Scientific shift of croplands can feed 4 bn more people without clearing more land

A recent research has revealed that reallocating croplands away from fuels and animal feed could boost food availability for people by 70 percent.

New University of Minnesota research has found out that world's croplands could feed 4 billion more people than they do now, just by shifting from animal feed and biofuel production to exclusive food for human consumption.

Even a partial shift from crop-intensive livestock, such as feedlot beef, to food animals, such as chicken or pork, could increase agricultural efficiency and provide food for millions.

The researchers said that a shift from crop-intensive beef to pork and chicken could feed an additional 357 million people, and a shift to nonmeat diets that include eggs and milk could feed an additional 815 million people.

Demand for crops is expected to double by 2050 as population grows and increasing affluence boosts meat consumption, the study found out.

Meat takes up to 30 crop calories to produce a single calorie of meat. In addition, crops are increasingly being used for biofuels rather than food production.

The researchers said that a complete shift from animal to plant-based diets may not be feasible but even a partial shift would benefit food security.