Writing a footnote, I came up with the following calculations:
If the world was brought to the same standard of living as enjoyed by Canadians, 163.2 billion animals would be consumed annually worldwide. If the world was brought to the same standard of living as enjoyed by Americans, 226.5 billion animals would be consumed annually worldwide. Currently, about 53 billion animals are consumed annually worldwide, more than 98% of which are for food and animal by-products.
These numbers are based upon the number of animals consumed respectively in Canada and the US drawn from official sources calculated per capita and then multiplied by estimated world population in 2008.
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I’m for a meeting in the middle in terms of living standard, somewhere between Americans and Africans along the lines outlined by Jared Diamond here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/opinion/02diamond.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Jared%20Diamond&st=cse
How intensive are your calculations? Could they be calibrated for such a reality?
I should add that I don’t agree that “real sacrifice is not necessary.” I’m fully on board in getting rid of factory farming. At this point, however, I’d prefer aiming for reduced meat consumption and an ethical meat regime. (But I think I’m persuadable otherwise!)
I’m sure more mathematically adept people than I could do the calculation. It would help if there was a model country from which data could be extrapolated; e.g., how much meat is consumed per capita, how much dairy is consumed per capita, how many eggs are consumed per capita, and so on.
My numbers take into account staple meats in North America, such as pork, beef, chicken, lamb, but not strange meats like emu or moose; they also take into account cows used in dairy and chickens used in egg production, but not in collateral, such as male chicks that are destroyed in egg production or male calves destroyed in milk prodcution; it does not include fish and shellfish (which are measured in tons) nor does it included fishing and hunting (which there are no reliable numbers for any jurisdiction in North America I’m aware of). It does not include entertainment uses of animals – zoos, rodeos, horse races, dog races, bloodsports, and the like. These numbers do not appear to exist. It does include animals used in research, but not birds or mice or rats (and the like) used in the US because they are not legally animals and thus are not counted. It also includes animals used in fashion, such as fur and leather. Of all that, over 98% of the animals are used in food production.
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