Fascinating Food Facts
"Globally, we are reliant on a very slender thread of genetic diversity. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 50% of all human calories come from just three plants: rice, maize, and wheat".
Photo by Jakub Kapusnaka
"Despite consuming the vast majority of farmland, meat and dairy accounts for just 18% of all food calories and around a third of protein."
In 2018 the average American ate approximately 223 pounds of meat.
"For every 100 calories of grain we feed animals, we get only about 40 new calories of milk, 22 calories of eggs, 12 of chicken, 10 of pork, or 3 of beef."
Photo by Dan Gold
"An estimated 25 percent of the world’s food calories and up to 50 percent of total food weight are lost or wasted before they can be consumed. In rich countries most of that waste occurs in homes, restaurants, or supermarkets. In poor countries food is often lost between the farmer and the market, due to unreliable storage and transportation."
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 815 million people of the 7.6 billion people in the world, or 10.7%, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2016. Almost all the hungry people live in lower-middle-income countries.
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"Throughout the previous 30 years, natural disasters have become increasingly common (FAO, 2017). Unstable weather patterns can lead to drought – in 2016, El Niño was responsible for conditions of severe food insecurity for 20 million people (FAO, WFP, & EU, 2018). On the other extreme, hurricane and cyclone seasons have produced more powerful storms, causing damage to livelihoods, agricultural production and local market prices, in countries in the Caribbean and Asia (FAO, 2017). In agricultural-driven areas, especially in parts of Africa (Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, and countries in West Africa), drought has driven economic, food production and political stability crises (FAO, WFP, & EU, 2018). For countries facing prolonged conditions or yearly disasters, undernutrition worsens, as there is little time for recovery (FAO, 2017)."
According to the World Wildlife Fund, “around 50 percent of the world’s habitable land has been converted to farming land.”
Photo by Elli O.
In the USA, about 320 million hectares are used for livestock grazing [2], which is equivalent to 41% of the total land area of the continental USA. Approximately 55% of all beef cows are maintained in the Central region of the continental USA
One cup (33 grams) of alfalfa sprouts contains 1.3 grams of protein, while 100 grams of sprouts contain 4 grams of protein. Protein accounts for 42% of its calories.
A one-cup (91-gram) serving of raw chopped broccoli can provide 2.6 grams of protein, including all the essential amino acids. It also contains plenty of folate, manganese, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins C and K (34).