It’s well known that a ridiculous amount of animals are killed for the food industry, but I believe it’s much lesser known juts how many. The statistics are enough to shock anyone.
This post is going to break down how many animals die per year just for human consumption. The purpose of this article is to simply give you awareness of the vast number of animals for those wondering.
Chickens
Chickens, or otherwise known as “chicken” is a very popular meat of choice for many. According to weforum.org, an estimated 50 billion chickens are killed for food, per year.
This comes as no surprise considering that chicken is eaten in crazy amounts. With the demand not only for the meat, but also for certain parts such as a wing, a leg or a breast.
It may come as a shock that this number is excluding the sheer amount of male chicks that can’t serve the egg industry, and are killed as a result.
How many male chicks die because of the egg industry?
Worldwide, there is an estimated 7 billion male chicks killed per year for the egg industry. That’s equivalent to our world population of people, to put it into perspective.
Statistics like these should help shine some light on the true nature of the meat industry. As male chicks barely having hatched are doomed to an early death, just for your morning eggs…
Cows
Cows are one of the main sufferers of the meat industry. How many people do you know that love steak, burgers, jerky, etc…
Although cows are large bovine animals and many claim to avoid red meat, there are still studies that show over 300 million cows are killed yearly for food.
These statistics are from 2016 however these are still shocking considering the sheer number.
How many cows die for the dairy industry?
There isn’t even a solid count for the number of cows that die for dairy itself. If you consider the calves killed upon separation of their mother, it’s estimated around 60,000 – bear in mind these are calves that don’t even receive 24 hours with their mother before being separated and slaughtered.
Reasons like this are why people choose to ditch the dairy.
How many pigs die for the meat industry?
Around 1.5 billion pigs are killed for those eating pork products, ham, sausages, bacon, salami and chorizo products. This is worldwide.
There are a lot of people that don’t eat pork at all, but it’s clear that there’s a great number of those who still do, considering the number has tripled over half a century.
It’s just not worth it. Pork isn’t good for you in any way other than “protein”. There are plenty of vegan meat alternatives for deli meat and sausages, just go for those instead.
How many turkeys die for the meat industry?
Dubbed as the highest protein-containing meat source, it’s estimated around 630 million turkeys die each year for consumption. Although it seems a much lower number, it doesn’t help that there are various national holidays that encourage the slaughter of turkeys.
How many turkeys die because of thanksgiving?
Around 45 million turkeys are killed for the US to feed their families on thanksgiving. That’s in the US alone, and on one day.
How many turkeys die because of Christmas?
There isn’t even a solid number I could find for this, but for perspective, 22 million are killed in the US alone, just for Christmas. People also eat Turkey year-round, and for other holidays.
Tradition, eh?
How much fish die for food?
Often dubbed as the healthier option, people also eat a disproportionate amount of fish per year. A ridiculous 2 trillion fish was reported to have been killed by people worldwide.
Who knows if these statistics are even accounting for those who go on fishing trips, as well as fisher boats, etc. Considering I don’t even know many people who eat fish, the amount that are killed is a real shocker for me.
That’s a lot of dead fish. But hey, where else are you going to get your tinned tuna and anchovies from right?
How many ducks die for food?
Worldwide, 3.3 billion ducks are killed for food. Almost half our population. All for the sake of accustomed tastes.
How many goats die for food?
In 2016, over 450 million goats died for people to eat. A much smaller than usual number, but considering it’s still 450 million, that should put into perspective the amount of pointless suffering we as a race force upon animals.
How much sheep die for consumption?
Sheep are close to goats in this case, with 550 million killed on a yearly basis just for food. It’s sickening when you think about it.
People tend to only see the “meat” as a part, i.e. a lamb leg or lamb shank. Not realising there is a whole other animal at the end of that leg, worse still, a baby animal.
With all these animals dying for the sake of consumption, let’s see how much we waste per year.
How much meat waste is grossed per year?
It’s estimated that 39 million tonnes of meat is wasted per year, according to 2016 data. That’s equivalent to 11.9% of the global meat production revenue.
Another way to see it is that 20% of the total 263 million tonnes of meat that’s produced, is wasted.
That’s a lot of food waste. Meaning a lot of these animals don’t even need to die, it’s just the demand is so ridiculously high.
How many animals (in total) are killed for meat?
Not including fish, who already hit the trillions, the estimated amount of animals killed for meat per year is 72 billion. That’s 10x our world population, meaning it would take a little over a month to wipe all humans out if we equated it to ourselves.
72 billion animals that are killed just to maintain a demand that’s not even necessary for nutrition. I think if everyone adapted and had one meat-free Monday a week, we could see drastic changes.
A bit of change at a time can yield amazing results after a while, and the more you eat vegan food the more open-minded you become towards it.
I hope you enjoyed this article and learned a thing or two. I believe in the each to their own mindset and don’t judge anyone who eats meat, for whatever reason.
However, I believe it important to take accountability for how much you do consume, know the facts behind what you’re consuming and take conscious decisions to be more sensible.
If not for the world, do it for yourself. There’s countless sources out there that show chronic meat consumption isn’t good for the body long-term.
If this post made you think feel free to share with a friend or loved one. Thanks for stopping by, and stay blessed.
