3 statistics show why Australia should go vegan for the animals.
Aussies are more concerned than ever about farm animal welfare. By going vegan, a single person can spare 2,000+ farm animal lives. Nationally, we could spare billions.
By vstats.
Here are three reasons why Australians should go vegan for the animals:
1. Over six billion Australian farm animals were slaughtered for meat in the 2010s.
Australian slaughterhouses churned through billions of lives last decade. From 2010 to 2019, 6.3 billion farm animals¹— cows and calves, sheep and lambs, pigs, and chickens — were slaughtered and butchered for their meat in this country.²
The numbers killed escalated over the decade. By 2020, a new industry milestone was reached, annual slaughters surpassed 700 million. That is nearly 2 million livestock killings per day.
Meat eating subjects Australia’s farm animals to extreme violence on a scale that is hard to fathom.
2. Australians can personally spare 2000+ farm animal lives with a meat-free diet.
The typical Australian will eat more than two thousand farm animals during their life.³
On average, people consume around 109kg of meat per year.⁴ Based on current dietary habits, 25 livestock animals — chickens, lambs, pigs and cows — must be slaughtered to supply the particular types and amounts of meat that Australians are eating annually.⁵ This adds up to at least 2,064 farm animals being killed for meat over a regular lifespan⁶.
By cutting meat from your diet, you can spare up to thousands of lives.
3. Australians are more concerned than ever for welfare of farm animals. Growing recognition of animal sentience is the reason behind this change in attitude.
Concern for the welfare of farm animals is growing among the Australian people, according to a recent survey commissioned by the government.⁷
Around 85% of the public believe that animals should have ‘freedom from pain, injury or disease.’⁸ Six in ten view factory farming as ‘indefensible.’⁹ More Australians even agree than disagree that it is ‘unfair’ to breed and kill animals for human consumption.¹⁰
Public attitudes are changing due to increased recognition of animal sentience.¹¹ Most Australians now agree that animals are aware of their surroundings, form complex social bonds, experience physical and emotional sensations, and seek positive experiences.¹²
Australians who accepted that animals are sentient were also likely to agree with sentiments supporting animal rights.¹³ Explaining this close alignment, the survey makes a simple but important point: if there is recognition that farm animals can perceive and feel, then ‘it is logical to believe that these capabilities should be safeguarded through the adoption of rights and freedoms.’¹⁴
Along with changing attitudes towards farm animals, the public is growing more interested in plant-based diets. Around 1 in 3 Australians have expressed willingness to either reduce or remove their meat intake.¹⁵ This interest is also evident in the surging demand for vegan products in recent years.¹⁶ ¹⁷ ¹⁸ Deloitte, one of the Big Four global accounting firms, forecasts that plant-based products will be a multi-billion-dollar market in Australia by 2030.¹⁹
Notes:
[1] The terms ‘farm animals’ and ‘livestock’ in this piece cover only slaughters of cattle and calves, lambs and sheep, pigs, and meat chickens. Estimates of other livestock killed in animal agricultural production, such as layers in the egg industry or fish in aquaculture, are not provided due to insufficient data.
[2] Estimates are based on data published by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences. See:
- Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). (2020). Agricultural commodities: December quarter 2020 — Statistics [Datafile and codebook]. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/agricultural-outlook/data#agricultural-commodities. See Table 12.
[3] Estimate only considers cattle and calves, sheep and lambs, pigs, and chickens. Other animals killed for meat (e.g. fish) are not included in the estimation due to insufficient data.
[4] Measured by carcase weight. Data on meat production and consumption in Australia is available at:
- Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences. (2020). Agricultural commodities: December quarter 2020 — Statistics [Datafile and codebook]. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/agricultural-outlook/data#agricultural-commodities. See Table 12.
- Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences. (2020). Agricultural commodity Statistics 2020 [Datafile and codebook]. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/agricultural-outlook/data#2020. See Table 12.1.
[5] This figure is according to a ten-year average of Australian meat production and consumption data [see footnote 4] during the 2010s (2009–10 to 2018–19). It reports that 629 million livestock animals are slaughtered in Australia per year, including 8.5 million cows and calves, 29 million sheep and lambs, 4.9 million pigs and 587 million chickens. Measured by carcase weight, annual meat production yielded 2.3 billion kilograms of beef, 654 million kg of sheep meat, 372 million kg of pig meat, and 1.1 billion kg of chicken. Measured by carcase weight, an Australian eats 28kg of beef, 9kg of sheep meat, 27kg of pig meat, 45kg of chicken each year.
The estimation involves multiplying a ratio of livestock slaughters per kilogram of meat (e.g. cattle slaughtered per kg of beef harvested) by the per capita consumption figure (e.g. 28kg of beef). This gives us slaughters per person per year for each meat type. It works out to a sum total of 25 farm animals being killed annually to satisfy the consumption habits of each Australian. Projecting this figure over the lifespan of the typical person, nearly 83 years here, the number of livestock being killed would reach 2,064 animals, including 1,994 chickens, 32 sheep and lambs, 29 pigs and 9 cows and calves.
[6] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2019). World Population Prospects 2019 — Mortality data [Datafile and codebook]. https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Mortality/
[7] The survey was performed at the request of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. See:
- Futureye. (2018). Australia’s Shifting Mindset on Farm Animal Welfare. https://www.outbreak.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/farm-animal-welfare.pdf
[8] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See p. 76.
[9] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See p. 76.
[10] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See p. 76.
[11] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See p. 4.
[12] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See pp. 37–38.
[13] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See p. 7.
[14] Futureye. Australia’s Shifting Mindset. See p. 6.
[15] Malek, L., Umberger, W. J., & Goddard, E. (2019). Committed vs. uncommitted meat eaters: Understanding willingness to change protein consumption. Appetite, 138, 115–126.
[16] SBS News. (2018, April 1). Vegan trend takes hold in Australia. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/vegan-trend-takes-hold-in-australia
[17] Caldwell, J. (2019, April 7). Rising Veganism Threatens Demand For Australian Meat and Dairy. IBISWorld. https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-insider/press-releases/rising-veganism-threatens-local-demand-for-australian-meat-and-dairy/
[18] Skujins, A. (2020, January 16). As veganism merges with mainstream, Everything Vegan will close. CityMag. https://citymag.indaily.com.au/commerce/everything-vegan-goodwood-close/
[19] Derwin, J. (2019, September 4). As one in three Aussies cut back on meat, the market for plant-based alternatives is set to explode. Business Insider Australia. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/plant-based-meat-market-australia-cut-back-meat-free-diet-2019-9
Originally published at https://vstats.substack.com.
