Developed countries consume about 40 percent of meat worldwide. According to the UN, that figure will fall to 30 percent by 2050, driven by population growth and dietary changes in developing countries, even as total global consumption rises from 280 to 500 million tons. The inclusion of more meat in developing-world diets may help feed undernourished populations, but it will also require existing farmland to be far more productive. If current trends continue to 2050, farmland will grow by only 20 percent, but fertilizer and pesticide use will more than double. To feed a hungry growing world, agricultural ecologists need to know who will be eating more meat, and where.
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