Generated Summary
This document is an open letter to the candidates for the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting the detrimental impacts of industrial animal farming on global health. It is a call to action, urging the next Director-General to address the adverse effects of industrial animal farming and promote sustainable alternatives. The letter underscores the WHO’s mandate to protect and improve global health and emphasizes the need to recognize the link between industrial animal farming and various health crises. The document primarily presents a viewpoint and calls for policy changes, not necessarily presenting new scientific research, but synthesizes existing evidence. It advocates for limiting the size and adverse practices of factory farming, reducing meat consumption, and supporting sustainable farming methods. The letter also draws parallels between the WHO’s past efforts to combat tobacco and sugar consumption and the need to address the harms caused by industrial animal farming.
Key Findings & Statistics
- Industrial animal farming produces 67% of poultry meat, 50% of eggs, and 42% of pork globally.
- Antibiotic resistance causes 700,000 deaths each year globally.
- Drug-resistant microbes could kill up to 9.5 million per year by 2050.
- Total consumption of antibiotics in animal food production is projected to grow by almost 70% between 2010 and 2030.
- In the EU and the US, over 75% of all antibiotics are used in agriculture.
- BRICS countries are projected to experience a 99% growth in antimicrobial consumption by 2030.
- Climate change is expected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths each year between 2030 and 2050.
- Agriculture will consume half the world’s carbon budget necessary for keeping global temperature rises under 2° Celsius by 2050.
- Between 1970 and 2004, 91% of cleared land in the Amazon has been converted to cattle ranching.
- Diets high in processed meat and red meat contributed to over half a million human deaths (or over 16 million disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs) in 2015.
Other Important Findings
- Industrial animal farming undermines the highest attainable standard of health, as per the WHO’s mandate.
- The indiscriminate use of antibiotics, close confinement of animals, and unsustainable production scales have become industry standards in factory farming, with severe consequences for human health.
- Limiting the size and adverse practices of factory farming is central to improving global health.
- Antibiotic use in factory farming is a major contributor to antibiotic resistance.
- Alternatives to antibiotic use for disease prevention include better husbandry practices and vaccines.
- The constant low dosing of antibiotics and environmental pollution through animal waste make industrial animal farms the perfect breeding ground for antibiotic resistance.
- Factory farming is linked to climate change through deforestation for grazing land and crop feed production.
- Factory farming is linked to localized environmental problems like air and water pollution, as well as land and soil degradation.
- Processed meat is classified as carcinogenic by the WHO.
Limitations Noted in the Document
- The document’s primary focus is on advocating for policy changes and raising awareness about the issues. It is not a scientific study and thus does not include limitations associated with primary research methods.
- The document depends on existing research, which could be subject to the limitations of the original studies.
- The projections and statistics cited are based on available data and could be subject to variations depending on future developments and data collection methods.
- The document presents a particular viewpoint and does not necessarily provide a balanced assessment of all perspectives on industrial animal farming.
Conclusion
The open letter provides a strong call to action, highlighting the urgent need for the WHO to address the adverse effects of industrial animal farming. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the significant harms caused by large-scale, industrial animal farming. The letter explicitly calls upon the next WHO-Director General to take decisive steps to limit the expansion of industrial animal farming and to endorse dietary recommendations that reduce meat consumption. The recommendations include strengthening the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, negotiating country-level standards for antibiotic use, incentivizing meat producers to properly dispose of waste, reducing the size and number of factory farms, and discouraging member states from subsidizing factory farming. The letter underscores the crucial role of the WHO in providing global leadership to support sustainable alternatives and shift towards farming methods that safeguard public health and the environment. The document concludes with an appeal for the scientific development of plant-based and other meat alternatives. This final recommendation reinforces the importance of adopting sustainable and healthier food systems to protect both human and planetary health. The authors call on the candidates to publicly acknowledge the harm that industrial animal farming inflicts on global health, setting a path forward to protect public health and the environment.