The excellent Meat-Free Monday e-newsletter from Animal Aid reported today on a new report regarding world hunger and food production.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), nearly 30 percent of the world’s population suffer from some form of malnutrition. And this week, a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, states that 25 million more children will go hungry by the middle of this century as climate change leads to a decline in agricultural productivity and food shortages.

The lead author of the IFPRI report stated that ‘we are going to have 50 per cent more people on the surface of the Earth by 2050 and meeting food demands is going to be a huge challenge - even without climate change’. However, according to the FAO, ‘the world already produces enough food to feed every child, woman and man and could feed 12 billion people, or double the current world population’. The main problem is not the amount of food available, but the ways in which the world’s grain harvest is being used and distributed - farmed animals are fed no less than half of the world’s harvest.

Instead of adding to the amount of food available, meat simply creates even more mouths to feed; those of farmed animals. And the return is extremely poor. It takes roughly eight kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of beef and two kilos are required for one kilo of chicken. It would make far more sense to grow food that humans can eat directly - grains, pulses, legumes, nuts, vegetables and fruits. As resources become ever more scarce, experts now agree that the human population must rely more upon a plant-based diet. Patrick Wall, chairman of the European Food Safety Authority, questions whether it is ‘morally or ethically correct’ to be feeding grain to animals while people starve. We can all take steps to ease the hunger of children and others around the world by reducing the amount of animal products we eat, starting with Meat-Free Monday, or better yet, going completely meat-free.

To sign up to the Meat-Free Monday newsletter, which includes news updates and recipes, and find out more about this campaign visit the Animal Aid website.

The Environment Agency have issued a warning that the UK could soon be hit by a massive water shortage. In their report, they predict that demand for water could increase by 25% by 2020. Scientists are concerned that we will not have enough water to grow enough food to feed a growing population. Food security is a major issue worldwide and a severe water shortage will significantly hinder any plans to produce more food.

A typical balanced diet requires around 3,500 litres of water per day. The lower down on the food chain you eat, the less water your diet requires. Cereals and grains require around 1,000 litres per kilogramme, compared to 15,000 litres for the same amount of beef or 6,000 litres for the same amount of poultry. One glass of milk requires 200 litres of water.

Growing demand for food and water, caused by a growing population, mean that we have to consume as efficiently as possible, making choices that use the least amount of resources. Diets high in meat and dairy are not sustainable and this irresponsible dietary choice massively hinders our chances of eradicating world hunger.

Two new reports have been released to highlight the escalating number of starving people in the world - now estimated to be nearly a billion - a sixth of the world’s population.

Oxfam’s report ‘A Billion Hungry People’ and Chatham House’s report ‘The Feeding of the Nine Billion’ call for urgent action in the light of increasing food prices plus an increase in energy and water scarcity which are exacerbating and already devastating situation for the world’s poor.

Barbara Stocking, Oxfam Chief Executive, said: “This should be a wake-up call for all those who believe that the food crisis is over. World leaders have a window of opportunity to prevent a worse situation resulting from the triple crunch of the economic crisis, climate change, and energy and water scarcity. They must act urgently to turn their plans into coordinated action that addresses immediate needs and begins to implement long-term reforms. Failure to act will see millions more people falling into hunger.”

Oxfam recommends reform of the humanitarian aid system and calls for poor countries to invest more in agriculture, targeting women and small-scale producers. However, there is little mention of using the resources we already have more efficiently and fairly. The livestock industry wastes precious resources (such as land, water and energy) whilst causing climate change and other environmental damage. Hundreds of millions of tonnes of grain are fed to animals every year instead of to the hungry. A world free of hunger can only exist if we all choose to eat sustainably and equitably, and that does not include animal products.

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Read more about why a meat-free diet is better for the environment and human rights.

How come whenever there is a crisis the least deserving are the only ones who actually benefit? With the energy crisis and increased fuel prices, companies such as Shell report record earnings. With the food crisis, it’s McDonalds who are reaping the rewards; due to increased demand they have created 4,000 extra jobs in the UK.

McDonalds are not only responsible for the destruction of tropical forests to make way for soy plantations (used to feed their suppliers’ cattle), childhood obesity and disease through their aggressive advertising aimed at children and climate change caused by all the animals raised and slaughtered to keep their restaurants stocked with burgers but also can be held accountable for the growing number of starving people in the world.

Whilst people in richer nations resort to a meal out at McDonalds in an attempt to keep costs down, people in developing nations are those that bear the real cost. The demand for crops to feed animals, coupled with climate change and biofuels, has resulted in increased food prices to levels that the world’s poor cannot afford. Not only that, but more and more indigenous people are being violently expelled from their land so that massive trans-national corporations can grow soy to feed the animals which end up in the bellies of McDonald’s customers.

We cannot fix the food crisis by dining out at cheap but unsustainable and unethical restaurants. If you can’t afford to eat out somewhere which serves healthy, sustainable, plant-based meals, then cook a delicious meal with friends and family at home.

The world’s largest meat company, Tyson Foods, has reported a massive 92% fall in earnings. They earned $9 million in the 3 months ending June 30 2008, down from $111 million in the same quarter last year. Tyson said it paid $140 million more for grain during the quarter to feed its chickens compared to a year ago. Tyson’s beef unit, its largest unit, earned $3 million versus $36 million a year ago.

I hope they are not expecting anyone to feel sorry for them. Tyson is certainly a company our world would be much better without. Take a look at their website if you want a great example of corporate bullsh*t. ‘Tyson cares about the environment’ they say. Let’s think about that a minute. As the recent dramatic fall in profits show, this company relies upon huge amounts of soy to feed it’s animals, the very same soy that is destroying our rainforests and causing climate change. How dare they claim to care about the environment when they are instrumental in it’s destruction?

Even more laughbable is their claim that ‘the primary philanthropic focus for Tyson Foods is hunger relief. As of February, 2008, Tyson had donated more than 50 million pounds of Tyson products to hunger and disaster relief efforts since the year 2000′. So, they are sending their products to poverty stricken areas; areas such as Latin America perhaps where agribusiness has wiped out local farming and destroyed forests to make way for soy to feed Tyson’s chickens, causing the very same poverty and hunger Tyson would have us believe they aim to alleviate. Well, that’s real big of them.

On the bright side, this massive fall in profits is very positive for our planet, animals and people. Long may it continue.