Future Forum 2013 - Kurt Schmidinger

Future Food – nutrition (almost) without livestock?

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Kurt Schmidinger – www.futurefood.org

Geophysicist & Food Scientist

Global consequences of our nutritional habits & livestock

-The consequences of the worldwide production of 65 billion farm animals per year on the environment and

climate, global nutrition, animal welfare and human health – and possible alternatives!

Livestock / Consumption of animal products

Global consequences – the major 4:

Environment (incl. climate)

World nutrition / world hunger




World nutrition / world hunger

Animal rights and animal welfare

Human health

World hunger / environment

Meat = lengthened food chain => requires 5-15 times more areas, plants, water etc. to feed




water etc. to feed humans (Exception: Pure pasture management of ruminants, which on the other hand requires huge areas, causes much of the methane-issues, furthermore only small share of global production).


Input / Output: 1 out of 7 calories converted to meat, what happens with the rest?




Metabolic losses inevitable (compare humans), Bread example, livestock first of all an efficient production of excrements, meat as „side product“, by far biggest waste of food globally, 1/3 of world harvest (cereals+soya) converted to excrements!

« The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution and loss of biodiversity. Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so

Environment: Climate, water, erosion, land consumption, ...




potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major redutions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost »

Livestock’s Long Shadow, FAO 2006

Land consumption, water consumption, water pollution, rainforest destruction

Climate, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, air pollution

According to the FAO, the livestock-sector is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than total worldwide traffic

(aeroplanes, cars, trucks, trains, ...):

Environment: Climate change (1)




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(aeroplanes, cars, trucks, trains, ...): Methane (CH4): digestion of ruminants, …

Nitrous Oxide (N2O): fertilizer, manure, …

Carbon dioxide (CO2): fire clearing of

rainforests etc.

Interdisciplinary Study NL: Worldwide Reduction (definition see paper) of consumption of animal products saves

20 000 000 000 000 US$ (=50%)

of climate stabilisation costs (Aim: GHG concentration levels 2050 same as today) - enough to build 130 million one-family houses at the cost of US$ 150 000 each - new houses for whole Europe!

Environment: Climate change (2)




cost of US$ 150 000 each - new houses for whole Europe!

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Reasons:

1. Saving of the CO2, N2O and CH4-emissions from

livestock,

2. Vastly reduced land consumption, partly regrowing

forests, bushes => huge CO2-sink due to regrowing forests

=> climate protection “almost for free”!

Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16573-eating-less-meat-could-cut-

climate-costs.html

Fire clearance of rainforestsPastures for cattle

Feed monocultures (85% of global soy harvest as animal feed)

Environment: Rainforest destruction




� CO2-emissions due to fire clearances

� or later: agricultural areas prevent that woods can function as

CO2-sink (CO2-“sponge”)

Environment: Excrements

Manure – water pollution worldwide




Enormous amounts, more than humans produce - no wonder as

farm animal population > 25 billion (> 3 times number of humans)

and “production” of 65 billion farm animals per year.

World hunger

Of 7 billion humans800 000 000 suffer from hunger, among these are 200 000 000 children.

25 000 people die from malnutrition each day.




FAO-Report “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” 2008:754 million tons of cereals are fed to farm animals each year (with a yield of

1:7 for calorie-conversion this is a loss of calculated 650 million tons of

cereals for human nutrition) – soy, etc. not yet included

Compare: Due to biofuel production (2nd biggest problem for loss of

calories at croplands) we lose “only” 100 million tons of cereals for human

nutrition

World hunger

FAO-Report “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” 2008:

754 million tons of cereals are fed to farm animals each year (with a yield

of 1:7 for calorie-conversion this is a loss of calculated 650 million tons of

cereals for human nutrition). Soy, etc. not yet included.

Compare: Due to biofuel production (2nd biggest problem for loss of

calories at croplands) we lose “only” 100 million tons of cereals for human




nutrition.

The biomass of all farm animals exceeds the mass of all wild vertebrates on land by a factor of 20!! Source: V. Smil The Earth‘s Biosphere

25 billion alive at a moment65 billion slaughtered per year





Food waste during the production of animal based food

�Animal derived foods: Food chain with 3 (plant � animal � human) instead of 2 elements (plant � human) => inefficient

� > 10 plant calories for 1 calorie of beef

� > 5 plant calories für 1 calorie of pork





� > 5 plant calories für 1 calorie of pork

� > 3 plant calories für 1 calorie of poultry

1/3 of world harvest (soy + cereals) converted to excrements (with an upward tendency) !!


Meat = lengthened food chain => requires 5-15 times more areas, plants, water etc. to feed




water etc. to feed humans (Exception: Pure pasture management of ruminants, which on the other hand requires huge areas, causes much of the methane-issues, furthermore only small share of global production).

