Version française (2014) | Versión en español (2014) | Deutsche Version (2014) | České vydání (2014)
Food is a necessity, a satisfaction and it's very personal, however do you sometimes wonder where the steak, sausage or burger you are eating comes from? Personal satisfaction reflects ethical decisions, and private concerns can be very political in nature. Each of us ought to decide what we want to eat. But responsible consumption is something that an increasing number of people demand. Then again, they need information on which to base their decisions. How can normal consumers understand the global impact caused by their meat consumption? How many people realize that our demand for meat is directly responsible for clearing the Amazon rainforest? Who is aware of the consequences of industrial livestock production for poverty and hunger, displacement and migration, animal welfare, or on climate change and biodiversity?
This publication sheds light on the impacts of meat and dairy production, and aims to catalyse the debate over the need for better, safer and more sustainable food and farming.
Download Graphs as PDF files
- Cover, Pages 10 - 20 (ZIP, 9.23 MB)
- Pages 21 - 33 (ZIP, 9.22 MB)
- Pages 34 - 47 (ZIP, 9.18 MB)
- Pages 48 - 61 (ZIP, 9.53 MB)
All graphs are published under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Product details
Table of contents
2 Imprint
6 Introduction
8 Lessons to learn
10 The rise of the global market
12 Concentration: Economies of scale but less diversity
14 Making products from animals: The slaughter industry
16 Bright pink in the cold cabinet
18 Free trade versus safe food
20 The hidden cost of steak
22 Why farms kill fish: Biodiversity loss on land and in water
24 A species-poor planet
26 Antibiotics: Breeding superbugs
28 When the tank is running dry
30 The grain in the feed trough
32 The emergence of a Latin American soy empire
34 The climate cost of cattle
36 Ranchers in the rainforest
38 The glyphosate in your burger
40 A plethora of poultry: Chickens take the lead
42 Where keeping chickens is women's work
44 Imported chicken wings destroy West African businesses
46 Disquiet in the developed world
48 Half a billion new middle-class consumers from Rio to Shanghai
50 Urban livestock keeping
52 Turning scrub into protein
54 In search of good food
56 Vegetarianism: Many roots, many shoots
58 What to do and how to do it: Individuals and groups
60 A greener policy for Europe
62 Authors and sources for data and graphics
64 Resources
66 About us