Back in 1971, author Frances Moore Lappé calculated the true cost of meat production in her seminal book Diet for a Small Planet.27 She coined the phrase “protein factory in reverse” to describe the wasteful process of meat production and its toll on land, fuel, and water. Specifically, she showed that there is more protein and energy in the grains and beans fed to farmed animals than in the meat, eggs, and milk that they produce. The excess protein and calories that the animals ingest ends up supporting their energy needs and contributing to growth of body parts that humans don’t consume.
