Animal Farming Is 'World's Biggest Cause Of Food Waste,' Says Report

A new report has described animal farming as the “world’s biggest cause of food waste.”

The report found that if the industry stopped feeding grain to farmed animals, the global food system could feed an extra two billion people, which is almost 25 percent of the total population and more than twice the proportion of food-insecure people. It would also free up an area of land the size of Mexico for further food production.

‘Food Not Feed – How to Stop the World’s Biggest Form of Food Waste’ was published earlier this month by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). The report found that for every 100 calories of human-edible grain fed to animals, animal farms produce just three to 25 calories of usable meat or dairy for human consumption.

Around 766 million tonnes of grain per year are wasted on animal farming’s resource inefficiency, primarily in factory farms. In contrast, 631 million tonnes are lost at a household level, 290 million tonnes within food service, and 131 million tonnes in retail.

UK food system is ‘utterly inefficient’

In the UK alone, more than 50 percent of grain is used to feed farmed animals. The report estimated that phasing out the use of grain as feed could free up nearly 800,000 hectares of land – more than all of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk combined – to grow food for human consumption. Doing this could potentially feed an extra 16.5 million people per year, which would be more than enough to eradicate food poverty.

“This research reveals just how utterly inefficient our current UK food system is,” said Anthony Field, the head of CIWF’s UK office. “In the UK, factory farming is wasting 8.3 million tonnes of food annually, yet simultaneously we see thousands of people going hungry and a dramatic increase in demand for food banks.”

‘Factory farming wastes food on a colossal scale’

Photo shows someone's hands as they hold a selection of colorful vegetables in an allotment — Adobe Stock Land used to farm animals could be employed more effectively by growing grain, crops, and vegetables directly for human consumption

In addition to its inefficiency, animal farming is taking a significant toll on the planet. Factory farming, in particular, is linked to the climate crisis, pollution, animal welfare violations, humanitarian issues, antibiotic resistance, disease outbreaks, and high taxes.

Earlier this month, an updated EAT-Lancet report suggested that widespread adoption of the Planetary Health Diet – which is flexible but plant-forward – could prevent 40,000 deaths per day, or 15 million deaths per year. It also highlighted the need for food waste reduction in the pursuit of a just and sustainable food system.

“As well as being the world’s biggest form of animal cruelty, fuelling climate change and killing nature, factory farming wastes food on a colossal scale,” said Field.