75% to 83% of the world’s farmland is used for livestock, but provides only 18% of global calories
Conservative estimates show about 75% of all agricultural land is used for livestock farming. This includes not only the land on which the animals live, but also the food grown to feed those animals, grazing, and all other resources needed in the supply chain.
A 2018 study indicated an even higher land use. Spanning 119 countries and covering almost 40,000 farms, the study found that livestock production uses 83% of the world’s agricultural land and provide only 18% of the world’s calories. Animals are just the middle men, they consume 6 times more protein (from plants) than they produce. A plant-based diet cuts the use of land by 76% and halves the greenhouse gases and other pollution caused by food production. [Science]
Cage-free, grass fed, open grazing is even more wasteful use of land. Roughly twice as much land is used for grazing animals worldwide than for growing crops that humans could directly consume, but it provides just 1.2% of the protein we eat. [The Guardian]
