Is Europe's meat habit fuelling the global food crisis?

European countries are experiencing their worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, owing to surging energy and food costs. Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, and climate change have compounded the increase in commodity prices, leading to food shortages and rapidly rising food insecurity in the developing world. But there is good news: with a simple (but critical) change in food production, the European Union can ease food-price inflation and bolster global food supplies.

An analysis by consulting firm SYSTEMIQ shows that by cutting meat production by just 13% – the equivalent of European consumers going meat-free for one day a week – the EU could reallocate enough grain and land currently used to feed livestock to offset the 23 million tons of wheat Ukraine produced in 2020.

This should come as no surprise. After all, meat is a notoriously inefficient source of nutrition. For every 100 feed calories consumed by cattle, we produce just one beef calorie. As it stands, we are using vast amounts of land and fertilizers to grow food that only livestock can eat.

Meanwhile, fertilizer prices have soared by 60% in the past year, owing to reduced exports from Russia and Ukraine (which together account for over one-quarter of all fertilizer production) and manufacturing disruptions across Europe caused by soaring gas prices. “To avert a future crisis, we need to bring fertilizer prices down,” Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), recently warned.

Simply put, the meat industry’s inefficient use of fertilizers drives up food prices, exacerbates world hunger, and pushes farmers into poverty. Reallocating land from meat production to grains, vegetables, legumes, and alternative proteins would be a far more effective way to feed a growing population on a warming planet. For example, it takes an average of 48 square meters to produce one gram of beef protein for every square meter needed to produce one gram of protein from peas.

Reducing EU meat production would also provide significant climate benefits. After all, animal farming generates as many greenhouse-gas emissions as all the world’s cars, trucks, planes, and ships. According to our calculations, cutting livestock-related emissions by five million tons of carbon dioxide would be the same as removing more than four million new gasoline-fueled cars from Europe’s roads.

Even a relatively modest cut in Europe’s meat production would have a meaningful global impact. According to the UNCTAD, lower-income countries suffering from acute food insecurity, such as Benin, Somalia, and Laos, are almost entirely dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia.

- Sarah Lake is Executive Director of Madre Brava. Nico Muzi is Managing Director of Madre Brava