Issues / Food security
enough for everyone
Food security
Who gets enough to eat, and how animals fit into the food system.
Quick answer
Food security means everyone can reliably get enough safe, nutritious food. About 38% of the world's cropland grows animal feed, and meat, dairy, and farmed fish provide 17% of calories and 38% of protein, according to estimates published by Our World in Data.
Last reviewed . Sources are listed below.
the basics
What this issue covers
Food security means everyone has reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food. It depends on how food is grown, priced, shared, and wasted, and on how land and crops are used.
At the Humane Choices Foundation (HCF), we look at how raising animals for food connects to land, crops, and prices, and what fair, resilient food systems could look like. Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, while about 38% of the world's cropland was used to grow animal feed.
Animal foods provide 17% of the world's calories and 38% of its protein, yet livestock use about 80% of agricultural land. That gap is why we see land use as a question of who gets fed.
dig in
Questions worth asking
Our guides on each question are being written. Every figure will come with a source.
- What does food security actually mean?
- How does using land and crops for animal feed affect food supply?
- Who is most affected when food prices rise?
- What do fair and resilient food systems look like?
follow the thread
Where animals come in
Food security connects to animals through land, crops, and fish. Every field used to grow feed is a field not growing food for people directly, fish are a vital source of protein for coastal communities, and working animals help millions of families farm and reach markets.
Farmed land animals
About 38% of the world's cropland grows feed for farmed animals instead of food for people.
Aquatic animals
Fish feed billions of people, but only 62.3% of marine stocks are fished within sustainable levels.
Service and working animals
Working horses, donkeys, and mules help support some 600 million people, from farming to carrying water.
by the numbers
What the evidence says
Every figure links to its source. See all of them on our facts and sources page.
38%
Our World in Data, Global land for agriculture (Poore and Nemecek, 2018) 2018 study
80%
Our World in Data, Global land for agriculture (FAO data; Poore and Nemecek, 2018) Recent estimate
733 million
UNICEF Canada, on the UN State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report 2023 data
quick answers
Frequently asked questions
What is food security?
When all people have reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food to live a healthy life.
How much cropland grows animal feed?
Poore and Nemecek (2018) estimate that 38% of the world's cropland grows livestock feed, 50% grows food for people directly, and 12% serves non-food uses.
How much of our food comes from animals?
By Our World in Data's estimates, meat, dairy, and farmed fish provide 17% of the world's calories and 38% of its protein, while livestock use about 80% of agricultural land. Local situations differ.
How many people face hunger worldwide?
Around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, according to the UN's State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report, and over 2.8 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2022.
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