What percentage of soy and corn crops are fed to livestock?

Question

I have been having a terrible time trying to find out what percentage of the soy and corn crops grown in the U.S. are fed to livestock each year.

Does anyone have a direction for me to head in? Does anyone know where I can find this information?

Also, I need this information for an article I'm writing. People think that bio-fuels are the main reason we are in a food crisis? Try again. It's because of our largely meat and dairy based diets.

Thanks, I hope someone can help me!

Answer 1

I would personally estimate that roughly half or more of the world's grown and harvested plants are used for feeding our livestock, if not more. After all, to produce a pound of meat you need to invest 16 pounds of  grain, 2500 gallons of water into it. Not to mention all the plants used in the process of making the meat edible or tasty in the first place - all the spices, flavorings, preservatives and injected flavoring agents that are sometimes used.

While I don't have the figures that are exact for what you are looking for, I'll stop short of doing your homework and instead I'll point you in a VERY interesting direction:

Look into starving, poverty-stricken African nations that actually have a food surplus, but they export most of it. Look at which industries are buying out their corn, soy and other products at a VERY cheap price and then using it to raise something other than healthy human beings. Take a look at the prices they sell them for, and who profits from them (hint: corrupt leadership). Competitive pricing in a time of expensive crops, droughts and shortages is killing the industry, so more and more often now they go overseas. And MANY countries, full of a greedy upper crust seeking the American dollar, will do anything to get it.

Take a look also at what is happening to South American and African soil - they are clearing more and more forest, destrtoying fertile land, to make even a single season of crops. Take a look at the slave labor used to make it.

And it's not used to feed the starving masses of these countries, it's used for livestock.

I hope I've started your engine a bit, there's books about this, I just want to turn you in the right direction. Many records of certain meat industry "big shot" names are public, and there's even books and essays written by African doctors or humanitarians begging America to cut back on eating meat, for the sake of mankind. Interesting, eh?

Answer 2

80% of corn, 95% oats, altogether 56% of all agriculture inU.S.A. land used for beef production.  260 million acres of forest have been cleared for meat-based diet.  "Divine Nature"  a book by Michael A. Cremo & Mukunda Goswami - this book can be found in Library of Congress

"The amount of corn and oats required to produce one 8 oz. beef steak, could fill the bowls of at least 45 hungry humans."

"The land required to produce one 1/4 lb. hamburger, can produce 36 lbs of potatoes, and for every acre of land used to grow food for humans - there are 14 acres growing hay for fodder for meat-based diet."

"Livestocks Long Shadow"  2006

Untied Nations Multinational Study

well i hope this gives you a little jump start, and i cannot believe this thing bio-fuels & food crisis - give me a break!!!!    GOOD LUCK!  :)