Feeding animals
Feeding animals to feed men is an expensive way to produce food. In the world about ¼ of arable lands are employed to produce fodder, soy and cereals and ¼ of these cereals are employed in industrial breeding farms to feed livestock: it’s an expensive energy cost which adds to the economic cost, all the more so since the same lands could be used to produce food that the world’s undernourished population needs. It’s been estimated, infact, that if all cereals produced evey year were shared among the world population, each person would receive much more food than is necessary for survival: reality, though, is very different, infact, on one side food consumption in developed countries is sometimes excessive, and on the other side, 2 billion people suffer chronic denutrition and 18 million people die for famine-related diseases. We feed and raise animals to eat them (mainly cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry) as a balanced diet requires a certain amount of proteins and meat is one of its main sources together with other livestock products as milk, cheese and eggs. In developed countries is consumed a lot of meat both because population incomes have increased and allow to buy meat in great quantities and because meat costs less: as it’s produced partially or totally with an industrial system this type of food has become a good available for many and isn’t anymore a luxury good. In recent years, meat consumption is on the rise also in developing countries: in China, for example, more and more people start to earn enough to buy meat. This means that over time, as consumption increases, more and more lands and water will be required to enhance animal production.
Special reports
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2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
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31 August 2013
The Red List of Italian animals
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5 January 2005
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On the 26th December 2004, an earthquake that took place 300 km west of the Island of Sumatra...
10 February 2014
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11 June 2012
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16 April 2012
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The UNEP Convention on Migratory Species and The Agreement on the Conservation of...
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2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
31 August 2013
The Red List of Italian animals
Italy has a rich biodiversity due to its distinctive geographic...
-
5 January 2005
Tsunami in the Maldives
On the 26th December 2004, an earthquake that took place 300 km west of the Island of Sumatra...
-
10 February 2014
Coral turns pale!
The coral reef is one of the ecosystems with the richest biodiversity...
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2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
-
31 August 2013
The Red List of Italian animals
Italy has a rich biodiversity due to its distinctive geographic...
From the Multimedia section
Facts
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Ant and fish activities
A small insect like the antilion, digs funnel shaped traps in the sandy ground when it is in the larva…
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11 May 2011
Ant and fish activities
A small insect like the antilion, digs funnel shaped traps in the sandy ground when it is in the larva…