Global Land Use for Food Production

Global Land Use for Food Production

Overview of Earth’s Surface

  • Distribution of Earth's Surface: 29% land and 71% ocean. This totals a land area of 141 million km² and an ocean area of 369 million km².

Land Use Breakdown

Known Land and Habitable Land

  • Total Land Surface: 76% is habitable land, equating to 107 million km².

Agriculture

  • Percentage of Habitable Land Used for Agriculture:

    • 45% of habitable land is allocated for agricultural purposes.

    • This translates to an agricultural land area of 48 million km².

Types of Agricultural Land

  1. Livestock: 80% of agricultural land designated for livestock production, including meat, dairy, and textiles. This occupies around 38 million km².

  2. Crops for Food: 6 million km² are used for crop production aimed at human consumption, paired with 32 million km² for grazing land.

Contribution to Global Calorie and Protein Supply

  • Global Calorie Supply:

    • Approximately 17% of the global calorie supply comes from livestock.

  • Global Protein Supply:

    • Livestock contributes to 38% of the global protein supply, primarily through meat and dairy production.

Other Land Types

  • Forests: Covering 38% of the total land area.

  • Shrubland: Comprises about 14 million km².

  • Non-Food Crops: Includes biofuels, cotton, etc., utilizing 2 million km².

  • Glaciers: Covering 10% of land.

  • Barren Land: Encompasses around 14 million km².

  • Deserts: Accounts for 20 million km².

  • Urban and Built-up Land: Represents 1% of total land.

  • Water Bodies: Summarizes to about 3% of land, incorporating lakes, rivers, and coastal areas (totaling 1 million km²).

Implications of Land Use

  • There is a noted disproportionate calorie output and land use when examining the agricultural sector, indicating an imbalance between land utilized for different purposes and the caloric yield from that land.

Conclusion

The landscape of global land use for food production showcases a complex interrelation between available land, utilization for various agricultural outputs, and the implications on global nutrition. Key statistics underline the heavy reliance on livestock for both caloric and protein supply, alongside the extensive land dedicated to various forms of agriculture.