The Supreme Master Ching Hai
The United Kingdom’s International Development Committee’s “Global Food Security,” released in June 2013 examines the long-term trend affecting food supply and demand and finds that meat consumption is one of the main factors.
Almost one billion people in the world do not have enough food and nearly 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes every day. In October 2012, the United Nations warned of an impending global food crisis in 2013 as grain reserves worldwide are at critically low levels and climate change is making weather more unreliable. Moreover, while population increases the need for food, important crops including rice, wheat, maize, and soybeans have yielded slower growth rates globally in both developed and developing countries. Less produce leads to higher prices making obtaining food even more difficult which can result in social unrest.
The UK’s report reveals how meat consumption undermines this fragile state of the world’s food security. It states global meat production is expected to double by 2050 which means more crops will be used to feed livestock instead of humans. The UK Food Group suggests this causes a calorie deficit equivalent to the calories that are needed to feed 3.5 billion people. The report also says that “eating animal products such as cheese poses the same problems.” Clearly, a diet free of any animal sources saves lives.
Because of the increasing demand for livestock, food prices also rise significantly, according to Chief Economist Dr. Stefan Dercon of the UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) quoted in the report. In addition, Dr. Tim Wheeler, DFID’s Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser was quoted regarding the meat industry: “It is a crazy use of resources, it is crazy economics and it is crazy public health.”
Our sincere appreciation, United Kingdom International Development Committee, for this report discussing the details of how what we eat affects the food security of our planet. May all realize that by choosing the animal-free vegan diet we are helping to ensure that everyone on Earth has plenty to eat for healthy, happy, peaceful lives.
