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Recommended: Solving world hunger
Our current system of food production has created an imbalance in which we have enough food to the feed the world, yet there is a large portion of the world’s population that continues to suffer from hunger. Global food insecurities and the unequal distribution of food can be traced back to the fact that we waste our resources. Industrially raising livestock for the consumption of beef is an inefficient use of resources; thus, because it requires an inordinate amount of resources to raise livestock, our decision to raise and consume livestock is immoral. Put simply, even though we may be able to provide for ourselves and ensure that we do not go hungry, it is unethical to waste resources when those in low-income or developing countries can …show more content…
The global hunger problem is a large problem, “Right now about one billion people suffer from chronic hunger…” (Foley 62). Those suffering from chronic hunger could care less if the calories they receive are in the form of grain or meat. They would be satisfied either way because food, in its most basic form, is supposed to provide us with nutrients. Beef, on the other hand, is a luxury. Highly-developed countries like the United States do not view beef as a luxury because they are able to afford beef and the higher costs associated with it. However, it is immoral to consume beef when your choice to not consume it could lead to the increase of the food supply. Based on an understanding of the effects, the simple act of choosing what to eat becomes a moral decision. What we choose to eat can have far-reaching effects. In this case, the production and consumption of a particular food (industrially produced beef) can lead to the wasting of resources and a shrinking of the food …show more content…
By shifting the focus from beef and livestock production to agriculture that focuses on the production of grains, we could increase the amount of calories in our food supply by three quadrillion additional calories (Foley 65). These calories would go a long way to erasing the global hunger problem. In addition, this potential solution is underscored by the fact that humans do not need to eat meat to survive, “We can survive without it; millions of vegetarians choose to do so...” (Specter). Again, meat is a luxury, a luxury that is expensive in terms of production price and negative consequences. By eliminating an inefficient step that reduces some of the food supply, we should have an ample supply of food to potentially feed the
Rossett, Peter. “Preventing hunger: change economic policy.” Nature 479.7374 (2011): 472+. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
...ction thus elimination world hunger. Argued by the author of Life on Earth is Getting Better, Not Worse, Julian Simon claims the per person food production in the world in up over the last 30 years because of advances in technology. It is thought that as long as technology can keep up with the world’s population there will be no fear of over-population. It is thought that the long-run overview of the world is one of a more pleasurable, material life rather than one increased with scarcity (Simon, 415).
The human race was once completely dependent on hunting and gathering as its source for caloric intake. Today, this is not the case. We live in a society that is continuously becoming more global, and the large global population is being supported by modern food production. But what factors caused this switch to take place from hunting and gathering to food production? The main contributors over the last several thousand years include: the increase in calorie yield, the stability, and the benefits derived from domesticate-able animals that can all be attributed to food production.
As a result, individuals in America have extra income to spend on desired items and help the economy to maintain its economic advantage. An increase in food prices would affect everyone’s level of disposable income and would reduce consumer spending in other industries. Therefore, decreased consumer spending would cause companies to downsize and unemployment would increase. After evaluating the consequences of these regulations it is evident that the success of our economy in America is far more important than ethical treatment of meat.
However, Hare’s pro demi-vegetarian argument provides an unequivocal view on the discussion of economic, ecological, and moral topics. While the look into market trends of meat is lacking Hare discusses a reality of the meat industry and its food competitors, that being the cost behind animal rearing and husbandry. While the high costs incurred does not entail permissibility the surrounding circumstances do. If fodder is grown on terrain only suitable for a pasture, then as a result husbandry and animal domestication (and later slaughter) is permissible because the economic consequences of harvesting crops would greatly outweigh the benefits and as such the community improves more from the meat/animal byproduct industry. This economical and ecological argument is one of several that Hare provides in his article Why I Am Only A Demi-Vegetarian, in addition to the market term being coined and reasoning behind
By eating grains directly from the fields and eating them before they are shipped to animal farms to be used as feed, world famine would be reduced greatly. Businesses are using grains as animal feed and because of this we are wasting grain that could be used instead to feed many people. This could be shipped to other countries and given to them as food, especially if they have none. If the animals on farms are no longer there because everyone has chosen to become vegetarian, or at least a majority of them are gone, their feed could be distributed to other countries and there would be more fields available if the animals are not there, and more plants could be planted. The US presumably produces enough meat to feed people in famine areas, but getting it to them is a huge problem. The meat must maintain a safe temperature all throughout travel, and stay that way until cooked for consumption. If grain was distributed instead, the traveling temperatures
With the ever-growing population of animal lovers on earth, a more viable, humane solution for food consumption needs to be made, but why make a solution when there has already been one? Meat consumption has been proven time and time again to be unnecessary, but that doesn’t stop the average person from eating a double cheese burger with bacon. Unfortunately, many people are apathetic to what happens to animals in farm factories and continue to support them by buying their products, however, consumers should consider switching to a vegetarian diet because it’s more humane to animals, less farm factories being built can save the planet from deforestation, and with a proper balanced vegetarian diet anyone can maintain a healthy life without the
Is it morally permissible to eat meat? Much argument has arisen in the current society on whether it is morally permissible to eat meat. Many virtuous fruitarians and the other meat eating societies have been arguing about the ethics of eating meat (which results from killing animals). The important part of the dispute is based on the animal welfare, nutrition value from meat, convenience, and affordability of meat-based foods compared to vegetable-based foods and other factors like environmental moral code, culture, and religion. All these points are important in justifying whether humans are morally right when choosing to eat meat. This paper will argue that it is morally impermissible to eat meat by focusing on the treatment of animals, the environmental argument, animal rights, pain, morals, religion, and the law.
