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The meat you eat
The availability of nutritious food is a big problem for developing countries like Pakistan, where up to 40 per cent of the population ekes out an existence below the poverty line.
Production of meats in Pakistan (2002-03)
Beef/cows & buffaloes 110,000 tons
Mutton/sheep & goats 702,000 tons
Chicken/poultry meat 376,000 tons
THE LARGEST meat-eating creature is believed to be Tyrannosaurus Rex, which was last seen about 100 million years ago. However, members of the canine family of animals that consume meat in considerable quantities — including tiger, lion, cat and dog — still thrive.
Man, on the other hand, has made at least 1,000 species extinct either by killing them for pleasure or for food. Many scientific studies support the contention that large-scale raring of animals for meat or milk is one of the main causes of deforestation.
Livestock produce a lot of nitrogen, in the form of ammonia. As fertilizer, ammonia is beneficial but when it becomes saturated in the soil it leads to death of young plants or trees. In most European countries, the disposal of liquid manure from animal farms poses a big problem as its decomposition produces ammonia, saturating the soil for excessive growth of algae, which in turn extract oxygen from soil as well as groundwater, besides causing large-scale pollution of water resources.
In the US, the contribution made by agriculture/livestock towards water pollution is already believed to be greater when compared to the one made by industrial and municipal wastes. A report from Holland has indicated that most of the ammonia gas comes from cow barns which cause more ecological damage than do all the vehicles and industrial units of the country put together. An NGO has even claimed that cattle pastures already cover one-thirds of the planet’s total landmass.
In Pakistan, we neither have enough land for cattle grazing nor do we have large-scale commercial dairy farming. Thirty to 40 per cent of our rural population is estimated to earn its livelihood from raising cattle or from selling milk and meat.
Pakistan has a very poor forest cover — 4.8 per cent of the total area as against the recommended area of 20 to 25 per cent. Because of poor forest cover, only a few species of wildlife exist, leading to shortage of this source of meat.
Dying and depleting forests have led to environmental degradation, besides shortage of timber. Presently, state forests meet about 14 per cent of the timber and 10 per cent of the fuel wood demand, while the rest comes from farmlands.
In 2003-04 there was a decline of 2.78 per cent of timber and 2.92 per cent of fuel wood from our forests. Goats are believed to be the main cause of the destruction of young plants in forests. There are approximately 54.7 million goats and 24.7 million sheep in the country, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan for 2003-04.
Dairy and cattle farming is also said to be responsible for the so-called the “hothouse effect”, because animals produce large amounts of gases like methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy has reported that the contribution made by cattle breeding towards “hothouse effect” is about the same as that coming from automobile traffic in Switzerland.
It is estimated that in Pakistan a cattle population of 49.3 million daily produces 514 million kilogrammes of dung or excreta, used for household heating and also as a fertilizer. Only 60 per cent of the material can be utilized to produce 8.7 million cubic metres of methane and 7 million cubic metres of carbon dioxide daily.
Similarly, our poultry population of 352 million birds, producing 41 million tons of droppings/excreta, generates 0.80 million cubic metres of methane and 0.64 cubic metres of carbon dioxide, which are both released into the atmosphere. Methane gas, also known as biogas, can be used as an alternate source of energy. About 1.3 billion cattle worldwide produce and release about 115 million tons of methane gas annually into the atmosphere.
Livestock for meat production are also said to be responsible for huge water losses, because 1kg of meat would need 2,000 to 3,000 litres of water for fodder as against 100 litres needed for the production of 1kg of grain. An extremely large quantity of grains is also required to feed livestock, at the cost of food for humans.
The production of meat is an expensive proposition because only 35 per cent of the slaughtered animal is used as meat, containing 50-55 per cent proteins, but the animal consumes 90 per cent of proteins, 99 per cent of carbohydrates and 100 per cent of fibre as its own food. Mind you, nearly one billion people face malnutrition and starvation in the world.
About half of the total grains production is fed to animals in order for us to consume their meat. In the US alone, 80 per cent of the total grains harvest is fed to 8 billion animals slaughtered in the country. In Russia, meat consumption has tripled since 1950 while the demand for fodder has increased four times. Consequently, Russia became the world’s second largest importer of fodder.
Pakistan imports 1-2 million tons of wheat yearly, but it is not known how much of this goes into feeding livestock and poultry. Worldwide, we are using too much of foodstuff on feeding animals.
Meanwhile, the community of doctors now says that the consumption of meat may cause health problems. Eating meat may cause high blood pressure, heart diseases and disorders of the circulatory system, besides rheumatism, gout, nerodermatitis and certain types of cancers. Also, cross-contamination of various pesticides, heavy metals and other toxins could be carried out through meat.
It has been reported that residues of pesticides were found 14 times higher in meat and 5.5 times higher in dairy products than in the foodstuff coming from plants.
Excessive consumption of red meat or processed meat has been found to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, because heterocyclic amines are formed on the surface of meat when it is cooked at a higher temperature or grilled on direct flame. N-nitrose compounds are found in preserved meat containing nitrates.
Consequently, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has advised people to limit the daily intake of red meat to 80g or less. A study has indicated that daily consumption of 100g of meat is associated with 14 per cent increased risk of colorectal cancer. Female vegetarians have been found to have lower estrogen levels as compared to women consuming meat. They, thus, have a lower incidence of breast cancer.
Similarly, a study revealed that even lung cancer is associated with the consumption of fried or well-done red meat. Red meat is particularly identified as a major source of dietary cholesterol.
People consuming the so-called Typical American Diet have 64 per cent increased risk of heart attack. Grilled meat, kebabs, tikkas and churgha are all part of the Pakistani cuisine, usually cooked on a direct flame or in oil that is almost denatured with continued frying.
According to the Pakistan Demographic Survey for 2003, malignant tumours of various tissues, including breast, are recorded in the age group of 40-44 years, while heart attack is recorded in an age group of 60-64 years.
The government of Pakistan has recently allowed the import of livestock from India for slaughter, while meat imports are being allowed from China as meat prices in the country increase almost by the month. Some years ago, sheep and its meat were also imported from Australia but it did not become very popular.
The availability of nutritious food is a big problem for developing countries like Pakistan, where up to 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. Food gap between the developed world and the developing countries is expected to increase with time so the latter will have to turn towards their indigenous staple foods instead of converting the same into animal meat.
The writer is a leading veterinary pathologist of the country
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