Livestock and the cultivation of feed require:

= almost 80% of total global agricultural land (cropland plus pastures)

= 30% of total land surface of the earth

= 2/3 OF ALL areas used by humans globally





Source: FAO, 2006; Goodland R. et al,1999

Short food chain plant � human could release enormous areas globally: Possibilities to use these:

�Regrowing vegetation could absorb huge amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere (see slides earlier, interdisciplinary study NL): Massive contribution to climate stabilisation





Massive contribution to climate stabilisation

�Growing of maize for renewable plastic alternatives without causing a global food crisis

�Photovoltaics for energy production, maybe even biofuels would make sense again

�...

Health: What means ...

vegetarian: No meat, no fish, but milk and dairy products and eggs.

vegan: no animal products




vegan: no animal products at all, i.e. no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, ...

further forms like raw food, macrobiotics, frutarism, ...

Maybe at least meat is healthy ... ?

Vegan instead of ears!




of ears!

Maybe at least meat is healthy ... ?




And these are especially important advantages again especially for vegan diets:

De facto all worldwide pandemics of the last decades (bird flu, swine flu, EHEC, BSE, ...) and of the future (...,...,...) from intensive livestock farms:Billions of animals packed together, bad housing, bad immune system, ... => without livestock avoidable!

Antibiotic resistance from intensive livestock farms (“factory farming”)

Health – veggies celebrate!




Antibiotic resistance from intensive livestock farms (“factory farming”) would be avoidable

Bacterial food poisoning (salmonellosis, E Coli, etc.) mostly a problem with animal products => avoidable

You get far less of these “evils”: Cholesterol, arachidonic acid, purines, saturated fatty acids, also free radicals/ox.stress, ...

You get more of these “good things”: Vitamin C+E, fibres (whole meal) and phytochemiclas (fruits!, vegetables!, antioxidative effects etc.)

Health – “meat sicknesses” (1)

The (high) consumption of animal products is linked to the following sicknesses:

Cardiovascular diseases (Oxford Studies, 7th Day

Adventists study, studies of the ADA, Uni Gießen,

Bundesgesundheitsamt Berlin, u.v.m.)




Bundesgesundheitsamt Berlin, u.v.m.)

Colon Cancer (American Cancer Society, Univ.

Oxford, Univ. San Diego, Krebsforschungszentrum

Heidelberg), breast cancer (Harvard Medical School), prostate cancer (PCRM, Washington DC), gastric cancers (EPIC)

Health – “meat sicknesses” (2)

Osteoporosis (!) (UC San Francisco, USDA-ARS)

Multiple sclerosis (CHRU Grenoble)

Gallstones

Type 2 diabetes




Type 2 diabetes

Obesity

Allergies

Rheumatoid Arthritis (UUH Oslo)Links to the papers � www.futurefood.org � For the world � Health

Animal welfare

Most mother sows in Europe, China or the US live like that

… and almost all fattening pigs like this




Animal welfare – “factory farming life”

Films / Documentaries

Documentaries 10-25 minutes:

Meet your Meat (USA, but in many aspects similar conditions in Europe, too): http://www.meat.org/

Intensive pig farming, focus on Austria (German):




Intensive pig farming, focus on Austria (German): http://www.tierrechtsfilme.at/langfilme/schweinehaltung_lucie/lucie.htm

Force feeding of ducks and geese (forbidden in many countries, but imported almost everywhere): http://www.vierpfoten.org/website/output.php?id=1177&idcontent=1909&language=2

Animal welfare – “factory farming life”

Films / Documentaries

95 minutes documentary:

„Earthlings“: http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings

Awarded comic (short) – The Meatrix: http://www.themeatrix.com/




http://www.themeatrix.com/

Livestock / consumption of animal products

is the biggest ... on earth !!

land consumer

water consumer

water contaminator

contributor to rainforest destruction

foodfood--wasterwaster

one of the biggest or the biggest ... on earth!!

factor in loss of biodiversity

cause for soil erosion

risk factor for lifestyle diseases

risk factor for antibiotic resistances

is one of the biggest ... on earth!!




foodfood--wasterwaster

cause of billionfold suffering of animals

risk factor for food poisonings

risk factor for global pandemics

is one of the biggest ... on earth!!

climate killers

air polluter




Human reason / ethics ????

What could lead to a collapse of the „factory farming“ practices?




Human reason / ethics ????

Top-products as alternatives to animal products ??

Food shortages (climate?) / concurrency of non-food croplands (plastic alternatives made of maize, biofuels) ??

Antibiotic-resistances from intensive livestock facilities ???

Serious new pandemics from intensive livestock facilities ?

Flavour: Taste, aroma, smell, texture, satiety feeling, ...

