Interesting data Dala.
I agree on sustainability. I agree that people need to change their consumption habits. As Sean brings out, that's not just food.
I work with grocery deliveries to stores. The amount of food that is wasted is sickening. I have seen full bucket loads, barrel full, dumpster full, of good food that is tossed because it "was out of date" or it touched the floor, or it was returned by the customer.
Just a few days ago I saw 1 store toss 30lbs of sweet potatoes, several pints of various berries, several bags of oranges and other fruits. Tossed into the compactor. I got a good look at it. The berries were fresh, they were still shiny from being plump. The potatoes were still clean and solid. No blemishes on the oranges. I wish I could of taken the whole lot home with me.
In your chart above, it shows Agriculture at 24%. Most people "assume" this is just diary cows, or for meat production in general. This is not the case. There is far more water used to water wheat, soy, corn, etc than for cows. There is far more fuel consumed in managing the aforementioned grains than with cows. There is far more man hours involved as well.
How do I know this? Well, it's common sense. Cows come to the feeder, the slaughter house, the transport depot, etc. Field food you must go out and work it.
Here's another to think about. The number state that cows use X amount of water during their growth. What they "don't" tell you, is that a large amount of that water the cows get from the very grass they eat. And in most locations, that grass is not water by farm equipment, but by the water that falls from the sky. So therefore, the water usage is drastically skewed.
Sean and I disagree on many things. However, this thing I do agree on. It's not going to be the reduction in meat consumption that's going to really do anything. The reduction in overall consumption is what needs to change. People need to stop having the mentality "Oh, I don't need this anymore", toss a perfectly good "whatever" into the trash, go out and buy and new "thingy" because it looks kewl, has more features that may/maynot work, or just because they want to have the latest and greatest and shiniest new toy.
It's sickening how much people waste.
Just to be clear. I have nothing against going vegetarian (as opposed to vegan). There are plenty of various types of non-meat foods available to keep one healthy, and potentially healthier. The biggest issue is, the darn alternatives are almost twice the cost when it shouldn't be. When I can get 7days of food for X dollars that includes meat, vs 2-3 times that cost for vegetarian foods. I, and many others, can't keep up that "sustainability".
If the politics in the food industry would regulate the prices more fairly and bring the prices down, there would be far more people who would eat far less meat and eat more vegetarian foods.
Yes, I make a distinction between vegan and vegetarian. I don't agree with veganism. Chickens produce non-fertile eggs every day. They were not bred that way. Turkeys do the same thing. It would be a waste of resources to just toss those eggs out. Same goes with cheeses or diary foods (this is all dairy, not just from cows). There are many animals that produce far more milk than what is for their young. And, they naturally produce that much, not that they were bred that way. I know cows have been bred to give far more milk than they used to. But they started out still giving more milk than the young could consume. There's a reason why mankind chose cows as their primary milk source.
