(picture source: Angel Franco/The New York Times)
Global Slaughter Statistics for 2003:
45,895,000,000 (45.9 billion) chickens
2,262,000,000 (2.3 billion) ducks
1,244,000,000 (1.2 billion) pigs
857,000,000 (857 million) rabbits
691,000,000 (691 million) turkeys
533,000,000 (533 million) geese
515,000,000 (515 million) sheep
345,000,000 (345 million) goats
292,000,000 (292 million) cows and calves (for beef and veal)
65,000,000 (65 million) other rodents (not including rabbits)
63,000,000 (63 million) pigeons and other birds
23,000,000 (23 million) buffaloes
4,000,000 (4 million) horses
3,000,000 (3 million) donkeys and mules
2,000,000 (2 million) camels (and other camelids)
TOTAL: 52,794,000,000
United States: 9,116,248,000
The numbers only include land animals slaughtered for food for which records were taken. They do not include the billions of marine animal killed each year. They do not include the millions of animals killed in laboratories, fur farms, animal shelters, zoos, marine parks, or circuses. Nor do they include the animals killed by human negligence, blood sports, abuse, or extermination attempts.
The United States consumes almost 20% of land animals slaughtered with less than 5% of the world’s population.
And I bet the numbers had increased since 2003 and still going up. It’s not a laughing matter and please say no to meat at least once a meal if not once a week. =((
Amituofo!
Wow, so many chickens. Until people care about one single chicken, they won’t care if 50 billion chickens die per year.
I think the best way to make most realise they do care for chickens is to ask them to breed one from young and to kill it later for food. Sounds sick. But that’s the point precisely – most won’t be able to do it. From the care for this one chicken, they might realise all other chickens suffered for them chicken-‘lovers’.
:bloody:
Like some opinion on this one:
If meat protein can be cultured on a lab dish (and they are really experimenting it to address food shortage), would you eat it?
what if in the initial experiments and tests, the scientists have to kill many animals to obtain the “seed” for meat protein? But subsequently, there will be no lives involved because technically, no animals are grown. only meat. no brain, nerves etc.
My stand for now is not to eat them because of the uncertainty of hygeine issues and lives involves. but it is worth considering because it might end or reduce future animal farming and sufferings.