# Poore & Nemecek estimate livestock uses 83% of the world's agricultural land while supplying under a fifth of its calories.

The Balance of Health
Canonical: https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/livestock-uses-most-farmland-for-a-minority-of-calories
Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## status

reviewed

## id

claim-livestock-land-share

## slug

livestock-uses-most-farmland-for-a-minority-of-calories

## statement

Poore & Nemecek estimate livestock uses 83% of the world's agricultural land while supplying under a fifth of its calories.

## shortAnswer

Most farmland feeds animals, not people directly. That land delivers a relatively small share of our food.

## pillarIds

- environment

## topicIds

- land-use

## keyStatisticId

stat-livestock-land-share

## explanation

- Grazing land plus land growing crops for animal feed makes up most of global farmland.
- Because animals convert feed into meat, milk and eggs inefficiently, that land delivers fewer calories and less protein than if it grew food for people, although much grazing land could not grow crops.

## rating

### strength

strong

### rationale

Land-use figures come from consistent global land and agricultural datasets.

## sourceIds

- src-poore-nemecek-2018

## limitations

- A large share of grazing land is not suitable for crops, so it is not a like-for-like substitution.

## methodology

- Land areas from FAO and satellite datasets, combined with calorie and protein supply accounts.

## Original sources

## title

Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers

## url

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216

## doi

10.1126/science.aaq0216

## canonical

https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/poore-nemecek-2018-reducing-food-environmental-impacts

## status

reviewed