The video discusses the impact of meat consumption on the environment and animal welfare. It highlights that humans keep about 23 billion chickens, 1.5 billion cattle, and roughly 1 billion pigs and sheep, transforming the Earth into a giant feeding ground. 83% of its farmland is used for livestock, and meat and dairy production account for 27% of global freshwater consumption. However, meat production is resource-intensive, with only a fraction of the nutrients from fodder crops ending up in the meat we buy. For example, cows convert only about 4% of the proteins and 3% of the calories of the plants we feed to them into beef. To create one kilogram of steak, a cow needs to eat up to 25 kilos of grain and uses up to 15,000 liters of water. Despite this, meat production accounts for about 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans. The video also discusses the treatment of animals in factory farms, where they are often kept in cramped conditions and subjected to harsh conditions. It suggests that while organic meat might be less cruel, it still requires more resources than conventional meat production. The video concludes with a call to action to opt out of meat more often, buy from trusted producers, and make an impact on the environment by choosing chicken and pig over lamb and beef.
1. Humans love meat, with steak, fried chicken, bacon, pork belly, and sausages being considered the best.
2. Eating meat has become so trivial that many people don't consider something a proper meal if there's no animal involved.
3. Meat was a luxury product only a few decades ago, but today, you can get a cheeseburger for a dollar.
4. Paradoxically, meat is pretty much the most inefficient way of feeding humans.
5. If we look at it on a global scale, our meaty diet is literally eating up the planet.
6. We currently keep about 23 billion chickens, 1.5 billion cattle, and roughly 1 billion pigs and sheep.
7. 83% of its farmland is used for livestock, including as pasture and to farm fodder crops like corn and soy.
8. This accounts for 26% of earth's total land area.
9. If we include the water we need for these plants, meat and dairy production accounts for 27% of global freshwater consumption.
10. Meat production is like a black hole for resources, as most of the nutrients from fodder crops end up in the meat we buy.
11. For example, cows convert only about 4% of the proteins and 3% of the calories of the plants we feed to them into beef.
12. More than 97% of the calories are lost to us.
13. To create one kilogram of steak, a cow needs to eat up to 25 kilos of grain and uses up to 15,000 liters of water.
14. Animal products make up 18% of the calories humans eat.
15. According to projections, we could nourish an additional 3.5 billion people if we just ate the stuff we feed to animals.
16. About 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are created by the meat industry.
17. Globally, we kill about 200 million animals every day, about 74 billion a year.
18. This means that every one and a half years, we kill more animals than people have lived in the entire 200,000 year history of humanity.
19. A lot of our meat comes from factory farms, huge industrial systems that house thousands of animals.
20. Most pigs are raised in gigantic windowless sheds, and never get to see the sun.
21. Dairy cows are forced to breed continually to ensure their milk supply, but are separated from their calves hours after birth.
22. To fatten up beef cattle for slaughter, they're put in feedlots: confined pens where they can't roam and put on weight more quickly.
23. The majority of antibiotics we use are for livestock: up to 80% in the US.
24. Organic farming regulations are designed to grant animals a minimum of comfort, but "organic" is an elastic term.
25. According to EU regulations, an organic hen still might share one square meter of space with five others.
26. While organic meat might be less cruel, it needs even more resources than conventional meat production.
27. The truth is, if suffering were a resource, we would create billions of tons of it per year.
28. The way we treat animals will probably be one of the things future generations will look down on in disgust.
29. Steak is amazing; burgers are the best food; chicken wings taste great.
30. Meat satisfies something buried deep in our lizard brain.
31. We hardly ever see how our meat is made: we just eat it and love it.
32. Eating meat doesn't make you a bad person.
33. Not eating meat doesn't make you a good one.
34. Life is complicated and so is the world we've created.
35. An average American throws out nearly a pound of food per day, a lot of which is meat.
36. In the future, science could get us clean meat.
37. Various startups have successfully grown meat in labs, and are working on doing so on a commercial scale.
38. Kurzgesagt teamed up with Skillshare