Success criteria?




feeling, ...

Price

Marketing, target groups, advertising

Health

Shelf life / hygiene / logistic advantages

www.futurefood.org Alternatives to animal products




“Vegetarian meat”: All raw materials to replace meat

“Non dairy milk products”: All raw materials to replace dairy milk, cheese, joghurt etc.

“Replace egg products”: All raw materials to replace egg products




Wheat: Wheat gluten (seitan)

Vegetarian meat




Soy: Soya meat (TVP), tofu, tempeh, sprouted soybeans

Sweet lupines

Fresh mushrooms

Fermented fungi, e.g. Quorn

Algae

Rice, peas

Tofurky (Turtle Islands Foods):

Some top brands veget. meat




Tofurky (Turtle Islands Foods):Oregon, USA

Sausages, roasts and others, based on tofu and wheat gluten, but also tempeh.

Gardein (Garden Protein Int.):British Columbia, Canada

"Chicken"-wings,-filets,-breasts und-stripes, skewers and more,

Based on soy protein and wheat gluten.

Fry’s:

Some top brands veget. meat




Fry’s:South Africa

Huge variety of vegetarian meat alternatives, based on

soy protein and wheat protein.

and many others

Drinks (“milk”), yoghurts, cream, sour cream made from soy, oat, almond, rice, coco, quinoa, millet, spelt, barley, kamut.

Plant based alternatives to dairy products




oat, almond, rice, coco, quinoa, millet, spelt, barley, kamut.Often fortified with B2, B12, D2, calcium, A, B6, folic acid, E

Ice cream from soy, rice, etc.

“Cheese” from soy protein, pea protein, tofu, potato starch, rice starch, soy oil, other plant based fats and oils, nut butter, thickening agents, yeast, but also: tapioca- u. arrowroot flour, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, coconut oil, etc.

Desserts, confectionaries, margarine ...

Alternatives to egg products for the industry: About 10 companies in the US, NL, UK and others. Made of gelling and

Plant based alternatives to egg products




companies in the US, NL, UK and others. Made of gelling and thickening agents (alginate, carrageen, guar flour, locust bean gum, xanthan gum), soy lecithin, potato protein, potato starch, full soy beans, wheat gluten, corn syrup, sometimes also dairy(!) or egg(!!) ingredients � see http://www.futurefood.org/eggproducts/index_en.php

At home: “Egg replacers” by Ener-G, Orgran or others (potato-, tapioca starch, CMC, citric acid, calcium carbonate)

Plant based alternatives to egg products




tapioca starch, CMC, citric acid, calcium carbonate) Or simply use soy flour, baking powder, mineral water, locust bean gum, agar-agar, soaked linseeds, etc.

“Vegan fried egg”, “vegan yolk” by “The Vegg”: Yeast flakes, alginates,sulphur salt, β-carotene

Biofermenter: Peter Arras / AKT, Germany, take ruminants as model/guide � food out of straw, harvest waste, etc. (all this

Futuristic approaches




model/guide � food out of straw, harvest waste, etc. (all this would suddenly also be basis for human nutrition)

In Vitro Meat: ”Real” meat without animals, produced out of cells in labs. Technological basic facts: Initial cells, culture medium incl. growth factors, bioreactors, etc. see http://www.futurefood.org/DissertationSchmidinger.pdf, chapt.12

Some protagonists: Henk Haagsman and Bernard Roelen (NL): Work continuously, search for basic understanding

Futuristic approaches – in vitro meat




understanding

Mark Post (NL): Supported by Sergey Brin, presented the first in-vitro-meat burger of the world for 250.000 € in August 2013.

Julie Gold (Sweden), US-NGO new-harvest.org and (in earlier times more active) Stig Omholt (Norway, with 1. in-vitro-meat symposium): Networking

Gabor a. Andras Forgacs (USA): “Modern Meadow”, 3D-printer, Thiel-Foundation

Vladimir Mironov and Nick Genovese (USA): PeTA, 3-D-printer, networking, mastermind

Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr (AUS): Artists from Australia

Willem van Eelen (NL): Pioneer, cultured meat patent

This Presentation: http://www.futurefood.org/basic_english.ppt

Tips for canteen kitchens:

Canteen kitchen project: www.gv-nachhaltig.de/

Regional veggie-gastronomy:

Tips:




Regional veggie-gastronomy:

Udine on www.happycow.net: “La Libellula”, Via Marsala 92



Global consequences of our nutritional habits & livestockWe just have this one world …

Dr. Kurt Schmidinger

Graduate in Geophysics & Doctor in Food Science

Project Leader www.futurefood.org

Tel. +43 / 676 / 33 22 107




[email protected]

Education

Future Forum 2013 - Kurt Schmidinger