ABSTRACT
World meat production quadrupled from 44 million tonnes in 1950 to 195 million tonnes in 1996, largely to feed the populations of wealthier nations like the UK. Meat eating is not only a potent symbol of the massive inequalities of food between rich and poor areas of the planet, but is also creating widening gaps between rich and poor locally. Many examples of small-scale, successful organic plant food production without the use of animal products exist. The destructive consequences of the poultry industry are mirrored by expansion in other areas of the meat trade. As for animals, the organic movement generally encourages moves away from a predominantly meat-centred diet, but argues that some dependence upon them is desirable. Vegetarians need less than a third as much water to sustain their diet as meat eaters, making vegetarianism not only the diet for a small planet, but also the only rational response to a dry one.
