plants, in lesser numbers. Then it shows the secondary consumers (which include animals in the diet) in a lower number, and so on. The more 'high' the position in the pyramid, the smaller the number of individuals the ecosystem can sustain.
The real problem is that only the environmental costs of industrial livestock meat. It has a huge carbon footprint because it is feeding the animals wrongly.
Above all, corn is used, which directly contributes to global warming. All its fertilizers are made from oil and gas. However, corn is not the natural food of ruminants, but the grass is!
The moment you put the cattle back to eat grass, you recover a biological system that works perfectly. It absorbs carbon instead of releasing it. The problem is not ruminants, but the human being's dependence on fossil fuels.
This has serious consequences on the environment, from direct contamination of soil and water to put at risk species as fundamental to agriculture as pollinators. Of course, Ferreirim prefers to focus on food waste. He says, "The FAO itself assumes that the Green Revolution, which was designed to increase food production exponentially, is an exhausted model and has left us with a terrible legacy. This productivity model has led us to produce such a quantity of cereals that in the end, we are throwing the third part, a surplus with which we could feed the population that we will have by 2050.
Significant distant from rural life and more concerned with environmental conservation, our care for animals is increasing. Well, try to make a westerner eat a dog. He won’t!
Our reaction is similar to a proposal for cannibalism. Also, strange animals such as frog, armadillo, rabbit, by choice, are already banned from the menu of many. In general, they are cuddly critters, some in danger of extinction.
Before eating cow or chicken, we don’t even think that they are even unable to defend themselves. However, if we see the real scene of a slaughterhouse, we’ll realize how it seems to see the death in front but unable to give up the desire of living!
Steven Pinker, a Harvard professor, makes a compelling defense that the human tendency toward cruelty and violence is dwindling throughout history. He cites as an example that torturing animals in public was fun of aristocrats. This is something difficult to imagine today!
So, to live sustainably, being human, choosing veggies instead of meat is always a wise decision. Let’s get united and think a little broader! Let’s become vegan-not because of obligation, but for the sake of humanity. Let’s celebrate the World Meat Free day that comes on the 13th of June every year.
