Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
protein conversion (in)efficiencies
according to research by vaclav smil, distinguished professor at
the university of manitoba,
dependence on animal products for
protein sources is not the most efficient use of resources
in
terms of feed efficiency and protein conversion efficiency. funnel-
ing grains, including corn and soybeans, through farmed animals
for meat and eggs
wastes an overwhelming percentage of protein
present in those grains.
item
wasted protein
beef
95%
of protein lost
pork
90%
of protein lost
chicken
80%
of protein lost
eggs
70%
of protein lost
land, who are themselves a majority of the hungry. Farmers have
virtually no bargaining power in the marketplace of concentration
that is inevitable in one-rule economics. They get squeezed on two
sides.
First, to buy seeds and machinery, farmers in the Global North
have become increasingly dependent on a handful of firms—from
Monsanto to John Deere. This model of corporate-dependent
farming is now penetrating the Global South. So, farmers in the
United States and increasingly many of the billion-plus farmers
globally must rely on only a handful of giant suppliers; in effect,
they become the “price takers.” Similarly, when ready to sell their
harvests, farmers face an even more consolidated industry: grain
traders and food processors. Here, just three companies control
most of the world's grain trade—Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland,
and Bunge—and they are the “price makers.”