We live in an age in which we have come to expect everything to be instantaneously at our fingertips. We live in an age of instant coffee, instant tea, and even instant mashed potatoes. We can walk down the street at 5 in the morning and get a gallon of milk or even a weeks worth of groceries at our discretion. Even though it is great that food is now readily available at all times, this convenience comes at a price, for both the producer and the consumer. Farmers are cheated out of money and are slaves to big business, workers and animals are mistreated. And, because food now comes at a low cost, it has become cheaper quality and therefore potentially dangerous to the consumer’s health. These problems surrounding the ethics and the procedures of the instantaneous food system are left unchanged due to the obliviousness of the consumers and the dollar signs in the eyes of the government and big business. The problem begins with the mistreatment and exploitation of farmers.
In less than 30 years when the world population reaches its carrying capacity how will we feed everyone? Unless we start planting crops on the moon or go all out for cannibalism, we’ll need some new technology to feed the world. A large portion of humans’ diet is meat. In vitro meat or artificial meat offers a way to undo our food and environmental setbacks caused by traditional meat. Someday it will be in stores and if it’s a hit it might be the solution to solving how to feed people. Meat cultivation uses more land, water and resources to house, transport, and slaughter animals and their grain and food than it would cost to fund in vitro meat studies.
There are many problems confronting our global food system. One of them is that the food is not distributed fairly or evenly in the world. According “The Last Bite Is The World’s Food System Collapsing?” by Bee Wilson, “we are producing more food—more grain, more meat, more fruits and vegetables—than ever before, more cheaply than ever before” (Wilson, 2008). Here we are, producing more and more affordable food. However, the World Bank recently announced that thirty-three countries are still famine and hungers as the food price are climbing. Wilson stated, “despite the current food crisis, last year’s worldwide grain harvest was colossal, five per cent above the previous year’s” (Wilson, 2008). This statement support that the food is not distributed evenly. The food production actually increased but people are still in hunger and malnutrition. If the food were evenly distributed, this famine problem would’ve been not a problem. Wilson added, “the food economy has created a system in w...
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
Every person has the ability to make their own choice of whether to eat meat or not. However, eating meat is directly tied to negative health effects, pollution leading to a depletion of ozone, and the depletion of hundreds of thousands of acres of land “wasted” on animal production when they could be used to solve the hunger crisis or lower emission levels. What humans eat is no longer a matter of choice; it has become a matter of life and death. Literally, the future of the whole planet rests on the decision of whether or not to eat meat. If humans chose to eat less meat the world that wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences (outlined above.) Vegetarianism is one possibility, as is Veganism; however the world would be
However, many people still refuse to be a vegetarian for different reasons. Some people prefer the taste of meat, and some people believe that they are born to eat meat. Despite that about 2 billion people in the world live basically on the meat diet, around 4 billion people live mainly on a plant-based diet because of food shortage(Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). As everyone knows, the number of population is growing. For example, the total U.S. population doubled in the previous 60 years, and it may double again in the next 70 years (Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). People won’t have enough meat to eat in the future. On the other hand, a well-planned vegetarian diet offers many health benefits. Therefore, people should become vegetarian because it benefits to huma...
This can not be done with the same ineffective tactics that were used in the past, so that’s why people are developing new ways to eradicate hunger. When the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) was held, they discussed the nutrition component and how important it is that it is not overlooked. By paying attention to nutrient-dense foods and recognizing the different entry points for improving nutrition, the ICN2 argues the world will be one step closer in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal. Some of the entry points they discussed include “the promotion of crop diversification…, strengthening local food production and processing, and exploring regulatory or voluntary instruments for promoting healthy diets” (goals 2). Promoting the nutrition aspect of the goal can help achieve it because nutrients are what keep people alive and