Food and land use. The influence of consumption patterns on the use of agricultural resources

This paper assesses the relationship between food consumption patterns and the use of agricultural land. First, it calculates the amount of land needed to produce singular foods, and second, it assesses land requirements of food consumption patterns. The paper observes large differences among requirements for specific foods. Especially livestock products, fats, and coffee have large land requirements. The consumption of specific foods can change rapidly over time, causing shifts in land requirements. A rise or fall of requirements, however, depends on the initial consumption pattern. Patterns based on animal foods shifting towards market foods containing more staples require less land. This dietary change direction was shown for Dene/Metis communities in Canada. Patterns based on staples shifting toward diets containing more livestock foods and beverages require more land. This change direction was observed in the Netherlands. Per capita land requirements differ among countries. In Europe, Portugal showed the smallest requirement (1814 m(2)), Denmark the largest (2479 In 2). The Danish pressure was mainly caused by large consumption of beer, coffee, fats, pork, and butter. The trend toward food consumption associated with affluent life styles will bring with it a need for more land. This causes competition with other claims, such as infrastructural developments or ecological forms of agriculture. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.