Livestock

[tubley]

Here is a little information that we may not have thought of. It is not designed to offend - it is to promote healthy discussion on how we can better use our resources in light of the looming water crisis and other environmental problems. It is particularly relevant to our community in North Queensland.

- Human population of Australia: 20 million
- Number of humans that can be fed by the grain eaten by Australian livestock: 91 million
- Percentage of corn grown in Australia eaten by livestock: 71%
- Percentage of corn eaten by humans: 16%
- Percentage of oats and wheat grown in Australia eaten by livestock: 77%
- Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 89%
- Percentage of carbohydrate wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 98%
- Percentage of dietry fibre wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 100%
- How frequently a child dies of starvation: Every 2 seconds
- Amount of potatoes that can be grown on 1 hectare: 12000 Kilos
- Amount of beef that can be grown on 1 hectare: 85 kilos
- Percentage of Australian agricultural land used to produce beef: 41%
- Amount of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 kilogram of beef: 7.1 kg
- Amount of protein fed to chickens to produce 1 kilogram of protein as chicken flesh: 2.3 kilos
- Amount of protein fed to pigs to produce 1 kilogram of protein as pig flesh: 3.4 kg
- Number of children who starve to death every day: 40000
- Number of pure vegetarians who can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed 1 person consuming meat-based diet: 20
- Number of people who will starve to death this year: 60000000
- Number of people who could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Australians reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 60000000

[Kelly]

tubley , This is definitely a good point .
Yes we agree that water should not be wasted .
We all could and should do more to save water .

We have travelled the USA ,Asia and the new Euro states.
And one just doesnt know how lucky we are in Australia .
To see how others live in other countrys .
We are indeed the lucky country .

I am not sure how spot on your numbers are in your post .
But you do bring up a good point .

[tubley]

Thanks for the positive feedback Kelly. My solution is to diversify and extend the profession of cattle farming to a more multi-dimentional field that uses a holistic approach rather than specifically focusing on one area.

To do this I would suggest government funding for the re-training of rural people and of course, more money put into remote areas of the country.