In North America and Europe, about 60 percent of the total crop harvest is now destined for feeding—not directly for food. This, of course, has major environmental consequences, particularly due to the need for nitrogen fertilizers and water. At the same time, citing the large volumes of water needed to produce feed for cattle is quite misleading. The minimum water requirement per kilogram of boneless beef is, indeed, high, on the order of 15,000 liters, but only about half a liter of that ends up incorporated in the meat, with more than 99 percent being water needed for the growth of feed
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